Tag: Leyton Orient

Something a bit different, I’m using the title of the track from S Mos’s 2010 album Hip Hop & Jazz Mixed Up Volume 1. The French producer took classic thirties, forties, and fifties Jazz/swing tracks and overlaid hip hop lyrics into them as mashups, most of which worked surprisingly well. This one took Clifford Brown’s jazz standard ‘Hymn Of The Orient’ (probably better known by Stan Getz’s version) and overlaid it with lyrics from Blackalicious’ ‘Make You Feel That Way’.

Quiz time answer – Why did Osvaldo Ardiles have the squad number one in the Argentine 1978 world cup squad? Because they gave the squad numbers out alphabetically based on the players’ surnames.

Vertu Trophy action this evening, and there have been changes since Saturday’s disappointing and dispiriting loss away at Cambridge United, with the unnecessary scenes of fans arguing/fighting amongst themselves, abusing players, and louder calls than before for Scott Lindsey to go. He hasn’t, but hot on the heels of a video where he was praising sporting director, Tobias Phoenix, comes the announcement that the club has parted ways with Tobias Phoenix, and that they would be making no further comment on the matter. Cue a more celebratory tone on the forum and Facebook than straight after the game, as he is not someone who has made any effort to engage with the fans (apart from allegedly arranging to meet them in the car park after games), and no one really knows / knew what the hell he actually did. It will be interesting to see what, if any effect this has on the players, and the approach of Scott Lindsey.

As for the abusing of players, I really don’t get what the hell gives people the idea they have the right to abuse anyone. If some of the abuse thrown at players was done to random people in the street, they would be well within their rights to call the police and press charges. I understand the frustrations of being a fan and the team not doing well, and there being players who don’t appear to be pulling their weight, but nothing gives anyone the right to abuse them at their place of work, and especially when there are family members of those being abused in the crowd with you. Let off steam to your friends and family, or have an angry rant notebook to scribble it in, but stop abusing the players, it doesn’t help, and isn’t going to inspire them to want to try any more, is it?

We are visiting Brisbane Road to play Leyton Orient in an early 7pm kick off. This was a game I was going to swerve, especially once Alain announced they weren’t going to be running a fan coach, but I’ve got a few days off work to try and shove that shit show out of my mind, and so have decided to carry on with the other one I’ve been drawn to all season.

We have played Leyton Orient nineteen times in the league, winning ten, drawing one, and losing eight, with a record of four wins, and five losses at Brisbane Road. And there is one loss in the football league trophy four seasons ago. Our last visit here was that terrible away defeat back on Boxing Day, where we lost 3–0, and we were lucky to score nil, and even luckier that the goals against wasn’t in double figures. It was following that game that one of the regular away fans had a meltdown and was abusing a player in front of their family. He has held his hands up and said he was embarrassed by that, but that wasn’t a great moment either.

Antony Papadopoulos, whose career started at Leyton Orient, would be the only crossover between squads if this had been the first of the group games in this competition, but he’s now on loan.

I used up the only Topps card from the seventies and the Top Trump, for the games against Leyton Orient last season. But with the statue in the park opposite, and the blue plaque up on the stadium to Laurie Cunningham, I had a dig in the Topps collections for one of him and got the other two members of the ‘Three Degrees’ at West Brom with him, as named by Big racist Ron. Those other two being Cyrille Regis and Brendon Batson. I nearly went for a Three Degrees song title for this piece, not the obvious ‘When Will I See You Again’, but instead the more upbeat ‘Givin’ Up Givin’ In’ in the vibe of hoping that we are going to give up giving in to opposition.

Quite a few programmes, home and away in the archives, including a 1997 testimonial game against them for Tony Vessey.

I walked to Leyton from Finsbury Park, and I saw football old and new and in all its forms. I hadn’t been past the old Highbury since Arsenal used to play there. They’ve done a magnificent job of keeping the Art Deco splendour of the east stand.

Then there’s the Emirates. I hate Arsenal, but the stadium and surroundings are great.

A long trek followed but I did find this in a charity shop in Stoke Newington. To be honest there could be a raffle before kick off and the winner (or loser) be told “You are the ref” and still do a better job than the paid match officials.

Crossing the Lee River Navigation gives a zoom view of the roof of the London Stadium. Definitely not made for football though.

And then to my left were the famous Hackney Marshes, the other end of the spectrum from the huge Premier League monoliths, but where so many players have started their careers. There’s a good chance there are players on the pitch tonight who’ve played there, and no doubt more in the crowd who have done so.

Then I’m here, somewhere in between the two ends of the scale (but definitely closer to the top end).

Everyone is in the same stand this evening. Might have helped if I’d checked the ticket first before rocking up to the deserted Brisbane Road side where the away fans usually are. And it looks like the only segregation is a few pieces of string. No scrub that, there is only an imaginary line as the segregation.

Quite a few changes from the weekend, but Dion Conroy is still playing and captain. And we’ve named a keeper on the bench.

No programmes for this competition, but they have got fridge magnets this season, big wooden ones seem to be the go-to for EFL clubs this year.

Oh yes, I should really get into the main body of the reason I’m here and talk about some match action I suppose.

Leyton Orient are in all red and we are in our all black third kit. It’s a strange atmosphere. There’s no Scott Lindsey bellowing out instructions and obscenities from the dugout as he’s serving a match ban in the directors box.

Our first proper attack sees Max Anderson and Scott Malone exchange passes on the left, Anderson cuts inside and plays a ball into Fate Kotey in the box, his attempt to shoot is blocked, Kabby Tshimanga picks up the loose ball, plays it to Louis Flower and he rifles it in and we lead 1-0.

It isn’t what you might call action packed. We play ourselves into trouble and concede a corner, it’s flicked on at the near post and headed wide at the far one.

