Other years: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Leyton Orient Diary part 1 from 1881-1925  Part 2 from 1956-1957  Part 3 from 1963-1964 1965 1966-1967 from 1967-1968 from 1968-1969 1969-70 season start  1970-1971 1971-1972 from December from 1972-1973 1973-1974 1974-1975 1975-1976 1976-1977 1977-1978 1978-1979 1979-1980 1980-1981 1981-1982 and for other years see MORE top right.  2009 Aug-Dec here.  

A list of websites to help research into the O's. The O's Zone for everything Orient.

We started the year in 16th place on 28 points, two points away from a relegation place. There were two other clubs on 28, our next opponents Wimbledon below us and Barnsley above us. Six clubs were on 29 points. This meant they were all three points away from a relegation place and 13 clubs just points away from a relegation place. The division is wide open.

January transfer rumours. Transfer window opens January 1, 2026 and ends February 2, 2026 at 19:00 GMT. 

2 Jan. Thomas Holmes a 25 year-old Luton centre back currently loaned to Rotherham. Alfie Dorrington a 20 year-old centre back on loan to Aberdeen from Spurs. Tottenham not happy with his game time and may recall him. He has only played 25 senior games in total and some 300+ minutes this season. He was loaned to Salford. 3 Jan. Ashley Maynard-Brewer a goalie at Charlton. The 26 year-old has played 24 senior games in 2024-2025 plus loans to Ross County, Dover and Chelmsford. He signed for Dundee United. Liam Gibbs a 23 year-old midfielder at Norwich. He has played more from the bench than he has started 36(53) scoring a single goal. He has appeared ten times this season. Jamie Donnely would not be returning as he joined managerless Oxford on loan with a view to buy. Perkins off to Barnet? Few rumblings on X from Kidderminster Harriers supporters that we've triggered a £20k release clause for Joseph (Joe) Foulkes. A 22 year old right back who started his career with Walsall playing 18 in games before two loan spells with Kidderminster 2021-2023 playing 57 times scoring three goals. He signed for the Harriers in 2024 and has since played 48(4) times scoring two goals. 4 Jan. Preston North End and Leyton Orient are racing to sign Aston Villa loanee Finley Munroe, sources have told Football Insider. The 20-year-old has been a standout performer for Swindon since joining the League Two club on loan last summer. The attacking left-back is among the highest assist-making defenders in the country, with six in 23 league games, as well as two goals. He joined Middlesbrough. 6 Jan. From a forum: Joel Coleman (Goalkeeper), Wes Harding (Centre Back was loaned to Plymouth), Luke Cundle (Attacking midfielder / number 10), All been training with the O's this week. Millwall are looking to move them all on. How true if any of that is.....  Orient Hub:  Karoy Anderson from Charlton is a potential loan target for the O's. A 21 year-old midfielder has played 14 times this season. Got two yellows = a red. 8 Jan. Marc Iles : Leyton Orient join the chase for Victor Adeboyejo. Looks like another loan offer to join the one already on the table from Mansfield Town. The Stags won.  13 Jan. The72 and thedesk: Watford defender James Morris was muted as a possible target, as he was last June. 23 Jan: Bromley defender Deji Elerewe. Wycombe are also interested. He signed for Lincoln. 27 Jan. On the forums though not specifically for us, Josh Sheehan at Bolton and Ruben Rodrigues sold by Oxford in the summer to Brazils Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Vitória. Played just four gammes for them. Daniel Bachmann a 31 year-old Austria goalkeeper whose last game was January 2025 for Watford. This from the BBC last October The 31-year-old joined Deportivo La Coruna in the summer on a season-long loan. The Spanish club said he has suffered a "partial tear of the external ligament in his left knee". Bachmann joined Watford in 2017 and has played 138 games for the club. He sustained an ankle injury against Sheffield United in January, an injury which prompted the Hornets to sign Egil Selvik, who is now established as first-choice at Vicarage Road.

Six of the youth team have been loaned out. Carter at Dartford, Welch at Hornchurch. Gordon at South Shields, Bullas at Enfield, Mohamud at Canvey Island, Northwood at Erith Town.

1 January. Home to Wimbledon (1-3 Ballard). Inept.  We are bang in trouble with this group of players, not good enough with this group of players said Wellens. Threadbare squad. Players going back from their loans (2-3) and players knowing their contract is at an end (2-3)  are not even training properly. He expects 2-3 defenders incoming plus a goalkeeper as Simkin was recalled to Stoke only of Wednesday. Obiero started and lasted the 90'. Things were going well from the sixth minute with a fine move ending in Ballard's 11th goal of the season. James went off injured after 14' and his replacement Mitchell put into his own net ten minutes later. Poor marking from the start of a cross to the end of the cross resulted in them taking the lead. Craig gave away a free kick on the edge of the area and Cahill did not have it covered.  Team: Cahill, Clare, Beckles, James, O'Neill, Simpson, Archibald, Moorhouse, Bakinson, Obiero, Ballard. Subs: Phillips, Mitchell(James 14), Craig(Bakinson 75), Chinedu, Wellens(O'Neill 61), Lloyd(Moorhouse 61), White. BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. Results did not go our way and we slumped to 18th but there were still six teams only two points away from a relegation place.

So far this season we have El Mizouni out 3/4 months, Connolly out 3/4 months, REG out for the season. Back comes Archibald but then out with a rib problem. Koroma off with a jaw injury. Happe out with a calf problem. Abdulai with his toe, Lloyd - who knows. Add James, Mitchell, O'Neill and Craig amongst others no doubt.

4 Jan. Away to Stevenage. Match postponed at 12:15 due to a frozen pitch. Gives us another week to get those defenders in.

Loanees Adaramola and White were sent back to their clubs. Perkins is rumoured to join Barnet. White later joined Bradford on loan. Gordon returned from his loan at South Shields. 

10 Jan. Home to Cardiff (1-1 Ballard). Better. They were the league leaders so a point given our recent results was a good one. New signing Forrester went straight into the team to the exclusion of Beckles. Cahill made a good save when a long ball found their striker. We went into the lead after 12' when Ballard chased down a defender who opted to pass to his goalie. Dom opted to follow and guessed at a right foot clearance which only found Ballard's boot and the net. Forrester's header found Lloyd but his header hit the upright and into safety. They got one back on 33' when a long ball found Salech. Pulling Forrester down via his shirt he made off for goal with Bakinson giving chase. His shot found the roof of the net. The ref was only yards behind Forrester yet failed to give an offence. Lots of defending in the second half with James making a good block to keep the scores level. Koroma went wide after more pressing by Ballard. Phillips was out sick which meant we had no goalie on the bench. Lloyd started. Archibald was captain. Team: Cahill, Clare, Craig, James, Forrester, O'Neill, Simpson, Archibald, Lloyd, Bakinson, Ballard. Subs: Beckles, Mitchell, Abdulai(Craig 61), Koroma(Lloyd 75), Wellens, Moorhouse, Perkins. BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. A closer look. Welllens post video: 3/4 needed in with a couple on loan, 8/9 out including loanees.

Lloyd was recalled by QPR. If a lack of bodies was their problem it was not shown in the line up for their next match as Lloyd did not feature. He joined Lincoln on loan. Supporters not happy with QPR.

16 Jan. Kaelan Casey & Ajay Matthews sign on loan. Casey loaned from West Ham has played on loan this season with Swansea (8(5)). This is the only adult football the 21 year-old centre back has played. Matthews was from Millwall where his adult game is three subsitute appearances in Cup games. The 19 year-old was signed from the Middlesbrough youth team in January last year for an undisclosed fee.

17 Jan. Home to Reading (3-1 Ballard 3). Ballard could have had six as two were deamed offside and another hit an upright. Matthews went straight into team replacing the departed Lloyd. There was no place for Beckles, DJ or Perkins on the bench. Obiero was injured. O'Neill played in Ballard for his first on 45'. They took seven minutes into the second half to equalise when they took advantage of a quickly taken free kick. A super cross from Archibald found the head of Ballard on 65' to put us back into the lead. Another assist from O'Neill put Ballard clear to take the game away from the Royals (formerly the Bisuit Men). Forrester is a class act. Team: Cahill, Clare, James, Forrester, O'Neill, Simpson, Archibald, Matthews, Bakinson, Ballard, Wellens. Subs: Craig, Casey(Clare 82), Happe(Forrester 85), Mitchell, Abdulai(Matthews 58), Koroma, Moorhouse. BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. Post match video: Wellens said this "got rid of a few I didn't like" And that we need a keeper and left back. "If people think we are getting our first or second choices they are deluded" 

Ruel Sotiriou joined Hapoel Jerusalem FC dispite having a year to go on his contract. Former loanee Nick Freeman left Stevenage for Shrewsbury.

20 Jan. Chinedu and DJ were loaned to the league two team in 13th place - Barnet. That will be the last we see of Jaiyesimi. He started 21 games in all competitions with another 31 from the bench scoring just three goals. That's five out and three in so far. I'd expect another two in but who are the other 3/4 leaving? U21's. Away to Hendon in the London Senior Cup (1-6 Hambury, Sterling 2, Wellens, Lowe, Nzang)

23 Jan. Alfie Wellens joined Dagenham on loan. Forrester will miss the Bolton match due to hamstring injury. Pre match Richie believed we might have to find a new left bact target as Watford are unwilling to let him go before getting a replacement in. The keeper signing had also stalled and the target picked up an injury.

24 Jan. Away to Bolton (2-1 Archibald). Casey started as did Wellens, Abdulai and Mitchell. Matthews was on the bench with Happe and Perkins amongst others. Phillips had returned from illness so we had a reserve keeper. Ref was doing well after, 33' he had booked three. Bolton had already made a substitution following a Simpson tackle. We went a goal down on 46' but Archibald got us level three minutes later. Sicknotes James and Mitchell were substituted by Happe and Craig following injuries. The habit of conceding goals in added time continued when Abdulai handballed a minute in to give away a penalty. Team: Cahill, Mitchell, James, Casey, Abdulai, O'Neill, Simpson, Archibald, Bakinson, Ballard, Wellens. Subs: Craig,(Mitchell 66), Happe(James 72), Matthews,(Bakinson 80), Koroma, Moorhouse, Perkins, Phillips. BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. Post match video: Wellens said "No" to the question " Is Omar Beckles injured?" He thought the ref and most of the refs this season were below standard. The substitutes were made because of cramp. Away to Doncaster on Tuesday. They were three up against Wigan but then let in three. Forrester was out with his first injury, took two games.

