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leytonorientear.news

Having arrived in the last knockings of last summer’s window, this was a pretty outrageous achievement, and helps to explain why a plethora of Championship clubs (Southampton, Swansea, Middlesbrough, West Ham, and Bristol City) have shown serious interest in him. But that very same late arrival should also placate Orient fans concerned about how long would be required to find a replacement: sound judgement is more important than time, at least in this respect. Over to you, Mr Mitchell.

It is unlikely that full details of the deal will be officially disclosed, but it is understood that the final fee will be in the region of £5m with significant add-ons that mean if he thrives at the higher level, the transfer will continue to be lucrative for Orient for some time to come.

Some of the speculation around the deal has been (as is the way these days) rather fanciful, so to help put it all into context we’ve taken a look at what became of the previous ten League One Golden Boot winners to see how Dom’s move fits in with the historical pattern. Although one thing consistently overlooked in the discussion about Dom’s future are the personal incentives for him, and the power he has in determining his own fate - whether to sell and for how much is only partly down to the Club.

Anyway, in reverse order…

1. 2025 - Charlie Kelman - remember him? 21 goals across 24/25’s league campaign were enough to earn him a move to Championship Charlton for an “undisclosed” fee significantly lower (around £3.5m upfront) than what Ballard is going for. Kelman was 23 at the time and had only been at Orient on loan, so the specifics of the deal animated the Os fanbase rather less. This was the first ever Golden Boot awarded to a player representing the Os, although 21 goals was the lowest required to secure it in League One over the last decade. Typical Leyton Orient.

   

2. 2024 - Alfie May - 23 goals for Charlton in League One drew the interest of Birmingham City, who had just been relegated to the third tier and were looking for a proven goalscorer to get them straight back out of it. Another “undisclosed” fee masking the fact that - a day shy of his 31st birthday - the selling Club did not receive a transformative amount of money (less than a million). However, May reportedly doubled his salary and scored 16 times for Birmingham, helping them to get promoted as Champions, although they decided not to take him with them into the Championship, preferring to make a profit on selling him to Huddersfield the following summer.

   

3. 2023 - shared between Conor Chaplin and Jonson Clarke-Harris who both scored 26 times in the League that season. Chaplin was promoted with Ipswich, and so got to play in the Championship after signing a new contract, while Clarke-Harris fell victim to Peterborough’s eccentric transfer policy. He was transfer listed so the Posh could cash in on him after failing to go up through the play-offs. But after an £800k move to Bristol Rovers fell through it was difficult for him to re-establish his place in the side knowing the Club were determined to cash in on his diminishing transfer value. That January, a £500k move to Charlton fell through, and he left Peterborough on a free at the end of the season.

4. 2022 - Will Keane - his 26 goals fuelled Wigan’s title win, and enabled him to become an established Championship player across the four seasons since. A product of Manchester United’s academy, Keane was 29 by the time of this achievement and had dropped to League One to kick-start his career.

   

5. 2021 - Jonson Clarke-Harris - 31 goals over the season helped to fire Peterborough to the Championship, allowing the striker to test his mettle at the higher level, for a while at least. Still, he did later become the only player to feature on this list twice.

   

6. 2020 - Ivan Toney - now an England international and one of the world’s most reliable penalty takers, just six years ago Toney got 24 goals for Peterborough in a season curtailed by COVID, earning himself a transfer to the Championship with Brentford. The fee was - of course - “undisclosed” but Peterborough were happy for it to be known that it was a club record, and it was generally understood to be in excess of £6m with add-ons, although his previous Club Newcastle were themselves entitled to around 30% of that. At 24, Toney was somewhat older than Ballard is today, but the competition for his signature was considerably tougher, with Premiership clubs showing an interest in him too. His subsequent career path has vindicated that interest - and Toney went on to win the Golden Boot again in the Championship with Brentford en route to the top flight and international honours.

   

7. 2019 - James Collins - 25 league goals for Luton helped them get promoted for the second season in a row. Even though he was already 28 by this point, the best years of his career were ahead of him, even though he was linked to Orient a couple of years ago before eventually ending up at Lincoln, where he will play in the second tier again next season at the age of 35.

   

8. 2018 - Jack Marriott - 27 league goals for Peterborough (them again!) were sufficient to earn him a transfer to Championship Derby County. Again - officially undisclosed, but before the deal was completed had been reliably reported as in the region of £2.5m initially, with add-ons that could take it to £5m in total. Marriott was 25 at the time.

   

9. 2017 - Billy Sharp - Sharp got 30 goals across the season while also captaining his boyhood Club back to the Championship after a two-year absence. This was his third spell at The Blades, which saw him take them to the top flight a couple of years later.

   

10. 2016 - Will Grigg - 25 goals fired Wigan to automatic promotion, and Grigg stayed with The Latics for another three seasons thereafter, including a relegation back to League One and another promotion to the Championship.

So what, if anything, can we learn from this list? Well, a few things actually:

• Ballard is the youngest of all these players at the time they won the accolade, by some considerable margin. That, together with the length of his contract, will account for him attracting a greater transfer fee than the others bar Toney. Talk of a Stansfieldesque £15m was always a bit optimistic, although you can’t blame Wellens for putting that out there.

• Most of the winners went on to play in the Championship the following season, either because they were promoted - or because they were sold. The only exceptions were Chaplin, May, and Clarke-Harris - Ipswich and Birmingham are obviously clubs that would expect to dominate this division and indeed the first two did go on to achieve promotion the following season, leaving JCH (second time around) as the outlier.

• Although not every Golden Boot winner was promoted, most were or came pretty close, making Dom a real exception for having won it despite playing in such a poorly performing team.

• Any idea who came runner-up to Toney in 2020? Armand Gnanduillet, that’s who. He got more than his fair share of stick from Orient fans while he was here (much more than cumbersome strike partner Ollie Palmer) but this just goes to show how players can’t do their best when the culture is toxic.

• Peterborough have a really strong record in recent years, producing three Golden Boot winners (well, two - one of whom won it twice)

The name “Enfield” carries weight with Orient fans of a certain generation, thanks to the epic 1988 FA Cup trilogy which saw the Os wrestled out of the competition by one of the strongest non-league clubs in the country of that era. Of course, much has changed since then, although Orient is just about recognisable as the same club that recovered from that upset to secure promotion to the third tier a few months later. But the club we face today is very different in form – if not in spirit – to the one that inflicted that defeat on us nearly four decades ago.

Although there have been a couple of pre-season friendlies between the clubs since (1997 and 2000 - the latter game after Enfield had decamped to Borehamwood), today is the first time we’ve had the great pleasure of meeting Enfield Town – the club that started the fan ownership movement in England. And this definitely means something.

David Gandler’s acquisition of Orient last April marked the end of 8 years of steady progress under the Travis regime. This was most obvious in the reversal in our on-pitch fortunes, but was also accompanied by a perceptible shift in priorities off the pitch, with the club no longer having the energy for anything without a dollar sign attached – almost everything it does now can be explained by purely commercial imperatives. This doubtless makes sense to those running the Club, but this growing gap between the owner’s vision and the values of the fanbase can only be disguised by consistent success on the pitch. When that doesn’t happen supporters are much less tolerant than they would have been in an equivalent footballing situation just a few years ago – as was poisonously clear toward the end of 25/26.

The most attention Orient got last season when Wellens’ valedictory “none of this was my fault” rant in the aftermath of our narrow escape from relegation went viral. Even in the modern attention economy, not all attention is good attention, and this wouldn’t have been how our media team had hoped we would go viral. With Wellens having thrown much of his expensively assembled squad under the bus, we’re now in the process of onboarding another bunch of expensive footballers who’ve yet to develop any real affinity with the club and its culture.

Last season was a chastening experience for a generation of Orient fans who had grown used to continual improvement, so there’s a bit more caution amongst the fanbase this summer – even if we might expect a bit more “shock and awe” chequebook recruitment using proceeds of selling last season’s Golden Boot winner Dom Ballard and the windfall resulting from Ethan Galbraith’s move to Stoke.

More important than any single player though is our new Director of Football Scott Mitchell, who is spoken very highly of by those who have worked with him before. It’s refreshing for Orient to have someone in that role whose best days are in front of him, in contrast to his predecessor, who’s best days were well behind him when he was abruptly dismissed in March.

Modern English football often reeks of distilled essence of capitalism – needing to keep growing just in order to keep going. It wasn’t all that long ago that Orient was content to trundle along in the third tier, taking comfort in its eccentricity and its community above all else. Our new owner’s plans for a 35,000 multi-use stadium would require us to get bigger fast if we’re not to be overwhelmed – and not all of our fans have yet realised exactly what is at stake. For those that make the effort to visit the Dave Bryant Stadium for a lovely summer evening of football, the occasion will be a timely reminder that supporters have power to determine the destiny of their clubs too.

Unsurprisingly, Fubo’s existing shareholders have been extremely unhappy over recent months, to the extent that Gandler and his fellow Board members have been subject to legal action with the aim of ousting them. The manner in which he has been discussed online by irate shareholders often makes Orient fans stewing in the aftermath of a 4-0 home drubbing seem measured by comparison, and the strength of the criticism he has attracted has undoubtedly played a role in his keeping a very low profile over the last year both here and in the US.

Although Fubo’s shareholders have clearly not enjoyed his recent stewardship of the company, there is no suggestion that his personal wealth has been negatively affected - indeed, his reluctance to invest in his own company of late has been one of the major complaints made about him.

On hearing the news this evening, we asked Leyton Orient what the implications of him leaving the company he founded would be for his interest in the Club. They told us that:

"David Gandler remains fully committed to Leyton Orient and his decision to step down from his role at Fubo will not impact his involvement at the football club. Now more than ever, David is excited about the short, medium and long-term future at Leyton Orient."

At April’s Fan Forum, Club Chairman Nigel Travis responded to our question about Fubo’s struggles by saying: “My understanding is, 75% of Fubo is owned by Disney, which I think we'd all agree is a pretty strong financial company. I've had zero indication that David's concerned about any of that. I think public...being a chairman of a public company, public shares go up and down. It's a bit like a football club. What I would say is that sometimes shareholders are less polite than all of you. So I think sometimes David has a hard time dealing with shareholders, but we had the same thing at Abercrombie. I've got no concerns about the Fubo situation impacting Leyton Orient”

http://leytonorientear.news/coming-soon

Why are we doing this?

With the demise of local media, there is hardly any dedicated, professional, independent coverage of Orient anymore – that’s an important gap we intend to fill.

We still love print, which has been a joy to produce over these last few years. But it requires a huge amount of effort (alongside full-time jobs and families), and also constrains our ability to react quickly to breaking news and events.

Although our circulation has increased over recent seasons, it’s clear that the format isn’t one younger supporters engage with in large numbers. Also, some of the people we’ve relied on for years to help sell and distribute the print edition are stepping into a well-earned retirement, and – to be blunt – we’re not overwhelmed by volunteers willing to give up their time to fill the resulting gap.

AI is becoming more ubiquitous. Social media is degrading, fragmenting and increasingly captured by vested interests. So journalism is changing in response. You’ve probably noticed how quality journalism everywhere is retreating behind paywalls, and that platforms providing “free” news are increasingly filled with lies, ads, hate, and slop. We don’t like any of those things, and with your support (less than the price of a pint a month!) we can continue providing coverage of Orient that’s free from all four.

Does this mean that the print edition will be no more?

Not necessarily. We’re not casually giving up on four decades of tradition and the second oldest continually-produced football fanzine in the country. There are plans afoot to keep a print version going, even if that means doing it a bit differently in future – watch this space.

What about the blog?

The Substack blog has been a tremendous success and has proved there is considerable appetite for going online. We’re tremendously grateful to everyone who’s supported us in that endeavour – and although we’re going to stop posting new content here once the new site launches, everyone who has already pledged money to it will see that carry over to the new site.

Why should you support the new site?

If you liked what we’ve been doing over recent seasons, then be assured that the new site is being run by the same team, which includes professional journalists and people who have decades of following Orient through thick, thin, and thinner. We all want the best for the Club and the community that sustains it (and us), so our independence is non-negotiable. As has been the Orientear way since 1986, we won’t pull our punches even if that sometimes makes the people running the Club feel uncomfortable.