Orient are upping the pressure, there’s a blocked shot, a shot wide, a free kick from the right, played deep and a shot is well saved by JoJo Wollacott, the shot from the rebound goes wide. A corner to Orient is taken short, and a shot is well over. A break into the box sees a cross blocked by a Dion Conroy slide, the follow up is saved. Orient are claiming a penalty for handball on Conroy’s slide, I’ve seen them given. Orient win another corner, and we clear.

Kotey is getting his shirt taken off in midfield with nothing given, he grapples back and it’s an Orient free kick. The ref has a chat with Conroy, which looks like it’s a warning to tell Kyle Scott to shut the fuck up.

Scott wins the ball in midfield and feeds it through to Flower who is clear in on goal, but he delays, and the shot is blocked. Orient break, we block the shot and break ourselves, feeding it down the right to Ryan Loft, but his cross is too strong for Tshimanga to get on the end of, and it goes for a throw.

Orient win a corner; there is a lot of head tennis in the box before it comes out and Orient win a free kick on the left. They line up to cross but shoot but it is well wide. We lose the ball with Wollacott out of position, but he gets back to save.

A free kick is given against Anderson in midfield, and he clearly doesn’t agree and punches ball and picks up a booking. Orient break down the right and start shooting practice. We block the first three but can’t stop the fourth and it’s 1-1.

We have a couple of attacking long throws and it ends with a Reece Brown shot well wide. And Malone picks up a booking for holding a free kick up which shouldn’t have been a free kick in the first place. It comes into the box, and a free header goes just wide.

A long clearance is flicked on, and Scott is bundled over on the right wing in line with the six-yard box. The free kick comes in, and the ref blows for a foul by Ben Ratcliffe. There is one added minute, and we go into half time level 1-1.

We make two subs at half time with Malone and Conroy being replaced by Josh Flint and Charlie Barker.

We break down the left with Brown feeding Flower, he cuts inside and wins a free kick in a similar place to one Orient had in the first half. We try the same trick they did, lining up to cross but shooting. With the same result, Scott fires wide left.

Another sub, Loft is replaced by Tola Showumni.

There’s a lot of play back and forth in midfield without any penalty box action. But Orient work a ball from a throw to the edge of the area and the shot takes a slight deflection and goes just wide. Wollacott punches the corner away.

We are struggling a bit to get the ball out of our own half and Orient win a corner; we clear for a throw and Scott is down injured. Fast forward a few minutes and there’s an Orient shot just wide.

We make another sub, Tshimanga coming off to be replaced by Jude Robertson. Orient win another corner, it’s swung in, and the header loops up and onto the top of the net. A long ball forward sees indecision between Flint and Wollacott and the striker gets there first, his high looping shots deceives Wollacott, bounces about two yards out and creeps over the bar.

We win a corner pressuring a long ball forward, the keeper flaps at it and Robertson’s header is deflected wide for another corner. The keeper flaps at it again but it is cleared. A break down the right sees Showumni get a cross in, but it I’d deflected to the keeper.

A ball out from Wollacott is taken forward by a Barker surge, he passes to Flint, and he has his own surge and passes to Robertson, but his cross is too close to the keeper.

Orient attack down the right, the cross goes to the left and is worked back to the middle and a shot goes just wide.

We make our final substitution with Scott coming off to be replaced by Gavan Holohan.

Orient get another shot in which goes just over. The short goal routine is getting tired, inviting pressure, and pissing the ref off. Another Orient corner as six minutes of added time are announced. They get a free kick on the edge of the D, no idea what for, a question Barker is asking the ref as well. Robertson lies behind the wall, but to no avail. It is an excellent free kick lashed into the top left corner of the goal giving Wollacott no chance and we trail 1-2.

We get a late free kick on the right wing, it’s cleared, Kotey picks it up, beats a man, but the cross goes straight to the keeper.

And that’s it. Full time and we’ve lost 1-2.

Orient are through and we have a winner takes all game at home against double defending trophy holders Peterborough at the start of November.

The crowd is announced as 1,373 with 97 Crawley fans, a good effort for a trophy no one really cares about at a stupidly early kick off time on a Tuesday night.

Quiz Time – When Orient (as they were then) made it to the semi final of the FA Cup in 1978 (their best performance in the competition) who beat them 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in that semi-final?

Next up, it is back to league action on Saturday at home as we entertain table topping Walsall. So that’s something to look forward to then.

Come on you reds.

Following on from my reference at the end of the last piece about hoping we would be one of Charles Bronson, James Coburn, or Johnny Leyton, rather than the more likely seeming Steve McQueen from The Great Escape, and the fact we are playing Leyton Orient, then here I am using the title of Johnny Leyton’s 1961 number one hit (his only number one single).

We are back in action at home a week after the spirit sapping disappointment of another lacklustre away performance as we contrived to make the equally shite Stevenage look remotely decent in the last ten minutes and let them come away with all three points in a 3-1 loss for us.

Being a bit of a stats geek I was looking at SoccerSTATS.com during the week, and after last weekend’s game we have the unenviable record of being the team in League One who has had the lead in games for the least time on average (15.1% – even Shrewsbury have 15.3%), and not content with that, we are also the team who have been losing in games for the longest time on average – 40.8% (again Shrewsbury are the next worst on 37.2%).

What I was actually looking for was the added time at the end of the game for the season to save me having to go into each game separately. But I had to do that anyway. I was interested to see what the difference was in added time when we were winning as opposed to trailing. When losing, the added time indicated averaged out at 4 minutes and 44 seconds, and on average 5 minutes and 55 seconds were played. When drawing these times went up to 5 minutes 16 seconds and 6 minutes 38 seconds, and when winning then went up again to 5 minutes 38 seconds and 7 minutes dead. So not only does the added time go up if we are drawing or winning, but the additional time played after the indicated time also goes up more when winning or drawing.

And whilst I’m moaning about seeming inequalities, we have the fourth least fouls conceded in the division, yet the second highest number of yellow cards, the only side with less than five fouls conceded per yellow card. I know some of that is Bradley Ibrahim’s mouth, but it is ridiculous. We are the ninth most fouled side, yet yellows against us is down in fifteenth. And it’s an absolute joke that we’ve only been given one penalty all season, back in September against Stockport.

