Last week we talked about Orient having turned a corner after a difficult start and how it felt like we were starting to get our season up and running (Orient Nerd Weekly Ramblings- Orient get their season up and running.). A week and two matches later and that momentum seems to have dissipated after two disappointing results at home.

On the face it a goalless draw against Wrexham, a team starting the day at top of the table, is creditable enough, however I left Brisbane Road on Saturday evening with the feeling of an opportunity squandered. While Orient were in control for the majority of the match, once again the familiar issue of failing to take our chances when on top reared its ugly head.

On Tuesday evening against Exeter there was an eerily familiar feeling as we failed to capitalise on our early dominance, conceded a goal just before half-time, and ultimately went on to lose a game that we probably could (should?) have won. That defeat halted our mini unbeaten run at four games and meant that we have picked up just 8 points out of a possible 27 this season, with just 2 points from our first 5 home games.

Given who we have played so far this term, that doesn’t necessarily represent potential relegation form, however it should be cause for concern. Especially given the fact that it seems to be the same problems that our manifesting themselves in the majority of matches we have played.

Toothless in attack

If we take the match at Stockport, where we netted a surprising four goals, out of consideration we have scored just five times in the other eight league matches. How often has Richie said in his post-match interviews we should have scored more? So why haven’t we?

For me, the first part of the conundrum is who should be the starting central striker? Most of us would agree that Charlie Kelman’s attitude, effort and work rate are exactly what is required at this level, and there is no doubt that he has improved since his first loan spell with us a couple of seasons back. However is anyone convinced that he is the clinical finisher that we so desperately crave?

I make it a personal rule never to get on the back of one of our own players, but I found Kelman’s performance on Tuesday night in particular frustrating to say the least. When Kelman has looked at his best for us it has been when he has operated on the right hand side of the attack, in the “Shaq Forde role” from last season if you will.

If we think back to his personal purple patch last winter, Dan Agyei seems the most natural number 9 that we can call upon, yet Richie seems to be undecided as to whether he is best deployed centrally or in a wider position. Deciding one way or the other who is going to lead the line might well be the key to improving our goalscoring threat.

That decision also needs to be supplemented by another on what role is expected from our wider players in the front line. As we said before, if one of Agyei or Kelman is going to picked as a wide forward, then it seems logical that the player on the opposite flank has to be a more natural winger and to provide width. It was very evident on Saturday that playing two number 10’s in Ethan Galbraith and Jamie Donley out wide didn’t bolster our attacking threat at all. In fact it could be argued it actually inhibited it.

With Jordan Graham working his way back to fitness and Theo Archibald still out for the foreseeable future, then while he hasn’t hit the heights of the second half of last season, Ollie O’Neill seems the obvious choice. Although as was oh so evident on Tuesday when Graham came on, if we are to put crosses into the box then we need to get bodies in there to get on the end of them. For me Agyei’s greater physicality makes him the most suitable for that.

From what we have seen from Sonny Perkins and Diallang Jaiyesimi so far, they haven’t actually given the gaffer very much reason to believe they can offer more than what we already have up front.

Sloppy at the back

Coupled with the bluntness of our attack we have shown an alarming tendency to make sloppy errors at the back, which have often resulted in the opposition taking advantage and finding the back of our net. Think: Zach Hemming’s spill against Bolton on the opening day, the sloppy defending in added time that allowed Luke Berry to nick all three points at Charlton, and the poor pass out from Hemming and then the mix up between Jordan Brown and Brandon Cooper that gifted Birmingham both of their goals, to name just the most glaringly obvious. With apologies for dredging up those horror moments that are probably best forgotten!

It seems fairly cliched, (but nevertheless true!), to say that if a football team doesn’t score enough goals and tends to give them away to the opposition on a fairly regular basis, then they are inevitably going to struggle to win matches. Which feels like exactly what we have been seeing from Orient this season.

Tempo and style of play

I think we can all agree that we like the style of passing football that Richie is continuing to try to instill. But at the same time it feels as if the players do have a tendency to play too slowly, to not really go at teams and to opt for the safer passing option, often backwards. There is a huge focus on transitions in the modern game with attacking impetus being founded on pace, movement and the crispness of passing when a team gains possession.

For me our hesitancy in moving up the field when we regain the ball stymies our momentum and allows the opposition to get into their defensive shape, making it much more difficult for us to break through. Exeter on Tuesday night were far from being the most exciting attacking team that I have seen in this division, but their goal came from a quick break down their left wing and an early ball into the box. It was similar to the approach that Peterborough adopted against us.

Home woes

As mentioned earlier we haven’t managed to win any of our five home games in the league so far this season. Admittedly the fixture list hasn’t exactly been kind with some of the bigger budget and more established teams visiting E10, and also with two of the games being on Tuesday evenings, but it makes me wonder whether our approach and style of play is better suited to being away from home. If so, how do we adapt our approach to be more effective at home? (Nerdy geek warning alert!) In each of the last three home games we have been “turned around” and attacked the South Stand end in the first half. Is this simply coincidence in that each of the opponents have won the toss and chosen to do so, or is it a deliberate ploy by us to try and establish the early momentum in the game?

Where do we go from here?

Next up of course we face a trip to Lincoln and another tough challenge. The Imps currently sit fourth in the table having won 4, drawn 3 and lost 1 of their matches so far. It really does feel as if we need another Stockport-like performance to give us all a bit of a lift. We need to try to resolve the issues outlined through this piece and if we can do that for me we have the makings of what could be a decent side. If we don’t and put in another blunt attacking performance and give a goal or two away, then the Orient faithful will probably continue to get increasingly restless.

Having said that though wouldn’t it just be typical of Orient to go there, put on a show and make us all feel a little bit more positive? Here’s hoping!

 Up the O’s!