GUEST BLOG! After the Lord Mayor’s Show: Where next for the “Group that never gives up”?

Instead of crying into his pint, Andy Brown - blogger for WAGU and The Two Unfortunates - has been looking at what happens next for the most successful Orient team in decades...

I write this on an overcast Bank Holiday Monday trying, as I suspect most Os fans are, to rationalise how we came so close to promotion again in a play-off final and yet fell short, for the third time in a row, to northern opponents.

Was it the West End of Wembley, the fact that the fourth team always seems to win play-offs or the fact that Slade didn’t bring on Robbie Simpson to score a 40-yard screamer in extra time?

This time we had real hope, unlike the dismal performance in 1999 or the team that fell short in 2001. Orient went into half-time with a 2-0 lead after a shaky start, but a combination of bad refereeing, Rotherham persistence and a wonder goal from ex-Orient striker Revell pegged the Os back.

Despite being the better team in extra-time, tiredness and a lack of cutting edge saw the game go to penalties, where Baudry and Dagnall missed to give promotion to Rotherham and leave us heartbroken.

Football is cruel, but in truth this game reflected our season; out ahead, only to be pegged back, then out ahead on penalties, only to be pegged back and miss out. It goes without saying that what Orient have achieved this season is phenomenal.

Joint LMA manager of the year Russell Slade has established a solid base of talented footballers that play good, passing football. With the vastly superior budgets of Wolves (and Brentford), it was always going to be hard to sustain an automatic push over 46 gruelling games, but third place was a massive achievement.

Nevertheless, the reality is we’ll be playing in League One again next season, travelling to Crewe and Scunthorpe rather than Leeds, Fulham and Middlesbrough.

As upset as I am, I’ll still get my season ticket, as I know many other Orient fans will - irrespective of what player or management changes happen in the summer. However, the question remains, where next for these players and this management team that came so close this season and how will Barry Hearn react to yesterday’s events?

Glass half-full scenario

Barry Hearn sees enough potential in Russell Slade and the key players to increase investment in the management team and playing squad to prevent fragmentation, very much as Brentford pushed on after falling short last season.

Key players Moses Odubajo and Dean Cox – even though they are under contract – stay rather than leaving for fees. Out of contract players Lloyd James and Elliot Omozusi decide to stay at the club. Hearn persuades Russell Slade to stay longer term and allows him to add to the squad in several key positions, setting Orient up well for a push on promotion again in the 2014/15 season.

Outcome: Orient finish top 6 again or pushing for automatic promotion.

Glass half-empty scenario

Russell Slade receives an offer from a Championship club and decides to leave. Offers come in for Dean Cox and Moses Odubajo and are accepted, while Elliot Omozusi and Lloyd James decide not to take up new contract offers and leave on free transfers.

A new manager needs to come in an entirely rebuild the midfield and get the new team to gel. Hearn stays true to form and invests zero in new players or improving the squad.

Outcome: Orient finish lower mid-table or fighting relegation.

Realistic scenario

Russell Slade stays. One of Cox or Odubajo leaves for good money. Orient bring in a winger to replace the departing player. James and Omozusi stay for another year. Most of this squad stays and Orient compete, once again, with a small squad.

The team doesn’t replicate this season’s success but still manages a top 10 finish. Tough decisions then need to be made in June 2015.

Outcome: Orient finish 10th

Overall it’s hard to know what to predict will happen after such an emotional day. Most of the key players are under contract, meaning that for them to leave, there will need to be good transfer fees.

But this team has been in the shop window all season, meaning a club of Orient’s size will not turn down a £1 million offer if it comes in for Moses Odubajo or a high fee for Dean Cox, both of whom are critical to this team.

Much of this also depends on Russell Slade. He was keen to talk to Barnsley when they wanted to discuss the job with him in 2011 and his stock is much higher after this season’s endeavours, which may make him hard to keep.

He may also feel he cannot go further with Orient and want a new challenge, after the disappointment of missing out in the play-offs. May and June’s movements will tell us much about the chances of this Orient team next season.

If this team stays together, there is a chance it could compete again next year. In the background, however, the Olympic Stadium and Barry Hearn’s desire to sell the club still loom large, leaving the long-term future of Orient questionable.

Orient fans are hoping the squad will stay together and grow, very much as Brentford have succeeded. But for that to happen, Hearn will need to invest even more, not just in the running of the club, but also in the playing staff, which would require a change in his philosophy or a sustainable club that succeeds on its own merits.

Either way, it has been a season to be proud of and I hope another is just around the corner. Up the Os!

Play-off final: The ten ways Orient can beat Rotherham

So in advance of Orient's biggest game in decades I thought I'd calm nerves by revealing 10 ways our east London heroes can win at Wembley. Worryingly I could only think of five. 