On Friday we announced the emergency loan signing of yet another keeper, this time Luke Hutchinson from Bolton Wanderers as he is in due to an ‘unfortunate injury’ to JoJo Wollacott. When he plays it will be the seventh goalkeeper of the season, only one behind the number of clean sheets.

That was following other announcements during the week, such as the design a new Reggie is back on, this time without CTSA involvement, and then the one that the pissheads may enjoy more, a CTFC lager is being released in time for today’s game – Red Devils Lager – with the strap line of ‘one hell of a beer’. It would need one hell of a lot of them to wipe the memories of this season out.

The latest Four Four Two magazine has an article on the best fifty players in the EFL. It may surprise you to know but no Crawley players make the list. However, they do include one player from each club who didn’t ‘quite’ make the list, and for us it is Charlie Barker.

Back to today and our opponents. We have played Leyton Orient eighteen times in the league, winning ten, drawing one, and losing seven, with a record of five wins, a draw, and three losses at The Broadfield. And there is one loss in the football league trophy three years ago.

That includes the terrible away defeat back on Boxing Day, where we lost 3-0, and we were lucky to score nil, and even luckier that the goals against wasn’t in double figures. Going into the game we are six points off safety, meanwhile Leyton Orient are five points and three places off the play off places, and both of us are realistically chasing the one side.

As is always the case, here’s hoping we don’t get a perfectly good goal disallowed like we did in our last home game of the season back in 2022. But given the state of some of the ridiculous decisions and non-decisions given against us this season I’m not going to hold my breath.

For the away game I managed to dig out a Topps Card from the last of the seasons they did the standard sized cards when they were in Division Two and had just signed Ian Moores from Tottenham Hotspur. The thing was I was sure I’d remembered one from that era for John Chiedozie. But after scouring the checklists, there wasn’t. That was because I was misremembering, and the John Chiedozie card wasn’t from Topps, but was a Top Trumps card from their British Strikers set. So only partially losing my mind.

My football card obsession is covered in this piece.

I’m at the ground early, even by my standards, so early the Leyton Orient team bus hadn’t even turned up yet, and I was waiting to be let through the turnstiles before half one, so with being here so early I hope I’m not flagging by the end.

The woolly hats, six layers of branded clothing, and gloves have been replaced for today and it is short sleeves, a cap, and sunglasses needed as I take my seat in the east marquee and finish off writing the short story I started at writing group earlier. It is a welcome change.

The away end is filling up with fans in good voice well before kick-off. Leyton Orient are in an all pale blue kit, almost Coventry City from the eighties like. And as usual we are in our all red home kit. Before we kick off, the early results saw Wrexham fail to win, which means we will be doing the guard of honour thing on Good Friday as Brimingham City have been confirmed as League One champions. It could be a double celebration for them as they are also in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy final tomorrow, so they will be going all out to put on a performance next week. Just what we need.

Our emergency loan keeper signing, Luke Hutchinson appears to have a hell of a kick on him. Watching in warm up he was effortlessly booming the ball down the pitch into the opposite penalty area.

It’s kick off time, and we start well, a god early attack down the right wing, Armando Junior Quitirna and Toby Mullarkey link up well, and the latter puts a ball through for Kamari Doyle to get on the end of, his cross is deflected off an Orient boot into Rushian Hepburn-Murphy’s face and goes back across to Doyle, only for the flag to go up for offside a good ten seconds later.

Which wakes TAFKAL up nice and early. He is in fine voice throughout, having been away on holiday for the last couple of games he has given his throat a much-needed rest and is looking to get involved.

We attack down the left and Jeremy Kelly plays it across midfield to Liam Fraser, and his shot from twenty-five yards out is closed down and blocked on the edge of the area. There is lots of attacking intent, a ball down the channel finds RHM on the right for a change and his ball into Doyle in the box is just too close to the keeper. We have a break down the left and Doyle is hauled down and an Orient player picks up an early booking.

The lino on our side is fiddling with his earpiece. I’m assuming he is making sure the cheese is firmly embedded in there to protect against TAFKAL. (Yes, that is an incredibly old ‘Allo ‘Allo reference.)

Orient break down the right and get a cross in and force a good save from Hutchinson. Then they break down the left only for it to be stopped by a great sliding challenge from Fraser. Charlie Barker plays a long ball over the top from the back and Doyle is onto it and away, and from the left edge of the box he shoots but it goes wide right.

There is another break down the left, a well-timed pass from Kelly finds RHM is lots of space, he cuts inside in the box and has a shot, but it is straight at the keeper, and he saves down low.

We have a sustained bit of possession across the front of the Orient box but can’t find a telling pass in to get a shot, and although we keep possession, we end up playing it all the way back. A ball is played through and Panutche Camara goes down under a challenge, nothing is given and Orient break and win a corner. It’s difficult to tell, but Camara picks up a booking before the corner is taken, whether it is because the ref thought he dived, or because Camara was bending his ear too vociferously about being fouled, who knows. The corner is well claimed by Hutchinson.

AJQ is showing lots of good stuff in attack, beating players with pace and skill and tricks, and is getting manhandled on and off the ball, including a stray knee to the head for which the ref doesn’t stop play. But he finally wins a free kick just over halfway, and it is swung into the box by Kelly. Barker gets his head to it but is stretching and can’t control the contact and it goes over the bar. We are having a lot of decent possession, but as with so many other games this season, we are desperately in need of that final killer ball.

The Orient keeper goes down with an injury, and whilst he is down all the other players on the pitch are over by the dugouts in the shade. It takes a couple of minutes for him to get up and he is moving gingerly, so surely time to try and put some pressure on him. But it’s Orient doing the attacking down the left, they work in a good cross, and only some reasonable defending pressure sees the header at the back post go harmlessly wide.