Orient youngster Zak O’Keefe has joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Welling United on an initial 28-day work experience loan deal.

27 Jan. Away to Doncaster (3-0). They were three from bottom on 27 points whilst we were on 32 points at 16. No place for Beckles in the squad. Mitchell returned from cramp but not James or Bakinson. Happe and Moorhouse returned as did Matthews to the exclusion of Wellens. By the eighth minute they had four shots, albeit none were on target. No shots from us. Mitchell hit the post on 16', our first shot. Finally on 34' and 11 shots they scored when Cahill spilled an easy shot. Casey gave away a penalty on 45', dragging an opponent aroutn the neck and we went two nil down. On 46', minutes before half time Wellens made four subs, Craig for Happe, James for Matthews, Bakinson for Moorhouse and Wellens for Mitchell. They scored a third three minutes later. On 74' Koroma came on for Ballard. Team: Cahill, Mitchell, Casey, Happe, Abdulai, O'Neill, Simpson, Archibald, Moorhouse, Matthews, Ballard. Subs: Craig,(Happe 46), Wellens(James 72), Bakinson,(Moorhouse 46), Koroma(Ballard 74, James(Matthews 46), Perkins, Phillips. Post match Wellens was not happy as quoted by the BBC from the in house media team. "he labelled his side "shocking", "poor" and that he felt "embarrassed" for Orient fans who had made the long journey from East London" "Wellens was left despondent that his club have not replaced goalkeeper Tommy Simkin - who returned to parent club Stoke City on New Year's Day - with just five days of the transfer window remaining. Since Simkin's departure, Wellens has named three matchday squads without a substitute goalkeeper, with 22-year-old Killian Cahill deputising." He also commented that it has taken 27 days to replace Simkin, barely hiding his anger/frustration. He would have liked to have made five subs on 25 minutes. BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. 

Comment. Part of the problem is an inexperienced side. Cahill, Casey, Abdulai, O'Neill, Moorhouse, Matthews, Craig, Wellens, Perkins and Phillips of the above squad have all not started 100 league games.

31 Jan. Home to Port Vale (0-1). They went ahead after two minutes and we had no answer to them in any department. Bachman didn't make his debut as he was injured in the warm up. Rumour has it he is out for the season.  So we couldn't beat the club that hadn't won for 14 matches? More tinkering with the team. Michell, Abdulai, Simpson, Moorhouse and Matthews did not start. Back came Bakinson, Koroma, James, Craig and Clare. O'Neill shot tamely at the keeper and Ballard hit the post and that was the sum of our attack. Team: Cahill, James, Clare, Casey, Happe, Craig, O'Neill, Bakinson, Archibald, Koroma, Ballard. Subs: Abdulai, Wellens(O'Neill 67), Mitchell(Koroma 78), Simpson, Moorhouse(Craig 68), Matthews(Archibald 86), Phillips. BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. Statistics show it all, back to safe sideways passing. 69.9% of the play, 557 passes of which 71 were backward, 166 were forward which must mean 320 were sideways. No wonder the passing accuracy was 82.4%. 

Former players on the move. Lewis Warrington left Walsall and joined Tranmere. Adaramola was loaned to Sheffield Wednesday.

Transfer deadline 2 February - closes at 7pm.

13.12pm. We sign 24 year-old left back James Morris from Watford for an undisclosed fee on a two-and-a-half-year deal with another years option. He has made three apps for the Hornets this season, the last being 10 Jan. Since August 2021 when he was signed from Southampton he has made 38(17) apps without scoring.

14.00pm. Omar Beckles left the club by mutual agreement and joined Gillingham. 

17.00pm. Zech Obiero was loaned to Tranmere.

19.30 pm. Dylan Levitt was signed from Hibernian for an undisclosed fee.

21.15pm, We sign Will Dennis on loan from Bournemouth.

21.15pm. Tobi Oluwayemi joins from Celtic.

Rumours: Lots regarding keepers. Peterborough's Nick Bilokapic, a free agent. Played 69(2) games. Celtic's Tobi Oluwayemi who was on loan at Kilmarnock. Played just 52 games. Brentford's Ellery Balcombe. 102(1) games. Plus this one from the ususally reliable Pete O'Rouke: Stoke winger Favour Fawunmi is set to join Leyton Orient on loan.

That completed our transfer activities though we did send Moorhouse back to Manchester United. Most supporters agreed that he looked like a boy in a mans game. Most young players from the divisions above us appear that way. Watch the video Martin Ling's January transfer roundup. In which he agreed that whilst four loanees last season were excellent, the first five this season were not. Which is why they are no longer with us. 

Will Forrester was named club captain following the departure of Beckles. Makai Welch was re-loaned to Hornchurch for the rest of the season. He joins ex O's Same Ling, Rhys Byrne and Charlie Pegrum. Nigel Travis, Martin Ling and the COO Steve Tait hosted a Q&A video. We learnt that 15 clubs in our division are up for sale. Problem appears to be player wages. There may be new rules next season to help clubs. They hope. Richie has the final word on new players with the exception of keepers when Simon Royce does. The site of the new ground has been decided but will not be announced until mid year. Waltham Forest Council have been very helpful - first time in the 60+ years I have bben supporting the club. Levitt has been on the club radar for 18 months and Oluwayemi for some time while Morris escaped us in the summer. Players contracts have wages clauses should the club get relegated or promoted. When Martin Ling was manager at Swindon his wages went up despite relegation - they went bust. New rules will be put in place to ensure clubs could not become homeless. If the Health & Safety rules were applied to the stadiums in the USA they would be closed down.

Feb 7. Away to Stockport County (0-0). Magnificent result given most over the last five games. They were four from top. All the new, fit, signees played. There was no place for James, Mitchell or Craig. Fawumni was given rave reviews and drew five fouls. One of which was on 39' by Josh Dacres-Cogley warranted a yellow card. On 80' he committed another, on Ballard, and was sent off. O'Neill had good chance to score and may had done better to hit the ball first time. Archibald hit the crossbar. Team: Oluwayemi, Morris, Clare, Forrester, Happe, Levitt, O'Neill, Bakinson, Archibald, Fawunmi, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Abdulai(Fawunmi 65), Wellens(Archibald 71), Casey(Levitt 71), Koroma(O,Neill 90), Simpson(Happe 71), Matthews(Archibald 86). BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. Wellens was happy with the team. We were 18th on 33 ponts and so were three other teams. Burton were in a relegation place on 32 points. No match next week as scheduled opponents Mansfield were still in the FA Cup. 

Feb 17. Home to Plymouth (1-3 O'Neill). Into a relegation place. Things went badly when we went behind a minute into first half added time from a cross to the far post found their unmarked man. Two minutes later we were back level when a Morris cross was met by O'Neill. But the second half was a nightmare as two goals on 52' and 70' left us pointless. Oluwayemi let a bog standard shot bounce off his chest into the path of Curtis who reacted faster than any player in red. Oluwayemi went off injured to give Dennis his debut. No place for Matthews, James or Simpson. Team: Oluwayemi, Morris, Clare, Forrester, Happe, Levitt, O'Neill, Bakinson, Archibald, Fawunmi, Ballard. Subs: Dennis(Oluwayemi 75), Abdulai(Archibald 68), Wellens(Levitt 68), Casey(Levitt 71), Koroma(Fawunmi 82), Perkins(Happe 71), Craig(Archibald 86). I have included the BBC report but it would appear the reporter was never at the match given what was written. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages.

Feb 20. First-team coach Alan McCormack left the club and was replaced with Paul Gallagher who managed Barrow for five matches, losing all of them before getting the sack. Previously he held the same position at Stoke and Preston. He joins the O’s until the end of the 2025/26 season. 

Feb 21. Away at Northampton (1-2 Ballard, Morris).  Oluwayemi did not play. Moving to the bench were Happe and Archibald whilst Dennis, Craig and Casey started. Bakinson not in the side nor was Matthews and James. Ballard put us in the the lead in this six pointer on ten minutes from an assist from Levitt. What that goal did was to push us out of a relegation place. Things got better when Morris scored his first goal in adult football following an assist by Ballard. A header on 60' got them back in the game. Simpson went off with an injury on 70' and was replaced by Happe. Seven minutes later Archibald replaced Fawumni. Abdulai replaced Levitt on 84'. Team: Dennis, Morris, Simpson, Forrester, Casey, Levitt, O'Neill, Clare, Craig, Fawunmi, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Abdulai(Levitt84), Wellens, Happe(Simpson 70), Koroma, Perkins, Archibald(Fawunmi 77). BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages.

Feb 28. Home to Barnsley (1-3 Levitt). Poor, inept, with players constantly looking at Wellens for instructions. Into a relegation place. It went badly from the tenth minute when Casey gave away the ball in his own half. The ball went wide and Happe failed to stop the low cross which was met unmarked by 38 year-old McGoldrick. We drew level when a free kick was give just outside their area. Fawunmi left their wall and players followed. Levitt's kick bounced in front of the keeper and into the net. We saw the half out but far to many passes were made directly at the opposition. McGoldrick got another on 53' and a hat-trick nine minutes later. We looked more lively with the introduction of Koroma, James and Abdulai but failed to score. Morris spent most of the second half glued to the touch line wait for a pass which rarely came. Might have been better to make a few runs to distract the opposition.  My click-o-meter registered 205 passes backward and sideways but PA (I presume) for the BBC saw 511 passes of which 155 were forward and 65 backwards which means 291 were sideways. No wonder that there was 79.5% accuracy. Cannot believe I missed 151 of those passes. Team: Dennis, Morris, Clare, Forrester, Happe, Levitt, O'Neill, Craig, Casey, Fawunmi, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Archibald(Happe 58), Abdulai(Clare 58), Wellens(O'Neill 67),(Levitt 71), Koroma(Fawunmi 67, Perkins(Happe 71), James(Levitt 81). BC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages.

Comment.  Too many players yet to make 100 League starts. Appearances from the bench and cup matches would put some over the 100 apps. To 17 February: Oluwayemi 46, Dennis 37, Cahill 15, Morris 31, Simpson 58, Forrester 64, Casey 6, O'Neill  67, Mitchell 92, Craig 61, Fawunmi 2, Abdulai 20, Levitt 87, Wellens 17, Matthews 2, Connolly 80, Perkins 14, Ballard 52.

