Five things we've learnt so far this summer

Summer at Brisbane Road is usually a time when both staff and fans can relax, sit back and watch other clubs sign up all the decent players.

This year it was different because, incredibly, some of those decent players were actually on Orient's books. The fact that we've managed to hang on to the core members of an almost-successful squad - not to mention the manager - and added some extra quality bodes very, very well for next season. In which case it is thus almost inevitable that Orient will be relegated.

Here, then, are five things we've learnt so far this summer...

1. Russell's got balls

It would have been easy for Russell Slade to give Scott McGleish another season. A fans' favourite, Orient's top scorer for 2010/11 and a player that always gives 100 per cent. But instead the manager politely showed Scotty the door and moved quickly to replace him with a striker marginally younger and marginally better in Jamie Cureton - a move something akin to dumping Fearne Cotton so you can go out with Holly Willoughby. Still, when you miss out on the play-offs by one point these margins are important. Which begs the question, can bold Russell really do without Ryan Jarvis's guaranteed two goals a season? Time will tell.

2. Loyalty isn't dead!

For most footballers loyalty means not sleeping with your wife's sister too often. But, with rival clubs circling around manager Russell Slade and players such as Jamie Jones, Jimmy Smith and Dean Cox, loyalty was tested to the limit this summer. So, it was refreshing to see such fierce devotion to Orient among the staff. Russell Slade: "An opportunity arose with a Championship club... I was not given permission to speak to them"; Jamie Jones: "League One goalkeeper - for now"; Jimmy Smith: "My contract is up. I will have to speak to them about whether I'll sign a new deal or move on."

3. Players get really, really bored in the summer

Thanks to the delights of Twitter we now know that, for players, summer is a long, soul-destroying stretch of interminable boredom, punctuated only by occasional games of Pro-Evo or getting a new tattoo. By July, Dean Cox, Jimmy Smith and George Porter were driven to taking the expression 'thick as two short planks' to its logical conclusion, with this series of pranks.

4. Dean Smith should probably do a bit more research

"I think a few Orient fans I've spoken to said he's had a few injuries," said Walsall manager Dean Smith of his new signing Adam Chambers, suggesting perhaps that his research might have been a little more in-depth. (Next week, Deano on new signing Adrien Patulea: "Yeah, some bloke down the pub told me he reckons he's got a bit of class.") Still, Smith has long been a loyal servant to Orient and continues to do his former club many favours. In signing Ryan Jarvis, for example, he's virtually guaranteed that Orient won't concede a goal in their opening fixture against the Saddlers.

5. We might get to see Orient past v Orient present

Have you ever wondered how the current Orient team would fare against Os teams of old? Well, we might just find out as - due to an adminstrative error - Martin Ling is back in league football as manager of Torquay. Predictably enough our one-time gaffer has already signed teacher's pet Brian Saah and has been sniffing around Craig Easton. Should Orient draw Torquay in a cup competiton then expect our current crop to be lining up against a 4-4-2 formation that includes Derek Duncan, Loick Pires and JJ Melligan. And who'd win? Well, perhaps football would be the winner. Just kidding. 

Leyton Orient 0 Carlisle United 0, 12/4/11

A game in which... Orient subjected Carlisle to the sort of onslaught you'd expect to see if the entire might of the US military decided to wage war against a platoon of Lego soldiers. Unfortunately this took place only in the final five minutes of the game, when the Os had a number of gilt-edged chances to steal the three points. Before that each team had spells of dominance, though in truth it was Carlisle who looked more likely to win the game, only for an inspired Jamie Jones and the underside of the crossbar to stand in their way.

Moment to savour... Jamie Jones's first half save in which he managed to palm a deflected ball around the post despite travelling in the wrong direction. It was one of a number of classy stops by the Orient number one, whose Charlton nightmare is now well and truly consigned to a cut-price DVD entitled Hilarious Goalkeeping Blunders Volume 76, narrated by Bob Mills.

Head in hands moment... When, in the dying minutes, Paul-Jose M'Poku sent over a delightful cross at about knee-height, meaning that the onrushing Dean Cox had no choice but to head it, and somehow managed to spoon it over the bar from all of three yards.