We have been doing our usual fannying about taking goal kicks and free kicks in the box, and it looks as if the ref is striding toward Hutchinson to give him a yellow card. Dion Conroy makes a decent interception and takes the long talking to by the ref who has obviously had enough of us fucking about with the ball in the box at set pieces. A bit cheeky, he’s only here for today, we have to put up with it every week. Can see a timewasting yellow card coming if they persist with this shit in the second half.

There are two added minutes at the end of the half, which sees another break down the right from Orient, and they win a corner, from it they work it short, and get a cross in and a header at the back post, but Hutchinson claims it and the whistle goes for half time with it 0-0.

It was a good job I’d been to writing before the game, I didn’t realise how little space I had left in my little matchday notepad and would have run out if I hadn’t got my other stuff with me today.

And we start the second half quickly as well, a switch from the right finds Kelly on the left, he plays Bradley Ibrahim into the box, his attempted cross is blocked but it comes back to him, and he shoots which is saved and goes for a corner. It comes in and goes high in the air and Mullarkey wins a header and when it comes back down there is a handball (although it did look more like a forearm smash on Mullarkey and should have been a red). Miracle of miracles, we get a penalty, only the second of the season, which still leaves us bottom of the list. Anyway when everyone is back on their feet AJQ steps up and smashes the ball down the middle and we lead 1-0.

From the restart we attack again through AJQ, but his cross is cleared. It is hoofed down the pitch and is in the air a long time (someone we were speaking to after the game suggested it was in the air so long; he’d had the chance to go to the bar and get a drink before it landed). Anyway Conroy lets it bounce and then misjudges it and doesn’t get near it when it comes down a second time, an Orient attacker is on it and slots it in to equalise 1-1. (That time leading stat isn’t going to improve like that.)

I blinked and missed what the fuck we were doing at the restart but suddenly Orient have the ball in our box again, somehow, they have three on one over on the left wing and play it through the statues of our defence. Hutchinson saves twice but is at the feet of an attacker trying to prevent a third attempt and is deemed to have brought him down and it is a penalty. And a yellow card for Hutchinson. Who gets sent the wrong way and we trail 2-1.

Seriously, what the fuck was that mad three minutes about.

We haven’t let heads drop though and Doyle wins the ball in midfield and slides a lovely ball through to Fraser in the box, but his shot is saved. RHM is having an afternoon of it. He gets wrestled to the ground (again) and gets a free kick, but where was the deserved yellow card for that piece of thuggery? He is bundled over again seconds later but nothing given this time, instead Orient play on and have a shot which is deflected for a corner.

On the other side of the pitch AJQ is down injured, and it isn’t good as he has to be replaced, with Will Swan coming on in his stead. We also withdraw Doyle from proceedings with Jack Roles coming on, much to Rick’s excitement behind me. There is a lot of pushing and shoving going on in the box before the corner is taken and the ref goes in to have words. No sooner does the corner leave the taker’s foot then the ref has blown the whistle for a free kick to us.

RHM is bundled over yet again in midfield and the Orient brick shithouse is given a yellow card on totting up I would assume, rather than for that somewhat less innocuous one. Orient are making subs and send both subs on when the board is up for the first change. When the board goes up for the second one and no one comes on the ref goes looking for the second sub and finding him already lined up on the pitch gives him a yellow card as well.

As is often the case we are trying to do a spell of attacking but are almost undone by a fast break down the left wing, but at least the Orient shot is wide. We attack down the right and win a corner. It is cleared to where Camara is standing in the centre circle, but he makes a hash of controlling it and leaves us having to defend again. A free kick isn’t cleared and a cross flashes across the six-yard box only we are fortunate that there is no one following it up at the back post. The Orient striker lies on the edge of the box injured and takes an absolute age to be subbed. We make a substitution as well with Fraser going off to be replaced by Tyreese John-Jules.

Orient have a long throw into the box from the left wing which is just about smuggled clear. The board goes up to show eight added minutes (and the second of my pre-match stat rambles to get shot down).

And yet again we are masters of our own downfall, pressure down the left on Barker sees him play it back to Hutchinson, but the box is full of Orient players, he plays it toward Ibrahim on the edge of the box, but it is too short and slow and an Orient player nips in and slots the ball in and we now trail 1-3, and no amount of added time is going to save us. This prompts a serious attempt at a fire drill from the east marquee. I have a lot of sympathy for Hutchinson. He’s brought in as an emergency loan without much a chance to get up to speed (granted, that of a snail) with how we play. Surely it would be far better just to stop the fannying about at the back and just tell him to launch it.

We do win a corner from the restart, but it should have been more, the ball to TJJ was a peach, but his control was terrible and instead of a decent shooting opportunity, it went wide, and he had to attempt a cross. We take it short and waste it.

TAFKAL has been getting on at the full back to hurry up and for the lino to do his job, but some of the locally seated fans seem to not be in the mood for his return from holiday and three of them have turned around angrily and shouted at him to shut up. Not going to happen.

Eight minutes are soon up, and the final whistle goes, and it is another defeat 1-3. It isn’t good. There are more harsh words from fans to players and the manager who looks less than impressed by this.

The crowd shown on the scoreboard said 4,796, but we’ve given up announcing it and there is no mention of how many of them were away fans (or how many of us can actually see the fucking scoreboard).

Although Bristol Rovers lost again, Burton Albion had a comfortable 3-0 win against Huddersfield (that 5-1 looks worse and worse now), and they have gone ahead of Bristol Rovers. In reality we can only catch these two, the gap to anyone else is now 11 points and there are only 12 to play for. In reality we need seven and hope neither Bristol Rovers nor Burton pick up any points (the extra point required is because of the massive seventeen goals better goal different Burton have over us).

And we have champions Birmingham City on Friday. I have my ticket and have five days in Lisbon in between to not think about football.

Come on you reds.