Being entirely reader-funded will enable us to reflect your concerns and interests, hold the Club to account, provide several new items every week, and to pay our contributors fairly.

As the Club enters another new era under new ownership with grand ambitions, it’s more important than ever that alternative viewpoints have the widest possible reach. With your support, we can do that.

Apart from being online, will there be other differences?

Yes! Now that we can react to events more quickly you can expect the return of match reports – this time from our people accredited to observe from the gantry, and we’re negotiating an enhanced level of access to training and club personnel. The platform we’re using also allows us to work in other formats, including having our own podcast, and to use video more extensively – which will all be available through a single interface – and an app.

We’ll continue to do longer-form analysis alongside breaking news, interviews, nostalgia, coverage of the non-footballing aspects of Orient, and we’ll keep platforming contributions from different elements of the fanbase as well as occasional guests from beyond it.

Does that mean you can contribute too?

Of course – just like always, if you have a compelling idea then we’d love to hear about it! There’s always space for quality coverage in the Ear, and we want to make sure our readers get the most value from their subscriptions. Another advantage to going online is that we’re no longer limited by the size of the fanzine or by print and distribution costs, so as long as it’s not one of the four horsemen (lies, ads, hate, slop) we can find room for it.

Still not convinced?

We get it – change can be daunting. There’s plenty being said and done at Orient that reminds us change isn’t always a good thing. But that’s is another reason why we think this moment is so important – with Orient fast approaching another crossroads in our long history we want to make our work more responsive to events and give it the widest possible audience.

Thanks to our partnership with CounterPress, by the end of the summer our content will be available through an app as well as the website, and later this season there will be a “bundle” offer enabling subscribers to get access to other outlets on the network, which will soon cover the majority of clubs in the EFL as well as the England team and almost every county cricket club in the country.

So this is our promise to you: no engagement farming, no banterslop, just well-sourced stories and analysis alongside coverage of your football club of a quality you won’t find anywhere else. All of it funded entirely by our readership – meaning that you get to shape and direct our what we cover.

To register your interest in our new site, and to make sure you’re eligible for a founder discount, just sign up here!

The filing, posted today, notes that the McCaffreys’ 80% shareholding in the women’s side was transferred back to Leyton Orient on Thursday.

If this does signal the end of the McCaffreys’ involvement with LOFC Women, it would end not quite two years of majority ownership with lofty ambitions, one promotion to the sixth tier, and a long list of critics.

But in a video posted Wednesday to update Orient supporters on summer developments, Devlin hinted that regulations around multi-club ownership may require the McCaffreys to “reshape” their investment in LOFC Women after acquiring an 80% stake in Actonians a month ago.

Actonians play in the fourth tier, two levels above where Orient will be playing this coming season and presumably will be poaching much of the O’s squad.

“We’ve still got the involvement of the McCaffrey Football Investment Group, though that investment might have to be reshaped, because we need to ensure it doesn’t cause any issues with their other investment, because they’re going to continue to invest in the players and the team that those players have gone on to join,” Devlin said. “We need to make sure we do everything to abide by the rules. Still, very exciting times for the women’s team.”

MFIG announced the Actonians purchase on May 28, with both director Gina McCaffrey and Devlin saying that the McCaffrey family remained committed to LOFC Women. James McCaffrey is a minority investor in Leyton Orient.

“We have enjoyed working with the McCaffrey Football Investment Group across our men’s and women’s sides over the last few years and are looking forward to that continuing,” Devlin said on May 28, as LOFC Women announced a new head coach. “We understand their wishes to expand in the women’s game but are pleased that they also remain committed to Leyton Orient.”

In the same statement, Gina McCaffrey said: “Leyton Orient FC Women remain an important part of MFIG’s vision for the future and we look forward to continuing our work together.”

MFIG purchased its 80% stake in LOFC Women in September 2024, pledging to take the O’s from the seventh tier to the third tier and professional ranks within five years, while investing heavily in player welfare, including private health insurance and gym memberships.

Members of the team that had helped Orient get promoted twice were jettisoned and told the Orientear they felt hard done, while MFIG poached fourth tier Hashtag United’s coaching staff and many of its players, earning some new fans but also a lot of enmity across the women’s football pyramid, as Orient romped to the 2025-26 Greater London Women’s Football League Premier Division title, going undefeated.

Stephanie McCaffrey, a former US national team player who also played for LOFC Women, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Leyton Orient could also not be reached for comment.

In the video, Devlin said Orient Women would continue its full operation this season, with the U18s and academy sides maintained.

“The women’s team were very successful last year, won three trophies, won the league at a canter, and that was half the problem,” Devlin said in the video. “They were winning by significant margins every week, and I’m sure those fans that have played football, it might be fun in a while to win 10-0, but it’s not much fun winning 10-0, and it’s much less fun losing 10-0. Some of the players wanted to play at as high a level as possible [and] it does mean that some of our players have decided to take the opportunity to move on and play two tiers higher than we will be next year.”

This story will be updated as it develops.

There I was, listening to Mitchell’s interview on the club’s website on Wednesday, when he said things like:

• “First and foremost, we appreciate it can take a bit of time, and there’s not three signings through the door, but we need to make sure we filter through those players to make sure they’re the right fit for us.”

• “There’s no point jumping into it and regretting signing a player just for the sake of it. You know, we’ve got to really do the due diligence to make sure that they’re the right fit for us.”

• “Listen, it’s a World Cup year, so we have to factor that in. Clubs aren’t going to be as willing to let players go out. Believe it or not, that does affect us, even at the League One level.”

It felt like, for all the talk of wanting to do our transfer business faster, we were being told to settle in and be patient.

And then bam, barely 24 hours later, we got hit with our first signing of the summer: winger Tony Springett from Norwich City.

Talk about underpromising and overdelivering. The transfer window doesn’t even officially open until June 15!

If this is a sign of things to come, it is a massive departure from our modus operandi of the past few years.

Last summer, the transfer window opened for 10 days from June 1-10 to accommodate the Club World Cup and then reopened on June 16. Leyton Orient, coming off a near promotion to the Championship, didn’t sign its first player until Killian Cahill was announced on June 24.

In the summer of 2024, when the window began on June 14, Sonny Perkins was our first signing on June 27, coming on loan from Leeds.

In 2023, our first season in League One, Leyton Orient signed Max Sanders on June 21, a week after the window opened on June 14.

Slow signings have been a recurring source of frustration for manager Richie Wellens, as evidenced in his end-of-season scorched earth rant. Dithering on targets has allowed other clubs to swoop in on our first choices, he has said, and left Orient scouring the bargain bin to fill out the squad.

Of course, it’s not necessarily how you start the transfer window, and not even necessarily how you finish.

Some of our best signings have come during the middle doldrums of the summer. Ethan Galbraith and Dan Agyei were both signed on June 29, 2023 – 15 days after the transfer window opened. Aaron Connolly signed for Orient last July 7, several weeks into the window.

The coming weeks will tell how Mitchell’s influence on our recruitment process is coming along. In his interview on the club website, he said his role was to “make sure that our processes are tight” and to “put processes in place to make sure the club is getting the best out of ourselves.”

While the immediate focus is on revamping the current squad, there is a long-term vision to implement a recruitment philosophy across the club, he said.

In the summer of 2022, Wellens’ first transfer window as manager of Orient, Theo Archibald was signed on June 8, two days before the window officially opened, as his loan was converted into a permanent buy. It is the only time in Orient’s recent history that a player has been announced ahead of the window starting.

The next signing that summer wouldn’t be until George Moncur joined three weeks after Archibald, followed a day later by Anthony Georgiou. A lot of time to wait, and not the most inspiring of signings, but Orient would go on to win League Two that season.

Hopefully a similar result can be achieved this season, with Springett arriving in E10 ahead of the window’s opening.

A lot of squad building still to go, but the Mitchell era is off to a running start.

Don’t forget to sign up for early access to our new site - launching later this summer! Match reports, analysis, insight, news, interviews and exclusives, all brought to you with the same independent spirit that has fuelled the Ear since 1986.

Lest you need any reminding, Orient finished 20th in League One last season, only avoiding a final day relegation on account of Exeter’s appalling end to the season starting before ours did. Manager Richie Wellens has already called for a squad clear-out, so there are many holes to fill.

The stats bear this out, too:

• Points: 52 (20th in League One)

• xPTS: 55 (18th)

• xG: 55.9 (14th)

• Goals scored: 59 (13th)

  • 46 from open play

  • 8 from set pieces

  • 1 from a free kick

  • 2 from penalties

  • 2 own goals by opponents

• Shots on target per 90: 3.7 (14th)

• Accurate crosses per match: 3.5 (23rd)

• xG conceded: 68.8 (19th)

• Goals conceded: 71 (20th)

• Clean sheets: 10 (18th)

• Possession: 52.4% (7th)

• Yellow cards: 98 (4th)

• Red cards: 2 (13th)

In spite of possessing two of the most exciting attacking talents in the division, Orient ended up in the squishy middle on attacking metrics, and downright terrible on defensive ones. In particular, the O’s struggles in delivering accurate crosses stands out, in sharp contrast to the fantastic wing play we’ve seen in recent seasons from the likes of Paul Smyth and Dan Agyei.

Here’s what the squad would look like if the O’s went into 2026/27 without any additions:

Aberdeen have already announced they have signed Dan Happe, while the players in orange are likely to be on the way out, having been told that their services are not wanted.

This is a squad in clear need of reinforcement in a few positions, namely goalkeeper, centreback, fullback, holding midfield, attacking midfield, winger, and striker [Ed: which is pretty much all of them!], in no particular order.

Here are players that Sam has scouted as potential targets for Orient:

Goalkeeper

Attributes required: Capable of acting as a third centreback in possession; range of long passing, particularly to the channels; command of area; strong shot stopping skills; first team experience preferred

Candidates:

• Will Dennis, 25, AFC Bournemouth

  • Contract expiry: June 2028

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Will Mannion, 28, Charlton Athletic

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Joe Whitworth, 22, Crystal Palace

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Calum Ward, 25, Motherwell

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Joshua Griffiths, 24, West Bromwich Albion

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Andy Fisher, 28, Swansea City

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Toby Steward, 28, Portsmouth

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

Sam’s pick: Will Dennis, the obvious choice! It was no coincidence that we conceded fewer goals when he started. Also has a higher save % than the average in League One last season. Wages might be an issue, much depends on how keen his parent club is to get a full season at a good level under his belt. It’s also possible that Mitchell will want to break with our recent habit of relying on loan keepers.

Right back

Attributes required: Stamina; 1v1 defending; capable of holding width and providing delivery into the box; comfortable on the ball; athleticism

Candidates:

• Ilmari Niskanen, 28, Exeter City

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Dan McNamara, 27, Millwall

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Wes Harding, 29, Millwall

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Connor Barrett, 24, Walsall

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Jordi Osei-Tutu, 27, Bolton Wanderers

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

Sam’s pick: Dan McNamara. While Niskanen would offer more output going forward, with the way Orient build up, McNamara would suit the style better. The main concern would be that he hasn’t played many games over the past two seasons, which is why his graph doesn’t truly showcase his actual abilities.

Left back

Attributes required: Stamina; 1v1 defending; final third delivery; comfortable on the ball; backup squad role

Candidates:

• Cohen Bramall, 30, Luton Town

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Jon Esenga, 19, Fulham

  • Contract expiry: Expired (offered new deal)

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Callum Elder, 31, Derby County

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Idris Odutayo, 23, Bromley

  • Contract expiry: Expired (offered new deal)

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Henry Fieldson, 21, Queens Park

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

Sam’s pick: Idris Odutayo. While he may not want to play backup, with James Morris already here, competition for places is always important. His output going forward is outstanding, and while his defensive stats aren’t as strong as Morris, if we wanted to play with more threat from this position it would suit his game extremely well. Jon Esenga is a close second for me, having not experienced senior football, but could prove similar to Ollie O’Neill in terms of his set piece ability.