Luckily Os fan and Times journalist James Masters came up with another five, so together we present you the cold hard evidence that Orient will be in the Championship next season. Possibly. 

No need to dress up for the
Wembley cameras, Romain

1. Play the game, not the occasion
Yes it's Wembley, yes it's a big day out and yes, there will be half and half scarves, but it's important the players treat the game like any other. That means no waving to your loved ones on the way out of the tunnel, no stopping on the edge of the area to check out the big screen to see if your hair is in place and no smiling in the tunnel at your opponents. It's just another game. You're there to win - Wembley is not a place for losers.
James Masters

2. Out-sing the Millers
If you're one of the 19,000 new fans Orient seem to have acquired in the space of the week, you've got some catching up to do to learn all of our terrace chants. To be fair, that catching up will take you about seven seconds given we only have about three songs, but you'll need to sing them loudly and proudly to drown out the famously catchy Rotherham ditty "It's right grim oop north, but if thi'ivver does owt for nowt, allus do it for thissen".
Matt Simpson 

"We've got THIS much money!"

3. Don't mention the money
Steve Evans, who is rumoured to sleep in Egyptian cotton sheets, much to the dismay of the local UKIP councillors, hates nothing more than hearing how Rotherham have bought their success. The Millers have only paid for one player in their squad - one more than Orient, mind you. Forget the fact that chairman Tony Stewart has pumped in £30 million in the past five years and built a brand new stadium. Compare that to Orient who can't even get the Wi-Fi to work in the press box after running out of 10p pieces.
James Masters

4. Take out Revell 
Though there is no statistical evidence for it whatsoever, it is 100 per cent fact that all footballers score a goal whenever they play against a former club. Behold Rotherham's Alex Revell, then: he of chiselled jaw, ice-white teeth and one profitable season at Brisbane Road. The big striker has been strength training by trying to roll Steve Evans up a slight incline and will be a menace to Nathan Clarke and Mathieu Baudry throughout the final. Our defensive duo will need to be at their eye-bulging best.
Matt Simpson 

5. Don't concede early
You can't win the game in the first 10 minutes but you can certainly lose it. Don't start like Arsenal did last week at Wembley - still in the changing room with the headphones on whiling away time to what today's kids call "hip hop". Yes, Arsenal fought back but Orient probably aren't going to be able to bring Rosicky and Wilshere off the bench. Take a breath, stay calm and do what you've done all season. It's just another game.
James Masters 

Shaun Batt: unpredictable 

6. Unleash the Battman
When Russelll Slade brings Shaun Batt off the bench with 20 minutes to go - you can set your watch by it if you like - the Rotherham defence will know they're in for a rough time. The striker is delightfully unpredictable: sometimes, for example, he'll knock the ball 30 yards ahead of himself and then charge after it and sometimes he'll knock the ball 35 yards ahead of himself and charge after it. Two of Orient's three play-off semi-final goals were set up by the Battman, and he's sure to have a say in the final one way or the other.
Matt Simpson

7. Back our big man
Big games call for big game players and you won't find many men bigger than Kevin Dearden or Steve Evans. Dearden has grown into his role as a figure of fun, serenading fans with chants regarding his rather rotund waistline. Evans, whose list of misdemeanours is as long as his daily order a the local kebab shop, is far more prone to explode and lead to allegations of him pulling down his trousers. Wembley are apparently so concerned about the two men meeting that they've been given separate departure times to walk out the tunnel.
James Masters 

This guy's lined up to take a penalty for Orient

8. Do not let the game go to penalties
A word of advice: if the scores are still locked after extra-time you might as well cut your losses, leave early and beat the traffic rather than watch Orient lose a penalty shoot-out. The Os have already missed six out of 11 this season and in the vain hope of finding a reliable spot-kicker have rotated the duties between Mooney, Lisbie, Omozusi, James, Ada the groundsman and an 11-year-old boy who looked to have promise when he put one past Theo the Mascot in a sponsored shoot-out at half-time.
Matt Simpson

9. Keep it in the family
While Rotherham's "comical" duo the Chuckle Brothers might have got a giggle back in the 1990s with their famous "to me, to you" gag, Orient supporters the Lloyd-Webbers have brought the house down with their musical talent. While Julian chills out on the cello, Andrew has raked in the cash with Evita, Aspects of Love and Starlight Express - as well as Stephen Ward the musical, inspired by the Wolves and Ireland left-back. Nobody does a showstopper like Lloyd-Webber and his experience will be valuable to the Os on the biggest stage of them all - Wembley.
James Masters 

Robbie Simpson: secret weapon

10. Rely on our secret weapon
Every final needs a hero, and could it be that on Sunday that hero comes from the most unlikely place? Has Russell Slade been keeping Robbie Simpson well away from the pitch in the latter half of the season purely to preserve his strength and fitness for the ultimate play-off cameo? The answer is definitely no, but if Orient are losing with minutes to go, maybe - just maybe - the manager will throw one last roll of the dice and bring on Simpson. And then fate awaits...
Matt Simpson 

Play-off final preview: The view from Rotherham

It's somehow fitting that the League One play-off final has ended up as a clash between Leyton Orient and Rotherham United: two unglamorous, unfancied clubs who've defied the odds this season. I asked Millers fan and WAGU blogger Michael Whitehead for his views ahead of Wembley... 

