2024 - A Year In The Life Of A Leyton Orient Supporter as it happened Other years: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Leyton Orient Diary part 1 to 1925 Part 2 from 1950 Part 2a from 1965 from 1968 from 1968-1972 from 1972 from 2002 2009-2010 here. 1 January 2024. Away to Cambridge (0-2 Brown, Agyei). Soritiou was out injured, Agyei took his place. Sanders replaced the benched Prately. Cooper returned but only to the bench. A goalless half time saw us hit the woodwork twice. Twelve minutes into the second half we were two up. Brown’s shot was deflected but it came from a corner which was the first for months. Agyei added a second two minutes later. Here is a description from the Cambridge Independant “Okedina lost possession midway inside his own half to Agyei and while the U’s defender did well to get himself back goal-side inside the box, a driven shot beat him and then also flew underneath Stevens at the near post”. There was a stream of bookings, some avoidable. Sanders and Agyei both went off injured. BBC report. Video highlights. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Happe, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde Sanders, Archibald, Agyei. Subs: Howes, Sweeney, Turns, Pigott(Agyei 63), Cooper(Galbraith 83), Moncur, Pratley(Sanders 75). Up to 12th, 11 points from a play-off place! The transfer window opened earlier today and will close on February 1st at 11pm. Conor Wilkinson left Motherwell for Colchester. On the third day of the year two managers lost their jobs, Etherington at Colchester and Rooney at Birmingham. He was appointed with Brum sixth in the table, they are now 20th. He lasted 83 days and 15 matches, nine of which ended in defeat. Jephte Tanga joined Maidstone on after being with Welling. Cooper returned to Swansea after 17 games that included six yellow cards and two reds. Not much of a surprise then? Transfer rumours abound, most appear to emanate from supporters. Kelman leads the list, Emile Acquah comes from Hackney. Currently at Barrow, 23 year-old. Harvey Blair (Liverpool) also wanted by Pompey and Blackpool. Plenty of clubs being rebuffed by Ipswich in bids for El Mizouni. Charlie Kirk released by Charlton. Olamide Shodipo is back on the free agent market following his exit from Lincoln City. Rumour has it that there will be a signing before the weekend (13/14th). We will see. Pre Pompey Wellens said they were close to signing Cooper on a permanent basis. Post Pompey he said he hoped Cooper would sign before the Bolton game (Saturday) plus a wide player no doubt to replace Graham. 13 January. Away to Portsmouth 0-3 (Forde, Brown, Agyei). Revenge, This must go down as the best result of the season. Pompey were top of the table, Brynn saved a penalty, we kept a fourth clean sheet on the bounce which was revenge for the defeat we suffered at home back in August. All with only 37% of the play. The report provided for the BBC by PA Media summed it up thus: “In a disastrous opening half, stuttering Pompey conceded all three goals before the break. Orient could have been ahead inside the first 10 seconds, but Dan Agyei's shot was deflected for a corner.” On the half hour Sanders received the ball from Forde and his reverse pass found Forde superbly. Forde finished in some style. Five minutes later a corner from Archibald found Happe whose shot hit Brown for the second. On 40’ Forde gave away a penalty which was saved by Brynn diving to his left sending the O’s fans behind him into raptures. Five minutes into added first half time another Archibald corner found Agyei who rose higher than the defence to make it three. Sotiriou returned from injury and replaced the departed Cooper on the bench. That was the only team change though Bryne replaced Howes on the bench. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Happe, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde Sanders, Archibald, Agyei. Subs: Byrne, Sweeney, Turns(Galbraith 79), Pigott(Forde 79), Sotiriou(Agyei 62), Moncur, Pratley(Sanders 58). BBC report. Video highlights a closer look. Rather reminisent of Portsmouth 1-4 Leyton Orient 2001-02 FA Cup. There is some talk amongst the forums about the possibility of reaching the play offs. We are currently tenth on 35 points. Nearest play off place is eighth occupied by Barnsley on 46 points. Too far? Ex O’s hitting the net were Beautyman, two for his new manager at Sutton, Bonne for Gillingham and Koroma at Huddersfield. Kemp started at MK Dons having returned from his loan at Swindon, Wilkinson came off the bench for Colchester as did Smyth at QPR. Clay didn’t. Hartlepool signed Tom Parkes on a permanent deal from Scottish Premiership club Livingston. 16 January. Cooper signed on a permanent two and a half year deal for an undisclosed fee. No sign of a wide man but there are still two days to go as I write. Rumours circulating that Crawley’s 27 year-old striker Danilo Orsi is the subject of interest from both Blackpool and ourselves. 20 January. Home to Bolton (1-0 Agyei). Third win on the bounce, fifth consecutive game without conceding a goal and Wellens sees red, again. Bolton were in third place and had an excellent chance to go into the lead when Sweeney was caught napping at the far post but their striker found the upright. Sweeney’s napping had a upside as he was handily place to clear the danger. Agyei’s curling shot went wide and Sanders shot was well saved by the keeper. We went into the break without scoring but nine minutes from the restart Sweeney’s challenge ricocheted to Agyei and he outpaced the defence to left foot us into the lead. PA Media gave the assist to Sweeney! Hardly a pass. A smart save by Brynn saved the blushes of Happe and Beckles whose marking was poor. In a effort to stop Bolton gaining five yards from a throw Wellens stuck out a hand and was shown a red card. Sweeney played well replacing James who was suffering a family bereavement. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, Sweeney, Beckles, Happe, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde Sanders, Archibald, Agyei. Subs: Byrne, Cooper, Turns, Pigott, Sotiriou(Sanders 70), Moncur(Agyei 87) Pratley(Brown 66). BBC report. Video highlights. Lots of games called off because of frost. Up to ninth seven points behind Blackpool. A closer look. Rumour mill continues: Ben Doherty from Derry City. The Northern Irishman led the assists charts for the League of Ireland last season which has sparked interest in England. Transfer fee and personal terms have been agreed. Drinan : Social Media reporting that we have accepted a bid of £50k for him from Carlisle United. Emmanuel Harvest has joined Enfield on an initial 28-day loan deal. Some forum members believe that Moncur is unfit. Never heard Wellens say that only that he was ill. Over the years we have all come across players who look at bit chunky. John Smith was one such player but I don’t recall thinking he was either slow or fat. Same could be said of Dave McKay and whilst neither have the physique of Mr Universe like local boy Len Sell I suspect they are as fit as their colleagues. 