Centre back

Attributes required: Capable of bringing the ball out; line-breaking passes; strong in duels; set piece threat; capable of using both feet

Candidates:

• Elkan Baggott, 23, Ipswich Town

  • Contract expiry: June 2028

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Kieran Ngwenya, 23, Dunfermline

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Brendan Galloway, 30, Exeter City

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Deji Elerewe, 22, Lincoln City

  • Contract expiry: June 2029

  • Transfer type: Loan

• George Johnston, 27, Bolton Wanderers

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Frankie Kent, 30, Hearts

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

Sam’s pick: George Johnston. With Dan Happe having left us, bringing in an experienced centreback, who is a leader and a left-footed defender is essential. While Baggott and Ngwenya would both be excellent choices, Johnston has just come off the back of a promotion and has also played with O’s captain Will Forrester.

Centre midfield

Attributes required: Win duels; positional awareness; line-breaking passes; athletic and able to press; late runs into the box; ball carrying ability; good injury record

Candidates:

• George Abbot, 20, Tottenham Hotspur

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Joe Powell, 27, Rotherham United

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Terry Taylor, 24, Charlton Athletic

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Kamil Conteh, 23, Bristol Rovers

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Lewis Bate, 23, Stockport County

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

Sam’s picks: Kamil Conteh and Terry Taylor. Both offer legs into the midfield, and are quite similar in profile in terms of their ability to win the ball back. Idris El-Mizouni is an all-round midfield player and rare at this level in terms of his ball-carrying ability as well as the defensive side, and both Taylor and Conteh would be great options to play alongside him. Levitt and Obiero are much more ball-playing midfielders and would suit games where we would have a lot more of the ball.

Attacking midfield

Attributes required: Able to take the ball on the half turn; eye for goal; arrive into the box late; tactical awareness for second balls; intelligence to roam from position; composure in the final third

Candidates:

• Davis Keillor-Dunn, 29, Wrexham

  • Contract expiry: June 2029

  • Transfer type: Loan

• Callum Stead, 26, Barnet

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Kamari Doyle, 20 Brighton & Hove Albion

  • Contract expiry: Unknown

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Tommi O’Reilly, 22, Aston Villa

  • Contract expiry: June 2028

  • Transfer type: Loan

• Alex Gilbert, 24, Middlesborough

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

Sam’s pick: Tommi O’Reilly. Based on his performance data, he offers the best balance in terms of his similarity to Aaron Connolly. His off-the-ball work is also evident in his excellence in duels - superior to both Charlie Wellens (who I would loan out) and Connolly - and is very similar in terms of ball recoveries. He provides more creative spark than Callum Stead, who would be my second choice. Keillor-Dunn, who we have come to know well as an opponent, has brilliant attacking stats, but his off-the-ball work may not be what we are after.

Winger

Attributes required: Good pace and directness; skilled with both feet; strong work rate to track back defensively; athleticism to run in behind; can provide goals and assists, 1v1 dribbling ability

Candidates:

• Yusuf Akhamrich, 20, Tottenham Hotspur

  • Contract expiry: June 2028

  • Transfer type: Loan

• Ryan Glover, 25, Barnet

  • Contract expiry: Unknown (under contract)

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Abdul Abdulmalik, 23, Boreham Wood

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Ryan Hedges, 30, Blackburn Rovers

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Harry Gray, 17, Leeds United

  • Contract expiry: Unknown (under contract)

  • Transfer type: Loan

Sam’s pick: Abdul Abdulmalik. Primarily from the left (which is why he’s in over Yusuf Akhamrich), he offers outstanding dribbling ability to beat a man 1v1 and excellent goal output, which is something our wingers have lacked, especially last season.

Striker

Attributes required: Work rate to press from the front; good pace; runs the channels; able to link up play; overachieves xG

Candidates:

• Sam Nombe, 27, Rotherham United

  • Contract expiry: Expired

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Jaze Kabia, 25, Grimsby Town

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent

• Macaulay Langstaff, 29, Millwall

  • Contract expiry: June 2027

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Jerry Yates, 29, Luton Town

  • Contract expiry: June 2028

  • Transfer type: Permanent/loan

• Mason Melia, 18, Tottenham Hotspur

  • Contract expiry: June 2031

  • Transfer type: Loan

Sam’s pick: Jaze Kabia and Jerry Yates. If Dom Ballard were to stay [Ed: seems very unlikely!], Kabia would be a perfect number two option, with a different profile in terms of size, but still offering great pace and real threat in the penalty box. While he has missed a lot of big chances compared to League One’s top scorers, I feel that getting in the positions to have the chances is something that can’t be taught to strikers.

As for Yates, going purely by stats and the graphs, you wouldn’t pick him. He has had his troubles the past couple of seasons in terms of scoring goals and playing time. He has worked under Richie Wellens before at Swindon and enjoyed his football there - indeed, 3 years ago Wellens told the ‘Ear that Yates was “probably… the best striker in League One”. So, while the current data suggests he wouldm’t be the ideal replacement for Ballard, if Wellens can help him replicate his form of a few years ago he could well be a top striker for the level. In that respect he is similar to MacCauley Langstaff; we know he is a goalscorer, but because of game time, the graphs don’t show it!

So here is how the squad would look if you slot in Sam’s picks in Wellens’ preferred 4-2-3-1 formation:

And another look at the squad if Aaron Connolly and Dom Ballard both leave:

A few final notes from Sam:

While I have chosen to use a more data-intensive approach, these graphs do not always show a true representation of a player, especially if you only use a single season (as I have here).

Certain players don’t get the game time they deserve. You also have to look at the level and team they are playing in, for example, Odutayo is in a team that won promotion, so would have had fewer defensive actions.

You also can’t use data to get a gauge on a player’s character in terms of how they react in certain scenarios, what they are like in the dressing room, how they get on with team-mates, and their fit with the wider circumstances and culture of the Club around them.

For me, data and graphs should always be used in conjunction with watching the players, and that is what I have selected my ideal summer on – a mix of the graphs, watching clips and matches of the players, and some knowledge of their careers to date. And of course salary expectations, transfer fees and interest from other clubs can complicate things still further…

Sam can be found on the platform previously known as Twitter: @Samuellofc97

(with thanks to Leyton Laureate for his additional commentary and analysis)

So then - take as long as you need to answer 10 open-ended questions - letting it all out so you can properly check out and enjoy your summer without any more disappointing football, tone-deaf hubris, sponsored content, banterslop or attempts to part you from your hard-earned.

The poll closes on Sunday 31st May, and we’ll be writing up the findings in time for the launch of our new site in July. Make sure you sign up for that here if you haven’t already!

And as for the poll itself?

=> Just click here to let your feelings be known! <=

Jordan Brown is a model professional on and off the pitch who gave Orient great service over three and a half seasons and whose contribution to the team we haven’t yet managed to replace. After deservedly winning the Man of the Match award in our recent clash in Blackpool, Jordan was in good spirits as RPLancsO caught up with him for a chat about his career and clubs, and how he feels about seeing Orient with work still to do in the final weekend. Spoiler alert: he’s confident we’ll stay up.

Ear: Hello Jordan and reluctant congratulations on the win on Saturday

JB: Thank you.

Ear: It must be difficult when you play your former club, like you don’t want to be rubbish, do you? And unfortunately for the O’s you were the opposite of rubbish on Saturday.

JB: It’s just one of them things, isn’t it? You’ve just got to be as professional as you can. Ultimately, I’ve got a Blackpool shirt on now. So at the weekend, the most important thing was because we still weren’t safe we had to get at least a point and obviously it’s brilliant that we managed to do that. But as an ex-Orient player who’s been keeping an eye on how the club have been getting on this season, it’s a bit of a sad one as well. But ultimately I play for Blackpool now so delighted with the win.

Ear: You probably know if you keep an eye on what we’re doing, that we haven’t really replaced you this season with a player able to do the same job in defensive midfield.

JB: I’ve been watching the results and whenever the Os have had a game on a Tuesday evening and we haven’t, I’ve been watching. I’ve still got my account on the Orient Live, so I’ve been keeping an eye on the games and the results this season. Obviously, the ideal scenario would have been for neither of us to be in the situation that we’re in. It would have been a little bit less tense and more enjoyable last weekend, really, for both clubs. But I’m still very confident that Orient will win at the weekend against Burton and ensure safety. Having played at Brisbane Road in front of some top atmospheres, like the game against Man City when the fans turned up in numbers, supporters really do give you that extra 10% that you need in the big games and that’s why I feel like that’ll be enough at the weekend.

Ear: if I can just take you back to when you joined Orient, I was just wondering how that kind of experience of what was quite a brave thing to do, moving to London, age 20, how did that help with settling in at Blackpool? Because footballers aren’t like people in ordinary jobs, are they? I would give 3 months’ notice to leave my job but you just literally leave one club and the next day turn up at the new club.

JB: Yeah, I think especially as a young player when I went to Orient and was moving away from home for the first time as well, it was a daunting challenge. But ultimately in football, if you want to chase your dreams as much as you can and, and like the playoff run that we had, my dream was to always get to and play at Wembley and for those things to happen, you have to make them sacrifices. I guess to be honest, I just sort of jumped into the challenge. The only way it could have gone better is by winning last year at Wembley, but apart from that, moving to Orient was near enough a perfect experience for me, to be honest, and I was quite lucky with moving into the dressing room that I moved into because as everyone knows, Orient had some special, special groups over the last few years, so that always helps as well.

And I guess moving to Blackpool, I’d joined Orient as a young lad with no games, no experience, and, you know, I sort of proved to myself and to anyone that didn’t believe that I could settle in that I could do it and play at the level that I’ve managed to play at, and I just think I moved to Blackpool with that confidence of knowing that I’d done that already and knowing that I could go and do it again. It’s been a very up-and-down season for us this year and that made it a bit more difficult to settle in here just because the results weren’t going as well. But as a squad we just tried to stay positive and I’ve used experiences that I’ve had in the past and yeah, it’s come good.

Ear: And how do you like living on the Gold Coast? How does it compare to living in London?

JB: Yeah, it’s completely different. It’s like the opposite end of the scale. London’s just so busy and you’ve got everything you need, whatever you want to do for your days off and that and I guess it’s a lot more quiet around here. But I fill my time up as wisely as I can. I’ll just go for a coffee with friends. I’ll go home and spend time with the family in Stoke which isn’t too far away. But yeah, overall it’s been good since I’ve moved here. I’ve enjoyed it.

Ear: When you left, some Orient fans struggled with the idea that it was because you wanted to be closer to home. Londoners often think they’re at the centre of the world, and some started comparing the mileage to claim Blackpool’s not closer to Stoke. So can you confirm once and for all, that it is actually closer?

JB: It is definitely closer yes! That was one of the primary personal reasons that I moved. But mainly I’ve got an ambition of playing at the highest level I can, and obviously we had a chance to do that at Orient, we got so close to getting promoted. And then we lost a lot of players as well and I realised that I had the opportunity to come here and try something new. I had a good three and a half seasons at the O’s, and Blackpool presents a fresh challenge.

So yeah, it was just a mix of those things, really. You know I’ve moved to a place where I’m closer to home and I’ve moved to a club with an ambition of getting back to the Championship where they belong. Like I said before, it’s been an up-and-down season, but hopefully by the end of my time here the decision will be the right one. As a footballer, you judge all of your decisions at the end of your career on what you’ve been able to achieve.

But I was also leaving a lot behind, as anyone does when they move jobs. I loved being at Orient and for me playing for Richie was unbelievable and he certainly knew how to get the best out of me. I think most people would agree with that.

Ear: This season at Blackpool you’ve played more games than anyone else and are in the top three for minutes played. So consistent and reliable yet again, just like you were at Orient. Your availability has become a significant attribute for you. How do you do it? Why don’t you ever get injured?

JB: It’s a good question. I mean, the ‘best ability is availability’ is a saying that is true in football. I think for myself, it’s just knowing your body, knowing what your body reacts well to and what you don’t react well to. Getting into a rhythm of playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday, doing the gym work that is set by the staff. And yeah, of course, a little bit of luck along the way. Everyone needs a bit of luck to even get into football, to stay fit when you’re playing football and to win trophies.

But another part to it would be just having little injuries here and there that you play through to be honest, I did it quite a few times at Orient, where I was probably not at 100% but I just tell myself it’s all in the mind and once I’m out there and once you get that adrenaline going, you can play through it. I’d probably say that’s just the way that I try and look at it. I know what my body needs and I believe that I can just get through anything to be honest, and that’s what I try to do.

Ear: The only time I can ever remember you even wincing in pain was when you burst that blood vessel in the top of your foot towards the end of last season.