Has Rotherham's performance this season exceeded your expectations?
Absolutely. I knew we had the makings of a good team that would spring a few surprises and should be capable of getting in the top half. We had already brought in players of a high calibre that had played at Championship or League One level such as Kieran Agard, Kari Arnason, Craig Morgan and Lee Frecklington.

So our good start wasn't that surprising, but our long unbeaten run after New Year's Day was beyond most Millers fans' wildest dreams.

What are the secrets of Rotherham's success this season?
It's a bit of a cliche possibly but I think a lot of it is down to good old-fashioned team spirit and the never-say-die attitude. There were many pundits marking us down as relegation candidates, some 'experts' saying we didn't deserve to be in the top six, whilst in some quarters many have been critical of our style of play.

So in many ways, others did the team talk for us and contributed the togetherness in the squad, particularly away from home where we've been hard to break down at the back but further forward we have played with a freedom and work ethic that have put some home teams on the back foot from the off.

I think another big factor is that we ended last season on such a high, winning all five of our last five matches to pip Burton Albion to second place.

Your manager Steve Evans is a divisive character in football - how do Rotherham fans feel about him?
He's on the verge of potentially delivering back-to-back promotions in his two seasons with us so you can imagine we hold him in high regard! We knew his past when he arrived and many fans took some convincing that he was the right man, particularly when he served a stadium ban a month into his first season for his antics against Bradford whilst being manager of Crawley.

But he's been first class whilst in charge of Rotherham. All Millers fans ask of their team and manager is that they give it their all and Evans is as hard-working as they come. He's been very gracious towards fans for giving him a chance and takes time out to visit fans in hospital - so he's not always as psychotic as he appears on match day!

He's always busy travelling to see matches around the country and going abroad looking for new recruits, he keeps fans informed of what's going on and he's now very respectful, sometimes gushing towards our opposition. The only common trait he has brought to Rotherham is his passion and desire to win - nothing wrong with that!

Alex Revell is very familiar to Orient fans - how important is he to your team?
As Orient fans will be aware, Alex Revell gives you everything he's got. He plays like a fan and celebrates like a fan, so he has a lot of admirers for his commitment to the cause. Rotherham fans like their grafters and so does Steve Evans so he's a key part of the spine of this team. 

The only problem is he doesn't score nearly enough goals as he should.  He's excellent at bringing the ball down and playing in some of our attacking players such as Agard, Frecklington and Pringle, but if he's in a one-on-one you wouldn't put your house on him. Although as he showed against Preston in the first leg and against Orient at New York Stadium he can do it from time to time!

What were your opinions of Orient when you played us this season?
I didn't get to the away game at Brisbane Road but I was at New York for the match against Orient in February. I think you had been on a long unbeaten run and had obviously led the way for so long so we knew we had a difficult game in prospect.

I remember you kept the ball very well and had a lot of threat down the wings and up front. Odubajo was very lively and we came under pressure for long periods. I saw a bit of the first leg against Peterborough and you were much the same - very tidy in possession and very hard-working when not with the ball.

When Revell got his injury-time goal I think it was a turning point in the season really as it showed we could mix it with the best in the league and that we had nothing to fear.

You are the bookies' favourites for the final - is that fair?
I wasn't aware we were to be honest. I would prefer it if we wasn't as the underdog tag suits us just fine!  Not sure if it's fair or not - I think a case could be made for either side as we are both quite evenly matched. The table tells you that for nothing!

Is there anything that worries you about the Orient team?
There's a lot of goals in the Orient side - even on the bench. I know I would love Chris Dagnall in our side, very much in the Adam Le Fondre mould, a natural goalscorer which is what we have lacked really since ALF left us for Reading. My main fear is maybe that we might struggle to get the ball off you at times! I would say you have been the best passing team I have seen after Wolves.

Where will the game be won and lost?
This Millers team are at their strongest when Lee Frecklington and Ben Pringle have the space to do damage. The pair are match winners on their own and usually when they play well we win.

