Since my last post a couple of weeks ago (Orient Nerd Weekly Ramblings: Reflections on Orient’s Mixed Start to the Season.), Orient’s up and down start to the campaign has very much continued. The performance and result at home to Northampton was frustrating to say the least. If we were hoping to bounce back after the disappointing 4-1 loss at Mansfield, this certainly wasn’t the way to do that.

To then win 3-1 away at an admittedly struggling Peterborough in the Vertu Trophy despite having to play more than an hour with 10 men thanks to Azeem Abdullai’s deserved red card, showed the grit and character within the squad albeit with a much-changed starting eleven.

Quite how we won the game away at Port Vale is anyone’s guess. Family commitments meant that I was only able to watch the first half hour and then catch up on the extended highlights, but from what I have heard and read our second half performance was once again worryingly disappointing. Thankfully Charlie Wellens (more on him later!) rescued us with an added time winner. The very definition of a smash and grab result so I am led to believe.

Last time we touched upon the fact that there has been significant churn in the squad with a total of 15 new players coming in. Obviously it will take time, as we have seen in previous seasons, for these new additions to bed in, gel, and start to understand the system and the way that the manager expects his teams to play, so maybe this inconsistency is par for the course?

On the subject of our transfer window activity, speaking in an interview last week Director of Football Martin Ling was keen to stress the change in approach this year as we have looked to bring in players on a permanent basis, on deals longer than the previously usual two year agreements. The thinking behind this seems to be centred on reducing the turnover of players on a season by season basis, making us less reliant on the loans market, and ensuring that if the players develop in the way that we hope then there is a financial benefit to us if we can sell them on at a decent profit.

The logic behind this shift in strategy feels obvious and sensible for the future development of both the club and the playing squad, however it does mean that once again Richie Wellens has got his work cut out to mould this current crop of players into an effective and cohesive unit. Unfortunately this might continue to impact performances and results in the immediate short term.

Last week’s transfer deadline day saw the arrival of Dom Ballard, the much-needed number 9 we know we have been after all through the summer. Already Ballard has made an impact, most notably scoring our second at Vale Park and looking like an ideal complement to Aaron Connolly. However the undoubted star of the last week or so has been the manager’s son Charlie Wellens. Not content with scoring a spectacular free kick to open the scoring at Peterborough, he was then the man to secure (steal?) all 3 points at Port Vale with a dramatic added time winner. 

Ever since he was brought into the club during pre-season his Dad has been keen to downplay the father/ son relationship and has tried to encourage the narrative to focus on Charlie as just another player. However, even though it is still very early days, the impact that Wellens junior has made so far has certainly made fans take notice and he is making a very genuine case for continued inclusion in the matchday squad, and maybe even a spot in the starting eleven.

I completely understand the gaffer’s approach so far, but there is also the realisation that we might have found ourselves a very talented young player through happenstance. It will be very interesting to follow Charlie’s developmental trajectory over the coming weeks and months and to see how things pan out for him, and hopefully for us as a team. If he can continue to make the impact that he has in the last week and a half then things could get very exciting indeed.

Despite our patchy performances and form we have got more points on the board than we had at this stage last term and sit in 12^th spot in the table, so when all is said and done it has been far from a disastrous start to the campaign. One area that has been a concern though is our defensive record which has seen us concede 12 goals in our 7 matches so far.

In seasons past not conceding goals has been one of the foundational strengths of our teams, and if anything putting them away at the other end has been the concern. If we can start to shore things up at the back while our attacking players continue to develop their cohesion and increase our goal threat even more then there is every reason to believe that we can drive ourselves further up the table.

Next up of course the visit of Bolton Wanderers to Brisbane Road tomorrow afternoon. The Trotters always feel like something of a bogey team for us and I never really approach these matches with a great deal of optimism. For their part Bolton have won 2, drawn 4, and lost 1 of their matches so far and sit level on points with us, so again it feels like a tough one to call.

A more encouraging performance and a positive result would really help us to start to build some momentum and to move up a gear with our season. Avoiding continuing to concede sloppy goals would certainly help with that.

Up the O’s!