Stats from Soccerbase.

3 March. Home to Erith London Senior Cup Semi-final (2-0 Matthews, Koroma). This was supposed to be an U21 game but Wellens changed it to include all those who had not started a game recently so the line-up was Cahill, James, Simpson, Matthews, Mitchell, Bakinson, Koroma, Perkins, Abdulai, Gordon, Wellens. The U21's making the bench were Mohamud, Bello, Hajoini, Darko-Wilson and Nzang. Pratley was not amused and neither were the young men hoping for a start. Gordon was bought down but Matthems missed the penalty. He made amends minutes later when their keeper parried out the ball but Ajay hit the rebound into the net. Koroma wrapped up the scoring heading home after some confusion.

6 March 10pm. It was announced that Martin Ling had left the club. Supporters came up with all manner of theories but the only fact appeared to be that the DoF position would remain empty. Timing seemed off with just two months to go until the end of the season. No reason was given for the decision other than we were moving on. Wellens was gutted and said so on the BBC interview post Bradford. 

7 March. Away to Bradford (2-1 O'Neill). Down, Down, deeper and down. We stayed four from bottom but now two points adrift of Wigan and Blackpool. We went a goal down on 33' with Clare marking nobody in particular. But ten minutes later we were level through O'Neill. On 75' they had a man sent off but the Bantams scored four minutes later. Zero marking from Simpson. Koroma got a start but was subbed five minutes from half time. No doubt due to a yellow card and the danger of getting another. Fawunmi replaced him but looked lightweight. On 53' Happe and Casey were replaced by Simpson and James. Bakinson, missing from the last two games, replaced Levitt on 74'. Craig and Perkins were not in the squad. Passing stats were not good: O'Neill on 11.1%. Happe also was poor on 25% but not as bad as Bakinson on 20%. Just as well that he was only on for 20'. Fawunmi was on 75% for his 30 minutes but only passed the ball FOUR times. James, on for 37 minutes managed 82.4% for 17 passes. Simpson was on for the same period for his 68.8% for 16 passes. Others: Forrester 63.2%, Casey 53.3%, Morris 53.8%, Clare 56.4%, Levitt topped with 75%, Archibald 41.2%, Koroma 50%, Ballard 36.4%.  Team: Dennis, Morris, Clare, Forrester, Happe, Levitt, O'Neill, Archibald, Casey, Koroma, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Fawunmi(Koroma 40), Abdulai, Wellens, Bakinson(Levitt 74), James(Casey 53), Mitchell. BC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages.

10 March. Away to Stevenage (1-2 Ballard 2). More tinkering with the team. Happe, who had gone for a scan the day before, was not in the squad, nor was Koroma. Abdulai, who was deemed not worth a start on Saturday did so tonight, ditto Wellens, James and Mitchell. Archibald, Casey and Levitt found themselves on the bench. Simpson replaced Happe and Perkins returned to the bench. Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1. Clare gave away a penalty on 21'. Not the first he has given away. Losing one nil. Clare booked. A minute before half time Ballard equalised. A fine ball from Forrester (?) found Mitchell whose clever control beat the defender. Mitchell then found the running Ballard who crashed his shot high into the ne. Clare was replaced by Bakinson on 52' to stop him getting a red card. Casey replaced Forrester at half time. On 57' Ballard put us back in the lead from a Morris cross on 55' with a glancing header. Stevenage made three substitutions on 65'. On 74' Mitchell was replaced by Archibald. O'Neill got a yellow on 80' and was replaced six minutes later no doubt saving another red card? The match ended 1-2 with three valuable points taking us up to 19th, a point behind Doncaster and Burton. We need to beat Peterborough in E10 on Saturday when El Mizouni may be on the bench. Team: Dennis, Morris, Clare, Forrester, Simpson, James, O'Neill, Abdulai, Wellens, Mitchell, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Fawunmi, Bakinson(Clare 52), Levitt, Archibald(Mitchell 74), Perkins(O'Neill 86), Casey(Forrester 46). BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages.

14 March. Home to Peterborough 2-1 (Simpson, Bakinson). Happe fit after a scan showed nothing, Forrester out, going for a scan. Clare out with a dodgy shoulder. Levitt and Casey were the replacements. El Mizouni back, albeit on the bench. Just before half time Mitchell played in Wellens whose low cross was met by Simpson to put us in the lead. On the hour Archibald replaced Mitchell, Happe the injured Casey and Bakinson Levitt. Big cheers bought the arrival of El Mizouni onto the pitch on 79'. On 81' a ball out of defence by Happe found Bakinson and his one-touch pass Archibald. Theo ran 70 yards out pacing a Posh player. A left side footed pass was met by Bakinson who calmly blasted the ball into the net. On 85' a needless foul by Happe gave Peterborough some hope. Not sure why El Mizouni was not marking the scorer. Ballard's decision making was off and a forum member posted Ballard should have had 4 today, he keeps on taking an extra touch when one is not required..  Team: Dennis, Morris, Casey, Simpson, James, Levitt, O'Neill, Abdulai, Wellens, Mitchell, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Fawunmi, Bakinson(Levitt 61), Archibald(Mitchell 60), Perkins(Ballard 90), Happe(Casey 61), El Mizouni(Abdulia 79). BBC report. Video highlights. A Closer Look. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. Elsewhere results meant we were four points from a relegation place. Mitchell and Levitt were taken off due to fatigue. Abdulai due to a dead leg and Casey injury unknown we were told in the post match interview. My click-o-meter registered 79. BBC had 142. 

Youth loans: Zac Hambury has joined Southern League Premier South outfit Chertsey Town on loan until the end of the season. 

Hambury joins fellow Leyton Orient U18 teammate Alfie Wellens, who has enjoyed his start to life with the Curfews and has seen his loan with the club extended until the end of the season. Claudio Nzang has returned to the O's following a short stint with Northwood, in the Southern League Central Division.  Luke Northwood has returned from Isthmian League South East Division outfit Erith Town, where he became a regular starter at full-back for the Dockers prior to the New Year. 

17 March, Away to Wimbledon (2-4 Ballard 3, Morris). I will attempt to document this match as it happens via the BBC live report which is no doubt supplied by PA (Press Association?). The team was unchanged with the exception of Bakinson for Levitt and on the bench Craig replaced Bakinson. There had been some doubt that Ballard would play though. On 15 minutes from a Wellens cross, O'Neill hit the post and it rebounded off Ballard from close range into the net. One boarder said Wimbledon are putting us under a lot of pressure, their right winger is raw but really dangerous.  He scored on 39' if it was Nkeng. There were four minutes of added time. In the first minute the Wombles went into the lead scored by the same player. Results elsewhere meant we were in 20th some four points from relegation. Half time subs, on come Happe and Archibald as replacements for Casey and O'Neill. On 48' this from the BBC site Dom Ballard left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Charlie Wellens with a through ball.  Nine minutes later Morris scored after a Mitchell cross was deflected into his path and he scored accordingly. That put us 16th in the table. For how long? On 68' El Mizouni replaced Mitchell. Two minutes later Ballard completed his hat-trick when a fierce strike 30 yards out by Archibald could only be parried into his path. After Ballard was injured Perkins replaced him and Abdulai was replaced by Fawunmi. Six minutes of added time.  Team: Dennis, Morris, Casey, Simpson, James, Bakinson, O'Neill, Abdulai, Wellens, Mitchell, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Fawunmi(Abdulai 84), Craig, Archibald(Casey 46), Perkins(Ballard 83), Happe(O'Neill 46), El Mizouni(Mitchell 68). BBC report. Video highlights. A Closer Look. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. The bottom three all lost, Rotherham, Port Vale and Northampton. We are not likely to move further up the table. Mansfield are a point better off than us but two clubs, Wimbledon and Peterborough are on 49. Followed Barnsley on 50 and Luton on 54. 

That was Ballard's third hat-trick of the season a feat not achieved since 1957-1958 by the great Tommy Johnston. Whose last league goal was January 11th, number 35 before his transfer to Blackburn in March. Ballard is top of the EFL goalscorers on 21 goals.

21 March. Home to Wycombe Wanderers (2-0 Mitchell, El Mizuoni). Four wins on the bounce. They were ninth in the table. Nine was significant as their Allen was sent off in the ninth minute after bringing down Ballard when he was clear on goal. Wellens beleived we would have played better 11v11 but I have my doubts. Forrester started as did Archibald, replacing O'Neill and Casey. No sign of Craig, Koroma or O'Neill. It took a bad mistake by their keeper to give us the first goal. Archibald won a tackle deep into our half and ran with 50 yards before threading the ball to Ballard. His backward pass found Mitchell. His shot was fumbled into the net. On 90+1 Archibald hooked a ball towards goal that Ballard picked up. Morris ran into the area but the ball was passed to El Mizouni just inside the area whose side foot shot found the upright and into the net to make it 2-0. Team: Dennis, Morris, Forrester, Simpson, James, Bakinson, Archibald, Abdulai, Wellens, Mitchell, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Fawunmi(Mitchel 76), Clare, Casey, Perkins, Happe(Forester 87), El Mizouni(Abdulai 62). BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. My click-o-meter registered 229. BBC showed 269. We remained 16th in the table but now six points away from a relegation spot. We are away to Exeter next Saturday, they are in 20th place. Doncaster Rovers 17th play Port Vale bottom on Tuesday.

28 March. Away to Exeter (0-0). Back to our non-winning game. James was injured and was replaced by Clare. He lasted 18' before going off with an injury to be replaced by Craig. Most supporters thought Craig was hopeless. So did Wellens who replaced him with Happe at half time. We learnt later that Craig had a slight hamstring. That's the trouble with jumping to conclusions with little fact. It took Happe three minutes to win a yellow card. El Mizouni replaced Abdulai at the same time. O'Neill replaced Mitchell on 67'. Nearly 200 cross field passes just about summed the game up with another 100 coming from the opposition. Our best move was following a great save from Dennis, Craig made an equally great pass to Ballard but his lob was wide.  Team: Dennis, Morris, Forrester, Simpson, Clare, Bakinson, Archibald, Abdulai, Wellens, Mitchell, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Craig(Clare 18), O'Neill, Casey, Perkins, Happe(Craig 46), El Mizouni(Abdulai 46). BBC report. Video highlights. A Closer look. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. 17th in the table after Doncaster won midweek.