It sounds obvious but I think if either team gets an early goal it will be an uphill struggle for the opposition. Both are hard to break down and both can switch up a gear and get more goals if needed.  If its level going towards extra time then maybe Rotherham will have the edge as we like our late goals.

And finally, your prediction for Sunday?
It's going to be tight isn't it?  But its Wembley so anything can happen. This team have proven me wrong on several occasions and so it's tempting to be pessimistic! I'm going 2-2 after 90 minutes, with a goal in extra time to win it for the Millers.

One of my first disappointments as a Rotherham fan was when Orient beat us on penalties in 1999 at Millmoor to dump us out of the Division 3 play-offs. A lot of fans remember that so maybe its time for some sweet revenge!

GUEST POST! Rotherham 2 Leyton Orient 1, 1/2/14

Until yesterday Orient's league record during my stay in Berlin was played four, won four. A coincidence? Yes. But never mind, for once again Andy Brown - Orient blogger for WAGU and The Two Unfortunates - has stepped in to give his take on events...

A game in which... Orient played with all the conviction of mice up against a Panzer division…while stuck in a wind tunnel. And a game in which the back story wrote itself as ex-O Alex Revell popped up to score the winner for the hosts deep into injury time after Orient forgot that the final minutes are meant to be spent standing in a corner of the opposition half while defenders kick you repeatedly in the back of the legs. 

Orient had started on the backfoot as Rotherham mixed up a combination of howitzer long balls and nice inter-play that completely overran the Orient midfield. Despite being kicked up in the air on a regular basis, the Os showed resilience to stay in the game and scored a cracker when Dagnall’s cross was taken down by Odubajo who angled a shot into the top corner. Nevertheless, a bizarre inability to hold onto the ball in the 94th minute resulted in Revell's winner. 

Still, it was only Orient’s second defeat on the road and it is nice to see Brentford will need to go to Rotherham on a Tuesday night in March! Meanwhile Orient have a game in hand to rectify things...

Moment of magic... Not too many to choose from today, but Moses Odubajo’s composure and sublime finish typified his class. But it was a rare moment of quality in tough conditions. 

Ben Alnwick straps on his boots

Moment of madness... Toblerone-footed deadline day signing Ben Alnwick slicing a kick some way short of the halfway line deep into injury time. Following that, Dean Cox was outmuscled and Alex Revell proceeded to slam in as Vincelot and others decided to watch rather than tackle, robbing Orient of what would have been a hard-fought point. 

Top gun... A tough call, as nobody looked especially convincing for Orient today. Pringle and Thomas were the best players on the pitch, while Orient’s stand out player was probably Odubajo, who continued to battle - and scored a cracking goal - despite being kicked up in the air repeatedly.

Little donkey... With a thousand forwards to choose from - including young, hungry loan signings - it is somewhat baffling that Russell Slade continues with his Robbie Simpson love-in. It took 56 minutes of doing nothing for Slade to figure out that Mooney was blatantly a better option.  

In the dug out... Russell Slade realised that Lloyd James was being outmuscled and replaced him with new permanent signing Marvin Bartley, which helped Orient get a foothold back in the game. Why he persisted with Simpson for 56 minutes is anyone’s guess, but otherwise there was little more the gaffer could have done to ensure a more positive outcome. Afterwards Russell bemoaned Orient’s utter nativity in injury time. “If you want promotions and to be successful, you’ve got to manage the game at all times”, he rightly observed.

View from the opposition... Pantomime baddie Steve Evans was bizarrely all sweetness and light in the programme notes and continued this after the game. “I think it was a good performance from two good teams… the match was really end-to-end and it took something special to win it." Maybe he’s been on an anger management course? 

Facebook post of the week... Os fan Lee Swallow offered some valuable advice on how to kick a football for new keeper Ben Alnwick. Maybe he can brush-up before Orient's massive game against Peterborough next Saturday? 

Leyton Orient 1 Wycombe Wanderers 3, 16/8/11

A game which... showed Orient fans that perhaps the pre-season dreams of the play-offs were as wildly misguided as Jedward believing they have a good chance of getting Kate Winslet home for a threesome at the next BAFTA after-party.

For all the bluster of the 30-minute spell before half-time in which Orient dominated, there really weren't many clear-cut chances and, as I recall, not a single shot on target from either striker. Then, once 3-1 down there was so little bite to Orient's fightback that the Wycombe players must have felt like they were being lightly nudged by a blancmange.

Moment of class... Just the one - Dean Cox's goal, swept in expertly from the edge of the penalty box. Tiny was the chief instigator of Orient's one bright period of the game, swarming all over the pitch like a toddler who's just downed eight pints of Sunny Delight.

Moment of madness... The moment in the second half at which Jamie Cureton, with clear sight of goal in the Wycombe penalty area, elected to instead delicately chip the ball into thin air, perhaps hoping that a freak gust of wind had more chance of putting the ball in the net than one of his Orient teammates.

