After the trauma of last season we open up on Saturday back in League One 16 months after the joy of Swansea with the hero of that game Freddie Eastwood kicking off at Molineux v Watford. (If Chopra can go for five and an unknown Bulgarian go to Man.City for nine, one and a half million could be a steal for the talismanic goal scorer.)
Plenty of activity at the Hall with loss of two full backs through injury, Hammell for the opening six weeks, but the welcome addition of Arsenal loanee Kerrea Gilbert, who can play on the left allowing Lewis on the right as Francis also recovers, and the ex-Farmers centre half Garry Richards joined by the Hungarian Zoltan Liptak should all help bolster a creaking defence, though it's expected Barrett and Clarke will open as the central duo if fit. Interesting the only centre half on the move from Roots Hall to Layer Road was, in the end, the other way round. Poor, poor Farmers, enjoy while it lasts!
Little Darryl is still here and should find League One more to his liking as will Captain Kev and Alan Mac, surely one of the best central midfield pairings in the division. On the wings Mark Gower will continue to bring joy and frustration in equal measure while JCR could be in Barnsley for 350K by the time you read this. Certainly he would be missed as he will take the pee in this company but ex-Palace winger Tommy Black has, arguably, been the pick of the signings in the friendlies with a stronger eye for goal. Bailey from Barnet will be one for the future I feel but a fine addition to the squad as would another Arsenal youth player, the stylish Peggy Lokando, if a deal goes through. (Good Luck to the boy Lawson at Jason Edinburgh's Grays, he was so close.)
It's up front that should answer if 16-1 are fair odds for the Blues to win the league, I got a far better price two years ago, and though chances are sure to be made will they be taken? Too early to say on MacDonald, a poacher to come off the bench is my guess, no place maybe for Billy Paytner, not a strong force in the friendly games. Foran will start, and do well, but not until Millwall at least due to handbags at Crawley of all places, so it's the Little and Large of Harrold and Hopper for me, maybe Tilly will prefer the experience of Bradbury for the Prince. Anybody's guess how they will do, there's some missed chances there waiting to happen, but both are young and this could be their level, Hopper certainly did not look out of place for Orient when on loan.
The TLG Team(?); Flahavan; Hunt, Gilbert, Clarke, Barrett; Maher, MacCormack, Campbell-Ryce (er, or Black), Gower; Harrold, Hooper. Subs; Collis, Paytner, Bradbury, Black (or Wilson), Richards.
The Match
Ahh, Orient, bloody, bloody, Orient, was the fixture computer having a laugh or what? 25degrees are promised away from the ground but God only knows what the temperature will be on the pitch and on the terraces, especially with all 2,200 tickets sold by Orient. A five figure opening day crowd in traditional opening day sunshine is on the cards.
I am not going on about home hoodoos and own goals, yes I was at both those defeats at Brisbane Road, Phil Whelan's header was legendary!, I will leave that to other sites, there's only so much pain one can take! In fact, overall, the difference is only 10 games, it may just seem more! After 73 matches in total, Blues 21, Orient 31 and 21 draws, not that bad then, it's all in the mind!
I will just remember the 1-0 win on a barmy April evening in 1991 when in front of 6,606 Andy Ansah broke away to score an early goal to set up promotion only a few weeks away. Or even the 2-2 draw another Tuesday evening, colder in December, when with half the ground a building site I crept into the home stand to quietly punch the air when first Gray, and then Freddie himself put us in the lead and promptly saw 'verbal' breaking out between fans of both sides as some Blues had not kept their council as well as I had tried! Or a 3-0 win on April 3 1999, Campbell(2) and Coleman the scorers. (There was our biggest defeat on October 22 1938, 0-5, 9,744, but we don't talk about that.)
The first time ever was at the Kursall on Saturday December 22 1934, a 0-2 defeat, the crowd, 5586. The last time was another defeat when John Mackie rose above Spinner on Friday April 15 2005 and in front of a bumper crowd of 9,189 ruined our promotion party. In between there was a fine 4-1 win on April 12 1930, Baron(2), Ward and Barnett the scorers, the crowd, 6,282. This was beaten though by our biggest win on Fri August 23 1985 when in front of 3,643 happy Roots Hall Richard Cadette hit a legendary four goals with O'Shea one in a 5-1 win. We can only dream!
We also had our only game at Wembley in 1937 but that is discussed more below.