2 April, Away to Wigan (0-0). This result suited both teams as it took us seven points from safety and the Latics just three. With 50 points it took us up to 14th but we played on a Thursday night. Nobody else did. There were four other teams on 50. The only change in the starting lineup was Happed for the still injured Clare. Stats said it all, Dennis had zero shots to save whilst they had zero shots on target. A poor bit of defending by Simpson, but he was playing left back, nearly lead to a good but a good stop from Forrester put the ball over the bar. With the rain lashing down Ballard forced a save from their keeper and Mitchell two. That was as good as it got. Supporters were unimpressed for a second match on the bounce.  Team: Dennis, Morris, Forrester, Simpson, Happe, Bakinson, Archibald, Abdulai, Wellens, Mitchell, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Craig, O'Neill(Bakinson 46), Casey(Simpson 58), Perkins(Mitchell 84), Matthews, El Mizouni(Wellens 46). BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. Paul Terry ran the match due to Wellens having a medical preecedure.

Fawunmi returned to Stoke after picking up a hamstring which will put him out for the season.

4 April. Home to Huddersfield (1-2 o/g). El Mizouni starts, we go into the lead. El Mizouni goes off and we lose. But it's what went on before the 16th minute of added time winner which is confusing. We went ahead in the 20th minute after an Archibald cross was headed into his own net. But just before half time they equalised. In the 65' two Terriers players collided and both had to have attention following head injuries. One went off but for some unknown reason the other did not leave the field of play. Then James was told to go to the sidelines when he had not received any (I think) treatment. Two clangers from the ref and his staff? Wellens queried the refs decision and was red carded. Team: Oluwayemi, Morris, Forrester, Casey, Happe, Bakinson, Archibald, Abdulai, Wellens, El Mizouni, Ballard. Subs: Cahill, Craig(El Mizoui 87), James(Casey 64), Gordon, Perkins(Wellens 64), Matthews, Lowe. BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. Post match Paul Terry gave the reason that youth player Lowe was on the bench, he was the only player available at short notice. We had 11 players injured/sick with two withdrawing on the day. That would be Bachman, Dennis, Simpson, REG, Clare, Levitt, O'Neill, Connolly, Mitchell and Koroma. Only makes ten unless you count Fawumni? 

Someone on a forum came up with this from the Northampton Chronical.

League One - accounts 2024/25 :(

1. Charlton Athletic Loss - £16.7m. Turnover - £11.2m.

2. Wrexham Loss - £14.85m. Turnover - £33m.

3. Bolton Wanderers Loss - £13.91m. Turnover - £20.5m.

4. Wycombe Loss - £9.9m. Turnover - £7m.

5. Stockport County Loss - £9.1m. Turnover - £11.5m

6. Burton Albion Loss - £8.3m. Turnover - £6.4m.

7. Bristol Rovers Loss - £7.0m. Turnover - £8.1m.

8. Barnsley Loss - £6.6million. Turnover - £10.3million.

9. Rotherham United Loss - £4.65m. Turnover - £10.2m

10. Leyton Orient Loss - £4.6m. Turnover - £9.4m.

11. Blackpool Loss - £4.3m. Turnover - £8.8m

12. Reading Loss - £3.8m. Turnover - £9.8m

13. Cambridge United Loss - £3.7m. Turnover - £9.2m

14. Lincoln City Loss - £2.9m. Turnover - £8m.

15. Northampton Town Loss - £2.9m. Turnover - £7.5m

16. Crawley Town Loss - £2.7m. Turnover - figures not given

17. Stevenage Loss - £1.3m. Turnover - £7.8m

18. Shrewsbury Loss - £0.9m. Turnover - £7.2m

19. Wigan Athletic Loss - £400k. Turnover - £7.3m

20. Exeter City Profit - £350k. Turnover - £7m

21. Peterborough United Profit - £2.9m. Turnover - £16m

(Figures for Birmingham, Huddersfield and Mansfield are not available). Birmingham losses were given as £34m later and Huddersfield Town reported a pre-tax loss of £22.4m.

Kieran Maguire: “Everyone is losing more and more money. In Leagues One and Two, even four or five years ago, clubs weren't making profits necessarily but the losses were manageable. We seem now to have moved into a new era whereby club owners are willing to subsidise clubs to a greater extent. And that's ok until it's not ok. You only have to have someone having a change of heart or change of circumstances as we've seen at Derby, Chelsea and others. So if the owner has problems then the club has problems and that's the scary thing”. 

Player salaries can be viewed here. Though its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

11 April. Away to Lincoln (2-1 Ballard). Lincoln were the first club in this divison to get promotion. We learnt from Paul Terry in the post match video that Koroma was a doubt, James and Archibald had niggles, Mitchell and Simpson should be back with Levitt and Connolly back out on the grass. Mitchell, James and Simpson started. Dennis returned in goal. No mention of O'Neill. We went a goal down on 18' and five minutes into added time Forrester put through his own net. Ballard got one back on 71' but it was nowhere near good enough according to some supporters. Stats: 18 shots on goal for the Imps. A dozen from us. In the air we won 18 duels but they won 35.  Team: Dennis, Morris, James, Forrester, Simpson, Happe, Bakinson, Mitchell, Abdulai, El Mizouni, Ballard. Subs: Craig, Oluwayemi, Casey(Happe 85), Gordon, Perkins(Simpson 54), Matthews, Wellens(Bakinson 85). BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. This match was played at 12.30 along with Plymouth v Exeter which ended in a draw. This meant we were one of three clubs on 50 points, one of six clubs three points or under away from a relegation place. The 3 o'clock kick off results did not go our way and we sunk to two places and three points from a relegation spot with just Wimbledon and Exeter below us.

14 April. Home to Mansfield (0-0). Perkins got a start over Bakinson whilst Simpson was replaced by Wellens. The BBC report summed it up succinctly thus: Leyton Orient and Mansfield drew in a largely tepid affair at the BetWright Stadium. El Mizouni went off injured after 33' to be replaced by Bakinson who for me, had a good game. However some supporters didn't rate Wellens, Abdulai or Mitchell. Perkins nearly met a Mitchell cross and was off target in the second half with a shot from outside the area. The Stags were big, muscular and their control of the ball stopped any chance of the high press. Bakinson put Ballard through in the second half but his shot went across the face of the goal with no one on the end of it. We should have had two penalties according to Richie, one when Ballard was wrestled to the ground and went Abdulai was up ended in the first half. There was also a handball which was not penalised. The last five minutes of added time were played out with a passing exhibition from Mansfield.  Team: Dennis, Morris, James, Forrester, Wellens, Happe, Perkins, Mitchell, Abdulai, El Mizouni, Ballard. Subs: Craig, Cahill, Simpson(Forrester 69), Casey(Wellens 69), Bakinson(El Mizouni 33), Matthews. BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. A Closer Look, Happe was my man of the match but it was given to Abdulai to a stunned silence. Post match Wellens revealed there were 11 injured players. O'Neill would not be seen this season and Archibald may be lucky to. Both have groin injuries. Connolly will be on the bench Saturday. REG is still out. Presumably Bachman and Oluwayemi would be on the list along with Clare and Levitt. Add Fawunmi still only makes nine. Rotherham, our next opponents were relegated after losing 3-0 at Wigan. Interesting fact Mansfield Town total wage bill for 2025 is:

£4,646,720 per year, £89,360 per week whilst our bill was £5,087,160 per year, £97,830 per week. But how true any on that is nobody knows.  

In the Leyton Orient Fans forum the following was noted by one listener:

On club finances:

“The cost of competing in League One have increased sharply over recent years. The average playing budget has increased by 50% in two years and has doubled since 2019. This wage growth has outstripped the league’s revenue growth and, therefore, clubs are now increasingly reliant on owner funding to compete… In December, we submitted our 2024/25 financial statements where we announced a loss of £4.6m. Our current forecast for this season (2025/26) is a loss in excess of £5m. Considering that this loss includes two significant player sales, this highlights the financial commitment of the ownership group but also the need for football to come together to address this growing issue”.

Forever Orient/Meyba deal:

“A major reason in our decision to partner with MEYBA was the contact and engagement time they were able to promise us… We… believe that our kits, leisurewear and travel wear will be the envy of many clubs”.

“The days since the unveiling of the fourth shirt have seen the most sign-ups to Forever Orient since the scheme launched in November, aside from Forever Orient’s launch day and the day after. Due to demand, the club are talking to MEYBA about the possibility of extending the deadline for fans to join Forever Orient and have their names included on the fourth shirt. Forever Orient sign-ups are now closing in on 900…”

New stadium survey:

“The survey is a ‘smart’ one as the questions you are asked will be shaped by your previous answers. A couple of the questions, such as your household income, may seem a bit out of the ordinary but your answers will contribute towards you being asked the most relevant questions about the stadium and its surrounding areas.

Also included as part of the survey is some concept imagery of the new stadium. However, we wish to make it abundantly clear that any imagery is purely conceptual and not finalised. All fan feedback will be taken on board before any new stadium designs are complete”.

“In terms of a site for the new stadium… We hope to be in a position to confirm a preferred site towards the end of this calendar year”.

Season cards:

“At the time of writing, around 7% of Season Card Holders who have purchased for the 2026/27 season are ‘new’, which is very encouraging”

18 April. Home to Rotherham (0-2). One shot on  target in 90 minutes. Some of the performances this season are an insult to those great players wearing the shirt. Connolly and Levitt returned, albeit to the bench. The first goal bounced all the way through the defence and into the net after 24'. The second on 73' was due to lack of marking from just about anyone. By which time Casey had replaced Forrester. Team: Dennis, Morris, James, Forrester, Wellens, Happe, Perkins, Mitchell, Abdulai, Bakinson, Ballard. Subs: Craig, Cahill, Connolly(Wellens 58), Casey(Forrester 59), Levitt(Mitchell 58), Koroma(Perkins 46), Clare(Abdulai 46). BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. 