23 January. We signed nobody on the rumour mill but someone loaned to Derry (see above). Ollie O’Neill had just turned 20 and is a winger or midfielder depending which website you visit. He signed a two and a half year contract for an undisclosed fee. Brought up in West London, O'Neill was in the academy at Brentford from the age of seven until thirteen when they made the decision to disband their academy. O'Neill attended the City of London School where he received 11 A* GCSE grades and two A* A-Level grades. He joined Derry City on a six-month loan deal in February 2023. He made his League of Ireland début for Derry City on 20 February 2023 in a 1–1 draw at St Patrick’s Athletic. He played nineteen games, starting twelve, scoring one goal before returning to Fulham. He first played for the Republic of Ireland in their U16’s and has played for their U17’s, 19’s and U21’s racking up 14 appearances and three goals. On a podcast Wellens talked about contracts and so far Hunt, Happe and Sotiriou have been offered contracts. There will be others. Another fine podcast included Matt Porter was very informative. A Leyton Orient XI including a mix of both first-team and academy players defeated Brentford B 2-1. Joe Pigott and Obiero were the scorers. Orient XI: Howes (Byrne), Agyemang, Cooper (Chinedu), Turns (St. Louis), Thompson, Pratley (Bullas), Obiero, O'Neill (Avgoustidis), Moncur (Carter), Sotiriou (Pegrum), Pigott (Smith-Kouassi). Hartlepool United have signed Grimsby Town’s Otis Khan on loan until the end of the season. Ex QPR loanee Stephen Duke-McKenna joined Sutton on loan. 27 January. Away to Reading(1-1 Agyei p). The only change to the team was that of Sotiriou for Sanders (hamstring). We went into the lead from a penalty for handball. Agyei converted. Four minutes later they equalised following poor marking by Sweeney. After eleven shots the match ended. O’Neill made his début on 69’. By all accounts Sweeney was having a stinker and got replaced at half time as did Sotiriou (by Prately). Team: Brynn, Galbraith, Sweeney, Beckles, Happe, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde Sotiriou, Archibald, Agyei. Only six subs were named: Howes, Pigott(Forde 88), James(Sweeney 45), Moncur(Brown 87) Pratley(Sotiriou 45), O’Neill(Archibald 69). No place for Cooper or Turns. BBC report. Video highlights. Daryll McMahon became the manager at Hornchurch. Adam Thompson was loaned to Barnet for the rest of the season. Ex loanee Ebou Adams was loaned to Derby. Another, Charlie Kelman, was loaned to Wigan and Macauley Bonne to Cambridge. 1 February transfer deadline 11pm. I got notified by my nephew at 10pm so business was late. Ed Turns was recalled by Brighton which freed up another loan space (he was later loaned to Crewe) following the Cooper signing. We bought in two youngsters in the shape of strikers, Khayon Edwards from Arsenal and Dan Adu-Adje from Bournemouth without a league game between them with Adu-Adje being the most experienced with 11 games for Poole Town scoring one goal. Drinan was signed by Swindon for an undisclosed fee. Swindon also loaned former target, Mckirdy from Hibs. Ross Embleton left Colchester as Head of Recruitment. Wellens received a £2000 fine and a three day touchline ban. 3 February. Home to Carlisle (3-2 Forde 2,Sotiriou). Carlisle had three shots all game and failed to score from any of them. Read more. Moncur returned for a start replacing Agyei. We went a goal down on 21’ when Brynn made a hash of a save and Beckles clearance bounced off a forward into the net. It took us 19’ to equalise when Moncur playing in Forde for a super finish. PA for BBC described it thus: “Forde received a sublime pass from George Moncur.” Five minutes into added time Forde added a second when Archibald’s corner was headed goalwards by Brown which found the unmarked Forde to head home his eighth goal of the season. Not to be outdone Sotiriou scored his eighth goal of the season following Archibald’s pass. Carlisle got one back when the ball struck Brown but by then, five minutes into added time, it was too late. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Happe, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde, Sotiriou, Archibald, Moncur. Subs: Howes, Pigott(Sotiriou 76), Cooper(Beckles 82), Pratley(Forde 85), Hunt(Moncur 71), O’Neill(Archibald 76), Edwards. BBC report. Video highlights. Martin Ling thought the transfer window had gone well, getting Cooper in early and then O’Neill. Wellens however had a different view. We released players with over 700 games between them [between them Turns, Thompson and Drinan started 396 games] and bought in two players without a single league game between them. We did business too late. An experienced striker was missed out on and when we turned our attention to another and missed out on him as well. He has a point or two. Later on a podcast Nigel Travis stated that we had all but signed the striker but the (un-named) club pulled out at the last minute whereby he rang their CEO and gave them an earful. Possibly saying things he regretted [like Richie then]. 6 February. Away to Port Vale (0-1 El Mizouni). We rained shots (on target) on their goal as early as the 7’ from Archibald, 19’ and 23’ from Forde, 31’ from James, 34’ from El Mizouni, 53’ and 57’from Archibald before shot 13 from El Mizouni found the net on 60’ from a super through ball from James. A total 17 shots of which eight were on target. Cooper replaced the injured Beckles. The result put mangerless Vale into the relegation zone and us at ninth seven points away from a play-off place though clubs above us have a game in hand. A night where a game were postponed because of waterlogged pitch (Burton) and one abandoned after nine minutes at Cambridge. What was the ref thinking? No pre-match inspection? Teams in the relegation zone, Fleetwood and Reading, won away from home whilst high flying Peterborough lost at Exeter. Nigel Travis also told us that Posh had turned down a £3m bid for Kyprianou. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Cooper, Happe, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde, Sotiriou, Archibald, Moncur. Subs: Howes, Pigott(Sotiriou 88), Adu-Adjei, Pratley(Archibald 79), Hunt(Moncur 71), O’Neill(Forde 72), Edwards. BBC report. Video highlights. Away to Barnsley next Saturday. 10 February. Away to Barnsley (2-1 Sotiriou). Unodne in the last 15 minutes. Moncur showed his class again with a quality run and cross to Sotiriou whose first touch found the net after ten minutes. Then it was all up hill as we appeared to let them come at us much to Wellens annoyance. Two minutes from time Brynn made a bad decision to come to a ball that he missed. No marking either. Nor was there any marking five minutes into added time when they took all three points. Cooper replaced Happe on 14’ as he went down with a hamstring. With Archibald injured O’Neill made his starting début. Soritiou also went off injured with another suspected hamstring. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Happe, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde, Sotiriou, O’Neill, Moncur. Subs: Howes, Pigott(Sotiriou 53), Adu- Adjei, Pratley(Forde 63), Cooper(Happe 14), Hunt, Edwards. BBC report. Video highlights. 