King for a day... Presumably Elliot Omozusi must have got a heavy knock on the head at the start of the second half, causing his brain to be temporarily tricked into thinking it was inhabiting the body of an actual footballer. Time and time again the centre-back turned his man inside his own penalty box and then sent Orient on the attack with precision-guided passes to Charlie Daniels. What next for Omozusi - heading the ball anywhere other than directly up in the air?

Boo boy... No one in particular, but let's slap the wrists of Stephen Dawson for pointlessly getting himself booked in the first few minutes for backchat, rendering himself unable to tackle properly for the rest of the game. And Adam Chambers too, for a Rory McIlroy-sized choke in front of goal at the death. I'm not saying the chance was easy, but if it were a barmaid it would be giving punters a hand job out the back for a fiver a pop.

In the dug out... At last, Big Russ gives Paul-Jose M'Poku more than 12 minutes to work his magic! Unfortunately for the majority of his half an hour on the pitch the Belgian winger was playing out of position in the centre of attack. But never mind that, for at times this season Orient have played some football that is so divine it's almost impregnanted a couple of virgins in the South Stand. And for that we have Russell Slade to thank.

What would Martin Ling have done? Given a rousing, ball-busting pre-match speech to fire the team up for a final push for the play-offs. 'I quoted Churchill,' he'd say, proudly. 'I've always loved that little dog in the insurance adverts.'

Play-offs? Well, since five of the last six meetings between these sides at Brisbane Road ended in stalemate, this one had a draw written all over it right from the start. Points-wise we're not out of it, but with the luck not flowing, a tired squad and some key injuries, it seems there's now more chance Kate Middleton will rock up to her wedding on a Harley-Davidson than Orient will make the play-offs. Still, don't give up hope just yet...

Leyton Orient 2 Plymouth Argyle 0, 5/4/11

A game which... was so painless for Orient that it was like being challenged to an arm-wrestle by Gillian McKeith. Plymouth, of course, are in all sorts of trouble and rock bottom of the league, which is exactly the reason they would have beaten the Os in every single season in League One prior to this one. But tonight saw Russell Slade's side prove, as they have done for most of this campaign, that they can effectively dispatch weaker opposition with the minimum of fuss. It wasn't necessarily the most fluid performance, but Jamie Jones was largely untroubled - except by his recurring nightmares of last Saturday, of course.

Moment to savour... Every time Jones dispatched the ball up the field instead of blindly rolling it out to his full backs. His mistake against Charlton was the death knell of Orient's policy of playing piggy in the middle in front of their own goalmouth, and tonight showed that kicking long from the goalkeeper when necessary and playing a neat passing game aren't necesarily mutually exclusive.

Head in hands moment... When, in the second half, Elliot Omozusi broke down the right hand side and decided to try to bamboozle the opposition with six consecutive stepovers. By the time he'd completed them he'd allowed enough time for the entire Plymouth team to jog to the touchline, grab a drink of water, take instruction from the manager, saunter up to the Orient player and casually take the ball away. Take that Lionel Messi!

King for a day... With his fourth goal in five games, the irrepressible Scott McGleish is having something of a late season burst. Which is handy since striker partner Alex Revell, for all his presence and hard work, has become more of a damp squib in front of goal for the last couple of months.

Boo boy... No one had a bad game, but Adam Chambers' return to the starting line-up was matched by a relatively anonymous performance. Are his best days behind him? Or is it that he was only rated so highly in the first place because he was playing alongside Paul Terry? A bit like heralding Prince Andrew as an intellectual genius simply because he's standing next to Peter Andre.

In the dug out... Plaudits to Russell Slade for a reshuffling of the pack - Whing especially excelled back in the side - and a return to winning ways. And while some decisions might befuddle a little - Tom Carroll back on the bench after a commanding first-half display against Charlton? - in the big man we trust.

What would Martin Ling have done? Defiantly claimed at the press conference that, despite gaining only one point in the previous four games, this victory was a validation of his methods. "This just goes to show that if you play exactly the same team with exactly the same tactics every week sooner or later you win a game."

Play-offs? With Bournemouth in freefall and the confidence that should come from a return to winning ways, Orient - like an ageing DJ still hawking his records out to Ibiza every summer - are still very much in the mix.

The 10 reasons behind Orient's season to rememeber

Although the last couple of games have represented something of a setback, the fact that Orient are still in with a fighting chance of a play-off place going into April means this season has been the most successful since promotion in 2005/06. Here's why...

