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: Leyton Orient 2 Rotherham United 2, 25/5/14

And so it all came down to the last kick of a ball. A season in which Orient defied odds, broke records, exceeded expectations, battled adversity and made new friends all hinged on Chris Dagnall's final spot kick.

The lifetime Orient fan in me knew he'd miss. Typical Orient, right? Two-nil up at half-time and we fucked it up. Typical Orient.

But maybe not. There was something different about this season. I sensed it first when Kevin Lisbie scored the late, late winner against Port Vale in September to preserve the winning run at the start of the campaign. The way the players, the crowd celebrated... It mattered more than usual, somehow.

The feeling built throughout the season. Coming from behind to win impressively away at Peterborough and Swindon. Grinding out four wins in a row in a bitter January. Winning the play-off semi-final on an electric night at Brisbane Road.

We had momentum, desire, a tight unit of talented, gutsy players. So when Dagnall stepped up to take that final penalty, though the lifetime Orient fan in me knew he'd miss, the deeply proud Orient fan of this season actually thought he'd score...

Play the game, not the occasion

The day didn't start that well. They say "play the game, not the occasion" and Orient did just that. Unfortunately the game they were playing appeared to be called "Let's spoon the ball into touch".

Orient celebrate Odubajo's goal

They settled down soon enough, mind - helped by Moses Odubajo's stunning goal. The celebration that followed was a strange one, as the Os players seemed to simultaneously congratulate the winger while admonishing him for taking his shirt off, much like a reluctantly aroused mother-of-the-bride forced to watch the Chippendales at her daughter's hen party.

Dean Cox's goal meant we went into half-time 2-0 up, and while no one who's watched Orient for more than three seconds of their life thought it was game over, the evidence of this season suggested this wonderful team would be able to see out a victory.

Revelling in it

It had to be, didn't it? 

But then there was Alex Revell. It had to be. Two goals for the former Orient favourite illustrated that in Rotherham, Orient had met their match.

Because ask any Millers fan the reasons behind their team's success this season and they'll tell you about their players' never-say-die attitude, their team spirit... Sound familiar? Yes, unfortunately this group never gives up either. (Though the £30 million of investment over the last five years probably helped too. Sour grapes? Don't mind if I do...)

With the scores level it was Orient who looked like they were trying to win the game (and with our penalty record this season, they had no choice) and Rotherham who were trying not to lose.

Twelve yards of heartbreak

And so it was penalties. We're shit at penalties. Though to be fair James, Lundstrum and Clarke all dispatched theirs with confidence and class. Two of Rotherham's spot kicks were what I like to call "coward's penalties" (straight down the middle) and Jamie Jones gave us temporary hope that Orient would prevail with one stunning save.

But, of course, it was not to be. No blame can be attached to Baudry and Dagnall. We would not have even been in the play-off final were it not for those two fine players.

Not so typical

So it hurts. It hurts real bad. I do not think I will ever get over this. Ever.

But let's remember that Orient have no monopoly on footballing heartbreak. Anyone who supports a club other than the handful in the world who can afford to be repeatedly successful will tell you that.

Are Orient fans feeling any worse than Brentford fans did at the same point last year? Any worse than the Peterborough fans who saw their team get relegated last season with record points? Probably not.

The boys of 05/06

In fact, there's no such thing as "typical Orient" - not really. And what I loved about yesterday and what I love about Orient are the untypical things. John Mackie, captain of the promotion-winning side of 2005/06 (nothing "typical" about that game at Oxford), galvanising his former team mates via Twitter to come and support their 2013/14 counterparts at Wembley.

Mathieu Baudry, after missing a crucial penalty, joining fans at the pub after the game to apologise and commiserate with them.

The almost 100 per cent lack of post-match recriminations from fans on Twitter and instead a groundswell of pride, honour and love for a team - heroes to a man - that has provided us with so many moments to savour in this wonderful season.

Yeah, it's shit that we're in League One again next season. This squad might get broken up. The manager might leave. We may never got a shot at the Championship like this one again.

But, you know, I wouldn't swap one second of it. Not one second. Apart from the one where Dagnall missed I suppose...

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 Rotherham 0, 26/10/13

Steve Evans

A game which... Rotherham manager Steve Evans - taking a short break from evading tax and exposing himself to women - described thus: "Second half we've dominated the league leaders from start to end. I wouldn't think Orient have been outplayed like that for a long time."

And while it's no lie that the away side did indeed huff and puff like a Saga excursion to Amsterdam's red light district, they didn't actually create any chances - a huge credit once again to Orient's beast of a defence. We're not going to win every game 4-0 this season, and there are going to be spells in games where we're under pressure, but the fact Orient yet again emerged victorious is more evidence that our promotion challenge can be sustained.

Moment of magic... Another game, another Kevin Lisbie goal - this one calmly dispatched into the net after a goalmouth scramble that bore all the quality of a school playground game of Three And In. Credit too to Super Kev for not rising to the Rotherham players' accusations of goal-hanging.

Moment of madness... The moment Dean Cox managed to miss an open goal from point-blank range in the dying seconds of the game. Admittedly Rotherham goalkeeper Adam Collin did pull off a physics-defying save, but Tiny's sure to be punishing himself for not putting the match to bed - probably by throwing darts at one of the 47 photos of himself that decorate his house.

Top gun... The Orient defence today were missing the Gallic elegance of Mathieu Baudry but were just as resolute in repelling Rotherham's feisty second-half display. Sawyer, Omozusi and Cuthbert were all superb, but once again Nathan Clarke proved he excels at all four of the requirements of a League One defender: brute force; lumping the ball up the pitch; hurling in long throws; tattoos.

#awkward

Little donkey... [Once again I have to point out that this section of my blog is suspended until any of the team actually start playing badly. In the meantime have this classic photo of Dean Cox in a onesie, which is always worth a repeat viewing.]

In the dug out... "You've got to look at the bigger picture and the smaller picture," said Russell Slade after the game, presumably still trying to convince people to look at his holiday photos from Magaluf. But the manager yet again deserves huge plaudits for keeping Orient at the summit of League One and for swiftly turning down any potential advances from other clubs.

View from the opposition... "Orient fans didn't clap Revell off because he was a good servant for them," wrote Mark Hollyhead 100 per cent incorrectly. "They clapped him off because he's tripe."

Tweet of the week... Orient are getting so much media coverage at the moment, they're even appearing in Hollywood films, as noted by fan Jaime Randall: "Just watching Angels & Demons and all of a sudden the Orient boys pop up."