Nothing like a bad tenuous link to get a title for a piece. And so, it is Men At Work’s 1983 number one single. Seeing as the band were Australian, the song was about being Australian, and Leyton Orient play at Brisbane Road, with Brisbane being an Australian city, so that’s enough of a link for me. But let’s hope that the fact it’s from the ‘Business As Usual’ album isn’t a commentary on the result today and what it means for the rest of the season.

My last piece got a few more views and reads than usual. In fact, six times as many as normal as one of the Birmingham City fans posted it on their Small Heath Alliance forum. A brief summary of comments would say I’m a miserable, sad, old, fat, bitter, red spectacle wearing, angry prick, with a shit coat. So, much better feedback than usual, and all good for the stats. Also, it needs pointing out, they don’t know the difference between cards and stickers.

I did however miss mentioning something I wrote in my notebook during the match, that somehow we had made six substitutions. I had to look up whether this was possible, and it turns out that there can be an additional one made to the standard five subs allowed if there is a concussion substitution allowed. So, I assume it must have been the reason for Ade’s substitution, which I didn’t know at the time. I was worried we’d made a mistake, and it would come back to bite us.

Anyway, hot on the heels of the valiant, if somewhat predictable defeat on Monday night and just over sixty-two hours after the final whistle in the 1-0 loss to Birmingham City we have the only early kick off in the division with a 1pm visit to Leyton Orient.

One of the abiding memories of my first season supporting Crawley, is the last home game of the season playing Leyton Orient, when we were trailing 1-0 late in the game, a shot crashed against the underside of the bar, bounced down two feet over the line and then bounced out again. We were all celebrating the equaliser, as were half the players before they realised the goal hadn’t been given, and that Leyton Orient were breaking, a pass to a player ten yards offside, and not seen by the final member of the officiating crew of Stevie Wonder, Helen Keller, and Chris McCausland, and the move was finished off for a final score of 2-0 to Leyton Orient. The media team at the time did include the phantom non-goal in their goal of the season compilation. In a quirk of the fixture computer, we played them in our first home game of the following season, and lost that too, this time 1-0.

But overall, we have played them seventeen times in the league, winning ten, drawing one, and losing six, with a record of five wins and four losses at Brisbane Road. And there is one loss in the football league trophy three years ago.

Leyton Orient are the fourth side we’ve played this season to have registered just a single season in the top-flight in their history (after Swindon Town, Barnsley, and Northampton Town). We won’t be playing the fifth of the league sides to achieve this, as we are out of all cup competitions, and Carlisle United are in League 2. The only other team to achieve it are Glossop North End who currently sit at level nine in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division. So, no matter how bad we end up this season it would still be a long time before we might end up playing them.

I did manage to dig out a Topps Card from the last of the seasons they did the standard sized cards when they were in Division Two and had just signed Ian Moores from Tottenham Hotspur. Only back then they were just Orient, and part of the question of which three sides begin with the letter O. Since then, they’ve retaken the Leyton part of their name, and with Oldham Athletic no longer in the league, it only leaves Oxford United as an answer nowadays.

We go into the game in the relegation places, and start six points and six places behind today’s opponents, who have won ten of the last twelve points available to them, so it may not be the best time to play them, especially when they’ve had over two days more to recover since their last game.

For the second time this season it is the supporters coach to the game for me, this time Helen is also going, and for a festive escape from the house we are also bringing her son Nathan.

We get off the coach and I nip into Coronation Gardens to see the statue there to Laurie Cunningham, who started his career at Orient. Besides the statue, there is a blue plaque on the east stand of the ground, apartments named after him to the northwest corner, and other mentions in the ground.

With plenty of time before kick-off we were looking at getting a pre match drink / coffee, and were heading to the pub we’d passed on the coach, in the impressive looking, former Leyton Town Hall building, only to bump into Matt the drummer, who told us not to bother as it no longer allowed away fans in. Neither did the Coach and Horses, and so had to trek for a bit to find somewhere that did allow away fans.

Back at the ground they have other plaques up as well in various spots, to the history of the club and its players, which I always find interesting.

The away fans guide on the club website mentioned the club shop and that they had mementos of the visit to the club, such as pens and magnets, only for it to have neither. They do have programmes though. It is a decent enough one, and at sixty pages it was twenty less than Peterborough, but they still had a dozen more pages of proper content, instead of it being an ad-fest. The only thing letting it down is not including some of the players in our match day squad, as they missed out starter Tyreese John-Jules from the list both inside and on the back cover.

Leyton Orient were in an all-red kit apart from two thin vertical stripes down the front of their shirts, whilst we were in out all white/grey away kit.

They make an early break from their own half, with pace down the right wing, and force a good early save out of JoJo Wollacott, which is a bit worrying getting opened up so easily so early on.

But we settle down a bit, get a bit of pressure down the other end and force a corner. It is half cleared to Jeremy Kelly and his attempt to chip it back over the keeper doesn’t have enough on it and it is easily collected, but it is a shot on target early on. Almost straight away we attack again, down the left and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy cuts inside and into the box and curls a shot goalwards which is well saved by the LO keeper.

Both sides have plenty of the ball going back and forth, but a long punt up field from LO sees the ball come down in our box and a shot which is blocked and scrambled away. We attack and win a throw on the right side near the corner flag. Charlie Barker goes over to take a long throw; it is half cleared and then pumped back into the box and falls to Will Swan about five yards out, but his shot is saved at close quarters.

There are attacks at either end, crosses going into the boxes, but no one is getting on the end of them. LO break and Wollacott comes out of the box and tackles their striker, winning the ball, only for it to be given as a foul and a free kick to LO, and a booking for Wollacott. The free kick hits the wall, as does the effort from the rebound before we clear it.

RHM is causing their right back issues, and we win a free kick down the left-hand side near their penalty area as he is pulled back. Jack Roles takes and curls it just over the bar.

Only for us to be undone by pace down the wings again. The LO left winger beats the defenders and puts a low cross into the edge of the six-yard box and a striker is on hand to fire the ball between Wollacott’s legs and into the net and we trail 0-1.