JB: I remember it, yeah. And to be fair, even in that moment I tried to play on, until, I think it was DJ who said to me whilst I was on the pitch “what have you done to your foot?” and I looked down and the blood was just pouring out of my boot. So I knew something was obviously not right, and I had to get it checked, and yeah, I’d burst the vessel so I couldn’t carry on. But I just think it’s all in the mind and a bit of pain’s a bit of pain and you can get through it. And then recover well between games, you know?

Ear: Darren Pratley swore by ice baths.

JB: And that’s a man I’ve learned a lot from in my career. I’m still in regular contact with Prats. Whenever I’m in London, I’ll try and have a catch up with him. I owe him as well as Richie, to be honest. I owe them both a lot.

It’s not like I’ve left and I don’t catch up with anyone. I still speak to a few of the lads that are there now. And the gaffer and PT on occasion. So yeah, it’s a good relationship that we’ve built over the years.

Ear: All clubs have their own culture, so how’s the team spirit at Blackpool?

JB: The fact that it has been a difficult season and there’s been really testing times this year. Everyone’s stuck together and that’s very much like what we had at Orient. And ultimately if you stick together and you try and maintain the positivity even when times aren’t so positive, I believe in the end that the results more times than not will come good. I’ve seen a stat that at the weekend, it was our 5th home win in a row, which is the first time that that’s happened at Bloomfield Road since 2011. What was a tough and testing season where we probably, with our team on paper, should be at the top end of the table, we were down at the bottom, but we’ve managed to turn it round. While you don’t want to be celebrating finishing mid-table, you can still feel proud of yourself for getting out of the situation that you put yourself in.

Ear: In your four and half seasons in the professional game, you’ve experienced promotion and playoffs and also flirted with relegation. How is it different having to turn it around when you’re at the bottom compared to keeping it going when you are at the top?

JB: what Prats always told me and it’s just stuck with me since is never to be too high, and never get too low. And regardless of whether you’re winning every week, you can’t get complacent because in football, things can change very quickly. I think it’s always easy when you’re winning games of football to be happy and then be really down when you lose, but you’ve got to try and find that mid-point of balance where you are able to win and do it consistently, like we did at Orient for so long, and not being complacent. But then when you lose, don’t be too down, because you need to get yourself out of a sticky situation. That’s what I try and live by and like you said, I’ve experienced near enough all of it in my short career so far. I just want to get as many promotions on my CV and never to be relegated, to be honest.

This is something to be grateful for, to be able to have experienced what I’ve already experienced in my career. And again, I’ve been lucky because I’ve had some really good dressing rooms, the dressing room that I’m in now is great. Everyone’s very together. The ones that I had at Orient were also different class. So yeah, I’ve been quite lucky with the dressing rooms that I’ve had. And the career that I’ve had so far, but hopefully there’s many more appearances and games to come.

Ear: I know you’ve only scored one goal this season, but you’ve had quite a few assists. My neighbour is a Blackpool season ticket holder and tells me that you’ve also been taking very good corners. Which you didn’t do that much of at Orient, did you?

JB: Yeah, I’ve come here and obviously I had that responsibility of being on the set pieces and yeah, like you said, I’ve managed to get a few more assists. I’d be interested to see, I don’t know. I think I might have had more assists this season than I had during my whole time at Orient.

But that’s something that I’ve tried to add to my game, more assists and more goals, Albeit with the goals, I obviously haven’t scored as many as I should do really, but I’ve changed my role. I play as a single ‘6’ here at Blackpool, whereas at Orient, we played 4-2-3-1 so there was two in midfield. And when I was with Iddy, I always let him go forward so I was covering in front of the back four. And then last season when it was me and Prats, we had special players like Galbraith, Donley, Kelman and Agyei, and all I had to do was get them the ball and let them do the magic, to be honest. That was the way that I saw my role. If I’d have been a bit more selfish and got in the box more and tried to score… but I’ve always been a team player and I try and benefit the team. I understood the quality of the players that I had around me. I just wanted to get them the ball as quick as possible and let them do their thing.

Ear: I just wanted to take you back to the very successful under-18 team at Derby, and winning the U18 Premier League and qualifying for the youth UEFA cup. You must be the only Orient player who’s ever scored against Borussia Dortmund! But that team of boys has got a very high success rate, hasn’t it, for producing players who’ve made it in the professional game?

JB: I guess that’s similar to what I was saying before in terms of my time now and my time at Orient, I’ve actually always been very lucky to have really successful teams and dressing rooms. And like you said, I think most of the players, maybe bar two or three that were at Derby under 18s have actually gone on to play professional football and at a good level as well - Championship and League One. And it was a good experience playing around the country in the youth league and in Europe. I used to watch that on telly, I think it was on BT Sports back in the day and then we obviously qualified for it. And yeah I managed to play in it and scored a goal against Dortmund.

Ear: We’ve just got a week to go and then you get your summer break. I know how much you love your football, I was just wondering when you’re away on your holidays, how long is it before you wish you were back playing?

JB: I usually run whilst I’m off to stay fit and also I get so bored just sitting around the house and I just like to go out for a run in the sun. I still do that wherever I go on holiday as well.

I’ve got a few holidays booked that I’m looking forward to. I try as much as I can to switch off from football for the full six or seven weeks, and try and just enjoy my life, because before you know it, every Saturday, you’re playing football again, and, you know, your whole life’s dedicated towards it. So I just try and switch off from it to then start afresh. That’s the way that I do it. But yeah, I’m looking forward to having more time to spend with my family and my friends.

Ear: Thanks for your time Jordan. It’s been great to catch up.

JB: My pleasure. See you later. Take care. And good luck for Saturday!

Were relegation to happen, it would clearly represent a major setback for the Orient stadium and growth ‘project’, despite Nigel Travis stressing that the club’s business planning considers all eventualities. It would also be desperately disappointing for all supporters both recently and less recently acquired. Although some of us are well accustomed having endured similar disappointments over the years it’s no less painful.

League One has been very compressed this season. Last season’s champions Birmingham finished with a whopping 111 points, with Wrexham second on 92, Stockport 87, Charlton 85, Wycombe 84 and Orient on 78. This season’s champions will be way off that number, and the play-off qualification totals several notches lower. Orient’s tally of 78 already can’t be matched by whoever finishes sixth. At the opposite end of the table last season Shrewsbury were bottom with 33, and Cambridge above them with 38. With two (or three) games to go, both totals have already been surpassed by two of the three relegated teams. Crawley occupied the 21^st placed slot on 46, a total already exceeded by Exeter.

Even if we manage to stay up, there will be inquests into What Has Gone Wrong on practically every front. One thing that is pretty indisputable is that the disconnect between owners/staff and fans this season has been significant. Supporters are weary of being constantly sold to, Forever Orient’s vibe is that the more money you have to spend the more welcome you are as a supporter. Marketing communications have proliferated. The ‘Ear’s mantra of ‘This Club Has Soul’ feels much less true these days, or at least that soul is harder to locate. The proposed size of our new stadium (30-35k according to DG’s latest pronouncements) is - for many supporters - completely unrealistic when set against the amount by which we can reasonably expect to grow our support. Wigan away this season provided a vision of that future: 9,239 in a stadium built to hold 25,000 and the atmosphere was quiet and flat.

There’s lots of debate about who may be to blame. The messaging seems to be throwing the players under the bus rather than the people who chose them, managed them and who thought they could throw a new squad together in the immediate aftermath of the break-up of the best blend we’d had in years. Richie questions their commitment – in answer to Dave Victor’s question ‘do we have the fight?’ he retorted ‘we’ll see won’t we’. Nigel talked darkly about ‘character’ in a recent interview about the learnings from this season, and the need to think through our recruitment process in order to include a better way to assess character, be that personality profiles, approaches to pressure, character references etc. This rather appeared to suggest that some of the current squad don’t have the character either individually or collectively.

While there is no denying that the Rotherham game was an absolute shitshow, I’m sure the players are trying as hard as they can. They may not fit the system being played, be up against a much more skilful opponent or feel fatigued, but they are trying to do their best. They are not the fair game the Club and some supporters seem to think they are.

So rather than talk about the current squad, to whom we offer all our support in the next two games, we thought we’d take a look at the players who left us during the summer to see how they’ve done at their new clubs. It’s been less than a year - but it feels like another era…

Ethan Galbraith

Ethan is smashing it at Swansea and has been one of the Swans’ star performers this season, making 44 appearances and scoring 4 goals. As at Orient, he is often deployed at right back and has made no secret of the fact he vastly prefers a creative midfield role. He’s also a regular starter for Northern Ireland, where he does play in midfield. There is speculation that he may be moving on to the PL sooner rather than later.

It’s worth mentioning that Ethan came to the Os having plateaued at Manchester United. He credits Richie Wellens with rebuilding his confidence and allowing him to flourish. He was a Championship standard player in League One and it was always going to be nigh on impossible to replace him like-for-like. There are rumours that he has turned down a revised contract with Swansea as it doesn’t reflect his value. As we flogged him to the Welsh for a criminally low sum it is to be hoped there is a hefty sell-on percentage involved.

Jack Currie

In the left-back position we had loanee Jack Currie. Jack has had some injury problems this season but has still managed 26 starts and 4 subs appearances for the Us. When he is available to play however he is very good and ‘never lets us down’ according to Oxford fans I know. They also say that if he had played more often he’d be in the mix for player of the season. He has proved himself to be a Championship-level player albeit in a struggling side. If we stay up we may well come up against Jack next season as Oxford are as good as relegated, six points adrift with two games to go, although many at Oxford expect him to be sold to another Championship side in the summer.

As with the right back position, Jack has also proved tough to replace like-for-like. While Forrester and Morris both look promising and better than what we had in the first half of the season, they are very much League 1 level players in my opinion.

Charlie Kelman

C******n shelled out £3.5m for Kelman, a not insubstantial amount by their standards. So the expectations of Addicks fans were high. Chas has had a stop-and -start season. He’s made 17 appearances (13 off the bench) but is not a regular in the side. His goal tally is currently six, although most of those have been important ones such as the 93^rd min penalty to beat Oxford United. The jury is out with Charlton fans who feel he hasn’t met expectations but recognise there is a player in him. One described him as ‘a clever player, struggling in a team that offers little service’ but that he ‘doesn’t make his own goals’ (unlike Dom Ballard). It’s fair to say that Charlton still deploy very different tactics to Orient and the passing game is not their thing. One of their own fans describes it as ‘NJ’s 3-5-2 attritional if it moves, kick it style of anti-football’. Another player who credits Richie with building his confidence, Charlie seems to be hanging on in there and plugging away. The jury is out as to whether he can consistently make the step-up to regular Championship performer though.

We don’t miss Charlie as we did manage to recruit a replacement of our very own in the fantastic Dom Ballard.

Jamie Donley

25/26 season has not been a patch on 24/25 for Jamie. After an indifferent loan spell at Stoke City where he played a total of 77 mins, relegation-threatened Spurs recalled him in January and sent him to Oxford United, who have an option to buy. He’s made eight appearances plus two as sub. It’s not clear what the issues are that have led to the lack of games, but he certainly hasn’t kicked on. If Oxford do decide to shell out, it’s likely we will see Jamie again next season if we stay in League One.

Despite Jamie not breaking any pots this season, we have missed his technical ability and little bit of magic in attacking midfield, although to be fair Aaron Connolly was better than Jamie until injury ended his season prematurely.

Josh Keeley

We sadly lost out on buying Josh, who went to Luton instead thanks to their sweet sweet parachute money. Josh has continued his development this season and kept up the level he achieved at the Os, being first choice keeper for the Hatters and making 42 appearances so far. By all accounts it’s been a mixture of excellence punctuated by understandable youthful errors which is fair enough for a 22-year-old keeper.

Meanwhile our goalkeeper saga this season is well documented. An underwhelming developmental loan signing, the signing of Daniel Bachman who was injured in his first game warm-up leaving us paying for an expensive loanee for the rest of the season, and a short-term contract for another young keeper to prove himself (he hasn’t). Thank goodness for Will Dennis, loaned to us from AFC Bournemouth to get game time after injury, who has steadied the ship. And let’s not forget the only keeper that actually belongs to us long term, Killian Cahill, thrown in the deep end and doing alright.