The Leyton Orient Outlook Podcast had Nigel Travis as its guest. Things that immerged were: There will be players in contract that will be moved on. Should we be relegated there will be players that would leave. Nigel made the decision on Martin Ling leaving when he did. They still have faith in Richie. The training ground site should be sorted by the start of the season. On fans booing: he would do the same if he was us after two disappionting matches. The stats say it all. Us 389 passes with 41 backwards and 162 forwards leaving 186 across the field. Shots on target 1. Rotherham 259 passes with 43 backward, 139 forwards leaving 77 accross the field. Shots on target 5. Against Mansfield: us 359 passes with 41 backward, 155 forwards leaving 163 across the field. Shots on target 1. Mansfield 293 passes with 40 backwards, 138 forwards leaving 115 across the field. Shots on target 2

Dom Ballard received the Sky Bet League One player of the season and the Young Player of the Season as well as being named as in the Team of the Season.

Wellens was fined £4000 and banned from the touchline for three matches after confronting officials at the Huddersfield match.

24 April. Away to Blackpool (1-0). One place from relegation and two points. We now need to beat Burton next Saturday because if we don't and Exeter draw we are relegated. Exeter are at home to Bradford who need at least a point to guarantee a play off place. Clare and Simpson replaced Happe and Perkins. Connolly and Levitt also started replacing Wellens and Abdulai. We went a goal down on 22' when Bakinson gave away a penalty. The taker missed, hit the upright and the ball ran across the line, hit Dennis on the back and in. For the third successive gave we had just one shot on target. The stats told their own story. 348 passes of which 194 were either forward or backward, leaving 154 passes across and back so it is no wonder that the passing accuracy was 72.1%. On the other hand, of Blackpool's 277 passes 183 were backwards or forwards leaving just 94 cross field passes. Team: Dennis, Morris, James, Forrester, Simpson, Clare, Mitchell, Levitt, Bakinson, Connolly, Ballard. Subs: Craig(James 86), Cahill, Perkins(Clare 89), Casey, Wellens(Levitt 77), Abdulai(Bakinson 46), Koroma(Mitchell 77). BBC report. Video highlights. Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. The Football Web page site gives the Wellens sub as Alfie but the Club's website shows Charlie. They should know.

2 May. Home to Burton (2-2 Forrester, Ballard). By the skin of our teeth. Things were going as well as the second minute when Forrester's header found the net. But the defence fell apart again 32' later. A good cross from Craig on 52' found Ballard to score his 23rd and final goal of the season. Again we were undone by the defence via a set piece when three Burton headers were unmarked before the final one found the net. That mean it depended on Exeter not getting even a point against Bradford who were fighting for a play off place, Bradford won 1-2. Team: Dennis, Morris, Craig, Forrester, Simpson, Clare, Mitchell, Abdulai, Wellens, Connolly, Ballard. Subs: James, Cahill, Perkins(Connolly 78), El Mizouni(Clare 46), Levitt, Happe(Simpson 59), Bakinson(Abdulai 68). BBC report. Video highlights.  Match facts at a glance Football Web Pages. You would not know we needed to win especially in the final fifteen minutes. Undoubtedly the players knew Bradford were winning and they took their feet off the pedal. Wellens seven minute post match video went viral. Interviewer Dave Victor asked just a couple of questions.

7 May. The retained/released list was published. 

Available for transfer are: Sean Clare, Tyreeq Bakinson, Lemar Gordon, Sonny Perkins, Josh Koroma.

Offered a new contract: Happe.

All loan players to return to their clubs.

Leaving the club following expiration of their contracts: Tobi Oluwayemi, Tom James, Jack Simpson, Makai Welch, Diallang Jaiyesimi.   

Third-year scholars to leave the club: Hayden Bullas, Abdi Mohamud. 

U18s players to have signed professional contracts: Alfie Wellens, Zac Hambury, Zak O’Keefe. 

U18s players to have activated third-year scholarship: Eddie Wright. 

U18s players to leave club: Ethan Pike, Charlie Anderson, TJ Bello, Luke Northwood, Izu Okafor, Aaron Sterling, Claudio Nzang. 

*Theo Archibald has triggered an appearance-based one-year option. He is now contracted until the conclusion of the 2026/27 season. 

Next season we play Sheffield Wednesday, Oxford and Leicester from the Championship. Going to the Championship are Lincoln, Cardiff and one other. Leaving us are Exeter, Rotherham, Port Vale and Northampton.  Coming the other way will be Bromley, MK Dons and Cambridge plus one other. Promoted to the EFL were York and Rochdale whilst going into the National League are Barrow and Harrogate.

Ex O's released/on the move: Woking releaed Dale Gorman and he joined  Hednesford Town. Jake Caprice by Oldham. Glenn Morris (he joined Dorking) and Ogie (he later joined Woking for whom Anthony Georgiou has just signed.) at Gillingham.  Victor Adeboyejo left Mansfield and joined Bromley. Danny Johnson, released at Hartlepool, joined  Spennymoor Town. Antony Papadopoulos was released by Crawley after spells on loan at Maidstone United and Chelmsford City and joined Dagenham. Ryan Hedges was released by Blackburn. He played for us on loan from Swansea in 2015 appearing 17 times scoring two goals. His most successful time as far as goals were concerned was playing for Aberdeen, netting 11 times from 66 apps. Boreham Wood released Jack Payne who we had on loan from Peterborough 2015-2016 making 29 apps and scoring a single goal. They also let go Charles Clayden who came through our youth system to make just one appearance in the last match of the season (28 April 2018) coming on in the 62'. He later joined Dagenham on a two-year deal. James Brophy was released at Cambridge and joined Gillingham. Bryan Ifeany never appeared for us but Forest Green signed him from Carshalton. He previously featured for Aveley, Maldon & Tiptree and Brentwood Town though he was signed by Colchester from us. Duke-McKenna left Harrowgate for Crawley. Makai Welch joined Hornchurch. Tom James signed for Bristol Rovers. Harry Beautyman refused a contract at Woking and joined Dagenham.  Tom Parkes left Hartlepool for Tamworth. Simkin joined Doncaster on loan. Galbraith joined Stoke for £10m. Sotiriou joined Chesterfield. Joe White left Middlesbrough for Crewe. Former loanee Nick Freeman left Shrewsbury and joined Gillingham. Favour Fawunmi joined Oldham on a season loan. Hayden Bullas signed for Bromley after his release.  Harry Connick left Bristol City. He played 11 games for us in 2016-2017 on loan from Bournemouth scoring one goal and has joined AFC Wimbledon on a one-year deal with an option to extend. Will Dennis left Bournemouth and joined MK Dons. Jayden Stockley was another loanee from Bournemouth back in 2013 appearing eight times scoring a single goal. He left Port Vale to join Wimbledon. Alex Mitchell a Millwall loanee in 2021-2022 playing 26 times, joined Plymouth on a three-year deal. In June 2024 he had accepted a three-year deal at Charlton. Adaramola left Crystal Palace for Cercle Bruggge on a long-term contract. Sonny Fish is playing for Dover this season. Scott Wagstaff who we had on loan from Charlton in 2012 has joined Dartford. Jamie Donley joined Luton on loan and lasted 62' in the 5-2 defeat at Mansfield. Kaelan Casey, last years loan from West Ham, was loaned to Stevenage. Ajay Matthews was loaned to Exeter. John Marquis, now 34, was not offered another contract by Shrewsbury and joined Woking who have won just one of their first four games, losing the other three. Wilkinson was loaned to Boreham Wood.

26 May. The final League One places were sorted when Bolton beat Stockport on their way to the Championship while below us Notts County beat Salford 3-0 to join us in August.

Every goal 2025-2026. Every Aaron Connolly goal. Every Dom Ballard goal. 

29 May, Club announcement: Leyton Orient can confirm that Head of Recruitment Dan McLoone has left E10.

2 June, Club announcement: Aaron Connolly underwent surgery on his shoulder, following the injury picked up against Burton Albion on the final day of the 2025/26 season. The forward will spend a period of time on the sidelines. Zech Obiero is in Kenya's latest squad for their upcoming friendlies. The international window will see Kenya take on Lesotho in two friendly fixtures, on Thursday 4th and Sunday 7th June 2026.

5 June.  Scott Mitchell became the club’s new Director of Football. Mitchell joins the O’s from Oxford United where he has worked as Head of Recruitment for the last two years, having previously held the same role at Wycombe Wanderers. Dan Happe decided to reject his Orient contract and joined Aberdeen instead.

12 June.Former manager Kenny Jackett dies aged 64. Jackett became director of football at Gillingham in 2022, but stood down from his role for medical reasons in November 2024.  

