Is anyone else getting eerie flashbacks to last season? Having now played a quarter of our league games, we sit on exactly the same number of points as we were after 12 games last year, and we all know how that campaign played out!
The latest capitulation, on a wet and windy Saturday afternoon at the Pirelli Stadium against a Burton Albion side depleted by injuries and suspensions, was perhaps the most concerning of all of our six league defeats so far. Whilst in our previous losses this season it can be argued that it has been down to basic defensive errors, a lack of attacking creativity, and/or wasteful finishing (or indeed a combination of all of three!); this felt like something entirely different.
The fact that after the match Richie Wellens, as well as expressing his disappointment at what he described as a “poor” performance, was hugely critical of the players’ fitness levels and application, while also suggesting that “we are cheating our supporters”, is a very worrying state of affairs indeed.
After Wellens’ explosive comments following the final game of last season (Orient Nerd Weekly Ramblings: Explosive Comments from Richie Wellens as Orient’s 2025/26 Season Finally Comes to a Close.), in which he threw a significant proportion of the squad under the bus, it simply cannot be argued that he hasn’t been backed emphatically by David Gandler and the Board over the summer. The vast majority of the deadwood was shipped out, either permanently or on loan, and with the support of new Director of Football Scott Mitchell, 16 new, supposedly higher quality players, were recruited. Yet we remain just as consistently inconsistent as we were in 2025/26. So, what the hell is going wrong?
Granted there have been injuries, and certain players (Alex Gilbert and Dane Scarlett specifically) have needed time to get up to full fitness having not had proper pre-seasons, but how is it possible that the manager can conclude that “the fitness levels are nowhere near for some of them”?
These are professional football players, coached by experienced specialists in physical preparation, conditioning, nutrition etc, yet somehow some of our squad aren’t up-to-speed fitness-wise after playing a dozen league games and a number of cup matches? If that is the case, then the problems are deeper than we thought!
As we have touched upon on a number of occasions already this season (just as we did last season) to my, admittedly untrained, eyes it just isn’t clear what we are trying to be as a team, and what our style of play is supposed to be.
We know (because he has made it abundantly clear on a number of occasions) that Richie doesn’t like playing with three centre backs, yet we have done so in more than half of our league games so far this season. I get that we most likely made the switch after losing two of our opening three games and having looked shaky defensively, but that then has a knock-on effect on the rest of the team.
Using a 3-4-3 system means we have to lose one of our central midfielders, and as a result often find ourselves outnumbered in the middle of the park. It also means the midfield is less able to support the front players. We saw how Richie tried to rectify this against Blackpool by playing Yusuf Akhamrich behind a front two of Aaron Connolly and Jaze Kabia, but that meant that we lacked width and it really didn’t work.
Losing a goalscoring talent in the form of Dom Ballard was obviously a major blow, especially given that his 23 league goals inarguably kept us in League 1 last year. While we have attempted to replace him with last season’s second highest marksman in League 2 in Jaze Kabia, and a highly rated prospect from Tottenham’s academy in Dane Scarlett, it still isn’t clear how to get the best out of the pair of them. Or indeed whether they should play together at all, or whether one should start ahead of the other?
In fact, the whole deployment of our forward players remains unclear. Aaron Connolly is unquestionably the biggest attacking threat that we have, and will always likely start on the left when fit, but what of the others? Yusuf Akhamrich seemed to be a nailed-on starter until he went off the boil recently as teams have begun to work him out. Do we persevere with him on the right or try someone else? If so, who?
We have already touched on the Kabia/ Scarlett debate, but where do Armando Dobra, Ollie O’Neil and Tony Springett fit in? Or indeed Demi Mitchell, Theo Archibald and Nick Oyekunle if/ when they are available? Again, it doesn’t exactly point to us having a clear plan in place.
The real strength of the team that made the Play-off Final in 24/25, was that give or take the odd change or tweak, we could all name our best eleven. That fateful match at Wembley was probably the last time that we were truly able to say that.
After the loss at Burton, Wellens suggested: “there’s no doubt that the next 6 [or] 7 games, against the opposition that we are playing, will start sorting the table out for us.” In our next 7 league games we face: Cambridge (h), Doncaster (a) (assuming it goes ahead), Wimbledon (h), Stockport (a), Peterborough (h), Huddersfield (a) and Notts County (h).
Richie’s right, that run will indeed prove pivotal in how this season shapes up. If we put in the performances, pick up points, and build momentum there is every reason to think we can have a positive season. On the other hand, if we carry on like we have been over the last few weeks, then it could very much turn into another hugely frustrating one, just like the last one. A much-improved performance and a win over a Cambridge side that has been pretty impressive on their return to League 1, could really start to get things rolling. If not, it might really be time to start worrying.
Up the O’s!