1. Physical presence
In football, size isn’t everything - otherwise Loick Pires would be playing for Barcelona. However, when 4ft 2in midfielder Dean Cox scored against Orient with a header - yes, a header - when playing for Brighton in 2007 it became clear that after a decade or so of fielding teams that could be out-muscled by the under-11s from the local comprehensive, it was probably time to add a bit of height and weight to the side. This season, then, we’ve got the likes of Chorley, Revell, Spring and Tehoue to compensate for Orient’s traditionally miniscule offering.

2. Tactical flexibility
Martin Ling, to be fair, had a couple of different formations up his sleeve. One was 4-4-2 with Sean Thornton played out of position, the other was 4-4-2 with Sean Thornton on the bench. Russell Slade, however, has switched from 4-4-2 to 5-4-1 to a midfield diamond as situations dictated, even mid-game. Losing to Droylsden in the FA Cup and down to 10 men, he threw caution to the wind and started the second half with three strikers - and then look what happened.


Paul Terry

3. A goal-scoring midfield
Orient has a proud recent history of non-scoring midfielders: Andy Harris, Billy Beall, David Hunt, Scott Canham… Paul Terry, meanwhile, had more chance of scoring at Faces Nightclub, Gants Hill, than he did of netting a goal - and with a face like that, that’s really saying something. This season, though, Cox, Smith, Dawson and Spring already have 22 between them, with many more likely to follow.

4. Loanees
The ability to play the loan market is a key requirement of lower league managers, and by and large Orient have been pretty hopeless at it. Bringing in Sam Parkin in 2008, for example, was like going to Sainsburys to buy a sirloin steak but coming back with a bag of mouldy Brussels sprouts. This season the loanees - in particular M’Poku, Whing, Kane and Carroll - have played a key part in the success of the side.

5. A bench
Part of Martin Ling must have died inside every time he turned round to his bench to see who he could bring on to change things, only to be faced with Derek Duncan, Loick Pires or Donny Barnard grinning at him inanely. It was worse for Geraint Williams - he only had James Scowcroft. These days, with the option of cameos from Tehoue, M’Poku, Kane and Chambers, we’ve never had it so good. Ryan Jarvis is on the bench too, mind, but someone needs to hand out the water bottles.

6. The goalkeeper
When it comes to the men between the sticks, Orient’s heritage is about as distinguished as Kerry Katona at a royal wedding. Historically it’s been a problem position - until this season, that is, when the young Jamie Jones has been a marvel on the goal line. We’ll struggle to hold on to him for too much longer, so enjoy it while it lasts.

7. A meritocracy
In previous regimes, some favoured players - let’s call them Adam Chambers, for the sake of argument - commanded a starting place in the side whether unfit, injured, out of form or missing a limb. As good a player as Chambers is, Slade’s decision to give an extended run to Jimmy Smith has paid dividends, and the manager's meritocratic approach to team selection as a whole has ensure that it’s always the 11 players in form taking to the pitch every week.

8. Tiny Cox
While it’s perhaps unfair to single out one player in a season of great team performances, an exception has to be made for the man who is indistinguishable from his own Subbuteo replica. With eight goals and 20 assists so far, Cox is the player Shane Tudor would like to have been, with a talent that JJ Melligan could only dream about in wild fantasies, probably also featuring unicorns and free Irish whiskey.

9. The big striker
Martin Ling used to spend most of the closed season threatening to bring in a ‘big striker’ while surreptitiously making bids for Julian Joachim, Luke Rogers and Verne Troyer. Russell Slade, meanwhile, brought in Alex Revell with the minimum of fuss, and the former Southend man’s presence - not to mention his goal scoring - has been vital to the team this season.

10. Kevin Nugent
While Russell Slade gets all the plaudits and his own South Stand chant, let’s not forget the contribution of Kevin Nugent. Not many other coaches in football could so artfully stand on the touchline with a hangdog expression for 70 minutes before spurring into action to inform the substitutes who they should be marking at corners. Kev is Orient through and through - apart from his many years at Plymouth, Bristol City, Cardiff and Swansea - and long may he continue. 