So yeah, we’ve not replaced Josh and have spent a load of money not doing so.

Dan Agyei

Dan Agyei turned down a new contract with Orient, and other good offers in this country to join newly-promoted Süper Lig club Kocaelispor in Turkiye. The primary motivation for this move was to get noticed by the Ghana FA ahead of the 2026 World Cup (apparently they don’t look as far down the pyramid as League One). This objective was realised when he was called up by Ghana in March for a couple of friendly games, although sadly a late goal by Germany in the second of these meant his debut was postponed mere seconds before he was due to make it. So far Dan has made 26 appearances and scored four goals for Kocaelispor, overcoming a difficult start to become a fan favourite and leaving his troubled injury record behind at Chigwell.

We certainly miss Dan. Despite the interruptions for injury, he was a fabulous entertainer when he did play, bringing swagger and confidence to the team as well as a range of entertaining goal celebrations. We haven’t really replaced him, and the thirteen goals he contributed last season in support of Charlie Kelman’s total have not been replicated from this season’s wingers and back-up centre forwards. If they had then there’s no way we would currently be flirting with relegation.

And last but not least…. Jordan Brown

Jordan was our unplanned sale of the summer. Blackpool came calling, met the Os asking price of 400k (rumour has it we squeezed a bit more out of them too). We didn’t want him to go and attempted to keep him by offering contract improvements. However Jordan saw a move as an opportunity to make a lifestyle change. A significant pay rise may have helped (plus the cost of living on the Gold Coast is way cheaper) but his primary motivation for moving was to be closer to home.

Blackpool have had a difficult season. They had a terrible start and were rock bottom for a while, although have since clawed their way to almost safety. Blackpool don’t play the same way as the Os, but for the last two months he has been playing in his preferred position as a six in front of a back three and this coincides with their upturn in form. And as he was for us, he’s been consistent, hard-working and ever-present, having made 50 appearances so far this season, and rarely getting subbed.

Although much has been made of our defensive frailties this season, my view is that Orient miss what Brownie gave us as much as we miss anything else. Our midfield, both defensive and attacking, has been our weakest link across the whole season, disjointed and dysfunctional and with constantly changing personnel. Not one of the players we’ve bought in seems to be able to collect the ball from deep, set a tempo, break up play and provide cover in midfield as Brown did. It has also impacted the efficacy of Happe and Beckles who had no one in front of them offering much protection. El Miz can play that role when fit but is more effective further forward.

(look out for our exclusive interview with JB next week)

It’s also worth pointing out that most of the players reviewed above were regulars week-in-week-out and had playing as a unit down to a fine art. You can’t underestimate the value of a settled team. Currie, Brown, Donley and Galbraith could also run and run. While we haven’t seen the same levels of resilience or performance from the current squad, it was clearly a lot to expect them to be able to hit these standards so quickly. However, we are where we are. So let’s get behind the players for the last two games and support them to deliver us League One football again next season.

Up the Os

At least one observer described this as “staggering” coming as it did close to the first anniversary of Gandler’s takeover of the Club, which has seen us drop from the verge of the Championship to the verge of League Two. Later that afternoon the team followed this hubris up with one of the most abject performances of the entire season, a dismal surrender to a side that had only just suffered the indignity of relegation itself (nice new stadium though).

As Mr Gandler is a self-professed “data guy” we thought a good way to evaluate the wisdom of his vision for Orient would be to examine the history of all the other professional clubs that moved into a new stadium, to see how that went for them. As the figure offered by Gandler represents a 3-4 x increase from our current capacity, we wondered if there was any precedent for this kind of leap - and how that worked out for the club(s) in question.

Before we dive in, some explanation:

• we only looked at English clubs

• we only considered the period since the late 1980s when stadium moves became fashionable again. Earlier moves are from a radically different era of football, when the data is less reliable, and often unavailable

• we only included those clubs that moved directly from one permanent home to another - excluding the likes of Wimbledon and Brighton, where the process was much messier

• and obviously MK Dons and their empty bowl don’t count anyway, as they never used to exist at all

• this concerns moves, not expansions to an existing stadium - which are by nature more incremental anyway

• we’ve also included Luton, who haven’t completed their move yet - and only Oxford’s move to the Kassam (although their move to Kidlington will see a similarly modest uplift in capacity)

• capacities quoted are those the grounds were licenced to hold at the time they closed. There is some uncertainty around a couple of those that moved first (Millwall, Scunthorpe, Walsall) but we’ve relied on the best sources that we can

(above: aren’t the old names more poetic and romantic than what replaced them?)

What is immediately apparent is that, even at the lower end of his 30-35k range, Gandler is proposing something never before attempted in the modern history of English football. One suspects this news would only encourage him.

So, if no club in the modern era has ever more than tripled its capacity like this, what happened to those that got closest? Darlington is the current record holder in that respect - where career criminal George Reynolds increased the capacity exactly three times over, causing the Club to go into administration within six months and leading to its extinction 8 years later after suffering two further administrations. The Darlington Arena is now used by a fourth-tier Rugby Union side, and occasionally hosts events during the school summer holidays.

Next up we have Wigan Athletic, less notorious but - as any Orient fan who has been there recently will testify - still questionable. The stadium is routinely about three-quarters full when it hosts Rugby League, so no doubt the stadium owners are reasonably happy - but it must be pretty dispiriting watching third tier football there week in week out when the other quarter turn up. Some might point to them spending 8 years in the top flight and winning the FA Cup since moving, but even then the place was typically only 70% full (we don’t know if they were cooking the figures as it often seemed much emptier when they weren’t playing one of the glamour teams), and those days now seem like a very long time ago.

Apart from this pair, only two other clubs more than doubled their capacity when moving: Sunderland and Southampton. These are much happier tales, although both are the only clubs in their respective cities, and timed their moves when the sport and their local economies were booming. Beyond that, the table above shows that all the other moves were much more modest in their ambition - and truly, very few are now bursting at the seams and regretting not doing more.

But this is London! And that makes us special and different, right?

Well, maybe. Whether the 17,000 new local housing starts alluded to by Gandler on Saturday both come to pass and supply many thousands of dedicated new fans, only time will tell. The current state of homebuilding in London does not augur particularly well, nor does the glacial progress of the Leyton Mills Development Framework since it was announced 5 years ago.

The Gandlerplan would increase our capacity in absolute terms by more than 20,000. Only four clubs have added more than 20,000 to their capacity in a single move before: and three of them (Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham) are our close neighbours. Now, that could indicate that North-East London is the absolute epicentre of the game with a vast reservoir of untapped demand, or it could mean that all the excess demand in the area has already been catered for. As usual, the truth is probably somewhere between the two - in any event, next season we will get to see how many supporters of either West Ham or Spurs turn out against the likes of Lincoln City.

Gandler did suggest that the upper tier of our new stadium could potentially be closed when not required (perhaps inspired by the example of Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium - see above). For Orient fans who remain concerned that the Club would play second or third fiddle to some other attraction, Gandler repeated his assurances that Orient would be the main tenant - which, given the expressed appetite for American Football in Europe - does make sense. At the time of writing, no other tangible proposals have been made for use of the stadium outside the recent survey. 1

Gandler also mentioned that the recent survey indicated widespread support for the move, although we should note that the only question on this was asked well before any details were shared (those on pricing and other uses came later in the survey). One should always be mindful that surveys can only ever be as good as the intentions behind them.

Now, it must be said that stadium moves have been shown to be generally beneficial, but the overwhelming majority have not involved such an extreme increase in capacity. This optimistic analysis suggests there is typically a 74% increase in attendances after 10 years of a move. Even allowing for the dubious way the industry presents attendance figures these days this still only gets us to somewhere shy of 14,000: assuming the vast empty spaces wouldn’t be offputting to supporters.

There is much more to be said about the plans for the new stadium, and many more obstacles to overcome before it becomes a reality. But as Gandler told us last year - he has a track record of never giving up. What we have presented here are the facts - and we shall leave it to you, Dear Reader, to consider the wisdom of what Mr Gandler is proposing.

“I’m a data guy, I’m a technology guy, and the numbers are the numbers. They’re fact, not hope” (David Gandler, speaking to the OrientEar in October 2025)

(above: declared attendances since Nigel Travis rescued us from the dustbin. Can you see where the Club changed the way it reported this data to include tickets sold but not used?)

(answer: it was summer 2022!)

More details on that to come very soon - in the meantime, please gorge yourself on #303, where we look back on the long, auspicious history of Orient fanzines, meet Os in some of the farthest flung places on this planet, share the soundtrack to our season, meet long lost players, and bring you up to date with the latest news, views, and analysis from some of the sharpest minds around Brisbane Road.

Ear 303 will be available from all the usual spots around the ground vs Mansfield, Rotherham, and Burton - as well as in The Supporters’ Club, Dreamhouse Records, and Stanchion Books. You can also order directly from www.leytonorientear.com

If our new thing is as successful as we hope it will be, then there will be a 304th edition in print before too long… in the meantime, up the Os!

At half time, reacting to accounts emerging in real time from people at the ground, we took to Twitter to say: “Our understanding is that the offensive chant that caused the game to be paused was that puerile one about women’s bodies. Well done Exeter for taking it seriously. As the game was stopped, it will go into the ref’s report, so it is possible that #LOFC may be sanctioned”.

This was contested by one young fan in particular, who insisted that the notorious “East London is Wonderful” song hadn’t been sung at all, and that pause in the game was because Will Dennis required treatment. As more details have emerged since Saturday, and the issues at hand are quite serious, we felt it important to clear up the confusion over what went on, particularly as the Club’s CEO was keen to close the matter down quickly on Saturday evening, leaving many fans unsatisfied - and also because the incident has been mentioned by both Sky and the BBC.

Exeter generally have a much lower threshold for taking action than other clubs in the division – including Orient – largely because they are a fan-owned club with a different ethos and priorities. Exeter fan Rachel Litherland told us: “there was one match where our fans directed loud and very unsavoury remarks toward the opposition’s female physio. The following week we all got a leaflet on the way in reminding us about zero tolerance of discrimination, and how important women are in the club and crowd and families. Made me proud”.

From the outset of the match, Exeter’s stewards had been on high alert and quickly became aware of several instances of offensive chanting. The first people they spoke to directly were in connection with an unpleasant and unoriginal chant concerning Jayden Wareham’s father that other Clubs’ fans had also used at St James Park this season. But there were also a number of other chants from small groups around the away end, including the infamous “East London is Wonderful” and another unimpressive ditty expressing admiration for Tyreeq Bakinson’s genitals. Several Orient supporters at the game have independently told us these chants were aired during the match, and also confirm they are regularly heard at and around away games, typically from small groups of teenage boys.

People with knowledge of the matter confirm that Exeter’s Safety Officer made the decision – in line with EFL guidelines – to report to match officials during the game specifically because of the chant about Jayden Wareham’s father, after those chanting it had ignored several warnings to stop. The report was made during a break in play caused by the ball going out for a goal kick, which was extended when Will Dennis went to ground seeking treatment while further chants were directed at Wareham, who was nearby.

In his post-match interview, Exeter’s Manager Matt Taylor said “I think maybe a steward reported it to fourth officials, the referee and then there’s a protocol where they tell the managers, the captains, and then there’s an announcement made. I’m not sure our players were aware of it until the announcement was made.

We don’t want to see it, we don’t want to hear it, it’s got no place in the game. I think we’ve done what’s right in terms of that aspect of that protocol”.

Because the official report focusses on the Wareham chant alone, the risk to Orient of further action is limited, although the Club will nonetheless be written to by the EFL to ask for an explanation.

(above: Daz Wareham - Jayden’s father - responding on TikTok)

But even though they didn’t feature in the referee’s match report, multiple people at the game confirm that other – more offensive – chants were heard several times during the match, and are unhappy that an opportunity has been missed to address them. Kirsty Chapman, Co-Chair of HerOs (the Leyton Orient Female Supporters’ Group) told us:

“Saturday’s match against Exeter City resulted in a significant amount of online discussion about the misogynistic ‘tits, fannies and Orient’ song that is regularly heard from a small group of Leyton Orient fans. As unpleasant as this has been, it has at least brought this ongoing blight on our club out into the open again.