We are trying to attack, only for there to be a misplaced pass on the edge of their penalty area, they break and only a heavy touch from the right winger sees the ball run far enough far Wollacott to collect. This time we break quickly and win a corner, only for us to concede a free kick for a foul on the keeper as the ball comes in. An attempted cross from Bradley Ibrahim goes all the way up on top of the south stand and bounces into the gutter behind it not to be seen again for the only ball loss of the day.

There are two added minutes at the end of the half. Enough time for Roles to pick up a needless booking for pushing one of their players over near the corner flag. The resulting free kick is headed clear for a corner. That corner is headed for another, but the half time whistle goes, and we traipse off trailing 0-1.

Hope for a better second half goes out of the window, and far, far away as the LO number twelve surges down the left from his own half, evading lunging challenges on his way, before fizzing it across the edge of the six-yard box. It evades the striker in the middle of the box, but the right winger following up on the far side slams it in from the back post area and we trail 2-0. And Kelly picks up a booking for the attempted hack in midfield which was easily hurdled.

Not much after that there is a simple LO free kick into the box. Dion Conroy attempts to control and clear the ball, only for him to slam the attempted clearance straight at the nearby LO player and see it bounce into the net, and it is very quickly 0-3.

And the substitutions start for us. Roles and RHM go off to be replaced by Panutche Camara and Armando Junior Quitirna. Nothing changes however. LO have a free kick twenty-five yards out not far right of centre. It is fired in and skims of the join of post and bar and goes over.

The LO fans start to chant taunts, but the gallows humour of our own fans take them and run with them, and there are a few minutes of alternating chants of, “We’re fucking shit”, “We’ve got the ball, “ “We’ve lost the ball”, “We’re going down”, It’s only 3-0, It’s only 3-0, how shit must you be, it’s only 3-0”. That five-minute spell does see laughter, applause, and an ovation for us from some of the home fans.

But on the pitch is still dire. We give away a corner with a misplaced pass under no pressure at all. That comes in and is cleared off the line. Another shot comes in which Wollacott saves, it comes back again, bounces around the six-yard box for a bit before a shot is poked wide, and somehow the score stays at 0-3. Kelly is replaced (as he’s on a booking anyway) and Benjamin Tanimu comes on in his place. But he can’t deal with the pace down the left wing either.

There is another free kick on the wing, and it leads to another LO shot, this one goes over the bar. Followed by something similar, only the shot from this one is blocked and cleared. There is some respite as Tanimu is taken out near our penalty area, and the LO player picks up a booking for it. We have an attack, Camara crosses, and Max Anderson has a shot deflected for a corner. Which comes to nothing.

As LO make some subs, Camara gets into it with a couple of their players, having a go at one leaving the pitch by going all the way across the pitch from being stood on the near touchline instead of going around. Then he has a shoving match with another of the LO players and they both get booked. From there on every time Camara touches the ball the LO fans boo him. They weren’t doing a lot of booing.

We make our final two substitutions with TJJ and Conroy going off to be replaced by Tola Showumni and Joy Mukena. And another LO attack follows, with a shot just wide, and from the restart we give it straight back to them. It is poor stuff.

There are six added minutes, just to prolong the agony for us, I’m sure LO would be happy playing all day. Their number twelve flies down the left again and gets a cross in. the shot is saved, and the loose ball is cleared off the line. The final whistle goes to put us out of our misery with a 0-3 loss.

As the players come across to applaud the fans, one of the fans is having an utter meltdown at manager Rob Eliott. That kind of abuse is not helpful to anyone, as it can be seen the players are trying for him, and a number of them like him as they were dragging him away to protect him from more abuse. Similarly, the chants during the match at the players of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ aren’t useful. The players are trying, and it is like we forget we are in a higher league, without most of the team who got us there. We have a squad where so many players are coming back from injuries or illness, and we have been done over by FSS and the EFL with the schedule.

It is fine to be disappointed or upset with the results or the overall performance, but abuse of the players or manager is going over the top. Especially as some have a pre sharpened axe to grind, or their own agenda, that it doesn’t matter what the manager does there are people on his back. ‘Too many subs’, ‘not enough subs’, ‘subs too early’, ‘subs too late’, ‘wrong players subbed’ (which as we don’t know what injuries and illnesses players are carrying is just stupid). He can’t win. As if we weren’t on a terrible run with our supposed best players all available before Scott jumped ship.

The crowd was announced as being 8,195 with 419 Crawley fans in attendance. The result sees us stay in the relegation places, Shrewsbury beneath us won but are still four points behind us. The six teams above us in the table now all lost as well, and we are still two points from safety.

And we do it all again in three days’ time, this time away in Devon playing Exeter City, which will be a weekend away for me. Let’s hope the team can pick themselves up from today, make the long journey and bring something back on Sunday. Come on you reds.

It’s the first home game of the season. And as the vagaries of the fixture computer come to the fore again, as we are playing Leyton Orient, the team we played in our last home game of last season. You know the game, where the linesman hadn’t been to Specsavers and didn’t ward the goal when it was a yard over the line, and then the other one let a ten yard offside happen and so what should have been 1-1 ended up being a 2-0 defeat. We also played them in the Papa John’s Trophy at home last season, which was a 4-0 defeat.

But these are unusual home defeats, we usually have a good record against them. So much so, the Leyton Orient fan in When Saturday Comes had their surprise of last season as beating us away.

Last season Leyton Orient finished one place behind us. They started this season with a win and are fourth. We didn’t and are nineteenth.

So, speaking of the first game, it didn’t go well. From before the game started to be honest.

Our new American owners still haven’t quite got the hang of how English Football works. They had put up a YouTube video as a pregame thing. One that was full of trash talking rubbish. To be fair, our own fans were quick to complain, and after an apology tweet wasn’t enough, they took the video down. Not quickly enough to have a response video posted by Carlisle United fans. We are already getting flak as being “the internet team” without our owners compounding it.