15 June. The transfer window opened and ten deals were done. We did not feature.

Rumours. Start here. 10 May TC9 who have never got any rumour correct started with Barnet striker Stead.  He joined Cambridge. 6 May TC9 again: Leyton Orient have made an offer of around £200k to sign Colchester United midfielder Arthur Read. Probably nonsense as he is out of contract and would not command a fee. 28 May The 72, Pete O'Rourke, FLW and Football Insider247.  League One duo Oxford United and Leyton Orient are also interested in Grimsby Town’s 25-year-old Jaze Kabia as he enters the final 12 months of his current contract at Blundell Park. 2 June AllAboutLeagueOne, our selves and Stevenage are interested in signing Bromley captain Jude Arthurs on a free transfer this summer. The 24 year-old has rejected a new deal at the club. He signed for Crawley. 3 June from Richard Hayden - Ed Waldron [Oxford] will be announced today as a new director of Football of Leyton Orient Football Club. The BBC denied he would leave Oxford. From the club website "CEO Mark Devlin said: "We fully understand that our supporters will be asking 'what's next?' and I can confirm that we are in the final stages of appointing a new Director of Football". That was six days ago. He stayed where he was. 5 June. Football Lowdown suggested Plymouth Argyle have entered the chase for Dunfermline Athletic defender Kieran Ngwenya, who has been a long-standing target of Leyton Orient. 6 June. Joe Pavett suggested we were interested on one of the Lisbie brothers. It wouldn't be Kyreech as he signed for Reading. 7 June. AllAboutLeagueOne thought that we were interested in 31 year-old midfielder Myles Hippolyte but Wimbledon have exercised their option to keep him so probably no truth in it. 19 June. A decided lack of rumours so I consulted the forums who suggest Isaac Hayden late of QPR and the return of Bachmann. Time will tell. 21 June. John Harriot suggested we are about to sign Myles Peart-Harris on a free transfer. His youth career started with Bedfont Green at age six,  before moving into the Chelsea Academy at the age of eight. On 23 July 2021, Peart-Harris transferred to Premier League club Brentford and signed a four-year contract, with the option of a further year. He joined Middlesbrough.  22 June. Orient Blog: Macauley Gillesphey linked with a potential move to Leyton Orient. Seems unlikely as the 30 year-old defender signed a new two-year contract with a club option of an additional year in July 2025. He fancied a curry so joined Bradford.  Hayters: Former Arsenal youngster Fin Stevens is set to undergo a medical at Leyton Orient ahead of a move from German side St Pauli. 25 June: Pete O'Rourke suggested that Sonny Perkins was about to be signed by Wigan. Next day they did. The Bachmann rumour returned and his signing was imminent. Not that imminent, maybe Monday, Tuesday or never. 1 July. FLW and Sky suggested the signing of Watford keeper Nathan Baxter. He played against us for Bolton in August 2024.  3 July. Elkan Baggott of Ipswich was rumoured on a forum but he is under contract until 2028. Peterborough failed to get him on loan last season. He joined Millwall. 5 July. Declan Harte/Alan Nixon suggested we were interested in Oxford's 27 year-old winger Owen Dale who has snubbed Plymouth, the team he was on loan with. 20 July. Not many rumours except these two from a forum. 28 year old George Edmundson, ex Ipswich Town centre back who is currently out of favour at Middlesbrough. Stockport's Joseph Olowu. 21 July. Further forum rumours include Freddie Anderson (Stoke), Jacob Devaney a Manchester United youth, Matt Rush (Boreham Wood striker) and Archie Harris Wales U21 LB, from Bournemouth. 25 July. From Sportslines. Farcical rumour of Daiki Sato a Japanese midfielder who has never played in the UK. 27 July. David Hornstein | GaunerGmbH . NOAH KLOSE a 21 year-old German who has never played in the UK. 28 July. Orient Hub. Jodi Jones a 28 year-old Notts County winger. Born in England, he plays for the Malta national team . 28 July. On a forum:  Colchester United CF Samson Tovide. 2 August. Sky Sports News Mark McAdam suggested WBA's Alfie Gilchrist. Cost them £2m a year back from Chelsea so possibly a loan. The 22-year-old CB struggled for game time. Chelsea loaned him to Sheff Utd Aug 2024 where he played 28(4) times but only 10(5) for WBA last season. 31 August. Joe Briggs at West Ham has been suggested on a forum. His appearances are just three for their U21's in the other apps column. Do we really need less experience in the squad?    Transfer season ends 1 September at 2300.

25 June. The fixtures came out and our first game at home is to newly relegated Sheffield Wednesday on 14 August. 

26 June. Sonny Perkins signed for Wigan on a two year deal for an undisclosed fee. Paul Gallagher left the club on the end of his contract. Darren Pratley was promoted to first team coach.

2 July. Jack Simpson signs for Chesterfield joining up with Hemming and Markanday. Bakinson was rumoured to be joining Barnsley or Rotherham.

4 July. Abdulai was sold to Hibernian for an undisclosed fee. He was born in Scotland. His youth career started at Celtic but he left them in 2020 for Leicester City joining Swansea a year later. 

9 July. Koroma joined Chesterfield on a season loan. Richie, in a pre Spain interview reported that Connolly would be our for a further five months and O'Neill for another five weeks."We've still got 5-6 kids training with one or two trialists. I need a couple of men now. I need a couple of physical players that have power, that will complement the squad, that will give us more drive....."

10 July. Away to Enfield for a friendly which ended in a 1-4 win for us. First half team: Baxter, Stevens, Morris, Trialist A, Forrester, Levitt, El Mizouni, Dobra, Springett, Obiero, Trialist B. Subs Ballard, Al Sadi. A goal down after 20 minutes but Dobra headed us level before the break. Second half team: Phillips, O'Keefe, Craig, Bakinson, Chinedu, Clare, C. Wellens, A. Wellens, Michell, Archibald, Hambury subs Gordon and Carter. Charlie Wellens, Chinedu and a Clare penalty completed the scoring. PS:  Tariq Al Sadi is an academy player though he is 20. Previously he played for Langley and Southall. He played for the Oman national side in 2025. Video highlights. 

17 July. In Spain against Lincoln City 2-0 (Trialist, Mitchell).  First Half: Baxter; Stevens, Forrester (C), Chinedu, Morris; Hayden, El Mizouni; Akhamrich, Dobra, Springett; Archibald.  Second Half: Phillips; Clare, Trialist, O’Keefe; Mitchell, Levitt, Obiero, Craig; C. Wellens, Ballard, Trialist. Subs (not used): A. Wellens, Hambury. In the post match interview Wellens had this to say "We’ve had a bid from Bristol [for Ballard] that I thought would get done, if I’m being honest,”  May mean that Ballard will leave the club if the offer is right. Still 6-7 players still needed he said. 

21 July. Simultaneous friendlies at Cheshunt and Hornchurch both ended in 2-1 defeats. No Orient report listed the line-ups. Wellens commented after that some players were thought to be League One ready, not in his opinion. We needed two centre-backs and two strikers. One thing to note is that Clare is still involved despite being on the transfer list. Gordon and Bakinson are not. Hornchurch Highlights. Cheshunt highlights. 

July 24. Awy to Southend JE Trophy 1-1 (Ballard) winning 4-5 on penalties'. The first half fielded: Phillips, Clare, O'Keefe, Chinedu, Trialist, Levitt, Obiero, C. Wellens, Mitchell, Archibald and Hambury and was pretty poor by all accounts but improved when we fielded (possibly) Baxter, Stevens, Morris, Hayden, Forrester, El Miizouni, Akhamrich, Olowu, Dobra, Springett and Ballard plus, maybe A. Wellens. In the post match video Wellens said "Four or five more [players] as quick as possible."

David Gandler returned to the UK to make this video in which he stated "No pressure to sell any player." 

28 July. Friendly away to Swindon. Defensive blunders by Olowu and Forrester meant we went into the break two nil down. A goal from Archibald did not alter the result. The O's website did not list the line-ups. Video highights. 

2 August. Home to Royal Antwerp in a friendly (2-1 El Mizouni, Wellens C.).  Starting 11: Baxter, Stevens, Hayden, Forrester, El Mizouni, Olowu, Dobra, Boniface, Akhamrich, Obiero, Archibald. On the bench: Phillips, Cahill, Morris, Ballard, Mitchell. Al Sadi, A. Wellens, Levitt, C. Wellens, Springett, Clare, Hambury, Chinedu. As somebody pointed out there is no Bakinson, Craig or Gordon. Connolly now thought to be out for six weeks. O'Neill and REG still injured.

4 August. Friendly away to Waltham Abbey (1-7  C. Wellens 2, Mitchell, Morris, Springett, Lowe 2). Starting lineup Phillips. Morris, Mitchell, Craig, Bakinson, A. Wellens. Levett, C. Wellens, Springett, Hambury, Chinedu.  1-2 at at half time. Subs: Cahill, Al Sadi, Trialist, Carter, Gordon, Darko Wilson, Drayton, Gbadebo, Lowe. Video highlights. 

4 August. Ballard was sold to Bristol Rovers for between £4.5-5m or 70 times what we paid for he according to Wellens. He asked for a move on the first day back in training. 

8 August. Home to Oxford Carabao Cup (2-0 Michell, El Mizouni). There were eight débuts in this match. Lots of good football with Boniface making a fine impression. On 70' Springett, Mitchell and Kabia took the field but it wasn't until the introduction of Charlie Wellens on 84' that we got the required result. A minute later a Springett cross was met by Mitchell to put us in the lead. A Wellens cross three minutes later found El Mizouni to glide the ball home. Team: Baxter, Stevens, Olowu, Chinedu, Boniface, Hyden, El Mizouni, Akhamrich, Obiero, Dobra, Archibald. Subs: Phillips, Clare, Kabia(Archibald 70), Levitt, Lowe, Mitchell(Dobra 70), Morris(Boniface 77), Springett(Akhamrich 70), C. Wellens(Obiero 84). BBC report. Video highlights. Post match Wellens revealed we had signed another striker with a centre back in the frame. Need, he said, to shift a few players. Reference to Clare, Bakinson and Gordon. Plus possibly Craig who did not feature today. Akhamrich showed a few good touches but then faded. Boniface was made Man of the Match. 

14 August. Phil Chinedu signed a new three-year contract.

15 August. Home to Sheffield Wednesday (1-2 Olowu). Morris nightmare. Stupid penalty, too many mistakes said Wellens.  Forrester was still off with a hamstring and Archibald picked up one.  Things went belly up from the 19th minute when a backpass from Chinedu was given some welly by Baxter. Unfortunately it hit the back of a forward and into the net. Their lead lasted seven minutes when the referee gave a bounced ball. Taken by Stevens(?) it was headed on by Kabia into the path of Olowu to left foot into the net. Boniface, who was playing well, went off with an injury and was replaced by Morris on 61'. He lasted 12 minutes. Shirt pulling he gave away a penalty, a headed backpass should have resulted in the Owls going three up but the opportunity was lost. A bad back pass also troubled our defence. Wellens replaced him with Oyekunle for the last 17 minutes as we tried to salvage a point. Dobra scorned a great chance after being unmarked.  Team: Baxter, Boniface, Olowu, Chinedu, Stevens, Hayden, El Mizouni, Kabia, Akhamrich, Obiero, Dobra. Subs: Phillips, Gilchrist,(Akhamrich 73), Levitt, Oyekunle(Morris 73, Mitchell(Stevens 82), Morris(Boniface 61), Springett(Obiero 73), C. Wellens(Obiero 84). BBC report. An interview by Dave Victor is towards the bottom of the page. Video highlights. 

18 August. Home To AFC Wimbledon EFL Trophy - Group Stage - Southern Group F (1-1 Kabia). Won the penalty shoot out for an extra point. As one boarder put it "It would be nice if the lads not in the first xi showed a bit more desire to change the manager's mind. Do they want a career in the game or not? " Morris continued his misfortune when he kicked the ball off for a corner when whacking it into touch on the far side was easier and more sensible. A goal resulted from the corner as ex loanee Stockley out jumped Forrester to fine the net. It took a minute before the 90 for us to level when Kabia stabbed home close in. Penalties ensued and we scored six to their five after Phillips made a save. Team: Phillips, Morris, Forrester, Gilchrist, Clare, Levitt, Archibald, C. Wellens, Obiero, Mitchell, Oyekunle. Subs: Cahill, Chinedu(Gilchrist 77), El Mizouni(Obiero 57), Springett(Archibald 46), A. Wellens(Clare 94), Akhamrich(Mitchell 68), Kabia(Oyekunle 68). Tippy tappy safe football returned as we made 339 cross-field passes to 113 for the Wombles. Video highlights. From the post match video we learnt that Boniface would be out 8-10 weeks and Dobra would not feature on Saturday.