13 February. Home to Northampton (4-3 O’Neill, Forde, Sotiriou 2). Roller-coaster. With Happe out Cooper continued in his place as did O’Neill with Archibald. Sotiriou had an injury problem and was benched giving Edwards his début. Moncur fed in O’Neill on 35’ and his shot evaded everyone and found the net though there was a nice dummy from Brown. Iffy defending led to an equaliser 11’ later. On 58’ a shot from O’Neill was parried into the path of the unmarked Forde to make it 2-1. The lead lasted 19’ when Pratley paid more attention to the ball than marking his man. But three minutes later O’Neill’s short corner to Forde was returned to him and the resulting cross headed in by Sotiriou who had only been on the pitch for three minutes. Again they equalised after some faffing about by Beckles. In the seventh minute of added time Galbraith kept his eye on the ball despite close attention and his header found Cooper. His resulting lob was volleyed home by Sotiriou for the final goal of the match. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Cooper, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde, Edwards, O’Neill, Moncur. Subs: Howes, Sweeney(Forde 90+9), Adu-Adjei(Edwards 76), Pratley(Brown 60), Hunt(James 45), Sotiriou(Moncur 77), Pegrum. BBC report. Video highlights. A closer look. Sotiriou has 11 goals in all competitions. Nine for Forde. Post match interview from Richie revealed that Happe would be out 8-10 weeks and Archibald even longer as he has to have an ACL put in! Could take nine months. James has a groin strain. Sanders would be out until the Oxford game (24 February) as would Pigott. Could fail to make up the numbers on the bench. Times article on Nigel Travis. Nigel praised Rick Parry of the EFL who appeared before the Parliament’s cross-party Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 16th January. FSA article. If you have two hours to spare you can hear it all here. 17 February. Home To Burton (1-2 Moncur p). Wellens: too much across and back. We had 83% of the play in the first half but mainly in our own half as Cooper and Beckles passed to and fro. Every time it did go to Galbraith and Hunt there did not seem to be anybody up the line to pass to. Two minutes before half time we were awarded a penalty when Forde was upended. Moncur scored with his usual aplomb. Brown was suspended so Pratley started. James and Sotiriou were still not fit enough to start. Hunt replaced James and Edwards continued. The second half did not improve. PA Media for the BBC summed it up “Burton had been outplayed in the first half, but they were galvanised when Omar Beckles gave the ball away in the 72nd minute and Mark Helm picked out Bennett for the equaliser. Four minutes later, O's keeper Sol Brynn hesitated when he came to meet a Joe Powell set-piece and Nsiala stabbed the ball home from six yards to net the winner.” Team: Brynn, Galbraith, Hunt, Beckles, Cooper, Pratley, El Mizouni, Forde, Edwards, O’Neill, Moncur. Subs: Howes, Sweeney(Hunt 81), Adu-Adjei(Edwards 75), Sanders(O’Neill 81),James(Pratley 81), Sotiriou(Moncur 75), Pegrum. BBC report. Video highlights. Welch, who rejoined the O's academy from Arsenal in 2022, has been called up for the Reggae Boyz' upcoming tournament, where they will take on Bermuda, Grenada and Martinique in the group stage of the tournament. 24 February. Away to Oxford (1-2 O’Neill, Moncur). Wellens sees red again. Sotiriou and James were preferred to Hunt and Edwards. We went a goal down on 20’ when a backheeled ball inside the six-yard box went past Brynn, via a deflection off Ethan Galbraith. The referee seemed hell bent on booking as many O’s players as possible and managed two in the first 18’. O’Neill levelled the score six minutes into the second half. The winner came on 77’ from Moncur. The referee, Martin Woods managed to find 11 minutes of added time and book six O’s and a red for Wellens compared to two yellows for them. Good job it was his last as a referee. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Cooper, Pratley, El Mizouni, Forde, Sotiriou, O’Neill, Moncur. Subs: Howes, Sweeney, Adu-Adjei, Sanders(Galbriath 90+2), Hunt(Pratley 79), Edwards(Forde 85), Pigott. BBC report. Video highlights. Above us Blackpool (our next opponents on Tuesday night) and Stevenage both won but we are now six points from a play off place currently occupied by Oxford. Ex O’s in the news. The death was announced of Stan Bowles at the age of 75. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's since 2015. He came to the O's in July 1980, making 56 appearances and scored 7 goals. He left the club in October 1981. Smith missed a penalty for Sutton whilst Smyth scored a goal for QPR in an effort to keep them from relegation. Kemp scored for MK Dons. Cole Kpekawa who we had on loan 2015-2016 from QPR (9 apps) has joined Kidderminster on loan. That would be his 11th club since leaving us. He was signed by Barnsley for an undisclosed fee, thought to be in the region of £450,000, on 31 August 2016. His career went downhill from there. Jerome Binnom-Williams has been banging in goals for Dulwich Hamlet of late scoring three goals in the last month. That’s three more than he scored for us in the 13 games on loan from Crystal Palace in 2016. He has had six clubs since then. 27 February. Home to Blackpool (1-0 O’Neill). Cheats. At every opportunity they went down clutching their legs. I counted that twice in three attempts the ref fell for it. We leapfrogged them with this result and it was hard to see why they were anywhere near the top of the table. Pratley was rested and replaced by Brown who returned after his two match suspension. Forde had great chance to score when clear on goal but opted to pass. It was not up to snuff as it went behind Sotiriou who had a similar chance but delayed his shot too long. We went in goalless. Hunt replaced Moncur who apparently had a sore chest. That allowed Galbraith a place in midfield. They replaced number 4 Lawrence-Gabriel as he got booked for a faul on O’Neill which on another day would have been a red. Possibly his elbow on O’Neill was the only way he would stop him. Unfortunately his replacement only lasted a matter of minutes as he went one was and his leg another and had to be stretchered off. On 57’ a rebound off a defender fond Sortiriou who found O’Neill and his left foot shot found the net much in the same manner as against Oxford. Forde was no looking hiself and his touch and passing were way off. He made way for Sanders. Blackpool had zero shots on target out of six in total. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Cooper, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde, Sotiriou, O’Neill, Moncur. Subs: Howes, Sweeney, Adu-Adjei, Sanders(Forde 75), Pratley(Brown 81 Hunt(Moncur 45), Edwards(Galbraith 89). BBC report. Video highlights. This put us up to 8th, seven points from a play off place. El Mizouni was booked for a ninth time so he needs to avoid being booked in the next two matches to avoid a two match suspension. We signed Jack Simpson who was released at Cardiff last August after he called Cardiff team-mate Rohan Luthra a "dirty P**i" during the club's pre-season tour of Portugal in July. A ban of six matches and a fine of £8,000 was imposed after he admitted to the charge against him. He appeared 23 times for Cardiff amassing four yellow cards and one red. He signed for Cardiff in August 2022 from Rangers after 7(7) apps for them. He was trainee at Bournemouth from July 2015 to February 2021 playing 26(9) times. His only goal was in the League Cup for them. As a matter of fact Rohan Luthra was born in England and is of Punjabi Indian descent. Joins the O’s on a free transfer with a view to extending his deal in the summer. Richie Wellens has been charged following the EFL League One game against Oxford United on Saturday, 24 February. It’s alleged that the manager acted in an improper manner around the 85th minute, which led to his dismissal. Richie Wellens has until Monday, 4 March, to provide a response. 2 March. Home to Bristol Rovers (0-1). Tired. The team looked tired and again Moncur only lasted a half. Forde was again ineffective. Criticism of Wellens when he only put on Pigott in the 87th minute when the game was crying our for an experienced striker. The young loanees were not up to it. Poor marking from a free kick was our undoing. Their Wilson was given a straight red card eight minutes from time for an off-the-ball incident with Cooper. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Cooper, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde, Sotiriou, O’Neill, Moncur. Subs: Howes, Pigott(Cooper 87), Adu-Adjei(Sotiriou 75), Sanders(Moncur 45), Pratley, Hunt(El Mizouni 75), Edwards(O’Neill 45). BBC report. Video highlights. Six points from a play off place, back to ninth after Blackpool beat Shrewsbury. Away to 13th placed Wigan next Saturday. Ex O’s elsewhere: McCallum scored another hat-trick for Eastleigh, Ogie scored for Gillingham from a Coleman pass. Clay stared for Sutton but no place for Beatyman or Angol. Stockley scored for Fleetwood. Ex League clubs in danger are Rochdale who need new owners by the end of the month and Torquay who have gone into liquidation. Taunton Town unable to pay players and staff after home postponements Southend United chief executive Tom Lawrence has admitted that final completion of a takeover of the club could still be a couple of months away. A deal between owner Ron Martin and a consortium led by Australian Justin Rees was agreed in December.But the 10-member consortium, which includes Lawrence, is still waiting for the go-ahead from the city council. Wellens was fined £2400 but no touchline ban. Archibald had his surgery. Dagenham and Redbridge have signed striker Daniel Nkruma on a month's loan. The 20-year-old, Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee last June. 9 March. Away to Wigan (1-0). Another red card. Brown reverted to the bench replaced by Pratley. No place for Moncur and Sanders stepped in. We started well but there were to yellows to nil after the first half hour. Galbraith got a second yellow just before half time with sealed our fate. O’Neill was sacrificed and replaced by Hunt. A further half time substitution saw Brown replaced Sanders. Team: Brynn, Galbraith, James, Beckles, Cooper, Pratley, El Mizouni, Forde, Sotiriou, O’Neill, Sanders. Subs: Howes, Pigott(Pigott 82), Adu-Adjei(Beckles 82), Sweeney(Forde 53), Brown(Sanders 45, Hunt(O’Neill 45), Edwards. BBC report. Video highlights. Down to to 10th, seven points from a play off place. Home to 23rd placed Port Vale on Tuesday. Also in a relegation place are Carlisle, Fleetwood and Cheltenham. In the division above the relegation places are taken by Rotherham, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddlesfield. One point from safety are Birmingham and QPR. In League Two in the promotion places are Mansfield, Stockport and Wrexham. 12 March. Home to Port Vale (0-0). Poor, midfield anonymous, to many safe back and across passes. The BBC described the match as “uninspiring”. Vale should have been a couple of goals up at half time but they had no shots on target. Neither did we. With Galbraith suspended Sweeney started. Moncur was still ill. Hunt replaced James and Pigott was in for Sotiriou. First half was full of balls punted to the wings (O’Neill and Sweeney) which were either over hit into touch, too short or wayward. Cooper’s passing was the worst but others no better. Things improved with the addition of Sotiriou who should have scored by opted for power over accuracy and his shot hit the bar and rebounded into safety. Team: Brynn, Sweeney, Hunt, Beckles, Cooper, Brown, El Mizouni, Forde, Pigott, O’Neill, Sanders. Subs: Howes, Sotiriou(Sanders 57), James(Sweeney 57), Obiero(O’Neill 86), Pratley(El Mizouni 58), Adu-Adjeiat(Pigott 86), Edwards. BBC report. Video highlights. Sotiriou was called up for Cyprus, O’Neill for the Republic of Ireland and Obiero for Kenya U20s. The death was announced of Orient Legend Malcolm Lucas at the age of 85. He made up the back four in our promotion season 1961-62 with Syd Bishop and Cryil Lea. Joining us on a month’s trial in August 1958 he went on to make 157 league apps scoring six goals before moving to Norwich in 1965.he left the Canaries in 1970 after 183 apps and eight goals. Leaving them in 1970 he joined Torquay making a further 122 apps scoring two goals. He finally joined Gorleston as player manager between 1976-80. Malcolm went on to make four appearances for the Welsh national side, earning his final cap in November 1962 against England. 16 March. Away to Stevenage (0-1 Sanders). Three changes from Tuesday’s line up, James replaced Sweeney, Pratley for Brown and Sotiriou for O’Neill. We went a gaol up after 16’ when Sanders netted from a Sotiriou pass. Stevenage made four changes at the break. But there was no further score. Stats did not look impressive with both teams managing just two shots each on target. We gave away 17 fouls so it was surprising we only got two bookings, Pratley, his sixth of the season and Forde, his seventh. Team: Brynn, James, Hunt, Beckles, Cooper, Pratley, El Mizouni, Forde, Pigott, Sotiriou, Sanders. Subs: Howes, Moncur(Sotiriou 87), Sweeney, Obiero, Brown(Sanders 64), Adu-Adjeiat(Pigott 86), Edwards. BBC report. Video highlights. No matches for two weeks due to international duties. We were to play Exeter. Still tenth, now five points from a play off place. Stevenage dropped out of a play off place replaced by Oxford. Harrison Sodje and Byrne joined Dartford on loan for the rest of the season. The death was announced of former midfielder Peter Bennett. Peter made 195(4) apps scoring 13 times after signing from West Ham in October 1970 with Tommy Taylor going to the Hammers. For them he made just 38(4) apps scoring three goals after signing for them in 1967 as an apprentice. This from Steve Tongue 29 March. Away to Lincoln (1-0). Down to bare bones said Wellens after the last match. More so after this match as El Mizouni got an injury that would put him out for the season. Despite 15 shots at goal we gave away the points on 90 minutes after a mistake by Brown (I think). Team: Brynn, James, Hunt, Beckles, Cooper, Pratley, El Mizouni, Forde, Brown, Sotiriou, Sanders. Subs: Howes, Moncur(Sander 61), Sweeney, O’Neill(Forde 61), Galbraith(El Mizouni 65), Pigott(Pratley 78), Adu- Adjeiat(Sotiriou 85). BBC report. Video highlights. 