Knight in shining armour... Asking who was Orient's man of the match is a bit like trying to choose your favourite member of JLS. The answer, of course, is none of them. Dawson ran around a lot, Spring was better than on Saturday and Daniels did a least look vaguely threatening on the left. But let's give it to David Mooney for at least creating a bit of impetus after coming on as a substitute.

Pantomime horse... A few candidates for this one, I'm afraid, but let's plump for Revell and Cureton, who managed to show such a lack of understanding it was like watching a conversation between Stephen Hawking and Kerry Katona.

In the dug out... "We shot ourselves in the foot," said Big Russ after the game, perhaps explaining the defending of Elliot Omozusi, who was turned inside out so many times by Wycombe's Joel Grant that he'll probably go home and find he's wearing his internal organs outside of his body.

A word on the visitors... Wycombe, driven by an impressive performance by Shameless's Frank Gallagher - sorry, Gareth Ainsworth - took their chances and closed the game down effectively. Joel Grant looked to have a bit of class about him too.

Meanwhile, on Twitter... Big news on Twitter this week: after a club directive of some sort or other, Jamie Jones, Dean Cox, Alex Revell and George Porter have packed their bags and ridden off into the social networking sunset. Thankfully no one seems to have told Elliot Omozusi, who today broke from tradition by tweeting something that almost made grammatical sense. 'Dappy! Pull it pull it pull it!' he wrote, no doubt stomping round his bedroom to N-Dubz while his mum banged on the door telling him to keep the noise down.

Lesson for the day: Let's give credit where credit is due - Orient certainly shut down the opposition's opportunities to score 30-yard screamers, a lesson learnt from the previous two games. Now all they need to do is to prevent free headers in the box and needless penalties, and the defence will be as solid as Alex Reid and Chantelle Houghton's new relationship. Oh, hang on...

A guide to Leyton Orient players on Twitter

There was a time when fans had little insight into what was going on inside players' heads. Not any more, for thanks to the delights of Twitter we now know that, for example, Elliot Omozusi is thinking this: "Sum1 tel me sumfing decent 2 watch on telly coz i'm about 2 2foot my v screen n elbow drop my sky box".

But it's not all witty prose and Oscar Wilde-esque one-liners. Some Leyton Orient players on Twitter are there simply to wind each other up, exchange cooking tips or, in the case of Jimmy Smith, stalk female celebrities. Here's my guide to the wheat and the chaff...

Jimmy Smith
@sm1thy_JD

What's he on about? Jimmy mixes the mundane with boasting about his nightlife escapades and taunting various ex-members of early noughties child-rappers Blazin' Squad. Bizarrely, all of this is delivered in the vernacular of a West Coast rapper: "ipod on full max while getting ready ha,ATM pitball an neyo on". No, me neither.

Who's he following? Square-jawed Jimmy clearly has an eye for the ladies, following a smattering of women from The Only Way Is Essex and various female Sky Sports presenters. He also follows Paul Terry, so is clearly into beauty and the beast.
Key moment: Asking US socialite Kim Kardashian on a date, with all the twinkly-eyed Essex boy charm he could muster: "@KimKardashian yer come here we go for dinner ". Surprisngly, Kim is yet to reply.

Dean Cox
@dean_7cox

What's he on about? Tiny has apparently spent the entire summer generously answering tweets from Orient fans. Well, if height restrictions prevent you from going on amusement park rides what else you going to do? In between there's a bit of mild one-way flirting with Jack Wilshere: "@jack_wilshere we needed you mate nobody can create things and effect a game like you can." Jack is yet to reply.
Who's he following? The usual hotpotch of footballers, boxers and Fearne Cotton. Tiny also follows Orient players' nite spot of choice, Faces Nightclub, Gants Hill.
Key moment: Replying to Jimmy Smith's bizarre holiday boast tweet - "ipod on full max while getting ready ha,ATM pitball an neyo on" - with the simple, yet effective, "get a life mate".

Alex Revell
@therevmeister

What's he on about? Lots of witty goading of his team mates - for example, to Matthew Spring: "Sorry mate it's an under 40's night" and to Jamie Jones: "if you didn't have jeremy beadle hand you might have caught some crosses".
Who's he following? Comedians and footballers. Or, in the case of Aaron Brown - @ABrownUK - both in one.
Key moment: Trying to initiate a conversation with Michael Owen to no avail, so then sulkily resorting to calling the Man Utd player a "sick note no hamstring minted comb over nob". That told him!