As an official Leyton Orient supporter’s group HerO’s is deeply disappointed in the lack of commitment from the club to take action to stamp out this misogynistic chant. Female fans have the same rights as males to enjoy attending matches and this right is currently being undermined on a regular basis by a small group of male fans who believe it’s acceptable to minimise the female existence to their own sexual fascination of our body parts. As women and girls we are the people who raised you and will raise your children, we are your equals and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

HerO’s are in this for the long haul and will continue to hold the club to account.

HerO’s membership is open to female fans and male allies of all ages. You can apply to join online here.”

Four successive wins have pulled Orient away from the relegation zone and just about banished worries that the season would end in a nasty relegation scrap. This spell is an abrupt and welcome turnaround from an anguished start to 2026, and onlookers have offered a few explanations for it: from the departure of a long-serving Director of Football, to changes in the Manager’s behaviour, or possibly the arrival of a new Coach. Any or all of these may well be true, but they all overlook something that happened in the aftermath of our dismal defeat at Bradford: a revival of the Cunningham spirit at the Club.

Had he not died so tragically young, Laurie Cunningham would have turned 70 on 8^th March this year. His niece Rhodene still lives locally and when we got in touch with her in January she explained how keen the family was to mark the occasion properly. So when the Leyton Orient Trust told us they were preparing to open the old changing rooms under the East Stand as a museum and exhibition space, a plan began to form. Given this was the place that Laurie spent so much time with his team-mates before and after games at the start of his stellar career, having his family officially open it seventy years to the day after he was born seemed like the perfect way to celebrate.

Trust CEO Neil Taylor says: “over the years we’ve been passionate about celebrating the life of Laurie and keeping his memory alive. Alongside the Club, the Trust campaigned for the statue that is now on display in Coronations Gardens and has focused on inspiring children and young people about his story. This has included commissioning a dance routine from local Dance Charity X7 which was performed on the pitch in 2017 during half time and more recently using Black History Month to produce a Primary School work pack which is delivered to local schools. The Trust was delighted to be invited to be part of the Family’s 70^th Birthday celebrations and look forward to future collaborations.”

You shouldn’t need reminding why Laurie is such a totemic figure at the Os, although it will do no harm to revisit some of those reasons: he is the only Orient player ever to go on to play for Real Madrid, the only one since the war that went on to play for Manchester United, one of only three to play in a European Cup Final, one of only four since the war to play for England (and two of the others were only with Orient briefly on loan), and one of just 7 since the war who went on to win the FA Cup as a player. And of course he’s the only one to have achieved all of those things.

This is enough to explain why he is the single most talented footballer ever to pull on the Orient colours – but to understand why he is also the most important footballer to do so we need to consider his status as a pioneer and as a role model for Black excellence when the country was more hostile to that than it is today. Laurie’s example had impact beyond the path he created for other footballers, by inspiring supporters and provoking change across wider British society too. Even if we only concern ourselves with parochial matters, he helped set Orient on the road to becoming one of England’s more forward thinking, inclusive football clubs, as Tom Collins – an Orient fan of the era later recalled - ‘a lot of my Black mates changed their allegiance from Spurs and Arsenal to Orient and carried around pictures of Laurie, [even if they] didn’t feel confident enough to come with us’

By happy co-incidence, Orient’s Club Historian Davis Watson was also born on 8^th March, and was delighted to spend his own birthday helping show Laurie’s family around the new space as well as the various other spots around the stadium where Laurie is commemorated. Davis reminded us that “after joining on trial in April 1972, Laurie spent five years at Brisbane Road – longer than he spent at any other Club - making 96 first team appearances and scoring 18 goals. He picked up several accolades, including ‘Player of the Tournament’ at the 1976 London Five-a-Side Championship, and his move to West Brom in March 1977 was for a then club record fee of £110,000. Seventy years on from his birth, we continue to remember and celebrate Laurie’s pioneering efforts in football and his special contribution to the history of our beloved club”.

Davis is also curating the first exhibition in this new space, which will celebrate another seventieth anniversary – this time of the 1955/56 Third Division South championship season. This display will be open for the final match of the season on May 2^nd and will feature a large array of memorabilia from the time, including the recently discovered Club minute book (dating from 1958-1980) and the replica shield currently on display in Reception. Davis is also hoping to welcome some relatives of players from that 1956 team.

Other events in early planning stages include: a quiz to determine who should be awarded the title of Orient Mastermind, a celebration of 40 years of the Leyton Orientear, and an exhibition of previously unseen photographs from the incredible 2024/5 campaign.

But for now, we shall leave the final words to Laurie’s great friend and team-mate Bobby Fisher. When we asked Bobby to describe his feelings about Laurie he told us “you can buy style, but you can’t buy class. Class on the pitch, class in clothes, class on the dancefloor, class of thought, class in how he lived his life, class as a human being. Think Fred Astaire, in a different skin”.

Happy Birthday Laurie Cunningham, born seventy years ago and young forever.

Acknowledgements: great credit must go to Lucy and Pa at the Club for being so accommodating in supporting the party in The Gallery after the tour. A private celebration in the traditional Cunningham style - just as in years gone by when the family would often be surprised by Laurie dropping in unannounced.

Thanks also to Neal Jackson for his excellent photography and generosity with his time.

This bumper 64-page edition hit the streets on Saturday, and in spite of the early kick off and the dismal result, has sold extremely well. As we won’t be back at Brisbane Road again for another ten days, if you haven’t yet got hold of one you can still order one via our website (www.leytonorientear.com), by paying a visit to Dreamhouse Records on Francis Road, or Stanchion Books on Broadway Market this coming Saturday.

There’s only a limited number of print copies left, so if that’s how you take it you might need to hurry…

At the time of writing (the day before we welcome league leaders Cardiff to Brisbane Road) the O’s currently sit in 20th place with 8 wins, 4 draws and 12 defeats having accumulated 28 points, with 35 goals scored and 41 conceded. On the same date last year we sat in 8th place with 11 wins, 4 draws, and 9 defeats, having scored 3 fewer goals and conceded 19 fewer.

Currently, there is a real imbalance in the squad, with little depth in certain areas of the pitch especially defensively, which is evident from the above comparison with last season. For the time being, the club has no senior professionals out on loan, although there are a number of youth players that are. We’re told that the playing budget is around 30% higher this season compared to last, which is likely more than the average increase across the division, but our failure to replace certain key players have left holes in the squad. With Tommy Simkin, Joe White, and Tayo Adamarola having returned to their parent clubs, this is what our squad looks like today:

• Goalkeepers: Killian Cahill, Noah Phillips

• Defenders: Tom James, Michael Craig, Omar Beckles, Jack Simpson, Rarmani Edmonds-Green*, Dan Happe, Phil Chinedu, Will Forrester (who was on my target list, but astonishingly Orient got him in before I could get this analysis completed!)

• Midfielders: Zech Obiero, Idris El Mizouni, Tyreeq Bakinson, Sean Clare, Jack Moorhouse (Loan), Charlie Wellens, Azeem Abdulai

• Wingers: Ollie O’Neill, Aaron Connolly, Demetri Mitchell, Theo Archibald, Josh Koroma, Sonny Perkins, Diallang Jaiyesimi

• Forwards: Dom Ballard, Alfie Lloyd (Loan)

What Would I Do with the Remaining Loanees?

Jack Moorhouse - A tricky one to judge, his dribbling ability and the way he glides past opponents can make him a joy to watch, however there have been numerous occasions where he gets into a great position and fails to either shoot or release the ball. Due to his body type and his inexperience in men’s football, he does struggle in duels in League One. He is definitely more suited to playing higher up the pitch, which hasn’t happened a lot yet.

I personally would keep Jack around, in the hope we can see him further up the pitch in the second half of the season

Alfie Lloyd - Another tricky one, a very different type of striker to Dom Ballard. Alfie is pacy, good in the air and presses really well from the front, but has really struggled for any sort of consistency and rhythm. I would keep Alfie around, but I do think we need another at the top end of the pitch.

Au Revoir or Goodbye?

There are some senior professionals which I do believe need to leave the club: Diallang Jaiyesimi has 6 months left on his deal and has struggled for consistent game time and form, so seems likely to be moved on permanently.

And Sonny Perkins needs consistent game time, as he is in and out of squads randomly starting games and then not seen again for weeks. He clearly has talent, but if it is to develop, he needs to build his confidence at a lower level.

Main Positions to Target

Goalkeeper

Since Vigouroux left, we’ve been relying on players entirely untested at this level, often on loan, which has arguably cost us. With Cahill still establishing himself, perhaps this window is the right tim to adjust our strategy.

Target 1 - Steven Benda Loan (Millwall)

Having not played consistently since the 22/23 season, Benda is someone needing to make a claim for a Number 1 position. Currently Millwall have Max Crocombe playing as their Number 1, as well as Jensen who is currently out injured.

Benda has played under Richie before at Swindon in the 19/20 season part of the side that won the League Two title, so he will knows what to expect from a Wellens style team!

Target 2 - Owen Goodman (Crystal Palace) - loan

Goodman lost his place at Huddersfield Town, and there are strong rumours that he is going to be recalled. While there is a mistake in him, he had a strong save % last season at AFC Wimbledon, and has really strong distribution which is key to how we want to play. He also kept 21 clean sheets last season in League 2 with The Wombles.

Target 3 - Adam Davies (Sheffield United) - loan

Davies spent the majority of recent seasons as a backup in the Championship with Sheffield United. As he is now in the last year of his contract, he should see it as important to get playing to try and secure another either with The Blades or elsewhere. He has a lot of experience at League One level, having captained Barnsley when they won promotion in 2019.

Target 4 - Will Mannion (Charlton Athletic) - permanent

Charlton’s Number 1 last season has not played a minute of Championship football this season, and it’s looking unlikely that he will get a sniff. As well as winning promotion last season with them (boo!) he also has League One experience with Cambridge United making 60 appearances in his spell there, including 19 clean sheets. Last season in League 1, he ranked in the 93% percentile (that means only 7% of other goalkeepers did better than him) for High Claims, and had a 79% save percentage.

Target 5 - Joe Wildsmith (West Brom) - loan

Wildsmith kept the most clean sheets in league one for Derby before earning a move to West Brom, where he has struggled for game time, appearing just seven times this season. While this would be an ambitious move, his contract expires in the summer and he will want to put himself in the market window.

Centre Back

Target 1 - Elkan Baggott (Ipswich Town) - permanent

Standing at 6ft 5in, Baggott possess a great aerial presence as well as being comfortable on the ball. Being left footed, he would also add a balance to our backline, especially with Dan Happe rumoured to be leaving us soon, and Simpson (whose contract also expires this summer) sometimes used at left back in a 4 - so it makes sense to try and get a deal done prior. At 23 years old, has played in League One before with Bristol Rovers, Blackpool and Cheltenham Town.

Target 2 - Alfie Dorrington (Spurs) - loan

Spurs have recently recalled Alfie from his loan at Aberdeen, and he has been strongly linked with a move to us. The 6ft 3in defender is your modern day Premier League youth academy centre back, comfortable on the ball, breaking lines with passes, and he reads the game exceptionally well for his age. While he is still developing physically his reading of the game is evident in situations where the opposition try and play balls into the channels or through the lines. Our recent success in developing Spurs’ young players should stand us in good stead here.

Target 3 - Wes Harding (Millwall) - permanent

While Harding is smaller than your typical centre back at 5ft 11in, he can also play right back which - given the situation with our squad - could provide a handy safety net. While he may not be the biggest, his pace and aggression makes him a handful for attackers as well posing problems for opposition defenders when we have set pieces.

He has only played 201 minutes of Championship football this season, and with his contract ending in the summer, he may want to put himself in the market. In those limited minutes he won an average of 6.27 duels per 90 minutes, putting him in the 74th percentile - as well as being strong aerially winning 66.7%, which puts him in the 88th percentile.

Target 4 - Elliot Moore (unattached) - permanent

Moore has been without a club since being released by Oxford United in August, which might put clubs off if they need a signing to make an immediate impact. Standing at 6ft 5in he possesses a great aerial prowess, and was Oxford’s captain in their promotion winning season, adding leadership to a fragile back line. Like Will Forrester he is an old school defender, who puts his body on the line, as well as organising the defensive line.