1 April. Home to Peterborough (1-2 Galbraith). Brynn let the ball through his hands for the first goal and nobody picked up the sort corner for the second. Agyei returned for the last ten minutes. Wellens so frustrated that he said he could have put out another 11 players that would be better. Once again to many safe balls across the pitch and nobody moving up front and nobody putting in crosses. He also said Pratley would be out four weeks. Galbraith pulled one back with a great volley. Sweeney had his best game for a long time. Forde and Adu-Adjei appeared to be out for a Saturday afternoon jog, or as someone put it “on the beach”. Team: Brynn, James, Sweeney, Beckles, Cooper, Galbraith, Forde, Brown, Moncur, Adu-Adje, O’Neill. Subs: Howes, Sanders(Moncur 57), Agyei(O’Neill 83), Sotiriou(Forde 45), Hunt(James 45), Pigott(Adu-Adje 45), Edwards. BBC report. Video highlights. 6 April. Home to Cheltenham (3-1 Galbraith, O,Neill, Sotiriou). The Robins were in the bottom four. There were starts for Obiero and Edwards though he looked like a boy in a man’s town. Simpson was on the bench. Galbraith opened the scoring on 34’ following a pass from Moncur. O’Neill made it two ten minutes later lashing in a pass from Brown on the edge of the area. Sotiriou made it three when Agyei pressing reaped its reward and Ruel smashed in a shot from outside the area. Brynn flapped at two balls, one of which resulted in a last minute goal. Team: Brynn, James, Galbraith, Beckles, Cooper, Moncur, Brown, Sotiriou, O’Neill, Obiero, Edwards. Subs: Howes, Sanders(Moncur 77), Agyei(Edwards 70), Hunt(Obiero 78), Forde(O’Neill 70), Adu-Adje, Simpson(Beckles 62). BBC report. Video highlights. Sutton United striker Lee Angol has joined Woking on loan until the end of the season. Dagenham and Redbridge have signed Middlesbrough striker Daniel Nkruma on a month's loan. Tristan Abrahams is playing for Maidenhead. Neil Banfield who played 31 matches for us 1983–1985 has left his post as assistant manager of Wealdstone. We will be playing Rotherham next season and two from Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham with Huddersfield, Millwall and Plymouth also in the frame. Below us Carlisle are relegated. Fleetwood, Cheltenham, Burton and Port Vale are struggling to stay in the division. 9 April. Home to Exeter (2-2 Galbraith, Moncur). We were two nil up but on 76’ Cooper went off and we had already made five substitutions. O’Neill put us into the lead on 36’ with a goal straight from a corner, something not seen since the days of Matt Lockwood. Nineteen minutes from the restart O’Neill’s pressing paid dividends and his cross found the incoming Moncur to slot home. Sotiriou was the first to be replaced after a calf injury. James replaced the injured Cooper in the middle and it all went to pot from there. Exeter scored on 88’ and 90+2’ in this nothing game. Wellens may have even fewer players to pick in the remaining three games. Team: Brynn, Hunt, Sweeney, Simpson, Galbraith, Beckles, Sanders, O’Neill, Brown, Sotiriou, Pigott. Subs: Howes, James,(Hunt 58), Agyei(Pigott 66), Moncur(Sanders 57), Edwards, Obiero(Sotiriou 15), Cooper(Beckles 45). BBC report. Video highlights. 13 April. Away to Derby (3-0). Given the amount of players we had available this went to plan. Pigott and Sweeney were dropped and 17 year-old defender Chinedu warmed the bench. The O’s website does not even have a picture of him. How hard is that to do? We went a goal behind through a Moncur o/g on 10’ then others followed on 18’ and 88’. With 52% of the play none of our six shots were on target. We only forced four corners. Team: Brynn, James, Simpson, Pratley, Galbraith, Beckles, Moncur, O’Neill, Brown, Forde, Edwards. Subs: Howes, Hunt(Momcur 63), Agyei(Edwards 45), Sanders(James 77), Adu-Adjei, Chinedu, Obiero(Pratley 77). BBC report. Video highlights. Last home match is to Fleetwood who are bottom but one. Next season we will be playing promoted Stockport and Wrexham with Mansfield only needing two points to guarantee the last automatic place. The death was announced of Gordon Ferry who played for us 42 times in the league from 1965-1966 (December) after joining from Arsenal where he made 11 appearances. Leaving to join Atlanta Chiefs in the USA and making 55 apps for them in 1967-68 he returned to play for Barnet. Between 1968-75 he played 331(2) scoring seven times. My thanks to the Downhill Second Half website. He was born in Sunderland 22 December 1943. 20 April. Home to Fleetwood (0-1). Poor performance against a team relegated after the match. Agyei started but there was no improvement from the forward line. Happe returned for what turned out to be 23 minutes. Sotiriou, Sweeney and Cooper all injured. We lost the match in three minutes of added time in a game we controlled for 63% of the time. Adu-Adjei was of time but Obiero did not look out of place. Brynn flapped at another ball. Team: Brynn, James, Hunt, Simpson, Agyei, Galbraith, Beckles, Obiero, O’Neill, Brown, Forde. Subs: Howes, Pigott, Pratley(Brown 76), Sanders(Hunt 79), Adu-Adjei(Obiero 76), Moncur(Agyei 67), Happe(Simpson 71). BBC report. Video highlights. Wellens post match was not happy. Too many players not performing to his plan. Obiero and Happe have been offered new contracts. Last match away to Shrewsbury and Wellens has handed over his managerial duties to Matt Harrold while he sits in the stands. Harrold will leave the club this summer to take up a position with Bournemouth. Zech Obiero signed a two-year contract. The 19-year-old made his first-team début for the O’s in April of 2022, when he started the 2-1 victory at Crawley Town, towards the end of the 2021/22 campaign. Since his début versus the Red Devils, Obiero has gone on to make nine appearances for the club in all competitions, including a first start in Sky Bet League One earlier this month, putting in a man-of-the-match performance during the 3-1 victory over Cheltenham Town. The Leyton Orient academy graduate has also spent valuable time away from E10 this term, with loan spells at Cheshunt and Chelmsford City giving him valuable experience of senior football. 