Jamie Jones
@jamie1jones

What's he on about? According to Jamie, "It's all about being a geeza... r u a geeza????" Apparently 'being a geeza' involves taunting team mates over their PS3 abilities, taunting teammates over their golfing abilities and taunting teammates over their cooking abilities. All delivered in pure, unadulterated scouse, la.
Who's he following? Mostly footballers. And Ryan Jarvis.
Key moment: Cooking a spaghetti bolognese (pictured) for Alex Revell, who was so impressed that he felt like he was in "Bella Italia". "Just asked me if I wanted Parmesan or pepper!" tweeted the dumbstruck striker.

Charlie Daniels
@chazdaniels13

What's he on about? The usual PS3-related banter with his team mates along with chat with his partner @CarlySalmonx that would probably worked better as, you know, a private conversation. To wit: Carly: "Dinner ideas please." Charlie: "I don't mind wotever u want to make." Get a room you two!
Who's he following? Footballers, golfers, comedians and, testament to Charlie's deep love of musical theatre, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Key moment: Realising that his Las Vegas hotel was perhaps the plushest place he's ever stayed: "So posh in this hotel. Can't wear shorts for dinner!" 

Elliot Omozusi
@elliot_nuts

What's he on about? Elliot's Twitter stream of consciousness reveals that the right back's thought processes revolve primarily around deciding whether or not to get out of bed and whether or not to leave the house: "I swear I'm goin bk 2 sleep"; "Up bt aint gettin outa bed 4 now"; "Y on earth am I awake"; "Any1 fancy making me breakfast dnt really wanna go cafe"; "I'm gonna stay in my house 4 as long as possible". Fans of watching paint dry will be enthralled.
Who's he following? Various women who claim to have once been in failed X Factor girl bands. Well, you've got to aim high, Elliot.
Key moment: The moment Elliot temporarily forgot his obsession with his own sleep patterns to call out an audacious challenge to the US President himself, no less, after the death of Osama Bin Laden: "Obama best show me sum pics of him wiv a hole in he's head now."

The top ten Leyton Orient players of 2010/11

At the conclusion of most seasons at Leyton Orient it's difficult to think of one player who's excelled over the campaign. Not this time, which is why I've selected - in reverse order - the top ten players of 2010/11...

10. Andrew Whing

When it comes to decent right-backs, Leyton Orient's heritage is about as distinguished as Jodie Marsh's wardrobe. Enter Andrew Whing, dead ringer for EastEnders' Max Branning and owner of a chin so big it's got it's own postcode. Yes, rival right-back Elliot Omozusi may be slightly more comfortable on the ball - not least when he's plucking it out of the net after his customary once-a-game howler - but Whing provided the grit this season, regularly clattering into unsuspecting left-wingers and driving forward like a steroid-pumped gingerbread man.
More on Andrew Whing >

9. Paul-Jose M'Poku
Every now and again at Brisbane Road a player comes along with such dazzling skills that resident managers are left with no choice but to inexplicably leave them on the bench every game. Such was the plight of under-19 Belgian international and Spurs loanee Paul-Jose M'Poku. Hartlepool United's defenders are still in therapy trying to come to terms with the outright humiliation they were subjected to on the young winger's home debut, and M'Poku continued to provide flashes of inspiration in the 15 minutes he was allowed on the pitch each match. Essentially, stuff happened when M'Poku played. Just think what may have been if he'd been in the starting line-up...
More on Paul-Jose M'Poku >

8. Stephen Dawson
Every team needs an engine and this season Orient's was Stephen Dawson. The diminutive Irishman was the master of tirelessly motoring around the pitch, stopping only to pick up needless yellow cards and to throw himself to the ground in the penalty area as if scythed down by a poltergeist. Dawson excelled in the home leg against Arsenal, where the Premier League side subjected him to a particularly cruel 90 minutes of piggy-in-the-middle - though they rarely broke through his expertly-marshalled ranks.
More on Stephen Dawson >

7. Ben Chorley
Every lower league club needs a Ben Chorley, an uncompromising central defender who pulls his shorts up to somewhere beneath his chest and who's not afraid to stick his face into the path of a flying boot. But our Ben Chorley is so much more than a jumped-up hard man, with his positional sense and reading of the game ensuring Orient are rarely caught out at the back. Once per match he embarks on a lung-busting run upfield, where he is invariably dispossessed just outside the opposition box and has to run all the way back again. This season Chorley also turned out to be Orient's most reliable penalty taker since Matt Lockwood.
More on Ben Chorley >

6. Scott McGleish
You might think that after 20 years of chasing hopeful punts upfield for the likes of Barnet, Northampton and Cambridge United, Scott McGleish's legs might have had a quiet word in his ear and suggested that perhaps he might like to open a pub or something. Not so, for this season the veteran striker continued to cause nuisance to opposition defences like a late thirtysomething who keeps turning up at student parties and insisting on playing REM on the stereo. A true pro, McGleish's 17 goals were just reward for a fine season's work.
More on Scott McGleish >