The match stats didn’t make enjoyable reading. Crawley dominated possession. Yet with their two of their three top scorers from last season, plus new signing Dom Telford, the league’s top scorer from last season starting, and our top scorer being added to them at half time, we only had six shots all game, and none of them were on target. Perhaps it is only a coincidence that our new manager has come from the Arsenal coaching system. (BTW, Carlisle had twenty-three shots, with nine on target.)

It wasn’t great news that they’d sent Glenn Morris on loan the day before the season started. The new on loan keeper started the game but was subbed at half time. None of this bodes well.

Anyway, back to today’s game. There were doubts about me being well enough to make it, but almost thirty-six hours in bed has seen me able to make it. It is hot out there, and a slow wander to the ground follows. There are lots of people in and around the ground enjoying the sunshine. We set off early and so there was plenty of time to get there, and for me to get a programme.

Which is smaller in dimensions than the one last season, down to an A5 size. I can imagine the size of the print might be an issue for some as it is quite small on most pages. With the exception of the page with the league table on, where perhaps they were still printing to the size of last year’s programme as the table only had the top twenty clubs in the league, the bottom four missed off completely. Do they bother with proof reading this? Or are they being deliberately disrespectful to the bottom four?

There is no pre-game music, they are playing clips of old games on the big screen (which we can see a part of) and commentary through the sound system. Which makes it seem like an even better atmosphere than the good one there is in the ground anyway. There are no big canvases covering any of the East Stand or away standing this year, and there aren’t many spare seats around us when the game kicks off.

Leyton Orient are playing in a kit that I thought was a light gold and black, but after a few minutes it looks more like it is beige and black. Perhaps it is a deliberate ploy to try and lull opponents to sleep.

It may be the weather, but the game starts slowly, with some players wanting it to be over just after the quarter of an hour mark. I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to Leyton Orient’s Theo Archibald, as to that was why he was trying to swap shirts with Tobi Omole.

A few minutes later Crawley have a breakaway and Teddy Jenks is through on goal but decides to cross instead of having a shot, it goes through to Tom Nicholls who misses the target. And that is it really in terms of notable incidents in the first half. Not even the resident drummer could be bothered to strike up.

Some things don’t change, the half time play list is the same as it ever was. Seriously, just buy some new tunes already. And following on from last year, the Crawley players come out from their half time break two minutes after the away team. It’s not big and it’s not clever, all you are doing is pissing the away team off.

There was a bright start from Crawley, a decent attack down the left wing and an early corner. Which came to nothing. And within five minutes Leyton Orient have a corner of their own after a clearance from a dubious free kick given to them. There is an initial clearance, but Tom James takes a shot when it falls to him outside the area and a big deflection wrong foots our keeper Corey Addai, and Leyton Orient lead 1-0.

The next forty-five minutes are frustrating as hell. Pass it forward five yards, pass it sideways, pass it backwards, stand with it at your feet for twenty seconds as if you’ve never seen a football before. Repeat. Occasionally run forward with it for a few yards, then pull up quickly as you’ve reached the halfway line and have suddenly developed a nosebleed. Stop. Pass it sideways or backwards. Eventually spot the good run of the striker and play the through ball. Ten seconds late and so they are offside again. FFS, speed the hell up, play the ball earlier, take a risk. Do something apart from being stood there like a lemon with a thumb up your arse.

Even the drummer can’t get into feeling it. One brief attempt after sixty minutes is all we get. There are a lot of moans and groans from the home support.

Six minutes of injury time weren’t ever going to be enough to get and equaliser. It takes until the ninety-third minute for there to be a fast-paced attack with a shot on target. Out first shot on target of the whole season so far.

The same minute also saw the Murray Goldberg in front of us shuffle off. I wonder if he will ever get to see a whole match without rushing off to avoid the rush getting out of the car park.

The crowd is announced as being 3,851, with there being 818 away fans. Over three thousand home fans is a significant improvement on our average last season, lets hope we can keep that up, and that the team improves for them.

It did seem as if the announcer had rocks in his mouth, as I have no idea who the match sponsor was, but according to his announcement, the man of the match was Tem Balokesi. Which I think, from inspection of the players listed on the programme, he meant James Balagizi.

The match stats weren’t pretty either. We matched the possession from the first game 65%, but only had three shots, but at least one on target. Tippy tappy rubbish. I’d suggest stop having the crab sandwiches as part of the pre match meal.

It was fun and games leaving the stadium as well, we got to the underpass and there was a police line separating fans from getting at each other. According to one of the fans on the forum it was because the Leyton Orient fans were mocking the Crawley fans at how bad Crawley were. I’m not sure why that should be a need to fight, it was just a true statement, that deserved ‘yeah, we know’ as a response.

For some reason the East stand had no stewards at all for the first half, I’ll assume they think we are harmless there. They managed one for the second half, but there was no sign of Al, who was missing, even though Brighton weren’t at home. Just a lookalike in the orange hi-vis and faded grey cap.

Anyway, no time to worry about the outcome of this game, we have the Carabao Cup game midweek against Bristol Rovers who got promoted last season and won 4-0 away from home today. I’m just worried that the league table in the next programme won’t include us, as we are rock bottom of it.

It’s the final home game of the season for Crawley, against a Leyton Orient side who are the only team who can prevent us finishing the season in the position we currently occupy – 12^th. We are six points behind 11^th plus a whole shed load of goal difference, but only five points ahead of today’s opponents who are in 13^th.

We have already played Leyton Orient at home this season in the Papa John’s Trophy back in the dim distant past of the Autumn. We put out a much-changed side and got a 4-0 whupping. However, in the reverse league fixture in Northeast London we managed another away win, one which sent Leyton Orient into a bit of a tailspin which leaves them behind us now. If they beat us and win their last game, and we fail to beat already relegated Oldham Athletic in our last game of the season then they can overtake us and put us in the bottom half of the table.