Honourable Mention - Jadel Katongo (Manchester City)

Left Back

Target 1 - James Morris (Watford) - loan

A different type of full back to Tayo, Morris is much more defensively sound and very capable of playing on the left hand side of a 3. While his attacking ability is not as strong as your typical modern day full back, it could allow Orient to build up with a 3, invert Craig into midfield, push one of the central midfielders up and ask Ollie to hold the width on the left. He has only appeared in two championship games this season, and at the age of 24 it maybe time for him to move on either on loan or permanently in order to develop himself.

Target 2 - Kian Best (Chelsea) - loan

A very similar type defender to Morris, capable of playing in the left of a 3, Best has Championship experience playing for Preston before earning his move to Chelsea. Kian is excellent in a dead ball situation making him a very all round full back. So you could invert him into midfield if you wanted to build in a 2-3-5 formation. However, he is another player who hasn’t played in a while (October), so would need to build his fitness back up.

Target 3 - Finley Munroe (Aston Villa: currently on loan at Swindon) - loan

Fully match fit and enjoying his football in League Two, Munroe is more of an attacking wing back but has better defensive numbers than Tayo did in League Two last season. Munroe currently wins 57.6% of his duels overall, which is the 72th percentile for left backs, as well as 64% of his aerial duels. In addition to this he has six assists and two goals, creating forty chances and completing 43 crosses which is the third highest for left backs in the division.

Target 4 - Jon Essenga (Fulham) - loan or permanent

Orient have benefitted from Fulham’s U21 outfit in the past to acquire Ollie O’Neill, and Essenga is another highly rated youngster in their academy. Like Best and Morris he can play in a back 3. He is extremely comfortable on the ball, and offers great delivery from set pieces. The main concern would be that this would be that he has limited exposure to senior men’s football and may need time to adapt. He has appeared 16 times in PL2/EFL Trophy this season getting 4 assists in 7 PL2 fixtures.

Target 5 - James Furlong (Hull City) - loan

Furlong has been absent from the Hull City senior squad all season, and is currently training with the U21 after being frozen out by the manager. He did have a strong season for AFC Wimbledon in 24/25 where he made 30 appearances, and does offer a defensively sound option with his high interception and clearances numbers.

Honourable Mention - Idris Odutayo (Bromley)

Striker/Attacking Forward

Target 1 - Louie Barry (Aston Villa) - loan

Barry was one of Stockport’s standout players in the first half of last season, but he has struggled since and his loan to Sheffield United was not a success. When fit, he has a proven record in League One with 16 goals in 28 appearances last season, offers great dribbling ability, as well as being versatile to play either on the left or in the 10 position. Compared with other left wingers in League One last season, he was in the top two for successful dribbles, top 5 for touches in opposition box and had a 80% successful pass rate.

Target 2 - Alex Gilbert (Middlesbrough) - loan

Gilbert spent the second half of last season on loan at Charlton Athletic, but although he only started two games, he still managed to provide 4 assists (1.2 per 90 played). The defensive side of his game is also very strong, being in the 96th percentile for duels won, as well as showing his technical attributes by creating 2.4 chances per 90, usually by his exceptional delivery from set pieces. He can also drift out wide to affect the game where needed. Since returning to Middlesbrough he has only played 469 minutes in the Championship and at 24 years of age, he now needs consistent game time.

Target 3 - Ronan Hale (Ross County) - permanent

An all round type forward, who is very similar to Dom Ballard in terms of his attributes. Hale usually plays as a very energetic number nine with an eye for goal, who presses well from the front - scoring seven goals in 18 Scottish Championship appearances after getting 12 last season in a side that was relegated. Ronan can also operate on the left hand side of an attacking front three, which adds versatility.

Target 4 - Joe Taylor (Huddersfield Town) - loan / permament

A pacy penalty box striker who loves playing on the shoulder of the last defender, Taylor has found himself out of favour under Lee Grant. He had an excellent loan spell with Lincoln City a couple of years ago and another move could help him regain confidence and form. While he does prefer to play in a two up front system, his attributes are very similar to Kelman and Ballard, so he would suit Wellens.

Target 5 - Tom Bradshaw (Oxford United) - loan

Tom would offer vast experience to the front line at 33, but he still presses well from the front and has a real poachers instinct in and around the box. While he wouldn’t start over Dom, he can be deployed as a real dressing room leader, as well as take some of the load off the O’s leading marksman.

Honourable Mention - Kusini Yengi (Aberdeen)

[Ed: the following article was originally planned for inclusion in #301, due out tomorrow at the Bradford match. But, as usual, we were so overloaded with quality content that we just didn’t have space for everything. So we present it to you here instead - like a non-album single released ahead of the main event…]

The Os have a lot on their plate at the moment what with all the goings-on around the new stadium and unleashing everything they can possibly throw at us to improve the club’s income, not to mention trying to find some on-pitch consistency and manage the messaging to supporters suddenly faced with a fair amount of change all at once. They also have the not inconsiderable matter of needing (like all clubs) to step up a gear or two to meet the requirements of the new Independent Football Regulator (IFR).

The IFR’s objectives are to:

• Protect and promote the financial soundness of regulated football clubs

• Protect and promote the financial resilience of English football

• Safeguard the heritage of English football

It will operate a licensing regime and enforce compliance with requirements on financial regulation, fan engagement and club heritage.

The IFR will move the goalposts when it comes to how professional football clubs engage with and involve their supporters in club decision-making and direction of travel in these non-footballing areas:

• Strategic direction and objectives

• Business priorities

• Operational and matchday issues including ticket pricing

• Heritage (eg ground, crest, club colours, general history of the club)

• Plans around additional fan engagement

At Orient, we supporters have not enjoyed a consistent norm of open and free-flowing dialogue with the club over the years. The ‘Ear itself was established as a vehicle for supporters to ask questions of the club, give our views and provide some agency for fans at a time in the 80s when we were ignored and overlooked. When the Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust (LOFT) was formed in 2001 it was for similar reasons. Barry Hearn was famously disdainful of the right of Os fans to question his decisions or even to ask what was going on. Then came the Italian and everything properly went to hell.

Since Nigel and pals stepped in it’s indisputable that communications with supporters and levels of trust have very much improved, helped greatly by the fact they are the people saved our club. Nigel recognised the integrity of LOFT as a representative body for supporters during the takeover and that respect and relationship has largely continued, despite LOFT’s reduced membership and relative lack of proactivity in recent years (a common challenge for trusts in ‘peacetime’ when there isn’t a specific issue to organise around).

The club provides fans with opportunities to ask questions of the directors and owners via the regular fans’ forums. Having attended practically all of these events over the last six years they do provide opportunities to give feedback on things the club is doing, and to receive updates on initiatives such as the new stadium, the training ground, our academy and player budgets. There is also a fair bit of matchday experience stuff aired around catering facilities and standards, stewarding, programmes, Bovril lids, the state of the toilets, our PA system, and the loudness of the music played in the various stands. The tone is always very ‘pally’ and Nigel always brings his very genuine love for the Os into the room but essentially, it’s a glorified Q&A rather than a discussion and all pretty surface level. And as such serves merely as a proxy for better quality two-way dialogue.

The club has also taken steps to give representation to fan groups such as RainbOs, PunjabiOs and MeshuganOs and most recently HerOs (of which I am a member). As well as these groups there are also some geographically-themed groups that recognise the clusters of supporters who live away from E10. It’s fair to say that not all the groups have enjoyed the same level of support from the club when it comes to getting their messages across and RainbOs in particular have struggled with finding a player representative and receiving explicit support from the club to run events. My experience with HerOs is that the club in partnership with the Leyton Orient Trust has taken us through a governance process in order to establish objectives, responsibilities and accountability - so although I can’t speak for all the groups, ours is certainly not back-of-an-envelope stuff.

While all of this is good in so far as it goes, it’s nowhere near enough. To comply with the IFR’s expected standards on fan engagement the club will need to establish a representative Fan Advisory Board (FAB) or similar fan engagement body with democratically elected members that represent the wider supporter base. Meetings with the FAB will need to run very differently to Q&As. They should be based around structured dialogue where both fans and club present their position and question and challenge each other constructively and allow for mutual scrutiny.

We are a way behind a number of clubs when it comes to fan engagement. Every club does fan engagement slightly differently, as suits the size of both club and fanbase and the club’s history and culture. For example, both Portsmouth and Lincoln City’s fan engagement activity was born out of both clubs going to the wire financially and their very existence being threatened around a little bit more than twenty years ago. Of course, the Os were also in this position much more recently and in my opinion it is a colossal missed opportunity not to have put a more formal supporters’ group in place right from the off when Nigel et al took over. LOFT lobbied for this and I lay responsibility firmly at the club’s door for not making it happen.

Rules and regulations on fan engagement

Although the IFR has upped the ante with fan engagement being one of the pillars of the Football Governance Act, we’ve been on an upwards trajectory for a few years now. In June 2024 the EFL regulations changed and all clubs should have a designated board director for fan engagement. (Many clubs share details of who this is on their website – The Os do not (or if they do it’s well hidden). Clubs are also required to produce a Fan Engagement Plan (FEP) and report against it as well as hold a minimum of two fans meetings a year. For information Orient’s FEP is on our website under Customer Charter, Policies and Safeguarding if you fancy a gander.

I outlined at the beginning of this piece that stronger fan engagement provision is one of the pillars of IFR strategy. The IFR will not prescribe what this should look like as a whole. It will be based on broad principles that each club and its fans can use to build effective engagement. Clubs and their fans will be able to structure it in a way that works for them.

From 2028-29, clubs will be expected to submit an annual Fan Engagement Report. IFR assessment on fan engagement will be determined by the club’s FEP and the FEP will form part of a club’s license application. A key part of this will be fan involvement with the FEP. It will benefit clubs if they can demonstrate that they have worked with fans on their 26/27 Plan.

Although the IFR will not prescribe, it intends to gather information on current fan engagement practices, priorities & concerns from fans and to engage directly with supporter groups. Once the consultation process is complete, IFR best-practice guidance will be published which will form expectations around the standard required. Clubs will be given time to familiarise themselves with what is required before the IFR powers are implemented.

What would a joined-up fan engagement strategy look like?

To answer this question, I looked at how Lincoln City structures its fan engagement, which is clearly laid out on their website. I chose Lincoln as they are not dissimilar in size to the Os, pull in average support about 1,000 higher than us and have a similar budget.

Lincoln’s FAB has been in place since 2018, although a supporters’ group formally recognised by the club pre-dates it by 10 years. The website claims that the FAB is listened to by the club’s hierarchy who use FAB input to steer their decision making on topics which have included seasonal membership pricing, heritage items, club branding, stadium developments, potential new investment and playing kit designs.

There are 12 supporters on the FAB, a mix of independents and representatives from key supporters’ groups and they serve three-year terms. There are also two fan directors on the Lincoln City main board. A named Lincoln City director has special responsibility for fan engagement. Board minutes are available for all fans to read. Fan engagement at Lincoln also includes producing supporter guides, running the fan forums, handling the fan-led review, dialogue with the fan groups, and managing the two supporter and disability liaison officers.

So, you can see from this that if you are a fan you can easily identify the ways you can engage with the club and also find out what has been said by whom, when and in what meeting.

How will a Fan Advisory Board work?

I’m now going to look in more detail at FABs and the nitty gritty of how they work.

I caught up with one of the two Football Supporter Association’s EFL Network reps Jane Hughes to talk about FABs. Jane (and her colleague, Jess) advise EFL clubs on fan engagement (as well as a whole host of other issues!). Jane has recently met with Steve Tait and April Smith to help them shape what good fan engagement might look like at Orient. I also spoke with the chair and secretary of Burton Albion’s FAB to find out how they are getting on 12 months in.

Jane - can you tell me first about the principles around an FAB?

“The basic principle of fan engagement is having a multi-level for getting feedback and suggestions from your customers – and why wouldn’t you want to listen to your customers? And multi-level means having good reach into all parts of the fan base.

Clubs can misunderstand what a Fan Advisory Board is and think that it’s about fans telling them what to do and getting their own way. But at its heart it’s about having mechanisms to hear the view of fans on key non-football aspects of the way the club is run and take them into account as your main customer when club decisions are made. Football fans are well informed and insightful customers and are full of good ideas about how their clubs can achieve objectives”.

What kind of fans make good FAB members and what does a good FAB look like?

