After a self-enforced “winter break” thanks to our disappointing cup exit at Chesterfield, our beloved O’s are back in action tomorrow with the much anticipated trip to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth. I can’t have been alone in watching the FA Cup highlights last Saturday evening and rueing the fact that we hadn’t had the chance to face Watford in the Third Round. Maybe one day we will get that extended cup run that so many of us crave.

Back to league action though, and after a run of eight league matches without a win, the late rescue act at Cheltenham sparked the O’s back into some better form, with us picking up 10 points from the next possible 15 and settling into 12^th place in the table. We can only hope that the fortnight’s break doesn’t disrupt the momentum we had been building and might actually do us good in terms of rest, especially for the returning to match fitness Dan Agyei, and those who we know/ suspect may have been carrying knocks– Theo Archibald seemingly falling into that category based on some of the comments that gaffer Richie Wellens has made recently.

As we all remember only too vividly, when we faced Portsmouth at home in our first home game of the season, we were somewhat humbled. Pompey running out 4-0 victors without ever really having to get into top gear. Since then they have been consistently battling at the top end of the table and currently sit on the top perch, albeit with Bolton having two games in hand on them. However a glance at the form table shows that they have won only once in their last five matches and lost at Cheltenham last Saturday. Might this be a good time to face them? Only time will tell of course, but if we can carry on the way we played at Cambridge there is good reason to hope that we might get something out of the game.

After Portsmouth we face Bolton at home which may also seem daunting, but the second half near fight back at their place just before Christmas should give us some hope that we can match them.  These next two matches most likely won’t define our season, but a couple of positive performances and picking up a few points would certainly strengthen our mid-table aspirations.

Of course we are now very much approaching the middle of January and the only movement from our point of view in terms of squad refreshment has been the return of Brandon Cooper to parent club Swansea. It is easy to point to Cooper’s ill-discipline, especially his needless red card against Derby, as justification for his departure, but we should also remember the important role he played in steadying the ship defensively since first coming into the team away at Exeter.

The market as a whole seems somewhat stagnant at the moment, and while Omar Beckles and Dan Happe seem to have established themselves as the first choice centre back pairing, should either of them be ruled out for any length of time there is only really Ed Turns and long-term absentee Adam Thompson as cover. While Richie has made it clear that we are looking for attacking reinforcements, might we also be looking to bring in another central defender?

_______________________________________________

Before signing off for this week, I had been hoping to bring you news of the completion of an exciting project which I have been working away on over the last year and a half: a book detailing the missus’ and my adventures following the O’s all around the country in the 2021/22 season, some reflections on the brilliantly successful 2022/23 campaign, and the way in which this oh so special club has completely captured our hearts.  

Titled: “You don’t choose your football club, it finds you: A season rediscovering the true soul of football fandom.”, all proceeds will be donated to the Justin Edinburgh Foundation. It is currently being reviewed with Amazon Kindle Self-Publishing awaiting final approval for release. Once it is out there (available as both an E-Book and paperback), I would not only be extremely grateful for all purchases, but also hope that O’s fans could promote it as far and wide as possible. After all not only is it for a good cause, but one that is very dear to all our hearts. Watch this space in the coming days for more news on that.

Here’s hoping for a cracking awayday and another positive result at Fratton Park tomorrow afternoon!

Up the O’s!