Since out last home game on Easter Monday, we have had two away games, one against Mansfield Town last Saturday and a midweek catch up game against Sutton United, both of whom are challenging for playoff places (and in Mansfield’s case for an automatic place). We lost both games and in doing so failed to secure the top half finish and throw more spanners in the works of promotion playing teams as we had done recently (Swindon Town and Newport County spring to mind).

We have Tom and Terri in tow with us for the second time this season with the second batch of free tickets from our season tickets (nothing like leaving using them until the last possible moment). I meet them and Helen at the ground after writing group, but not checking my phone before arriving meant, not only did I get a programme, but Helen got one as well, so two programmes to make up for the couple missed during the season (Sutton and Swindon if anyone has spares, they’d like to let me have).

It’s a bright sunny day and as we are at the ground early, we have a drink in Redz Bar. There is someone outside playing music on a keyboard and singing – well attempting to. They could have run a competition to see who could guess what he was supposed to be playing. The longer he sings, the more serious the danger of rain arriving. But as it stands there are only the sprinklers spraying water everywhere.

Leyton Orient have brough a large vocal crowd with them, but still part of the away end had the canvassed off area, which splits the away support in two. The canvas covering of a block of seats in our stand has been removed for this game.

It is a very grey away kit for Leyton Orient. Hopefully, they’ll be as bad as Manchester United were in their infamous grey kit against Southampton all those years ago.

The opposition make the brighter start, and on seven minutes, before the other three have managed to get to their seats, there is a soft, soft goal, a gentle lob over Glenn Morris from the edge of the penalty area that falls into the back of the net as if in slow motion, and a 1-0 lead for Leyton Orient.

Just after the goal I finally spotted Al. he was patrolling the away end this week. He seems to have put himself in charge of the section covered by the canvas between the two sets of away fans, but without any actual fans to look after. A nice cushy number if you can get it, I suppose.

On seventeen minutes there is a penalty awarded to Leyton Orient. Up to this point the game is following the pattern of the Papa John’s Trophy game. The Crawley players are arguing about it, but it was blatant. However, it was a poor penalty, saved by Morris with his feet and the header from the rebound was weak and dropped into Morris’s arms.

There are some quickfire chances for Crawley straight after the saved penalty, but it was more like pinball wizard as it wouldn’t go in.

A lot of small white feathers are floating around in the air. I’m not sure who blew up half a dozen chickens before the match, but I wish they hadn’t have bothered.

A few minutes before half time ball one disappears over the People’s Pension Stand. It probably went straight over the A23 and into the school beyond as not even the netting behind the stand was going to be stopping that one.

We’ve only just subbed Joel Lynch when Jordan Tunnicliffe goes down, as does one of the Leyton Orient players, and another one of ours is limping. There are more crocks out there than the London to Brighton old car rally.

We are behind 1-0 at half time. There is a reason I shouldn’t be allowed out in polite company. My head is a total sewer. The charity collectors this week were sat behind us. They are collecting for Parkinson’s research. They are finding it surprisingly easy to shake their buckets.

There is some impressive drumming early in the second half, only for me to see the drummer making his way back to his seat from the bar, which meant someone else was using his kit in his absence.

There is a lot of early Crawley pressure in the second half, and we have a penalty shout waved away (it looked remarkably similar to the one given to Leyton Orient in the first half). It would help if the referee was even looking in the right direction as he had – inexplicably – his back to the play.

Ball two flies out over the Ryan Cantor Club Stand, one of those ambulances out there is going to have a big dent in it. The resulting corner for Crawley is wasted. Yet again. Not long later ball three disappears. This one doesn’t go over one of the stands, it goes into the KRL Logistics Stand and the away fans refuse to give it back.

Leyton Orient have some good chances, one of which is blocked by Will Ferry in a great goal line clearance. This brings about a change from the usual “Morris in our goal” chant with a quick burst of “We’ve got Ferry in our goal.” Ferry then has a mini meltdown at the lineman on Leyton Orient’s next attack as their striker obviously bats the ball past him with his hand and gets a shot away and neither the linesman nor ref notice it.

Four minutes of injury time are shown, which is a joke as the Leyton Orient players have been down injured, or just generally having a kip for at least ten minutes during the half. Cue Murray and Murray in front of us leaving. You would have thought they would have treated themselves and stayed until the final whistle at least once this season.

But Crawley have a breakaway and Tilley fires in a shot off the bar and we are all up off our feet cheering the equaliser, but wait, the linesman has waved it away saying the ball hasn’t crossed the line and it is ruled out. Our stand in manager gets booked, as does at least one player for arguing with the officials. Replays on the big screen (after the game as they aren’t allowed for ‘contentious’ issues during the game) show the ball was at least two feet over the line.

The crowd is announced as 3,373 with 688 away fans, giving a total of 2,685 home fans for the game, our highest of the season. And Glenn Morris is announced as the sponsor’s man of the match.

In the sixth minute of injury time (yes, of those four measly minutes announced) there is a Leyton Orient breakaway and a blatant offside is ignored, their striker runs on and curls it over Morris into the corner of the net to make it 2-0 to Leyton Orient. It brings out chants of 2-0 to the referee, and a fire drill exit of Crawley fans.

An orange flare is thrown onto the pitch from the home terrace which holds play up some more and the final whistle goes after over nine minutes of injury time. Post-match one fan makes it on to the pitch and runs around the pitch and players before heading back towards the KRL Logistics Stand, only to slip and fall just before the goal line. But he got up, evaded the somewhat slow stewards who weren’t in a massive rush to get hold of him. So much so that as he ran for the exit on the far side of the pitch, the head steward for that section jumped over the fence and on to the pitch to get out of the way instead of blocking him.

We stayed behind to applaud the players for the final time at home this season. Quite a large crowd remained behind to do so.

And so, there is just the one away game left this season. Although it still hasn’t been decided whether the game will be behind closed doors yet after Oldham fans invading the pitch on their relegation.