5. Alex Revell
Alex Revell is the mythical big striker Martin Ling used to have wild, salivating dreams about. With a chiselled jaw and ice-white teeth he could land a bit part in a daytime American soap if the football thing doesn't work out, although there's no chance of that in the near future because Revell was a revelation this season. Sixteen goals isn't to be sneered at, but over and above that his unsettling presence, commitment and unselfish attitude was a major factor in Orient's success.
More on Alex Revell >

 
4. Jimmy Smith
What happened to Jimmy Smith this season? Once a player so bland you could have covered him in Tabasco sauce and he'd still have had absolutely no bite, he somehow transformed himself into a midfield goal-machine and one of the driving forces behind Orient's push up the table. Post-Christmas, whenever Orient created a chance it seemed to fall to Smith, and the former Chelsea man rarely missed them.
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3. Charlie Daniels
When Charlie Daniels first arrived at Orient on loan in the 2007/08 season he showed a fair degree of promise, and if it wasn't for the fact he could neither defend or attack he could have been quite some player. Well, now Daniels is that player: reliable in defence and a real threat thundering down the left wing, with 15 assists over the season to prove it. This campaign Daniels added the ability to cut inside to his repertoire, a tactic that would have been highly damaging to oppositions if it wasn't for the fact his right foot is about as useful as an inflatable dartboard.
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2. Jamie Jones
It's been a real pleasure this season to have a goalkeeper who is actually able to kick the ball properly, who doesn't flap at crosses, who isn't susceptible to low shots to his right, who commands his area and who doesn't throw the ball out directly to opposition strikers in key games... Oh, ok, strike the last point, but Jones' skill between the sticks has been one of the major reasons behind Orient's success this campaign, routinely digging the defence out of six-foot deep holes with his lightening reactions and breathtaking agility.
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1. Dean Cox
My player of the season for 2010/11, one who boasts the ability to square up to any hulking lower league hard man and fearlessly look him straight in the knee. Yep, Tiny packs a whole lot of attitude into the body of a medium-sized schoolgirl and adds a touch of genuine class to the Orient team as well as being the creative inspiration for much of their attacking play. Indeed, his delivery is so good the scouts watching him this season were from Royal Mail, DHL and the maternity unit at Homerton Hospital. You can't argue with 12 goals and 22 assists over the course of a season - although Cox himself would probably try, straight after he'd started a fight in an empty room.
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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 4 Bristol Rovers 1, 12/2/11

A game in which... Orient continued a run that is now so impressive, it could probably beat Paula Radcliffe in a race - and without the need to take a piss halfway through either. Let's not worry that Bristol Rovers had the better of the second half, for Orient did what good teams are supposed to do: they absorbed the pressure and hit back. It really has been some time since the Os have played with such confidence and, unusually, we are actually winning games by more than a single-goal margin. (Note: even in the promotion season of 2005/06 this only happened on six occasions.)

Moment to savour... Russell Slade was obviously so confident of victory towards the end of the game that he generously gave a run out to the winner of the half-time schoolboys' penalty competition, 11-year-old Tom Carroll. I'm not saying that the Spurs loanee looks young, but when he gets home his mum's going to be furious that he's got mud all over his new red shorts.

Head in hands moment... When Jamie Jones went down with what initially looked like a serious injury. Even the most ill-informed of TV pundits - let's say Robbie Savage, for example - could work out that Orient's goalkeeper is going to be pretty busy against Arsenal next Sunday, so we need our number one between the sticks.

King for a day... It's easy to mock Jimmy Smith. I know, I've been doing it all season. But I have to concede that the ex-Chelsea man has got better and better to the point that he's now become a critical part of the Orient team. Today he put in another energetic and effective shift and nodded the Os 1-0 up with well-directed glancing header. Albeit only after seconds after he'd managed to skew a much easier chance straight back to the corner flag.

Boo boy... Absolutely no one, though the Revmeister did manage to defy all known physical laws of the universe in the build-up to the fourth goal by missing an open net from approximately six millimetres out. Thankfully Harry Kane spared his blushes by putting the ball away for him.

In the dug out... Orient, according to assistant boss Kevin Nugent, "hate getting beaten". Which is surely something of a minimum requirement for professional footballers? But then again he and boss Russell Slade are clearly doing something right - and can claim credit for sending on double-goalscorer Harry Kane at just the right moment.

What would Martin Ling have done? Used the post-match press conference to talk about the battle for places in the starting eleven for the forthcoming FA Cup tie against Arsenal. "At this point every position is up for grabs," he'd state, before going on to send out a team containing Brian Saah, Loick Pires and Derek Duncan.