Martin Ling, an ex-Southend winger who replaced ex-Southend full back Paul Brush, yes him, as Orient manager, is owed one after his stupid post-match comments the last time they visted the Hall, however he has been busy making up for Orient's brush with relegation last season, sweeping aside the elder statesman of their League Two promotion winning squad with a bunch of eager youngsters and failed Premiership youth squad players, and Wayne Gray.
Sean Thornton is a good place to start. He is comfortable on the ball, hussles well and controls the game from the centre of midfield. Partnering him with the bustling Adam Chambers, or Paul Terry, could lead to The O's being competitive in that part of the pitch, vital against Maher and Mac.
Adam Boyd looks to be a good piece of business. Having signed for Luton, for £500,000 a little over a year ago, to get a striker of his quality on a free is excellent work from Ling. He already has scored goals, and his hold up play looks better than the former top scorer Alexander.
Orient's seemingly best signing so far though is Tamika Mkandawire. Like another Orient legend, Dean Smith, Mkandawire has joined from Hereford and immediately impressed. He reads the game well, good aerially, and has already seemed to strike up an excellent partnership with Brian Saah. His signing, along with Stephen Purches has added competition in the defence, with Alton Thelwell battling with the young cenre-backs for a place in the side.
They have also just signed versatile Tottenham youngster Charlie Daniels on a season-long loan. The 20-year-old, who can play at left midfield or left-back, came on as a half-time substitute in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Grays and will probably replace the Rochford born and the best player we never signed Matt Lockwood, who, after several years propping up ordinary Orient sides, has chosen to work his trade with 13-2 title favourites Notts Forest. (Oh what fun if Calderwood cocks up again, a bad choice as Forest boss in my opinion as he continually buggered up at Northampton with plenty of dosh, he could be out by Christmas unless they are ten points clear!)
Personally, I'm in the camp that believes we should have given Wayne Gray a two year contract last season which led to the slightly panic buy of Paytner. He would have made a good sub if nothing else and Colchester showed what keeping the squad together can do. Yes, he can go walkabout but at his best, especially at this level, he can make runs into the heart of the defence that hurt you, his partnership with Adam Boyd will be another fascinating aspect of the game.
Overall with so many new players this could be a good chance to play them as they hardly know each other and I would hope our slightly more settled squad, many Championship hardened, will lead to three points that this time will lead to a top six finish and we can bury that lose/promotion tag once and for all. As someone who has to get a train back to London after the game another Orient defeat will be too much to bare!
The History
Leyton Orient was originally formed by members of the Glyn Cricket Club in 1881. The team has had several name changes since, first as Eagle Football Club in 1886 then as Orient Football Club in 1888. History books written on the Club by its Historian Neilson N Kaufman suggest that the choice of the name Orient came about at the behest of a player who was an employee of the Orient Shipping Company (later to be taken over by P&O). The club's name was changed again to Clapton Orient in 1898 to represent the area of London in which they played. However, some historians think the name Orient was simply chosen due to its oddity and has no connections to them being an East-End club.
The name Leyton Orient was adopted following the conclusion of the Second World War. The club had moved to Leyton in 1937. A further rename back to simply Orient took place in 1966 after the Borough of Leyton was absorbed into the London Borough of Waltham Forest. That renaming followed a financial crisis (one of several to hit the club, and by no means the first or last) and restructuring of the company behind the club; this is remembered for a "pass the bucket" collection that took place at a special meeting of supporters in the East Stand, when complete closure was claimed to be a definite possibility.
The club finally reverted back to Leyton Orient in 1987, shortly after Tony Wood took over as chairman and at a time when a supporters campaign was taking place in the Leyton Orientear fanzine to reinstate the Leyton part of the club's name.
The O's are the second oldest Football League club in London and the south-east of England behind Fulham. They played in the 2nd Division of the Southern League in 1904, joined the Football League in 1905 and are the 24th oldest club currently playing in the Football League.
The 1914-15 season was the last football season before the League was suspended due to the outbreak of the First World War. 40 members of the Clapton Orient team and staff joined the army, the highest of any football team in the country. At the final game of the season, 20,000 people came out to support the team. A farewell parade was also hosted.
During the Battle of the Somme, three players lost their lives: Richard McFadden, George Scott and William Jonas. Though they were the only Orient staff to have died during the First World War, Orient suffered the highest casualty figures of any football team in Britain. The story of the club's involvement in the First World War has been told in a 2005 book entitled 'They Took The Lead', by Stephen Jenkins (the deputy chairman of the O's Supporters Club).
Orient's crest is made up of two wyverns facing each other over a football. The wyvern symbol was introduced in 1976 and is believed to incorporate Orient's links with the City of London (the wyvern is the symbol of the City) and with the sea, through the old Orient Shipping Company.
