GUEST POST! Crewe Alexandra 1 Leyton Orient 2, 18/1/14

I wouldn't have been at this match even if I was in the country, as I am banned from the tiny medieval village of Crewe due to an ancient family feud. Luckily Andy Brown - Orient blogger for WAGU and The Two Unfortunates - took one for the team and gives us his take on events...

Robbie Simpson

A game in which... New boy Chris Dagnall made the most stunning debut since a certain Wayne Montague Purser scored a hat-trick in 2003. After a frustrating 45 minutes of having to watch Robbie Simpson lumber about the field like a stoned elephant, Dags decided he was going to show everyone how it should be done, with two clinical strikes within seven blinding minutes that made us wonder if Carl Griffiths was back in town…

Despite not really getting going until the second half, and conceding a suspiciously offside looking goal, Orient matched Crewe for effort in a midfield scrap and it was again Moses Odubajo and Dean Cox who provided the spark. Cox's lofted a ball over the top which Dagnall controlled with one touch, beating programme poster boy Mark Ellis, before lashing across Ben Garratt.

Moment(s) of magic... Dagnall’s brace. His first taken with one touch and second a clinical thumping shot into the bottom corner. The new striker will be making Orient’s thousand other forwards look over their shoulders and while it’s very early to make predictions, his interplay with Cox, James, Lisbie and Odubajo made him look as though he’d been at the club for years. (Jonah alert!)

Moment of madness... Russell Slade’s unwavering faith in Robbie Simpson (in this case ahead of the four other strikers in the bench), which lead to discussions among the Os fans that he must be seeing something really amazing in training that we’re not - or he’s Russ’s lovechild. And that's not to say he doesn’t work hard, but it’s nice if a striker can set up and score goals…

Top gun... Dags was the clear winner, but Odubajo and Cox were also candidates. Captain Clarke had another solid game, denying Aneke with a great stop near the end to prevent a 2-2 draw. This Orient team is very hard to beat and is grinding out wins in tough places, even when not playing brilliantly.

Little donkey... Crewe centre-back Mark Ellis had a comfortable first half with Robbie Simpson, but was run ragged by the guile and clever play of Chris Dagnall throughout the second.

Russell Slade picks his team

In the dugout... Despite starting Simpson ahead of arguably better options on the bench, Russell Slade continues to show the Midas touch and make changes at the right times to win games. Bringing on Vincelot for Ness made Orient’s midfield more combative and solid, and introducing Dagnall won the game. Had he perhaps brought on Loza or Coulthirst, then Orient may have potentially had more goals, but a win is a win!

View from the opposition... Crewe boss Steve Davis was pretty graceless afterwards claiming that defensive mistakes cost his team in the defeat. He did, however, admit that Orient have real quality up front. Thanks Steve - that’s why we’ve scored more than anyone else, so can’t argue with that. Crewe fan Adam Gray was also very gracious, commenting “Congrats on the win, can see why you’ll probably go up.”

Graham Westley: Yeah, well, you too would  be
upset if you were dressed like that

Tweet of the week... Commenting on his debut for Orient, Chris Dagnall displayed typical flamboyancy: “Well that was an alright debut, massive performance from the lads #topoftheleague”. Next week Dags describes getting a hat-trick as “quite fun”. Meanwhile, Graham Westley is back making friends, allegedly telling his Stevenage player to “snap him” (according to Notts County fan Andrew), before Jack Grealish of Notts County was annihilated by this challenge. Way to go Graham. If you can’t beat them, end their careers, eh?

GUEST POST! Shrewsbury 0 Leyton Orient 2, 7/1/14

For the moment, I'm in Germany's version of east London - i.e. Berlin - so in my absence Orient fan and blogger Andy Brown (of WAGU and The Two Unfortunates fame) has kindly stepped in to give his view of the game against Shrewsbury... 

Eldin Jakupovic

A game in which... Orient never got out of second gear, but didn’t need to against a Shrewsbury team whose striking accuracy resembled Stevie Wonder trying to hit a bulls eye at the PDC. Meanwhile Eldin Jakupovic, our new keeper on loan from Hull, also seemed to intimidate them - nothing to do with his size and resemblance to Vincent Vega from Pulp Fiction.

Orient didn’t really connect with their passing in the first half, often giving the ball away, but improved massively in the second-half. Nevertheless the Os looked sharp going forward all game and had that extra class up front. It was a real treat for the 144 hardy souls, many of whom had witnessed an unpleasant 4-0 FA Cup mauling at the hands of the Tractor Boys down in Yeovil.

Moment of magic... Jamar Loza, a 19-year-old  youth-loan arrival from Norwich City (who didn't arrive in time to make the back of Shrewsbury's programme) weaved between several players to slot through a lovely ball for January Os calendar poster boy Moses Odubajo to take it round the keeper and slot home Orient’s first from a tight angle.

Moment of madness... Former Os favourite Tamika Mkandawire, who headed firmly into his own net after a corner from Dean Cox. All the plaudits went to Scott Cuthbert, but it was clearly Tam who got the connection. Cheers for that, old chap! Scott Cuthbert had a dodgy second half, giving the ball away a few times and proving he’s about as comfortable at right back as jumping on a bike missing a saddle.

Top gun... A few candidates but Dean Cox and Moses Odubajo both looked a class apart, tormenting the full backs all night and creating plenty of chances. Lloyd James and Marvin Bartley were also excellent in preventing Shrewsbury’s midfield creating any real chances, as Jakupovic didn’t have one serious save to make.

Little donkey(s)... Tom Eaves and Aaron Wildig - aka Shrewsbury’s MIA strike-force - who despite being ably supported by the very talented Jon Taylor still couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo, even on the rare occasion that Captain Clarke was out-muscled. Easily the worst frontline the Os will face this season.

Russ wins the World Cup

In the dug out... Russell Slade got it dead right on the pitch again, bringing in Bartley and leaving Ness on the bench and the Os looked hard to breakdown throughout the game. The gaffer also came right up to the fans at the end punching the air like we’d won the World Cup, rather than away at Shrewsbury on a Tuesday night. High-fives all round and real togetherness in the club right now. Can you feel the love?

View from the opposition... A pretty quiet bunch all in all, despite piping up with “same old cockneys, always cheating” after various two-footed lunges on Dean Cox and Lloyd James that that should have resulted in dismissals. Also confusing was the number of fans wearing Man Utd gear in the Pro-Sport bar before the game - maybe they missed the coach to Sunderland? However, they are decent bunch who are really struggling for home form right now, which Os fans will hope changes when Brentford visit them in a few weeks!

Tweet of the week.... Our good friends in claret and blue up the road and their salad-dodging manager. They are the gift that won’t stop giving. After losing 5-0 at the weekend to Forest and getting annihilated 6-0 by Man City, Big Sam now has his own board game according to Tim Bolton.