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Leyton Orient, newly promoted to League One, has officially announced the appointment of the former American collegiate coach M.D. Faramir as their manager for the 2006/07 season. Faramir had widely stated his desire to coach in England and has been lucky enough to get his chance at Leyton Orient, the team that he supported as a youth back in the United States.
Faramir will have a difficult task in the season ahead as the finances are stretched at the Leyton Stadium despite the club’s recent promotion. Club officials have indicated that they will be pleased to see Faramir guide the team to a finishing position just above the relegation zone and therefore consolidate Leyton Orient’s place in League One.
12.7.06
Despite the board’s suggestions that the club will have a struggle on their hands to avoid relegation this season, I see a far more positive outcome for Leyton Orient. The players that guided the club to promotion from League Two last season have had the benefit of a winning season together and their teamwork and comradeship should more than ensure that the team stays in League One this season. I’ll be looking to the nucleus of last year’s squad to again perform to that standard that they did in the 2005/06 season and if they do, then I foresee little to trouble us in terms of relegation.
17.7.06
Scouring the top leagues for possible loan signings, I home in on several youngsters that I feel have the potential to be of value to us if they are prepared to drop down a division or two in return for first-team football. Aston Villa’s 18yo central midfielder Isaiah Osbourne is the first player that I approach to take on loan for the season ahead and his manager Martin O’Neil agrees to let him join us at the Leyton Stadium for the upcoming campaign.
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20.7.06
After a couple of failed attempts to lure a young striker on loan to the club, I finally convince West Ham’s Alan Curbishley to loan us 18yo striker Hogan Ephraim until May 2007.
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This is an unashamed tribute to Faramir and his favourite team Leyton Orient and it is presented using the same layout that is found in many of Faramir’s stories. As for the content, I hope that it in some small way measures up to that of the man himself – N.P.
24.7.06
With training for the season ahead now in fill swing and our first friendly against Torquay just two days away, the first serious injury of the season occurred when new loan signing Isaiah Osbourne broke his collar-bone in a freak collision with an advertising hoarding. Initial indications are that Osbourne will miss the first three months of the season.
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25.7.06
After much consideration I have decided to employ a 4-1-2-1-2 formation to keep things narrow and play through the middle of the park. Tactically we will be playing a direct style of play as I feel that this suits the general standard of League One more so than a short ball game. The following players will line up in the starting eleven for my first match in charge of Leyton Orient.
GK - Glyn Garner
DR - Adam Tann
DC - John Mackie
DC - Justin Miller
DL - Matt Lockwood
DMC - Donny Barnard
MC - Craig Easton
MC - Michael Simpson
AMC - Jabo Ibehre
SC - Hogan Ephraim
SC - Gary Alexander
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26.7.06 Leyton Orient (0) Torquay (1)
This was my first view of the players in action in a competitive match rather than in training and it showed me a few points that I will need to address. A promising start was undone when Donny Barnard picked a straight red card for a lunging tackle on his opponent after 25 minutes. That forced me to re-jig the midfield and took away the attacking edge that I had been hoping to push. Right on half time a corner to Torquay allowed their defender Matthew Hockley to outjump our defence and head them 1-0 in front. The second half saw good performances in the defence and midfield, but we lacked the killer touch up front. Torquay did not look like adding to their one-goal lead, but we were unable to threaten them enough to seriously warrant an equaliser. Last season’s top scorer Gary Alexander looked rusty and new midfield signing Craig Easton found it hard to get into the match, but hopefully these two key players will be better for the run.
29.7.06 Nuneaton (0) Leyton Orient (5)
It was an extremely hot day with the temperature pushing 30° as we visited non-league Nuneaton for our second friendly. I’d made four changes to the starting line-up as I looked for an improvement on our first match. Matt Lockwood’s 18th minute corner was headed home by Justin Miller to give us the lead and from that moment we never looked back. Craig Easton was much more involved today and his cross after 33 minutes was nodded down by Lee Steele for Jabo Ibehre to volley us into a 2-0 lead. Nuneaton’s Joel Senior had the ball in the net after 41 minutes, but it was correctly ruled out for offside. A series of substitutions midway through the second half freshened up the team and set us up for a storming finish. Gary Alexander held off his marker well before finding Craig Easton who spun past a defender before slamming home a low shot for 3-0 after 66 minutes. Substitute striker Efe Echanomi set up fellow sub Joe Keith for a rasping twenty-yard effort that made it 4-0 after 83 minutes before Echanomi himself ran onto goalkeeper Glyn Garner’s long clearance and rounded the Nuneaton keeper to make in 5-0 in the 90th minute. All in all, a much better performance and one that gives both myself and the team increased confidence for the season ahead.
2.8.06 Leyton Orient (2) Rochdale (1)
A fantastic start for us as Craig Easton’s sweeping pass to the right wing after only 2 minutes finds Adam Chambers charging forward from right-back and he dribbles thirty yards before slamming a low shot under the keeper to put us 1-0 in front. We then controlled the remainder of the first half, but surrendered an equaliser when Lee Crooks beat our defensive wall and keeper Glyn Garner with a fine 25-yard free-kick to make it 1-1 for Rochdale after 29 minutes. Shane Tudor missed a glorious chance to take us into the break with the lead when he hit the crossbar from close range following good work by Matt Lockwood. The second half was more evenly contested, but the game broke down as both sides made a bunch of substitutions around the hour mark. In the 70th minute Jabo Ibehre did well to beat two players on the right-hand side of the penalty area and he pulled the ball back for substitute Efe Echanomi to crash it home for a 2-1 lead to Leyton Orient. With John Mackie and Clayton Fortune performing solidly in the centre of defence, we closed down the Rochdale attack in the final twenty minutes of the match and went on to register a 2-1 win in our last friendly of the season.