Previous club crests have included a version of the Borough of Leyton's coat of arms, and a single red dragon.
Orient's golden years were in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1961/62 season Orient were promoted to the top tier of English football, the First Division (now the FA Premier League, for the only time in their history, after finishing second in Division Two under the management of Johnny Carey. The team struggled in the top flight and were relegated from the top division the following season. Nonetheless, they did defeat West Ham United in a famous 'double' victory (home and away wins). They spent the whole of the 1970s in Division Two. In 1978 Orient were defeated in the semi final of the FA Cup, the furthest they have progressed in that competition.
Leyton Orient were Division Three South champions in the 1955/56 season and Division Three champions in the 1969/70 season. They were also the Anglo-Scottish Cup Runners up 1976/77.
In 1978 the club was indirectly responsible for the album Variations (album) composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his brother, the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. This reached No.2 in the pop album charts. Variations came about as the result of a bet between the two brothers on the outcome of Orient's final game of the 1976/77 season against Hull City.
Leyton Orient were promoted in the 1988/89 season, when under manager Frank Clark they were promoted in the Division Four Play-Off Final after a 2-1 aggregate victory over Wrexham F.C.. More recently, under manager Tommy Taylor, Orient were defeated in the 1999 and 2001 Third Division Play-Off Finals, played at Wembley Stadium and the Millennium Stadium respectively. The latter final saw the fastest ever club goal scored to date at the Millennium Stadium, as Orient's Chris Tate scored after just 27 seconds.
Leyton Orient's most recent promotion was in the 2005/06 season, finishing in 3rd place and gaining automatic promotion to the Football League One under the direction of manager Martin Ling. This was the club's first automatic promotion in 36 years, and ended a period of 11 years in the English league's bottom division. This promotion season also saw an excellent FA Cup run, with Leyton Orient progressing to the 4th round after beating Premiership side Fulham F.C.. Promotion was only secured in the final minutes of the final game of the season, away at Oxford United; with the score tied at 2-2 and Orient seemingly destined to miss out yet again on promotion, news came through of a late goal scored against promotion rivals Grimsby Town F.C. that would potentially promote Orient, and the Orient fans were still celebrating this when - some 14 seconds later - Lee Steele scored to confirm Orient's promotion. The result also relegated Oxford to the Football Conference.
In 2006/07 Orient endured a difficult season in the third tier for the first time since 1994/95, having spent most of the season in or around the relegation zone, and were bottom of the table at times in the first half of the season. An improvement in fortunes after Christmas - including memorable wins against Millwall, Tranmere Rovers and a vital win at eventually-relegated Bradford City near the end of the season - helped them finish in 20th place, one spot above the relegation zone. Most of the promotion-winning side left at the end of the season, through a combination of players released and some rejecting new contracts, and while the club's longest-serving player Matthew Lockwood did sign a new contract, he moved to Nottingham Forest F.C. for an undisclosed sum later in pre-season.
Leyton Orient's initial ground was at Glyn Road between 1884 and 1896 when the club moved to Whittle's Athletic Ground and played there until 1900. The O's also played pre-season friendlies at Leyton Cricket Ground for several seasons. The Wyverns left Whittle's Athletic Ground for Millfields Road soon after. A further ground change in 1930 to Lea Bridge Road occurred, but a complaint over perimeter fencing in 1930 meant that Orient were forced to play home games at another ground while urgent alterations took place. They chose to play the first at Wembley Stadium, and even though Lea Bridge was ready again, chose Highbury and Wembley once again, this time against Southend! However, an attendance of only 2,500 at that game ensured a move back to Lea Bridge. Finally, the club moved to their current Brisbane Road home in 1937.
Brisbane Road has undergone many changes since Orient's arrival. Previously known as Osborne Road and having been the home of Leyton F.C., it initially had only one stand (known as "the orange box") on the east side that held 475 people, and cover on the west side for standing. All of the standing comprised of cinder banks. The East Stand (also known as the Main Stand) was bought from Mitcham Greyhound Stadium in 1956, and eventually extended to cover the whole east side. The terraced enclosures at the front of the East Stand were replaced by seating in the late 1990s. Over the decades, the west side became a covered terrace and finally a seated-stand, while uncovered terracing was built at the north and south sides. As the ground's capacity was being progressively reduced through changes to ground safety regulations, Orient looked to redevelop Brisbane Road as an all-seater stadium to secure its future there.