“If you are on a FAB you are there to represent the fans of your club, not push your own agenda. It’s about building a relationship between supporters and the club. Who are the right voices? I’d say honestly that the best people are just the average fans – someone who understands what the essence of Orient is and can tap into the Brisbane Road zeitgeist.

Typically, a good size board is 12 people, although it depends on the size of the club – the Burton Albion FAB has 8 people on it. A best practice structure would be a balance between representatives from core fan groups like the trust and others, plus a number of ‘independent’ fans.

Diversity of representation is also important. The FAB has to reflect the demographic profile of the supporter base, which also means that the application and election process has to reach all supporter groups.”

Can you talk me through the application and election process?

“Yes, I’ll use Burton Albion as an example. The club actually contacted the FSA to help establish an FAB (sometimes the intro comes from fan groups, sometimes clubs contact us direct). There was an application form which asked about 5 questions such as ‘what do you think are the best ways of building club and fan engagement?’ and ‘how would you ensure you represented the views of all supporters?’. In general, the simpler the better and keep it pretty open and inclusive. It isn’t about having been to every game of the season, or have a massive social media following. Some clubs stipulate attending three home games in succession or ask for an applicant to get nominations, but such things can be restricting. We also recommend not going with reps from each stand or anything like that.

Anyway, Burton received over 40 applications and we shortlisted approximately 15 people. All interviewed candidates were very good and went forward to the election. The club handled the election process – who is eligible to vote varies from club to club for example at Sunderland it was season ticket holders only (they have a lot of them!). I caution against doing a social media vote. Shortlisted candidates often write a short statement and provide a photo which can go on the club website. At Burton, because of the profile of applicants and shortlist there was an EDI rep vote, a women’s rep vote and a vote for the general reps. The Brewers Union (a Burton Albion fan group) also got two seats on the FAB.”

I also spoke with Richard and Andy from the recently formed Burton Albion FAB who talked me through how they were established and how it’s going:

“The creation of the FAB came from the lead person from the Investment Group, that took over Burton at the beginning of last season. He has been involved with FABs in Sweden for over 15 years and was the driving force to introduce one at Burton. Previous to that liaison between fans and the club was limited.

This season has seen another complete change in the senior management team following a poor 1st season. The new structure has seen a significant increase in management staff across all departments of whom the majority come with previous football management experience. It also included the appointment of Tom Mahon as COO who has many years’ experience at Man City and Stockport. He has fully embraced the need to have a close relationship with fans. Andy and I have a direct link with him through a WhatsApp page.

It’s evident to us that there is a clear emphasis from the highest level in the club that fans views are to be taken seriously and it forms part of the recruitment process to find staff who adopt similar standards. We have access to all the management staff which allows us to raise issues directly for swift resolution.

The club are also in the process of producing a vision and mission statement and goals which the FAB have been actively asked to contribute to. This has shown us the desire to work with fans and take on board ideas and suggestions for improvements across all areas of the club.

We’re also learning on the job having only been formed in March and needing to set out our own governance policies and working methods. We benefit in the FAB from a diverse range of individuals who offer a wide range of experience and skills in both length of time supporting Burton and in a variety of roles outside the club. It’s also worked out that we have representatives from all the home stands in the ground.

We have made a significant impact since we were formed in June to the point that we’ve been trusted to host the last Fan Forum and they actively respond when we make suggestions or offer advice. We’ve jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding which sets out the way in which we work together and the standards we all adopt.

The club management team interact with us in response to feedback we present from fans and all seem to genuinely committed to working with us to improve all aspects of the club, except the playing side. It is acknowledged that if we can make improvements to the fan experience and communicate positives about the club outside of matches.

The FAB have set up an independent Website, Facebook and X pages and have appeared on local radio and other social media channels. Andy has set up a number of spreadsheets that we use to capture fan feedback, produce reports to the club and feedback to the fans.

It’s been a very positive start with the new management team and the FAB with some initial ideas being adopted by the club, live screening of the FA cup game at the club for supporters who couldn’t make the game, subsidised away coaches as two examples.”

So, in conclusion

Hopefully this article has given some insight into IFR and EFL expectations around fan engagement going forwards and the practicality of what it entails. An FAB at Orient would make a lot of difference – supporters could put forward their views on ticket prices, on stand refurbishments and other aspects of the match-day experience to name a couple of issues that might not have caused the controversy that they did had fans been consulted in advance. And the stadium move will bring with it significant issues around the club’s heritage and how best to preserve it alongside new beginnings. An FAB would allow these and many other views to be presented in a formal way that the club’s board is obliged to consider and discuss. I hope some of you reading will want to put your names forward and apply when the time comes.

The ’Ear will continue to report on the implications of the IFR and play our part in supporting the club to meet their obligations across all IFR pillars.

Up the Os!

@rplancso.bsky.social

It posits that species are in a constant evolutionary race against each other and must constantly gain new adaptations to stay ahead of their competitors - or else go extinct. A predator’s adaptation will be quickly cancelled out by the prey’s responsive mutation, and vice versa.

The theory stems from the book’s “Red Queen” character, who tells our heroine Alice as she seeks to get promoted to Queen herself by advancing through the levels in an allegorical game of chess: “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.”

The hypothesis enlightens our understanding of biology – but it may just as well apply to the cut-throat Social Darwinist world of professional football.

Take Leyton Orient, for instance.

Last season, the Os made an incredible run to the League One playoff final, got to the 4th Round of the FA Cup, and made more from the EFL’s new Sky broadcast deal to earn record revenue of £9.4 million. And yet the club’s operating loss actually worsened, to £4.6 million (compared to the previous year’s £3.7 million) according to the just posted financial accounts.

All that running, to not even keep in the same place, but be worse off.

A 30% increase in the squad budget is largely responsible for the loss, the club said.

With this as context, the recent moves by Orient to generate more revenue – the “Forever Orient” membership, the announced ambitions to build a 30,000 seat stadium – might make more sense.

The “Forever Orient” membership, launched in late November, is a subscription offering of benefits to fans willing to pay up to £15/month. Club officials say uptake of the scheme has been encouraging so far, although the first hundred names to join includes many on the sell-side of scheme, including those marketing it and operating it.

But among the benefits being touted are priority access to home and away tickets, behind season ticket holders, which could squeeze out supporters who are unable or unwilling to shell out upwards of £180/year for a membership. The current One Orient membership for £30 looks like it may be phased out.

If the new scheme leaves some loyal fans behind, calling it a “Forever Orient” membership is sure to leave a bad taste in many mouths.

Race to the top or to the bottom?

The new stadium, meanwhile, has been talked up as a necessary project to back the Board’s aims of getting Leyton Orient promoted to the Championship and staying there sustainably - a tough ask given it is currently the most expensive league in the world to be in.

Promotion is a goal that most supporters can get behind, but *record scratch* – majority owner David Gandler has now said he wants a 25,000 to 30,000 seater stadium, rather than the 17,000 that had been the goal before he took over.

How can Orient actually fill such a huge capacity stadium? Where will the financing for such a facility come from? Will it saddle the club with a yoke of debt?

All will be revealed in due time, with fans consulted along the way, Gandler has promised. The club last week announced that renowned stadium architects Populus will be designing the new project.

But it would be naive to think that other clubs aren’t also making their own grand plans.

Luton and Oxford are building new stadiums, among others. Luton are still collecting parachute payments from their year in the Premier League. We’ve already seen the inflationary effect on squad budgets from big-spending Wrexham, Birmingham and other American-owned clubs.

With average League One annual losses reputed - on good authority - to be around £5.2 million, Orient’s £4.6 million loss last season doesn’t look too bad. But it’s not great.

We are in a football arms race, and Orient’s ability to not just evolve ahead of its competitors but evolve smartly is an existential imperative. To illustrate how quickly the goalposts are moving, the same amount that would have got you the 13th highest playing budget in League One last season would only get you the 22nd highest this time around.

So how does this end? Well, in Through the Looking-Glass, the Red Queen is a chess piece that Alice captures to checkmate the Red King, before awakening and realising it was all a dream.

In Disney’s 2016 movie Alice Through the Looking Glass, however, the Red Queen is exiled to the Outlands (obviously Tim Burton’s allegory for the National League), but then confronts her childhood trauma and reconciles with her sister, the White Queen, in time to save the world and redeem her character.

Disney, by the way, has just finalised its merger with Fubo, the streaming company run by Gandler.

Will Orient get its Disney ending? Maybe, but I’ve already stretched this metaphor too far.

Leyton Laureate

So, an opportunity for Leyton Orient, terrorisers of the Greater London Women’s Football League, to benchmark their quality.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on our training intensity, and it’s definitely gone up a level since the draw came out [on 27th October]” O’s captain Grace Gillard told the Orientear. “We’ve prepared well tactically, and the whole squad is in a good place heading into the match. We know it’s going to be our toughest test of the season so far, but we’re ready to give everything and then see where we stand at the final whistle.”

With the vast majority of their squad recruited from higher tiers to accelerate Orient up the pyramid, the O’s have cruised through their league campaign so far, winning six out of six, most by double digit scorelines. Their path through the FA Cup has been similarly undemanding.

AFC Bournemouth, it’s safe to say, are a whopping step up in competition, having already made a meteoric rise through the levels themselves the past few seasons, backed by funding from their Premier League men’s operation. The Cherries are W7 D2 L0 in the National League Southern Premier Division, poised for yet another promotion - one which would take them into the ranks of the fully professional.

O’s head coach Jason Stephens, however, says the squad aren’t feeling the pressure. These are the type of games they were hoping to get in the FA Cup, with an opportunity to play at Brisbane Road.

“Our season has been built around the FA Cup and trying to progress as far as we can,” he told the ‘Ear. “We’ve achieved our goal this season of getting to the 2nd round, so this is a bit of a free hit for us”

Popping Cherries

Stephens and many of the squad will have some familiarity with Bournemouth’s team, having faced some of their players when they were at third-tier Hashtag United in previous seasons.

Indeed, Bournemouth midfielder Phoebe Williams actually played under Stephens at Hashtag, scoring the winning goal in the 2024 National League Cup final against Newcastle United. She might be able to provide the Cherries with some intel on Stephens’ tactics, but the O’s head coach said he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve.

“We always throw in surprises” he said. “I’ve watched eight of their games this season. They play one way, it’s an effective way, and we’ve got to stop them. They haven’t lost a league game in three seasons, so they’re very athletic. They have a lot of match winners in each position, and a number of key players that are the best of the league at those positions”

Bournemouth, who did not make head coach Helen Bleazard available for an interview, have a balanced, deep squad, and have scored 24 goals in their nine matches while conceding just four. Look for winger Sophie Quirk in attack and young Wales U19 international Elena Cole in the midfield, with the defense anchored by centreback Freya Meadows Tuson and skipper Abby Jones.

Orient will be led by top scorer Sammy Rowland, Lucy Porter and Steph McCaffrey up front, and Gillard and Haley West on the back line.

Expect both teams to play a high intensity press.

“Our motto is ‘Be Relentless,’” O’s assistant manager Craig Davidson said. “We instill that every time we play.”

Up for the Cup

Bournemouth drew a crowd of 5,850 for a league match against Oxford United on 29th October under the lights at Vitality Stadium, and could bring a fair number of fans up from the coast for Sunday’s match, though the weather forecast doesn’t look great.

Orient typically draw a few hundred for matches at Brisbane Road, but this showcase Cup tie against the Cherries is possibly the highest profile LOFC Women’s game to date.

The last time the O’s played at the stadium, as the second match of a doubleheader after the men’s game on 27th September, turnout was underwhelming, not helped by the men’s dreary performance in a 3-2 loss to Stevenage and stewards kicking supporters out of the stadium for an hour in between the games.

Beyond the competitive showcase aspect, there’s a few quid riding on the game for the O’s. £8,000 will go to Sunday’s victor (£2,000 to the loser), with the chance to earn a difference-making £35,000 through winning a third round match, which is also when WSL-2 sides enter the competition.

Orient had last weekend off after their Capital Cup game was postponed because of another waterlogged pitch, and Stephens said his side are injury-free and ready to go.

“The girls are switched on,” he said. “They know what they have to do. They’ll be in a good place for Sunday. Legs will be refreshed, heads will be refreshed, and hopefully we give a good account of ourselves.”