So another end-of-season match and another lacklustre performance. In truth even though we have somehow conspired to have the double done over us by a Fleetwood Town team that had its relegation confirmed at the final whistle, I am struggling to get too annoyed about it.

Obviously I want Orient to win every time we play, but for me once we were defeated at Lincoln and any hope of a playoff place had realistically gone, it has felt very much as if the squad, and us fans too, are just seeing out the season. Certainly a lot of the recent discussions on social media, and many of the conversations that I have had with fellow Orient fans, have focused on which players we should keep, or at least try to keep, and which ones we should look to let go.

So in the absence of any real desire to rake over the coals of another frustrating loss, let’s have a look at some of the key decisions facing Martin Ling, Richie Wellens and the Board going into the summer break.

Defence

Both Tom James’ and Rob Hunt’s contracts expire at the end of June, and while they have both been reliable members of the backline (more so last season to be fair), the deployment  of Theo Archibald and Jordan Graham as wing-backs in the early part of the campaign (admittedly while using three centre backs), and the ongoing use of Ethan Galbraith at right back when he is clearly more suited to a role in the centre of the park, suggests that either or both might not be exactly what Richie wants as we look to continue our development as a team and a squad.

Jayden Sweeney has proven capable enough when given a run of starts, but the question remains over whether he is sufficiently reliable defensively to be seen as a first choice?

As has been well documented, Dan Happe will be out of contract come June and has reportedly been offered a new deal. Once again his season has been curtailed by injury, and as well as he performed in the first half of the season, might his lack of fitness convince him that his best option would be to re-sign at Brisbane Road rather than to test the market?

Omar Beckles has another year to go on his deal, while Brandon Cooper has two, unless there has been a rethink by the coaching staff I think we can probably assume that both will still form part of the 2024/25 squad. Jack Simpson was essentially brought in as cover, but it is also feels as if it was a bit of an extended trial period, has Richie seen enough to be convinced that a longer term deal should be offered?

Midfield

At the risk of repeating myself, at the start of the season I was completely convinced that the plan for central midfield was for Darren Pratley to be the first choice next to Idris El Mizouni, and for Jordan Brown to come on later in matches or to spell the skipper as needed. As the season progressed Brown pretty much made himself first choice, and though he seems to have tired as the season has gone on and not quite been at his very best, with a deal that runs to next summer I fully expect him to be a key part of the squad for next season. Unless of course he attracts interest from other clubs.

Which brings us to El Mizouni. It came as something of a very pleasant surprise when he returned for a second season on loan, and while he may not have quite been the dominant force that he was last term, it is clear to see how highly he is rated by the coaching staff. With parent club Ipswich still very much in the mix for promotion to the Premier League the key question is whether they see a contract extension for El Miz as a viable option to ensure they at least get a transfer fee for him, even if he is judged to be surplus to requirements in their future plans? If they did do that then unfortunately he would likely be out of our price range.

With Matt Harrold departing for pastures new (thank you for everything Matt and good luck in your future endeavours!) it seems an easy decision to offer Darren Pratley a role on the coaching staff, something he has suggested in the past he definitely wants to do. Whether that combines with a playing role will depend on whether it is felt that he can go on for another season.

We of course got the news yesterday that Zech Obiero had signed on the dotted line of a new two year deal. The way he has impressed over the last few weeks has been one of the few joys of recent matches. It feels like a bit of a no-brainer but is very welcome news indeed and is another step forward in the evolution of the squad. 

Forwards

With Jordan Graham and Dan Agyei tied down until next summer, the key decisions with regard to our front line focus on: Ruel Sotiriou and Theo Archibald.

The former is our leading scorer and some of his goals have been of vital importance, yet he is still a player that divides opinion. Some see his goals and are convinced he is the real deal, whereas others feel that he lacks the requisite technical skills to play a more all-round role in our attack. Like Happe it has been reported that he has been offered a deal, whether he accepts it or not may hinge on how much game time he envisages himself having if Agyei, Graham and Ollie O’Neill are all fit.

It would seem exceptionally harsh if Theo wasn’t offered a new deal, and the feeling expressed by Paul Terry at the Q&A a couple of months back is that he will be, given his loyalty and commitment to the club. In fact you could argue that he was one of our most impactful players until having to have the operation. The club is a business after all, but this is one situation where I hope the heart is allowed to overrule the cold business head.

Of course there are also the three young loanees to consider: Shaq Forde, Khayon Edwards and Dan Adu-Adjei. Once moved out to the right Forde did a decent enough job for us but his impact has noticeably lessened over the last few weeks. I suspect that his year might be judged as a useful player to have, and he has gained a season’s worth of experience, but that is probably it.

As we will remember it was pretty clear that Edwards and Adu-Adjei were not options that Richie especially wanted. It is also fair to say that neither has made much of an impact at all, so I suspect their futures lie elsewhere.

Of course there may also be some in the squad who are still under contract, and most likely on good money, that we might want to offload, specifically George Moncur and Joe Pigott, but also maybe even Omar Beckles if we want to try adapt and improve our back line.

On top of all that, speaking after the Fleetwood match the gaffer made his feelings clear on the state of the squad stating categorically: “we need 4 or 5 players that will come in and impact our team, there are certainly players we keep asking them to do things, the same messages week in and week out, and my patience is wearing thin.” Which suggests that if Richie gets what he wants then it is going to be a very busy summer in terms of comings and goings.

Before then though is the final awayday of the season and an early start for those of us heading up to Shrewsbury, here’s hoping the O’s can round the season off with a better performance and a good win.

Up the O’s!