retired_seyyya

6.10.06
The first sign of unrest in the non-playing members of my squad surfaced today when defender Adam Tann requested a transfer. Tann has only managed three appearances so far this season, but I can’t afford to lose any team members at the moment, so I turned down his request.

***

7.10.06
Leyton Orient (1) Brentford (2)
With Brentford entrenched in one of the bottom four relegation positions and ourselves in third place on the League One table, this should have been a home win for us. Instead we found ourselves on the back foot early as our visitors took control of the match. Brentford’s pressure finally earned them the opening goal after 29 minutes Jo Kuffour volleyed a shot past Glyn Garner to put them 1-0 up. Things got worse right on the 45th minute mark when their right-back Kevin O’Connor stormed past Matt Lockwood on our left and crossed low to the near post where John Mousinho arrived to turn the ball home for a 2-0 lead. At half-time I urged the players to provide me with a better performance in the second half. Gary Alexander responded with strong run after 59 minutes and a pinpoint cross which found the head of Hogan Ephraim who nodded home to pull the score back to 2-1. However despite our best efforts Brentford had their heads in front and they were determined to hold onto their lead. Alexander and Ephraim both came close to snatching an equaliser in the final ten minutes, but their efforts were just off-target and we suffered our first home defeat of the season as a result.

retired_seyyya

9.10.06
There was a setback for Hogan Ephraim today when the 18yo striker re-injured the shoulder that he had damaged in earlier in the season when he broke his collar-bone. There was no break on this occasion, but the ligament damage that he suffered in a nasty training fall means that he will miss the next four weeks.

***

12.10.06
Lee Steele came to see me before training commenced today and advised me that he had decided to retire at the end of the season. I thanked the veteran striker for his courtesy in telling me of his decision in advance and asked him to give his all for the remainder of his contract as he would certainly get some plying time between now and next May.

***

13.10.06
John Mackie indicated today that he was concerned that his contract was due to run out at the end of the season. The centre-half said that he was enjoying his time under my management and would like to sign a new deal before the end of December. I told him that his performances had been good so far this season and I would consider his request

retired_seyyya

14.10.06
Crewe (1) Leyton Orient (2)
Paul Connor got his first start today as the fourth player to partner Gary Alexander up front in our forward line, but it was the defence and midfield who supplied our goals on this occasion. In the 19th minute Craig Easton outdid Hogan Ephraim’s glaring miss against Brighton three weeks ago when he somehow managed to head over Matt Lockwood’s cross from only one yard out. However Easton made up for the miss when he contributed to the opening goal after 39 minutes. Lockwood’s free-kick found Easton on the far post and he headed the ball back across the goalmouth for John Mackie to tap it home for 1-0. Crewe hauled themselves level before the break though when Luke Varney surged forward from the midfield and hammered a low shot home from the edge of the box to make it 1-1 after 44 minutes. After a very quiet period at the start of the second half it was Craig Easton who lit up the match. Picking the ball up on the halfway line in the 62nd minute Easton beat first Darren Moss and then David Vaughn before sending a bullet-like shot high into the Crewe net to give us a 2-1 lead and erase the memories of his first half gaffe. A tight defensive display then ensued to ensure that Leyton Orient picked up the three points that were on offer today.

retired_seyyya

16.10.06
The centre of our defence will require remodelling after John Mackie sustained a toe injury in training and will miss the following two weeks as a result.

***

17.10.06
Peterborough (1) Leyton Orient (0) Johnstone’s Paint South First Round
I decided to use the Johnstone’s Paint cup competition as a chance to give the non-playing members of the squad a run-out. The entire starting eleven from Saturday’s win over Crewe were replaced as I looked for some decent efforts from the new players which may further their claims to starting in the league. Unfortunately what I got was a disjointed performance from the team as the lack of game-time together showed in the player’s endeavours. Peterborough twice hit the post in the opening half through Adam Newton after 12 minutes and Adam Fry after 30 minutes. They then went one step better and opened the scoring after 36 minutes when Trevor Benjamin was put clean through and he squared the ball for Justin Richards to tap home for a 1-0 lead to our hosts. Isaiah Osbourne then set up Lee Steele for a header which went just over in the 39th minute in our best chance of the half. A poor second half by both sides gave me little to enthuse about, but we nearly forced extra-time when Brian Saah fired at goal from close range following a corner, only to see Peterborough keeper Luke McShane make a brave point-blank save. Donny Barnard’s performance at centre-half has probably earned him the place of the injured John Mackie for the next league match.

retired_seyyya

20.10.06
Initial contract negotiations with John Mackie have stumbled over personal terms. At the moment there is a large gap between what I am prepared to offer Mackie and what he believes his services are worth.