Zak O'Keefe has rejoined Isthmian Premier side Welling United on an initial one-month youth loan.

22 August. Away to Wigan (0-2 Springett, Akramrich). Début goals from both players. The injured Boniface, now out for six weeks rather than the 8-10 initially thought was replaced by Morris, Obiero dropped to the bench replaced by Wellens and the injured Dobra by Springett. Levitt not even on the bench. Things went well from as early as the fifteenth minute when a Wellens corner sailed by the far post and picked up by Stevens(?). He punted the ball back to the far post where the ariel duel was won by Chinedu. Springett picked up the ball just outside the penalty area and made no mistake. Baxter went off three minutes before half time to be replaced by Phillips. Wellens changed the format and replaced Morris with centre back Gilchrist. A quickly taken throw on (how rare are they) found Kabia whose press paid dividends when the defender fouled up and Kabia's cross found the unmarked Akramrich to slot home.  Team: Baxter, Morris, Olowu, Chinedu, Stevens, Hayden, El Mizouni, Kabia, Akhamrich, Wellens, Springett. Subs: Phillips(Baxter 42), Gilchrist(Morris 46), Archibald, Oyekunle(Kabia 80), Mitchell(Springett 80), Obiero, Forrester. BBC report. An interview by Dave Victor is towards the bottom of the page. Video highlights. 

24 August. Bakinson joined Plymouth on a season-long loan.

Comment: Wellens was tracking Bakinson long before he was signed on a three-year contract, something he has never fulfilled at other clubs. He was released after a year. Clare was signed on a three-year deal and released after two. Gordon was signed on a two-year deal with a year option and released after one year. Levitt left after six months into an 18 month contract with an option of a further year. Something is wrong. Is that why Ling and McLoone departed? 

29 August. Home to Barnsley (1-3 Oyekunle). I missed this match, maybe just as well. We went a goal down on 15' and Morris gave away a penalty for the second home game on the bounce. A third goal was added on 76'. One saving grace was Oyekunle making his scoring début on 85' following a bad header from a defender. But there was no way back. Post match Wellens blamed injuries, Gilchrist, Boniface, Forrester, Dobra returning from one and Hayden feeling unwell. Long term we still have Connolly, REG and O'Neill who is yet a further two weeks away. Of course he blamed the age of the squad but as it turned out Barnsley's squad was a little younger. But the inexperience of Springett, Boniface, Gilchrist, Stevens, Phillips, Oyekunle, Akhamrich and Chinedu is taking its toll.  Team: Phillips, Morris, Olowu, Chinedu, Stevens, Hayden, El Mizouni, Kabia, Akhamrich, Dobra, Springett. Subs: Cahill, Clare(Hayden 60), Archibald(Kabia 60) Oyekunle(Kabia 80), Mitchell(Akhamrich 69), Obiero(Dobra 46), C. Wellens. BBC report. An interview by Dave Victor is towards the bottom of the page. Video highlights.  

1 September. Transfer deadline day. Levitt was transferred to Motherwell for an undisclosed fee. He was six months into a one-and-a-half year deal with another year option. 

1 September. Away to Bromley (0-5 Kabia 2, Akhamrich 2, Dobra). Changes to the lineup were Forrester for Morris, Mitchell for Dobra and Wellens for Springett. All appeared on the bench with the exception of Morris. On 36' Jaze Kabia put us into the lead with a header assisted by Yusuf Akhamrich with a cross following a corner. Within a minute of the half time restart Akhamrich put us two up. Five minutes later he scored another with another assist from Mitchell. We had to wait 15' before Kabia got his second. Springett and Dobra had barely been on the pitch a minute when they combined for Dobra to make it five a minute past the 90. His first touch of the ball. Bromley lost 7-2 at Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday so that's a dozen they have shipped in two games. They hadn't lost at home for 18 months. Team: Phillips, Forrester, Olowu, Chinedu, Stevens, Hayden, El Mizouni, Kabia, Akhamrich, Mitchell, C. Wellens. Subs: Cahill, Clare(El Mizouni 80), Archibald(Chinedu 70) Oyekunle(Kabia 80), Dobra(Mitchell 91), Obiero, Springett(Akhamrich 91). BBC report. Video highlights.  A Closer Look.  

The way the last day of the transfer window went - for us.

23:48: Zech Obiero [Leyton Orient - Gillingham] Loan .

00:32: Oliver Dovin [Coventry - Leyton Orient] Loan .

00:45: Dane Scarlett [Tottenham - Leyton Orient] Undisclosed .

Ex O's on the scoresheet were Galbraith, James, Koroma, Ballard, Levitt and Drinan.

5 September. Away at Luton (1-1 Kabia). There was no change to the team except Baxter for Phillips. Scarlett was on the bench but did not feature, nor did Gilbert. We went a goal down on 25' thanks to former loanee Donley. Nine minutes later Kabia scored his fourth of the season with an assist from Mitchell. Match stats told the story. We had 10 touches inside their area whilst the Hatters had 28 inside ours. We had seven shots at goal, they had 23 but only seven were on target. Team: Baxter, Forrester, Olowu, Chinedu, Stevens, Hayden, El Mizouni, Kabia, Akhamrich, Mitchell, C. Wellens. Subs: Dovin, Clare(Hayden 76), Archibald(Chinedu 83) Oyekunle(Kabia 76), Dobra(Akhamrich 83), Scarlett, Springett(Mitchell 82). BBC report. Video highlights.  A Closer Look.   

8 February. Home to Bradford Carabao Cup (1-3 o/g). Poor. Apparently this match was all about giving players minutes rather than progressing into the next round. Gilbert was only 85% fit, on the bench, but did not play. Scarlett didn't look fit but got 24 minutes. Dovin, who should have played picked up a minor ankle injury.  We was in front via an own goal on 38' but it went downhill through what the supporters was thought the normal route, ie between the centre backs. Some though that Oyekunle had a good match. I was not one of them. Seemed like a baby amounst men though the referee gave him no support. Again we had the spectactle of two players (Archibald and El Mizouni) standing over a free kick and glancing at the bench to see what they should be doing.  Team: Phillips, Morris, Forrester, Springett, Chinedu, Hayden, El Mizouni, Oyekunle, Dobra, Clare, Archibald. Subs: Cahill, Gilbert, C. Wellens(Dobra 66) Stevens(Hayden 46), Mitchell, Akhamrich(Chinedu 67), Scarlett(Archibald 66), Olowu(Forrester 46). BBC report. Dave Victor interview down the page. Video highlights. 

10 September. Craig joined Harrogate on a three-month loan (8 December).

12 September. Home to Wycombe (2-3 o/g, Kabia). Still poor. Chinedu called in with a swollen ankle which Wellens blamed on the training ground. As he did with Dovin. Playing out from the the back lead to their first goal after Hayden gave the ball away. Some supporters were wondering why Baxter rolled to ball out to where there were Wanderers players. We drew level after an Akhamrich cross was headed into the net for an own goal. It didn't last long and went behind on 45+2 and 1-3 down two minutes after the restart. Headers going unmarked again. After good work by Akhamrich down the right flank his cross was met by Kabia for a consulation goal. One bright sport was the debut of Gilbert on 62'. Wellens said he was 50-60% fit having said on Tuesday he was 85% fit. Mitchell went off with a possible hamstring on 39' to be replace by Dobra. Neither Dobra or El Mizouni did much, or rather, less than others. Team: Baxter, Forrester, Olowu, Clare, Stevens, Hayden, El Mizouni, Kabia, Akhamrich, Mitchell, C. Wellens. Subs: Dovin, Archibald, Oyekunle, Dobra(Mitchell 39), Scarlett(Olowu 82), Gilbert(Hayden 62), Springett. BBC report. Dave Victor interview lower down the page.  Video highlights.  Wellens still highlighting injuries to players is affecting results. Connolly back part time non contact, part time contact training. Boniface two weeks away. O;Neill - nobody knows it seems. REG ?  On a forum oshark provided us with this snippet "Kabia got us back with a goal after 51 minutes, and our last recorded shot came in the 70th minute. We still had roughly 25 minutes, including stoppage time, to find an equaliser. We didn’t register another attempt".

15 September. Home to Arsenal U21's (1-2 Oyekunle). Home win drought continues. I'm not sure that picking a team just to give players minutes is compatible with winning matches.  Those that didn't play or haven't play much played in this match. Post match Paul Terry confirmed that no player showed why they should be playing Saturday. Oyekunle's header put us in the lead. Poor goalkeeping by Dovin gave them the winner after he palmed a shot back into play rather than out for a corner. Schoolboy error. We had 28 shots at goal compared to their 9. Team: Dovin, Forrester, Olowu, Morris, Clare, El Mizouni, Springett, Oyekunle, Archibald, Gilbert, Dobra. Subs: Akhamrich(Archibald 62), Baxter, Chinedu, Hayden(Gilbert 62), Stevens(Forrester 62), Scarlett(Oyekunle 45), C. Wellens(Olowu 72). BBC Paul Terry interview "Squad players didn't do enough" .  Video highlights. I fnd the stats quite depressing as far as passing is concerned. In total for both clubs there were 977 of which 451 were forward or back. Which means over half (526) were across the field and back. We made 323 whilst Arsenal a third less at 203. A style not suited for winning matches? I'm equally not sure that picking a team just to give players minutes is compatible with winning matches. 

16 September. Phillips is loaned to Gateshead on a three-month contract.

Investigations reveal just how many of the playing staff have started over 100 EFL games before they started playing for us.

Stevens 28, Dovin 28, Morris 29, REG 89, Forrester 60, O'Neill 0, El Mizouni 31 if you ignore all O's matches, Gilbert 18, Springett 12, Wellens 4, Archibald 27, Kabia 37, Connolly 62, Mitchell 57. Akramrich 9, Scarlett 26, Gilchrist 37, Chinedu 6.

Gordon, Oyekunle, Boniface 0. Wellens does not have much to play with but that was his decision.

The likes of Clare, Olowu, Hayden and Dobra have started over 100 EFL games. Baxter’s EFL starts before Orient, 143 (215 starts if you count non EFL clubs). In 2018-2019 in Yeovil’s relegation team they had Nathan on loan from Chelsea and DJ and Tristan Abrahams, currently with Aldershot, from Norwich on loan. 