Play-offs? Five points off the play-offs with a game in hand. Can Orient make it? Well, stranger things have happened in the world. (Well, only one stranger thing to be fair, and that was Gazza turning up to offer renegade nut job Raoul Moat a fishing rod and some chicken.) Still, Orient are in formidable form and the only way is up. Or down, I suppose.

FA Cup round 1: Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Leyton Orient 1, 16/11/10

A game which... demonstrated that there are three certainties in life: death, taxes and the fact that Orient will always concede a goal from a set piece when playing away from home. (Four times in the last four away games, fact fans.) Aside from that, this was a game so bland that if it were a TV show, it would be co-presented by Kate Thornton and Holly Willoughby, have a theme tune by David Gray and feature ex-Holby City actors trying to guess which brands of paint dry quickest.

Moment to savour... Tricky one that, but in the first five minutes Matthew Spring executed his trademark slow-mo pirouette and fired the ball across the field to Alex Revell with a fair degree of class.

Head in hands moment... Dean Cox's 80th-minute miss, which selfishly consigned Orient fans to having to sit through another game against Dagenham & Redbridge. Set up by Revell, the goal was gaping, but the tiny wind-up merchant managed to place his shot directly at the goalkeeper's outstretched boot.

King for a day... Selecting Orient's man of the match is a bit like asking which one of The Saturdays is most likely to have a successful solo career. The answer, clearly, is none of them. Spring played ok, Omozusi added an occasional spark down the right in the second half, Dawson was tireless as ever... But probably Alex Revell edged it for working hard from right midfield and taking his simple chance. Let's ignore the fact he could well have got a hatrick in the first 10 minutes had his decision-making been a bit better.

Boo boy... While no one had a shocker, pretty much the whole team had a moment of ineptitude at some point, not least Lee Butcher, who surely has to be at fault for the Daggers' goal, if only for apparently not building his wall properly.

In the dug out... Do we really need to play 4-5-1 against Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup, Russ?

What would Martin Ling have done? Used the cup game to allow a couple of his youngsters the chance to show the travelling fans what they're all about. "Loick Pires gained valuable experience today," he'd say defiantly in defence of the gangly midfielder's three own-goals and sending off.

On the way to Wembley? Well, if Orient are to progress in this competition, they're going to need a home fixture in every round for starters. That aside, today's performance wasn't one that inspires too much hope for the rest of the season. When's M'poku fit again?

Dagenham & Redbridge 2 Leyton Orient 0, 4/9/10

A game in which... Orient were so abysmal Russell Slade resorted to bringing on Adrien Patulea to try and salvalge something from the game. If my memory serves me correctly, the Romanian didn't touch the ball one single time during his five minutes on the pitch, which at least meant he couldn't spoon it off his knee into the path of an opposition striker. Still, there's no need to mock Patulea when the whole team played like they were doing a homage to Non-League Day: second to every ball, defensively all over the place and idea-less in attack.

Moment to savour... Football-wise, none, but it was at least mildly diverting to see chippy Hobbit-impersonator Dean Cox squaring up to the Daggers' gargantuan defender Will Antwi towards the end of the game.

Head in hands moment... Elliot Omozusi proved beyond doubt today that he isn't a left-back. He probably isn't a right-back either come to think of it, and was torn apart by Danny Green in the first half. It was a bad idea, then, to try to execute a Cryuff turn to get himself out of trouble 15 minutes in. Needless to say, it didn't work.

King for a day... It's a struggle to find an Orient player that performed well today, but Alex Revell at least looked vaguely like he might score. And on the plus side his hair was immaculate.

Boo boy... Matthew Spring. What the hell? Admittedly he has versatility in his corner-kicks - some sail harmlessly over everyone's heads, while others fail to beat the first defender - but Sean Thornton after eight pints of lager would have been more useful than Spring today. In fact, Sean Thornton has probably played on eight pints of lager.

In the dug out... Big Russ's PE teacher look felt very appropriate at a stadium that is more like a school recreation ground than the home of a League One side but he was unable to prevent his team playing with all the intelligence of an under-11 side.

You're supposed to be at home... The vocal contingent of the home fans appeared to consist of seven teenagers, who spent much of the game baiting the Os support. The rest of the Daggers' faithful were so quiet their minds must have been on West Ham's upcoming home fixture against Chelsea.

What would Martin Ling have done? Indicated to Dean Smith just before half-time that Plan A wasn't working, yet inexplicably send out exactly the same team with exactly the same tactics for the second half, before bringing on Efe Echanomi on 80 minutes and hoping for the best.

Going down? Well, Dagenham & Redbridge probably are and if Orient can't even give them a proper game they could be dropping with them.