***

21.10.06
Leyton Orient (1) Tranmere (1)
I feel that the team may have eased off after our good start to the season as we have only registered one win in our last four games in all competitions. Our start to this match wasn’t good either as Paul McLaren deceived Clayton Fortune after 12 minutes and chipped over a far post cross which Calvin Zola headed past Glyn Garner to put Tranmere 1-0 in front. Thankfully the goal woke the team from their lethargy and a beautiful flowing move saw Shane Tudor cross for Jabo Ibehre who nodded the ball down for Craig Easton to sweep home the equaliser after 24 minutes. Easton continued to threaten with his forward runs as the game carried on, which was just as well as Gary Alexander and Paul Connor were being well marked up front. The second half was bereft of decent chances as both sides failed to come to terms with a strong swirling breeze. Tranmere came closest to breaking the 1-1 deadlock when Gareth Taylor’s 61st minute header grazed our crossbar. Late on there was a serious injury for our right-back Adam Chambers that saw him carried from the park and replaced by Brian Saah. The 1-1 draw was probably a fair reflection of the game and it enabled us to hold onto third place on the League One table.

retired_seyyya

22.10.06
A scan had revealed that Adam Chambers has a badly torn hamstring and he will be out for the next two months after picking up the injury in yesterday’s 1-1 home draw with Tranmere.

***

23.10.06
The opening round of the FA Cup will soon be upon us. The draw for the First Round proper was made today and we have been pitted against Grays Athletic from the Conference National.

***

28.10.06
Bristol City (0) Leyton Orient (1)
Our discouraging display of form continued with this visit to Bristol City, although amazingly we actually managed to come out of the match with all three points. The home side dominated the possession throughout the match, but poor final passes and woeful finishing denied them the opportunity to score the goal that their build-up play deserved. After soaking up the opposition’s pressure for almost the entire first half, we broke through spot on the 45 minute mark when Shane Tudor worked his way down the right wing and sent over a near post cross which Paul Connor glanced past the Bristol City keeper to put us 1-0 up. In the second half the story of the opening period was repeated as our hosts butchered chance after chance to force an equaliser. Our keeper Glyn Garner was called into serious action on only one occasion and that was in the 73rd minute when Donny Barnard miscued a headed back-pass and Garner needed to fling himself to his right to palm it around the post for a corner. Although our team-play was not effective, I can at least be thankful that we picked up the win and maintained our place as the third-placed team on the League One table.

retired_seyyya

31.10.06
It seem that an injury jinx is afflicting our strikers as Paul Connor became the latest to suffer a problem when he picked up a rib injury and he will miss the next two weeks as a result.

***

4.11.06
Leyton Orient (0) Grays (0) FA Cup First Round
The weather wiped out any chance of some decent football being played in this FA Cup First Round tie as the skies opened up and a downpour flooded the pitch, making accurate passing almost impossible. With water laying everywhere both teams resorted to hoofing the ball forward and hoping for a lucky break. Needless to say, this ruined the chances of both teams. For Leyton Orient, ball-players like Craig Easton and Jabo Ibehre were reduced to ‘lump it and hope for the best’ which bought them back to the rest of the field. The defenders of both sides were on top as the ball spent a lot of time in the air where they could use their superior heading skills to their advantage. Our best chance fell to Gary Alexander after 58 minutes, but after Craig Easton had got clear and supplied a square pass, the ball stuck in a puddle just as Alexander was about to whack it into an unguarded net. The resulting miscued shot then fortunately ended up in the arms of the grateful Grays keeper. The final 0-0 draw means that we will have to visit Grays for a replay next week.

