“So just like that any vague hopes of the O’s making a push for the play-offs were handed a blow by a resolute and organised Burton Albion side.” (Orient Nerd 23^rd February 2024)

Well doesn’t that just show what I know about football? A week and two impressive wins against teams above us in the table later, Orient now sit in eighth place in the table, just five points off sixth place and the final play-off spot.  

Being brutally honest I had no real expectation going into the game at fifth-placed Oxford last Saturday. After enduring the defeat at home to Burton the previous weekend, I was concerned that with our injuries continuing to mount up that the hosts would simply have too much for us. That was a feeling that only strengthened when, despite making a decent enough start to the game, we fell behind to a goal that owed quite a lot to defensive naivety 20 minutes in.

However, the way that we stuck to our task after going behind and continued to play the football that we wanted to play gave us some hope that we might be able to get back into the game, and oh how we did. Just six minutes into the second half the hugely impressive Ollie O’Neill brought us level- firing home left-footed after some intricate quick passing football on the edge of the Oxford penalty area.

We sealed all three points as we entered the final quarter of an hour when George Moncur, who seems to have been revitalised since the turn of the year, cut inside from the left, worked space for himself and rifled home a beauty, sending the 1000-plus travelling O’s fans into delirium. In truth it was no more than we fully deserved after a thoroughly professional display. 

Of course (inevitably?), there was some late drama when gaffer Richie Wellens was shown his third red card of the season, this time for allegedly holding onto the ball in an attempt to delay the game. Funnily enough the missus and I were talking to Richie’s mum, Irene, at half-time, and she had spotted that the referee had had a word with her son as he brought an end to the first half, and suggested that she was a bit worried as she knows he is incapable of keeping his mouth shut!

At this juncture I should probably say that Richie needs to reign himself in and make sure he avoids any kind of behaviour that might get him into further hot water with the officials and judiciary panel. But equally, part of me loves his chippy attitude and passion for the game, and for me I think that underpins his success as a manager. As the better half has said often recently, would we really have him any other way? Although as he said in his interview after the Blackpool game on Tuesday, he might want to be a bit more careful in the future as the resultant fines are costing him a fortune!

To then follow that victory up with another one against Blackpool, who were at the time a place above us in the table, just a few days later was perhaps even more impressive. Thanks to our “cousin-in-laws” Mike and Paul, the missus and I had the great pleasure of watching this one from the Gallery again, with the added benefit of free food and beer.

For the first 20 minutes or so the visitors looked like a real handful, but rather than trying to outplay them this time we seemed completely ready to match them physically. Another hugely encouraging sign going forward as it shows a developing maturity in the squad as the ability to adopt different approaches depending on the type of side we are facing bodes very well for the future. The match against the Tangerines was again settled by another goal from O’Neill early in the second half, from which the visitors had no real response, and we added another three points to our growing total.

At this point it is worth taking a second to reflect on the impact that O’Neill has made since his arrival in January. So far, he has registered three goals and two assists in just five starts, which by anyone’s standards is a hugely impressive contribution, let alone for a 21-year-old making his first foray into senior football. It was an astute piece of business to sign him to a two-and-a-half-year deal when surely there must have been interest from elsewhere. My only real fear is that if he carries on at this rate of output, it might not be too long before those with bigger purses from a higher level might start circling around.

On Monday evening there was an online Q&A with Nigel Travis and Mark Devlin which as usual provided and interesting and reassuring insight into the projected development of our club. A large part of the early discussion focused on the plans for a new stadium, which seemed to have strengthened even in the short time since they last spoke about it at the recent fans’ forum.

It seems we are working actively with Waltham Forest Council to look at the viability of several sites within the borough, with one in particular looking highly suitable. Although both chairman and chief executive made it abundantly clear that we are looking at a timeframe of at least 10 years before these initial plans will be brought to fruition.

There has also been a thorough review of potentially developing, improving and/or expanding our current Brisbane Road site, but this has now been ruled out due to the potential cost involved and the limited improvement in capacity that would be achieved. There will however be a comprehensive series of improvement works over the summer break with the East Stand (hoorah!) in particular earmarked for a sizeable chunk of the overall budget. Once again, it is difficult to feel anything but optimistic for the future of our club.

Then on Thursday we got the news of the signing of defender Jack Simpson on an initial short-term contract until the end of the season but with a view to extending that into next season. On the face of it signing a 27-year-old defender with some Premier League experience and who won the league title with Glasgow Rangers a couple of seasons back, seems like an excellent move. However, the fact that he left Cardiff City by mutual consent in August 2023 after being charged by the FA for “allegedly using language towards a teammate that was abusive and/or insulting and/or improper” and also still reportedly needs to serve a six-match ban, has inevitably caused something of a furore on social media.

While we should never condone anyone for alleged behaviour such as Simpson has been charged with, he has admitted his mistake and perhaps deserves a second chance, just as many other players have been granted. For me though his current lack of availability suggests this signing may well be more geared towards evaluating him to make a judgement of whether he might slot into the squad next season. After all, as we all know, we are very short of central defenders and there is no news as yet as to whether Dan Happe will still be around next season.  

Next up of course is the visit of Bristol Rovers to E10 tomorrow afternoon. The Pirates sit in 12^th spot in the table but are the very embodiment of up and down form having won three and lost three of their last six matches. The way we are playing at the moment there has to be every hope of another victory and perhaps another small step closer to the play-offs. Here’s hoping!

Up the O’s!