19 September. Home to Stevenage (1-0 Gilbert). First home win since March and only the fourth this year. Stevenage were their usual physical self. They had four booked. The first half has be described as scrappy. A penalty should have be given when Kabia was hauled down by Piergianni. A moment of magic in the 80th minute sealed all points. Olowu's pass to Akramrich was flicked on to Gilbert and then back to him. His cross found Clare, El Mizouni flickd sidways for the on rushing Gilbert to smash high into the net. Stevens running into space created the goal according to Paul Terry. Baxter made a double save to keep us in it whilst Ex O Kemp missed from two yards for the opposition.  Kahill was on the bench as Dovin was injured again (shoulder?).  Team: Baxter, Chinedu, Forrester, Olowu, Springett, Stevens, Hayden, El Mizouni, Kabia, Akhamrich, Gilbert, Subs: Kahill, Archibald, Dobra(Kabia 76), Morris, Scarlett(Springett 76), C. Wellens, Clare(Hayden 65). BBC report. Dave Victor interview lower down the page.  Video highlights.

The match next week at Mansfield has been postponed due to them having international players on call-up. Hayden played on the winning side for Jamaica but Clare's Turks and Caicos Islands were on the losing side. 

buffalobill on a forum came up with on Statto Overload from the Plymouth game: We attempted 490 passes to Plymouth’s 376, yet they completed 46 passes into the final third to our 29. Completed passing entries into the box were our five to their ten, and they touched the ball in our penalty area 35 times to our 12. More passing, considerably less access to the areas that matter.

Nor can we explain that away entirely as chasing the game. At 0–0 in the first half, their final-third entries were already 25 to our 14. For me, we need a midfielder who can compete physically, win possession and then do something useful with it. 

10 October. Away to Bradford (0-0). A shake-up team wise. In came Gilchrist and Morris. Hayden and Scarlett started. Chinedu, Wellens, El Mizouni and Springett were benched. Stats tell the game. We had 30.3% of the game but both teams had nine shots. One of ours was on target, none of theirs. We made 217 passes in total compared to their 474. Though our pass rate success was a mere 41.9% to their 70.7%. Team: Baxter, Gilchrist, Forrester, Olowu, Morris, Stevens, Hayden, Scarlett, Kabia, Akhamrich, Gilbert, Subs: Kahill, Dobra, Chinedu(Gilchrist 83), Springett, Wellens, Connolly(Akhamrich 61), El Mizouni(Kabia 68). BBC report. Dave Victor interview lower down the page.  Video highlights. Up to 12th in the table.

Majority of clubs on edge of 'financial disaster' - regulator More from the BBC.

17 October. Home to Blackpool (2-0 Forrester, Scarlett p).  Scarlett dropped to the bench to be replaced by Connolly, Gilchrist is our new long-throw specialist and his launch on 31' into the box was cleared back to him finding Gilbert whose lob into the box was met by the head of Forrester to leave their goalie stranded. They had 62.3% of the match but we had more shots on target 6/4 and as many, 6/4 off target. Forrester headed off the line at the other end. Hayden went off at half time to be replaced by El Mizouni. Scarlett replaced Connolly on 63' and the ineffectual Kabia and Akhamrich were later replaced by Dobra and Wellens. Another Gilbert lob, this time from a free kick, found the head of Olowu but his header cannoned off the bar. The resulting clearence found El Mizouni and his half volley found the arm of a defender so on 76' it was a penalty for us which Scarlett converted to put us ninth in the table.  Team: Baxter, Gilchrist, Forrester, Olowu, Morris, Stevens, Hayden, Connolly, Kabia, Akhamrich, Gilbert, Subs: Phillips, Dobra(Kabia 71), Chinedu, Springett, Wellens(Akhamrich 64), Scarlett(Connolly 63), El Mizouni(Hayden 46). Phillips returned to the bench after a nightmare loan to troubled club Gateshead after starting just two matched.  BBC report. Dave Victor interview lower down the page.  Video highlights. Post match Wellens revealed that Scarlett was not yet match fit and the 90 minutes he played last week at Bradford was the first in his adult career. So in 43 starts plus 74 from the bench he never played 90 minutes. Wellens rates him highly. Hayden had a slight hamstring and Oyekunle would be out six weeks with one. 

20 October. The club held a Leyton Orient Fans' Forum which followed on from a meeting with David Gandler before the Blackpool match. In it we learnt that 60+% of clubs only have enough money for three months before their benefactor have to supply funds. New stadium will be in Leyton. Dissappointing that we were promised its location in the summer, then Christmas, now February/March. Some supporters were worried that we would have a big stadium a third full. We are not MK Dons we were told, we have a history. It will be a 30,000 seater but not only used by ourselves. They hope to tender for the womens international team and there will be gigs held there. 

21 October. Away to Reading (1-0). Baxter saved first half penalty given away by Morris. "Leyton Orient are almost toothless going forward".  So said a live report at half time. Another match where stats tell the story. 59.7% of the game. They had just nine shots of which only two were on target, one the penalty the other the goal. We had 23 with eight on target. Morris and Connolly missed potential goals. A header from Wellens saw the goalie punch out but was missed by Morris from a matter of yards out. When the goalie was dispossessed Connolly's chip went wide.  491 total passes, of which 79 were backwards and 136 forwards. My mathematics suggest some 176 passes going sideways. 85.7% acduracy (not surprising). Gilbert ran into trouble and a goal was the result. Olowu ball watching and Stevens arriving late. Scarlett had a chance but decided to take two touches rather than shoot and his shot was blocked by an incoming defender. Team: Baxter, Gilchrist, Forrester, Olowu, Morris, Stevens, El Mizouni, Connolly, Kabia, Akhamrich, Gilbert, Subs: Phillips, Dobra(Akhamrich 72), Chinedu, Springett(Connolly 85), Wellens(Olowu 62), Scarlett(Kabia 62), Hayden.   BBC report.  Video highlights.

24 October. Away to Burton Albion (2-1 Gilbert). Akhamrich and Connolly were rested and replaced by Wellens and Scarlett. Hayden replaced the concussed Olowu. O'Neill was on the bench. Gilbert put us in the lead on 33' from a free kick when their keeper went missing. Eleven minutes into the scornd half they equalised. Wellens playing right back (why, he is not a right back) was seen jogging toward his goal marking nobody. On 63' Connolly replaced Scarlett and Morris was replaced by Chinedu. Ten minutes later Dobra replaced Hayden. O'Neill replaced Kabia ten minutes from time and they went into the lead six minutes later. El Mizouni had more than one chance to make a tackle but didn't and when he lost his man he did not try to make amends.  Game over. Too many inexperienced forwards not match fit and in the case of Scarlett, possibly both.  Team: Baxter, Gilchrist, Forrester, Hayden, Morris, Stevens, El Mizouni, Wellens, Kabia, Scarlett, Gilbert, Subs: Phillips, Dobra(Hayden 73), Chinedu(Morris 63), Springett, Connolly(Scarlett 64), Akhamrich(Kabia 62), O'Neill(Kabia 80).   BBC report. Wellens: 'We were poor!'  so said to Dave Victor further down the page.  Video highlights. Supporters are rapidly losing patience. Seeing Charlie Wellens playing 90 minutes when there are more talented players more deserving. Neopotism has been mentioned. Stats are not good for him. One shot off target, one chance made, one tackle made and zero won. Didn't commit a foul or did he win one. Hayden and El Mizouni also come in for criticism. One accused them of Lacking in, Energy, Courage, Bravery, Voice, Charisma, Leadership whilst another added Passion. Wellens made four changes following their equaliser. A strategy that did not work. How long does it take a player to be match fit. More than ten weeks it seems. 

In contract:

Richie Wellens signed a three-year deal 20 June 2025.

Paul Terry signed a three-year contract July 3 2024. 

Darren Pratley?

Players

23 September 2026. Josh Lowe signs a three-year contract. 

8 September 2026. Cristian Păscăluță signed a short-term, undisclosed length contract.

3 September 2026. Alex Gilbert signs a three-year contract.

1 September. Dane Scarlett signed a lengthy, undisclosed contract.

7 August 2026. Jaze Kabia signed a three-year contract with a years option.

2 August 2026. Tariq Al Sadi signed a contract until February 2027.

21 July 2026. Joseph Olowu signed a three-year conract.

10 July 2026. Isaac Hayden signed a two-year contract with a years option.

3 July 2026. Nathan Baxter signs a two-year deal.

24 June 2026 Armando Dobra signed a three-year contract.

23 June 2026. Fin Stevens signed a three year contract.

11 June 2026. Tony Gary Springett signed a two-year deal with a years option.

15 May 2026. Alfie Wellens signed his first professional deal as did Zac Hambury and Zak O’Keefe. The length of the contracts remains unknown. 

Phil Chinedu, 14 August 2026 signs a three-year contract.

Dan Carter July 2025 signed a two year contract.

Theo Archibald signed a contract until the end of the 2026/2027 season. 

Graham Signed August 2023. Contract expired summer 2025. To continue rehabilitation with the club. 

Ollie Neill signed a two and a half year deal December 2025 contract expires summer 2028.

Zech Obiero signed a two and a half year deal December 2025, contract expires 2028.

Clare signed a three-year contract. Expires July 2027. Put on the transfer list May 2026.

Edmonds-Green signed a two and a half year deal February 2025.

Cahill signed a two-year contract June 2025.

Mitchell signed a two-year contract June 2025.

Noah Phillips signed a two-year contract June 2025 so till 2027.

Michael Craig signed a two-year contract July 2025.

El Mizouni signed a three-year contract July 2025.

Aaron Connolly signed a two-year contract July 2025.

Tyreeq Bakinson signed a three-year contract 11 July 2025. Put on the transfer list May 2026. Joined Plymouth for the season.

Josh Koroma signed a three-year contract 16 July 2025. Put on the transfer list May 2026. Joined Chesterfield for the 2026-27 season.

Lemar Gordon signed a two-year contract with a years option 4 August 2025. Put on the transfer list May 2026.

Charlie Wellens signed a two-year contract October 2025. After signing a deal to January 2026.

James Morris signed a two and a half year contract Feb 2026. 

Will Forrester signed a two and a half year deal 8 Jan 2026.