Well, that didn’t go quite how we hoped! I ended last week’s post (Orient Nerd Weekly Ramblings: Taking Stock of Orient’s Start to 2026/27.) suggesting that our next four matches were tough games, but if we could pick up a decent number of points “then there is reason to be optimistic that this could be another positive season, if not, there could well be some more unwelcome autumn/ winter soul-searching in the Orient camp.”
Not exactly in-depth analytical thinking involved there(!), but the fact that we fell to our fourth league defeat out of five played at Brisbane Road this season, is more than a little frustrating. In fact, putting it another way- we have won just one of our last nine home league games, and that was the far from convincing win over Stevenage two weeks previously.
Taking absolutely nothing away from Plymouth, who were organised, well-drilled, and implemented their game plan very effectively, but I can’t be the only one wondering what this Orient team is trying to be?
We are too ponderous on the ball to be a possession-based team, or at least to play that style effectively. If we do try to play long, then Jaze Kabia ends up battling against the opposing central defenders on his own and makes little headway. Saturday’s match seemed to be crying out for us to play on the break, but when we did try to counter too many passes were behind their intended target, serving only to halt any forward momentum.
Given his exertions during the international break, it made sense that Isaac Hayden started on the bench, but asking Alex Gilbert to operate as the deepest central midfielder really didn’t work. From the limited amount we have seen of the former Middlesborough and Charlton man, his strength seems to be all about driving forward with the ball and trying to make things happen.
While we just about matched Plymouth in the first half, we didn’t really threaten ourselves save for a tame effort that Fin Stevens dragged wide, and a flicked header from Kabia that was comfortably gathered by Murphy Cooper in the Argyle goal. At the same time Nathan Baxter had to be alert to keep the visitors at bay with three decent stops.
We were caught cold at the start of the second half with two goals in the space of just four minutes. For the first, once again, we failed to clear a corner effectively (surprise, surprise!), and Bim Pepple was on hand to poke home from close range. Then for the second, Will Evans beat Joseph Olowu too easily to a header from a cross from the right, nodding it beyond Baxter. Even with still over half an hour to play, I think most of us recognised that the game was pretty much done at that point.
All we could muster by means of a response was a sharp volley from Stevens from the edge of the box that was straight at Cooper, and in truth our toothless-looking attack never truly looked like getting us back into the match.
For the third consecutive match it was Paul Terry that fulfilled the post-match interview requirements (more on that shortly). The assistant head coach suggested that “the manner in which we conceded the two goals was really poor” and that our home form is “not good enough”. Hard to disagree, but this keeps happening, and what we really need to see is an improvement in attitude and approach. Nobody expects us to blow away everybody we face at our ground, especially teams as good as Plymouth, but it is the seeming flatness of the performances that is the most worrying aspect for me.
From what we have seen and been told about this squad, they are clearly a talented set of footballers, there just seems to be something missing. Whether that’s in terms of belief, commitment, or understanding what they are being asked to do, we will never know for sure, but continuing to fall short in a similar manner in every game we play suggests that there is something not right. Which brings us onto the Richie Wellens situation…
When quizzed by Dave Victor about where Richie was, Terry wasn’t especially convincing in trying to bluff his way through his response. He seemed to suggest that as he had done the interviews pre and post Stevenage, a game we won, that it was something they had decided to do again.
Personally, I am not buying that. I know football people can be very superstitious, but a manager not doing a post-match interview as it might be unlucky? Pull the other one! Besides, in case it escaped anyone’s notice, we lost. Maybe Richie should have done the interview so we could change our luck! No one is going to come out and say it, but the suspicion has to be that something has gone on behind the scenes. If that is the case, then it needs to be put right, and quickly.
In his explosive interview at the end of last season, Wellens really left himself with no more excuses. The backing he received in the transfer market over the summer, only ramped up the expectation that this season was going to be better than the disaster that was the last one. No one is expecting us to cruise to the league title, swatting all opponents aside, playing scintillating, free-flowing attacking football like peak Barcelona. But what we can expect is a squad that looks like it is fully committed to the cause, with a clearly defined game plan that everyone understands. Which is frankly something that hasn’t been evident since the surge to the play-off final at the end of 2024/25.
Next, we head to Bradford who announced this week that Michael Duff, who was only relieved of his duties at Wycombe last month, has replaced the departed Graham Alexander. The Bantams have made a very decent start to the season and have only been knocked off top spot as Plymouth have played a game more. Will the change of manager adversely affect them? I have my doubts. From our perspective we need to see more from the players and a much-improved performance. It would also be nice if we heard from the manager ahead of the game.
Despite our frustrations, we were given a poignant reminder of where football sits in the grand scheme of life by the tragically sad loss of both Lucy Freeman and former Orient player James Walker last week. The impeccably observed minute’s silence before Saturday’s match was highly moving and emotional and re-emphasised that no matter how seriously we take it, it is only a game after all.
Up the O’s!