retired_seyyya

11.11.06
Grays (0) [4] Leyton Orient (0) [3] FA Cup First Round Replay
One would have thought that things could only have improved on the first meeting when we met Grays for the replay of our FA Cup First Round tie. Instead the crowd were subjected to another abysmal performance from both teams. This time it wasn’t the weather, but the ultra-defensive tactics of Grays that were to blame. A couple of long range shots were never going to trouble Danny Knowles in the Grays net in the first half, but we went closer after 58 minutes when Gary Alexander headed against the crossbar. Eventually the ninety minutes ended and extra-time ensued. Craig Easton again rattled the Grays woodwork – this time smacking a shot against the post from twenty yards range. Eventually Grays got what they seemed to be looking for when the match went to a penalty shootout. We went first and Hogan Ephraim slammed his kick against the crossbar. Aaron McLean then put Grays 1-0 up before Matt Lockwood scored. Glyn Garner then kept it at 1-1 by saving John Turner’s effort, but we didn’t capitalise when John Mackie shot wide. Stuart Thurgood then put Grays in front, Justin Miller followed up to equalise for Leyton Orient and Ashley Nicholls scored for Grays to lead 3-2. Gary Alexander kept his nerve to make it 3-3, but Glenn Poole calmly despatched the final spot-kick to win the shootout 4-3 for the Conference National side.

retired_seyyya

15.11.06
Joe Keith was the latest player to show his unease at not being in the starting eleven as he requested a transfer today. Keith has not been able to displace Matt Lockwood from the left-back position, but I turned down his request for a transfer at this busy stage of the season.

***

18.11.06
Leyton Orient (2) Carlisle (0)
A decent performance was needed to erase the embarrassment of our FA Cup defeat by Grays last week, but early on it appeared as if we were going to continue in the same vein. Derek Holmes gave us a wake-up call after 17 minutes when he hit the crossbar from twenty yards with a chipped effort that had Glyn Garner simply watching it and praying for the woodwork to save him. It wasn’t until the 31st minute that we managed a shot on target and that was Matt Lockwood’s stunning free-kick which swerved into the top corner of the Carlisle net to put us 1-0 in front. Despite taking the lead we were not controlling the match and that was hammered home when Glenn Murray hit the post after 53 minutes as Carlisle threatened an equaliser. However after that moment, our play improved and Craig Easton set up Jabo Ibehre to play a one-two with Gary Alexander after 64 minutes which resulted in Ibehre slotting the ball home to make it 2-0. Brian Saah then came on in the midfield for a tiring Justin Miller and proceeded to single-handedly deny Carlisle any decent possession whilst setting up most of our attacks in a sublime twenty-five minute cameo. There was a loud ovation from the fans at the end of our 2-0 victory as we exorcised the demons of our FA Cup defeat.

retired_seyyya

22.11.06
Just as Donny Barnard had made the right-back position his own he breaks down in training and will miss the next two months with a pulled hamstring. Adam Tann will now get the chance to play regularly and this may encourage him to withdraw his continuing requests for a transfer.

***

25.11.06
Swansea (2) Leyton Orient (2)
A dominant first half display had us on top of Swansea in all areas except on the scoreboard. The home team’s keeper Willy Gueret denied us on several occasions with smart saves whilst our number one Glyn Garner was virtually a spectator in the opening forty-five minutes. To make matters worse, Leon Knight produced a great dribbling run after 44 minutes to rifle a shot past Garner and put Swansea 1-0 in front. Our pressure finally paid off after 55 minutes when Hogan Ephraim headed Matt Lockwood’s free-kick past Gueret to make it 1-1. In the next few minutes we should have blown Swansea away as Gueret made a phenomenal save from Gary Alexander’s header after 58 minutes and John Mackie then thumped a volley against the crossbar from the resulting corner a minute later. Again we were made to pay for our profligacy when Swansea forced a corner after 63 minutes and from a partial clearance Leon Britton drove the ball through a crowd of players to make it 2-1 to the home team. Thankfully the response was almost instantaneous as Matt Lockwood sent a trademark free-kick arrowing through the Swansea defensive wall to make it 2-2 after 65 minutes. Both sides pushed hard for the winner as time ran out and I thought we’d got it when Adam Tann’s overlapping run down the right wing after 88 minutes resulted in a cross which Michael Simpson bundled home at the near post. However the referee decided that Simpson had fouled Gueret as he lunged for the ball and ruled the goal out for a foul. In the end the 2-2 draw probably flattered Swansea as we could have beaten them by three clear goals.