27 April. Away to Shrewsbury (1-3 Adu-Adjei, Galbraith, Agyei). Shows what can be done when you pass forward quickly. More inured players meant only six on the bench. Obiero’s forward pass to Agyei found the unmarked Adu-Adjei to scored his only goal for the club. Sixteen minutes later a fine forward pass from James found Galbraith who cleverly lobbed the keeper. Six minutes into the second half another fine defence splitting pass, this time from Galbraith found Agyei to run into the box and fire home the third. The Shrews got a late consolation goal when Sweeney failed to stop a cross and Simpson was found wanting in the centre of the goal area. We hit the woodwork three tines. Beckles made his customary gaff. Howes got a start and did well. Team: Howes, James, Sweeney, Simpson, Pratley, Agyei, Galbraith, Beckles, Obiero, Adu-Adjei, Brown. Subs: Brynn, Hunt(Sweeney 80), Sanders(Pratley 72), Pegrum(Adu-Adjei 90+3), Forde(Agyei 72), Happe(Beckles 72). BBC report. Video highlights. We finished joint 10th but behind Wycombe on goal difference. If all the players not taking part were ill or injured then the missing were the long-term El Mizouni, Graham and Archibald plus Moncur, Piggot, O’Neill, Cooper and Edwards. Meanwhile elsewhere, two goals from Duke-McKenna and one from Smith were not enough to save Sutton from the drop. Colchester were three points out of that relegation zone. Below us Carlisle, Fleetwood, Cheltenham and Port Vale were relegated. Above us if Huddersfield (away to Ipswich), Birmingham (home to Norwich) and Plymouth (home to Hull) all win next week then the first two will be relegated. Yeovil and Tamworth won their places in the National Premier league. Relegated from that league were Oxford City, Dorking, Kidderminster and Boreham Wood. Shaq Coulthirst has been released by Ebbsfleet, one of eight. He joined Maidstone. Josh Wright and Ouss Cissé remain in talks. Nigel Atangana is one of 12 players released by Eastleigh. Oldham have released 14 players and seven will leave Aldershot. Gavin Massey was released by Newport. Shrewsbury released 11. Grimsby released Otis Kan, Sutton let Beautyman, Scott Kashket and Agol go. George Ray was released at Barrow as was John Marquis by Bristol Rovers. Gary Hooper was released by Barnet. He played four games for us in 2007 scoring twice. Luke Summerfield left FC Halifax. He was on loan to us in 2009 and played 14 times. Jamie McCart was transfer listed by Rotherham. Dan Kemp was released by MK Dons and Gillingham did the same for Macauley Bonne. EFL retained lists here. 30 April. We announced the retained list: leaving would be Hunt and Thompson plus youngsters, Harrison Sodje, Emmanuel Harvest, Jephte Tanga, Ethan Light. Players in contract discussions with the club: Tom James, Jack Simpson, Dan Happe, Ruel Sotiriou, Theo Archibald, Darren Pratley, Noah Phillips. Meanwhile, the following academy players have been offered third-year scholarships: Makai Welch, Thomas Avgoustidis, Reon Smith-Kouassi but Emmanuel Kwatchey and Sahid Nallo will leave the club at the end of their scholarships. Lenny Holden, David Agyemang, Ivan Imasuen, Marley St Louis, and Ashley Koroma will all leave the club at the end of their second-year scholarships. Should Phillips sign we would have four goalkeepers at the club leading some to believe Howes would be number one next season. 1 May. Richie Wellens signed a new three-year deal. We will play relegated Birmingham and Huddersfield as well as Rotherham next season. The irony of Brum being relegated is that they were in sixth place when they sacked their manager John Eustace in October. He took over at Blackburn in February and guided them clear of relegation three points clear of Birmingham! Boston were promoted to the National League after beating Brackley Town. In the National League Bromley and Solihull Moors are in the final. In L2 Crawley, Crewe, Doncaster and MK Dons are fighting to join Stockport, Wrexham and Mansfield in our division next season. 5 May. The death was announced of former defender Phil Hoadley at the age of 72. Phil was signed from Crystal Palace by George Petchey and played 255 games for us scoring nine goals. He signed for First Division Norwich City; the move was the first freedom-of-contract transfer in the English game and saw the O’s receive a very healthy £110,000. He played 74(3) times for them. A knee injury sustained on loan at Hong Kong side Eastern Athletic ended his playing career. He will be forever remembered for the goal against Chelsea in the FA when two nil down Phil’s thunderbolt just before half time gave us hope and eventually a win against a team fielding seven internationals. Pre-season training camp will be in Malaga and will be based in La Cala de Mijas. This summer’s camp will take place between July 21st and 27th. On a podcast Wellens suggested that some players under contract would be told to find other clubs. Pigott could be one of them. Hornchurch and Dagenham are also on the friendly list. 13 May. Darren Pratley signs a one-year extension. The remaining places in our league were decided when Oxford beat Bolton for promotion and Crawley did the same against Crewe. Jamie Cureton became manager at Cambridge City and Steve Castle took up the reins at Bishops Stortford. Jake Caprice released by Burton. Dale Gorman has left Barnet after the expiry of his contract to join Woking. Harry Beautyman joined him there. Craig Clay left Sutton by mutual consent, Harry Smith had already refused a contract, not wanting to play in the NFL. Charlie Daniels joined seventh-tier non-league side Westfield FC. Having departed League Two side Colchester United at the beginning of 2022, Daniels chose to retire from football, and most recently has been working for Watford as a coach for the U21s. Alex Mitchell was rumoured to join Charlton. He did so on 24 June. Galbraith was called up by N Ireland. Makai Welch has been named in the Jamaica U20 squad for their June training camp in Mexico. Trouble at Morecambe where the managerless side have announced the departure of 16 players leaving just five first-team players. Ollie O'Neill played the final five minutes of Republic of Ireland U21s' 3-2 victory over Croatia. Beckles represented(and captaining) Grenada in their World Cup qualifiers over the last week or so. Every Leyton Orient goal scored in 2023/24. Ranking Leyton Orient's top 7 best managers based on PPG. BY ADAM LE ROUX footballleagueworld.co.uk These Orient bosses have all had success at Brisbane through the years, with some popular names topping the pile. Justin Edinburgh tops the list of best Orient managers with a remarkable 1.83 points per game record. Richie Wellens and his front-foot attacking style led Orient to a League One promotion and top-half finish. Leyton Orient have seen great managers like Alec Stock, Billy Holmes, and Peter Eustace make their mark in the club's history. The O’s have been resurgent in recent seasons though, with promotion from League Two in the 22/23 campaign followed up with a stellar first season back in the third tier in the most recent campaign. The East London club have had their fair share of top bosses at the helm at Brisbane Road in the past, and here we take a look at the best in terms of points per game, accounting for three points for a win and having managed a minimum of 25 games. Some popular faces of the recent past make the list, but who ranks top in the history of the side? 7- Billy Holmes - 1.35 Billy Holmes took over as player-manager in May 1906, following in the footsteps of former boss Sam Ormerod, with the club in its former guise of Clapton Orient. The former Manchester City player would go on to be in charge of the O’s for 15 years, right the way through until 1922, overseeing memorable victories against Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Woolwich Arsenal along the way. Having been just 25 when he took charge of the club, Holmes oversaw a London Challenge Cup victory in 1912, as well as steering the club through the First World War. Holmes died at the age of 41 while still in charge of the side, having won 163 of his 437 games in charge of the club. 6- Alec Stock - 1.38 - Alec Stock was appointed O’s boss in August 1949, and would go on to have a decade in charge of the side. Stock oversaw a historic FA Cup run in 1952 that saw Orient reach the fifth round after defeating Birmingham City and Everton, before eventually bowing out to Arsenal. That effort was bettered two years later, with a run to the sixth round seeing them face Port Vale, before going down 1-0 to the Valiants. His ten years in charge weren’t all plain sailing though, with a brief departure to head to Arsenal, although he returned after 53 days, claiming: “My mind said Arsenal, my heart said Orient.” Following his return, the club won their first promotion to Division Two, seeing out Brighton by a point to win the Division Three South in 1955/56. Eventually, Stock left for good in 1959, as Queens Park Rangers came calling, leaving his overall record as 181 wins from 464 matches. 5 -Tommy Taylor - 1.38 - Moving into more recent history now, and in 1996, Tommy Taylor was given the role of boss at Orient, and held the post for the next five years. Having suffered relegation the season before, Taylor steadied the ship in his time at Brisbane Road, and took them to the playoff final in 1999, before losing to Scunthorpe United in the final. A battle with relegation followed the next season, but Taylor turned things around to steer the club to safety, and push towards the playoffs once again in the following campaign. Alas, another final defeat came the O’s way, with Blackpool emerging 4-2 winners in Cardiff, despite Chris Tate’s opener 32 seconds in. Taylor resigned in the following October, having won 98 of his 269 matches in charge. 4 -Peter Eustace - 1.42 - Another 90s boss for you now, and this time it’s Peter Eustace, who took over in July 1991 after Frank Clark moved from manager to manager director. The start of that decade was a frustrating one for Orient, who continued to battle in the top half of the then-Division Three, but narrowly missed out on the play-offs time and time again. Eustace’s third season in charge saw the club finish in 18th, and he left his post in April of that year, having won 58 of his 150 games in charge of the club. 3 - Russell Slade - 1.54 - We’ve reached the turn of the century now, and Orient are flying high in League One, although with the threat of relegation looming, Geraint Williams is sacked and replaced with Russell Slade in April 2010. Having been successful in his initial task of saving the O’s from the drop, Slade earns his side finishes of seventh, 20th and seventh in his first three full seasons at the club, before narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in the 13/14 season. With a third-placed finish the O’s had to navigate the play-offs once again, with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Peterborough United seeing them through to the final. Having taken a two-goal lead in the Wembley final, Slade looked as if he had masterminded the most unlikely of promotions, only for Rotherham United to fight back in the second half before winning on penalties. With new owner Francesco Bechetti taking over the following summer, Slade had a tough job overseeing matters at Brisbane Road, and duly left his post in September 2014, having won 103 of his 242 games as manager. 2 - Richie Wellens - 1.59 - Current O’s boss Richie Wellens has one of the best records of any Orient manager ever, having helped his side secure promotion to League One in the 22/23 campaign. Orient were rampant in that season in the fourth tier, winning 26 of their league matches on the way to the title, with Wellens’ emphasis on front-foot attacking football paying dividends. Having taken over in March 2022 following the dismissal of Kenny Jackett, Wellens transformed the side into one of the best football playing sides in League Two, before emulating that success with a strong showing in League One in the 23/24 campaign. A top half finish in the third tier having just been promoted is no mean feat, and Orient’s 18 league wins saw them adapt to life at their new level comfortably. With a new deal signed with the club in May 2024, the future looks bright for both manager and club, as he looks to build on his record of 53 wins from 116 matches in charge. 1 - Justin Edinburgh - 1.83 - The one, the only, Justin Edinburgh, is a man revered in East London for many a reason, with the former Tottenham Hotspur man having the best points per game record of any Orient manager ever. Having guided the O’s back to the Football League in the 18/19 campaign, Edinburgh won 45 of his 83 games in charge of the club, before his tragic death just a month after promotion was secured. It was a moment that rocked not just the club, but football as a whole, with the 49-year-old commemorated with a stand being named after him at Brisbane Road, such was his effect on the club. Not only was he a top personality away from the pitch, Edinburgh was a leader and an excellent man-manager in the dugout, and those qualities shone through during his time in East London. 25 wins in that National League promotion season speak volumes, leaving his record as O’s boss as a tough one to beat, and put him fittingly at the top of the list of all-time Orient managers. 4 June. Dan Happe signed a two-year contract. 15 June. Kevin Campbell (left) scores his last goal for the club during his loan spell in a 5-0 thrashing of Grimsby Town. The Arsenal loanee ever made 16 appearances between January and April, scoring 9 times. He joined in January 1989, scored on début and assisted the O’s into promotion candidates by the time his loan deal was up. He was instrumental in so many decent performances, especially at home scoring for fun at times. It was two weeks ago that it was announced that Kevin was seriously ill with kidney failure and died today (15th June 2024) aged only 54. 25 June. Tom James signed a two-year contract. Alan McCormack replaced Matt Harrold. He played ten games for us in 2003 on loan from PNE. He played for eight other clubs after leaving us. He was a academy coach for Luton in October 2021. 26 June. The fixtures came out today and we start the season on August 10 at home to Bolton. The club announced the departure of Sotiriou to Bristol Rovers. Part of the club statement read: “The two clubs have agreed an undisclosed fee to avoid the need for a Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC) hearing.” With Wellens adding “The club made Ruel a great offer to stay but he’s taken the decision to move on and, as disappointed as we are, we have to respect that.” “Ruel was someone that I wanted to keep but we have an agreed budget and wage structure here and it is important for the long-term stability of the club that we stick to that. Myself and all of the footballing staff are aligned on that.” One supporter summed up Ruel thus: Ruel has always struck me as the sort of guy who is good when he doesn't have time to think about anything. The ball comes to him, he gets off a shot and sometimes scores. The more time he has, the worse he is. Charges off down blind alleys, fails to pick the right pass, first touch not great, generally zero threat in the air. One of the most frustrating players I have seen in over 40 years of supporting the Orient. 