The initial plans, dubbed Orient 2000 by the club, were revealed in the mid-1990s. The plans were ambitious, as they involved rotating the pitch and developing all four sides. However, the club's near-bankruptcy and subsequent buy-out by Barry Hearn meant that a more realistic redevelopment plan was instigated. The first phase involved demolition of the South Terrace in the late 1990s, and after delays while National Lottery funding was unsuccessfully sought, the new South Stand was opened at the start of the 1999/2000 season.
The next phase of redevelopment (replacement of the North Terrace and West Stand) ran into financial problems. Notwithstanding that finance for the redevelopment had already been raised by selling off the four corners of the stadium for residential blocks of flats, an increase in costs meant that an emergency general meeting of the company was needed in April 2005. It was agreed that the club should sell a c.999-year lease on the West Stand for £1.5 million to a consortium led by Barry Hearn (under the company name Samuel Beadie (Leyton) Ltd, or SBLL), with SBLL leasing back to the club on a same-length lease all of the stand except the office space for an annual rent of £1. The additional funds generated by this complicated arrangement were used to complete the building of the West Stand. External completion of the West Stand was achieved in mid 2005, and the stand was opened for the 2005/06 season. The stand has a single lower tier of seating, while further up the structure are directors' and corporate hospitality boxes, club offices and player facilities (the latter were fitted out in summer 2007, prior to which the players continued to use the facilities in the East Stand).
A second EGM was held in May 2006, where it was agreed to sell further land behind the North and South Stands to SBLL for £1.25 million, the proceeds to be used to fund the building of the North Stand. The plan was to commence building the North Stand in July 2006 and for it to be open by Christmas 2006, however Waltham Forest council initially rejected the revised planning application for the stand and its adjoining additional flats. A revised application was submitted, and passed in early 2007, and construction began towards the end of the 2006/07 season. The stand - which has become the Family Stand - was completed before the 2007/08 season, giving the O's a four sided ground once more with a capacity just under 9,300. The modernisation of the East Stand is a more distant prospect.
It is unknown what effect London gaining the 2012 Olympics will have on Leyton Orient's long-term stadium development, given the amount of sports stadia construction that will take place in East London. Orient has lodged an interest in moving into the main Stratford Olympic Stadium, which would have a capacity of about 25,000 after the Games. Leyton Orient remains the most likely football club to move into the stadium now that other clubs - in particular West Ham - bidding to move in have dropped out of the running. However it is by no means a certainty that the O's will move in to the Olympic Stadium themselves, particularly if average attendances continue at about 5,000. Also, there are concerns among supporters about the presence of a running track around the pitch, not to mention the financial implication of moving in.
Orient are currently managed by Martin Ling, a former Youth Team Manager and Leyton Orient player, who was appointed in September 2003, and is currently the 7th longest serving manager in England. He was granted a testimonial year for the 2007/08 season, after having spent 11 years at Orient in various roles. Martin Ling also played in the Premiership for Swindon Town. The assistant manager is Dean Smith, another former player who captained the side. He returned to the club after a season and a half absence playing for Sheffield Wednesday and Port Vale. The Youth Team Manager is former O's striker Kevin Nugent, who was appointed in summer 2007 after Andy Scott left to join Brentford as assistant manager.
The Facts and Figures
Biggest victory - 8-0 v Crystal Palace Division 3 South 12 November 1955, 8-0 v Rochdale Division 4 14 October 1987, 8-0 v Colchester United Division 4 15 October 1988, 8-0 v Doncaster Rovers Division 3 28 December 1997
Biggest defeat - 0-8 v Aston Villa F.C. FA Cup 4th Round 30 January 1929
Highest attendance - 34,345 v West Ham United F.C. FA Cup 4th rd 25 January 1964
Most capped player - 7 John Chiedozie Nigeria also Tunji Banjo for Nigeria and Anthony Grealish for Éire - all on 7 caps
Most league goals in a season - 35 Tommy Johnston 1957/58 Division 2
Most league goals in total - 121 Tommy Johnston 1956-58, 1959-61
Highest Transfer fee received - £1,000,000 (rising to £1,500,000, depending on appearances) Gabriel Zakuani Fulham F.C. July 2006
Highest transfer fee paid - £175,000 Paul Beesley Wigan Athletic F.C. October 1989
Winners of the 1912 Dubonnet Cup (!)
League position most frequently attained: 19th
Striker Chris Tate scored the fastest recorded goal in a Playoff Final: May 2001 v. Blackpool FC: 28 seconds