This feature originally appeared in the Leyton Orientear

Leyton Orient 0 Brighton 0, 1/2/11

A game in which... Orient proved that on current form they're a match for any team in the land, except Arsenal. Let's not forget that Gus Poyet has taken time out from impersonating Cornelius in Planet Of The Apes to fashion a pretty impressive Brighton side that beat Orient 5-0 exactly a month ago and are currently atop League One. So a gutsy point is no disgrace, especially when you could have forgiven the Os players for suffering a post-FA Cup hangover. (Though now Sean Thornton has moved on there's probably less chance of the team going on a three-day bender after each victory.)

Moment to savour... The South Stand erupting in a rousing rendition of 'We've got Tiny Cox'. I admire your honesty, lads, but too much information, thanks.

Head in hands moment... There are many things to admire about Ben Chorley but his dribbling ability isn't one of them, as he demonstrated when he attempted to dink past the entire Brighton midfield in the first half, almost gifting the opposition a goal. Still, it was the only blight on an otherwise towering performance.

King for a day... Whenever something was happening on the pitch, you could be sure that Stephen Dawson was in the thick of it. The all-action Irishman could even have got a late penalty if it wasn't for the fact that he blatantly dived. Either that or he was hauled down by a lurking poltergeist.

Boo boy... It was an all-round impressive display from everyone in a red shirt, but Paul-Jose M'Poku's cameo was much like Jennifer Aniston's Madame Tussauds waxwork - that is, a pale imitation of its usual self.

In the dug out... You can't argue with Orient's current form and it seems Big Russ got it spot on again. Giving Adam Chambers a brief run out at the start of the game was a masterstroke, allowing Stephen Dawson an extra two minutes of recovery time from his weekend injury before coming on to the pitch refreshed and ready for action.

What would Martin Ling have done? Taken the opportunity of the first game after the closure of the transfer window to blood his new signing, Julian Joachim. "I've said all along that I'd sign a big striker," he'd say defiantly, "and Julian comes with a big heart, a big desire to win and a big wage packet. That he's only 5ft 6in is beside the point."

Going down? Certainly not. Although mathematically Orient are still in a relegation battle, one defeat in the last 16 games tells a different story. Arsenal, no doubt, are trembling...

Carling Cup: Leyton Orient 0 West Brom 2, 24/8/10

A game in which... Brisbane Road was spellbound by the visit of a glamorous Premier League team - or at least the 200 or so Orient fans that bothered to turn up were. In reality, you can hardly blame supporters for shunning the League Cup. If I recall correctly the last time the Os got further than round 2, the trophy was named the Hormel Corned Beef Cup and our passage through was due to some wing half trickery from Cyril Bacon.

Moment to savour... Not many. Although Orient were far from embarrassed, West Brom won at a relative canter. Still, it was enjoyable seeing small-man-syndrome poster boy Dean Cox take on and beat ex-O Nicky Shorey on one occasion in the second half. Just think, Nicky, if only you'd stayed at Orient you could have had so many nights like these, rather than playing for England and stuff...

Head in hands moment... Charlie Daniels is through. He's through! The ball is dropping nicely for him, he shapes to shoot and... Oh hang on, it's on his right foot. Row Z here it comes.

King for a day... Another typically industrious performance from human combustion engine Adam Chambers who, if only he could shoot and pass properly, could probably play for West Brom.

Boo boy... Jimmy Smith is the ultimate nondescript player - rarely crap enough to bother slagging off, seldom good enough to warrant praise. Tonight, however, his second half switch to right back - clearly not his position - earns him a mention for general shoddiness, not least his throw-in that didn't quite make it on to the pitch.

In the dug out... "Change the record, it's like Williams all over again," yelled one young buck in the posh seats during the first half. Big Russ thought carefully about his reply - perhaps bringing to mind a witty riposte from Oscar Wilde, or at least Stephen Fry - before countering, "Shut up, you prick." Touche!

You're supposed to be away... "Premiership, you're having a laugh!" crowed the South Stand at the handful of Baggies who'd made the journey to east London, just as West Brom scored their winner. If I lived in Birmingham and supported West Brom - nasty thought - I wouldn't make a midweek trip to Brisbane Road either.

What would Martin Ling have done? Made a triple substitution at 80 minutes, once the game was already lost. "These three are the future of Leyton Orient Football Club," he'd claim, bringing on Loick Pires, Aiden Palmer and Brian Saah.

Going down? Another game, another set of "encouraging signs" that point towards League One survival. Probably best that Orient swap the "encouraging signs" for "actual points" come Saturday though.