27 June. We signed Sonny Perkins on a season-long loan from Leeds. He was originally with us as a 14 year-old before we sold him to West Ham for whom he made a single adult appearance. Turning down a contract from the Hammers he joined Leeds and made a single adult appearance. Last season he joined Oxford on loan but returned to Leeds in January without starting a match and appearing but thrice. Perkins has made 20 appearances for England youth sides, scoring twelve goals for the Young Lions. Video highlights 1. Video highlights 2. 29 June. Another ex O joined us on a season loan. Charlie Kelman played 6(8) games on loan at Wigan last season scoring three goals. When he was with us on loan the season before he started 28(19) scoring seven goals. In Wellens first video of the season he said he was expecting 4-6 players in but tactics would have to be delayed two weeks until they come in. Two days later we still had not signed anyone. Maybe delay it three weeks? He also revealed Bristol Rovers paid Ruel 40% more than the top earner at the club. 3 July. Paul Terry signed another contract. For three years. Max Sanders was sold to Crewe for an undisclosed fee. That was a surprise. 4 July. Finally nearly three weeks after the transfer window opened we made a permanent signing. Diallang Jaiyesimi has joined the club on a two-year deal. The 26 year-old winger joins us from Charlton. Starting his career at Dulwich Hamlet, Jaiyesimi signed for then Premier League Norwich City in 2016, and picked up valuable Football League experience through loan spells at Yeovil Town 10(1) 2 goals, Grimsby Town 12(22) 1 goal and Swindon Town 17(6) 5 goals signed by Richie Wellens. After his loan Wellens signed him permanently and he went on to make a further 17(4) apps scoring 4 goals. He joined Charlton in February 2021 (Wellens had left in November 2020) and made 41(26) apps scoring another four goals. Loans to Wimbledon 8(3) 1 goal and St Johnstone 9(8) apps 1 goal followed. The BBC said he cost an undisclosed fee though there is nothing on the Club’s site to suggest that is true. Plus he was released by Charlton so no fee. Here’s what he can do. This from St Johnstone. 8 July. Still no movement on the transfer front. Come Friday and it will be four weeks since the transfer window opened. First friendly tomorrow, at Hornchurch which means we will start without the 4-6 players Wellens wants. 9 July. Archibald and Phillips signed one-year contracts. Archibald is not expected to be fit to play until January. Joe Pigott was lined up for a season-long loan to Wimbledon. Allegedly. Away to Hornchurch (0-7) Those who braved the rain which had been torrential for days, saw a feast of goals. First half team: Howes, Trialist, Beckles, Simpson, Trialist, Brown, Perkins, Trialist, Moncur, Agyei, O'Neil. Agyei opened the scoring on 37 after rounding the keeper. Three minutes later Perkins scored his first goal for the the club. Trialists are believed to be Matt Penney, Louie Watson, Djavan Anderson. Second half team: Howes, James, Sweeney, Happe, Cooper, Galbraith, Pratley, DJ, Kelman, Obiero, Pegrum. Diallang Jaiyesimi curled a beautiful effort into the far corner to put the O's three ahead five minutes into the second half. Kelman at the back post nodded in for Orient's fourth. An own goal from a Pegrum cross made it five. Kelman got his second and Pegrum ended the scoring. Phillips came on for Howes and Makai Welch and Hayden Bullas came on for Galbraith and Jaiyesimi in the 84th minute. In the post match video Wellens announced he wanted a goalkeeper, left and right backs and two midfielders. A month into the transfer season and a month away from the first match of the season and there is no sign of them. 10 July. Pigott joined AFC Wimbledon on a year-long loan. 12 July. If Leyton Orient were having trouble signing players then Morecambe did not signing 15 today including George Ray from Barrow. Their transfer embargo had be lifted after they paid their VAT bill. The next day we travelled to Scotland to play Hearts as part of their 150 Years celebrations. The bond between Hearts and Leyton Orient was forged during the early period of the Great War (1914-1918) when a group of players from each team responded to Lord Kitchener’s call for volunteers to form a New Army. This Army would support the nation’s regular force that had already suffered heavy casualties. We won this 1-2 after gifting a early goal by the trialist keeper. First half team: Ashby-Hammond (Trialist), James, Beckles, Happe, Penney (Trialist), Brown, Obier, Galbraith, Graham, O’Neill, Kelman. Graham’s corner found the head of Brown to equalise and the half ended all square. Second half team: Ashby-Hammond (Trialist) (Howes 71), Hutchinson (Trialist), Cooper, Simpson, Sweeney, Pratley, Moncur (Pegrum 78), Watson (Trialist), Perkins, Jaiyesimi (Welch 87), Agyei. Another shambles of a back pass, this time from a Hearts player found Agyei and his shot was palmed into the path of Jaiyesimi to fire home. Eleven new scholars have joined the academy for the 2024/25 season. Claudio Asumu Nsang is a winger we got from Norwich City. Centre back Preston Knight, Zak O’Keefe a midfielder, Zachary Hambury a winger cum striker, Ethan Pike is a keeper, Eddie Wright is a midfielder, Alfie Wellens is a ball-playing central midfielder who is great in tight areas – Alfie has a brilliant ability to pass over long distances too. Aaron Sterling. Luke Northwood a defender we got from Charlton. Charlie Anderson another midfielder as is Izu Okafor. 16 July. The death was announced of former player Joe who died in Whipps Cross after a short illness yesterday. Born in Belfast, NI in 1939. Joe impressed during a Youth International for Northern Ireland v England played at Brisbane Road in May 1957. He joined the O’s in April 1958 moving back to Ireland in May 1966. He went on to make a total of 109 (2) appearances, scoring 29 goals. Joe featured during the promotional season of 1961/62 and made 11 appearances in the First Division of 1962/63. He will always hold the record of being the first used substitute for Leyton Orient v Preston on the 4th September 1965 (Paul Went's debut). He was 84. We signed 21 year-old defensive midfielder Lewis Warrington from Everton. During his 15 years with the Toffee Men he was loaned to Tranmere (17 apps 1 goal), Fleetwood (38 apps) and Plymouth last season making just two appearances for the west county side. The six-footer signed a two -year contract. His Premier League experience extends to one minute whilst his Championship time is 55 minutes. In all matches he has played 9.478' over 126 matches. Next page.

Warrington