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3.8.06
The Football League advised us that we have been drawn away to Cardiff in the First Round of the League Cup First Round to be played later in the month.
I do feel honored- and hope you do well with Orient. It's strange, but I haven't actually done an Orient story since "The Bet"- I guess I am just enjoying following them more than playing them of late
Faramir – thanks for your best wishes. I hope that I can do both you and your team proud.
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4.8.06
The sixteen-man squad has been selected for the first league match of my Leyton Orient career as we take on Bournemouth at the Leyton Stadium tomorrow. Adam Chambers has earned himself a spot at right-back after his efforts in the last match whilst Efe Echanomi’s goalscoring exploits as a substitute get him a starting berth. Justin Miller will captain the team.
GK - Glyn Garner
DR - Adam Chambers
DC - John Mackie
DC - Clayton Fortune
DL - Matt Lockwood
DMC - Justin Miller
MC - Shane Tudor
MC - Craig Easton
AMC - Jabo Ibehre
SC - Efe Echanomi
SC - Gary Alexander
sub - Lee Steele
sub - Daryl McMahon
sub - Michael Simpson
sub - Donny Barnard
sub - Glenn Morris
5.8.06 Leyton Orient (5) Bournemouth (0)
A hesitant start by both teams was nearly broken when Gary Alexander hit the post after 8 minutes. However it wasn’t long before the first goal came and thankfully it was Leyton Orient who scored it. A poor clearance fell to Jabo Ibehre on the edge of the penalty area and he smartly fired it back first time to see it squirm under the body of the keeper and give us a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Our chances of picking up three points on the opening day of the season greatly improved when Bournemouth’s captain Eddie Howe was sent off after 24 minutes for a professional foul on the rampaging Gary Alexander. From the resulting free-kick by Matt Lockwood, Alexander headed us into a 2-0 lead. Alexander was in a threatening mood and he hit the woodwork for the second time when his 32nd minute volley crashed against the upright. Craig Easton had been prominent in the first half and he took control of the midfield in the second period. After 59 minutes Easton’s miscued shot was expertly turned home by Shane Tudor for 3-0 and then Easton fed Alexander who fired in from close range for 4-0 after 65 minutes. The icing on the cake came in the 74th minute when substitute Lee Steele drove a low ball across the six yard box and Gary Alexander slid in to force it home for his hat-trick and 5-0 final scoreline in our favour. Needless to say, we found ourselves at the top of the table after that result.
marcftm - Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.
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6.8.06
In the Community Shield match at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium it was Chelsea who beat Liverpool 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
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8.8.06 Rotherham (0) Leyton Orient (1)
After our impressive first-up 5-0 win against Bournemouth, it was important to keep the players feet firmly on the ground. Rotherham made sure that over-confidence wasn’t an issue as they gave us a tough match today. Craig Easton is already showing that he was a shrewd purchase by the previous manager as his skill in the centre of the midfield set up the opening goal after 16 minutes. Easton expertly controlled a chest-high pass before dinking the ball through for Jabo Ibehre to run on and send a left-foot volley high into the Rotherham net for a 1-0 lead. After that moment we found ourselves locked into a midfield struggle that neither team could dominate. Just before half-time Glyn Garner was required to make a fine save as he turned a miscued header from John Mackie over the crossbar. The second half mirrored the first as both teams dominated in defence and fought it out in the centre of the park. Substitute Michael Simpson, on for Shane Tudor midway through the half, nearly doubled our lead after 74 minutes when his long range lob fell down onto the top of the Rotherham crossbar with the keeper well beaten. In the end we prevailed 1-0 to maintain our 100% record and remain in first place on the table.
12.8.06 Leyton Orient (2) Millwall (2)
There was a bitter sweetness about our opening goal after 5 minutes. Adam Chambers fell awkwardly after crossing the ball following a surging run, but Gary Alexander continued on with the play to nod the ball down for Justin Miller to lash it home from close range for 1-0. As the players celebrated the goal, Chambers was carried from the field with a knee injury. Donny Barnard took the vacated right-back role, but after 10 minutes he was beaten by Richard Shaw who cut inside and fired Millwall level at 1-1. Straight from the restart Efe Echanomi was fouled and Matt Lockwood curled home a fine free-kick to put us back in front at 2-1. After the frantic early start the game settled into a good tussle, but we retained the lead at the break. Both Gary Alexander and Jabo Ibehre missed good chances to extend our lead in the second half, but Glyn Garner was also excellent in stopping Shaw’s goalbound header midway through the half. As injury-time got underway it seemed as though we would register our third consecutive win, but in the 93rd minute Poul Hubertz found Derek McInnes with a neat lay-off and the Scotsman drilled a low shot under Garner to force a 2-2 draw.
13.8.06
Adam Chambers will miss one month with strained knee ligaments after yesterday’s match against Millwall.
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19.8.06 Port Vale (2) Leyton Orient (3)
This was an early season top-of-the-table clash as second-placed Port Vale hosted first-placed Leyton Orient. I’d barely taken my seat in the dugout before Paul Harsley fired our opponents into a 2nd minute lead with a belting long-range goal. Things only got worse two minutes later when Michael Walsh dived onto a cross and headed home for a 2-0 lead to Port Vale after only 4 minutes. We needed a quick response to get back into the game and Jabo Ibehre supplied it as he sidefooted home from close range after 9 minutes following great lead-up work by Craig Easton. Port Vale sat back after that and they managed to stifle our attacking so that they continued to hold the lead at the break. However it only took seven minutes of the second half for us to equalise as Shane Tudor carved up the right side of Port Vale’s defence after 52 minutes before laying the ball off for Matt Lockwood to hammer a rising shot into the top corner from twenty yards to make it 2-2. The momentum had turned and we set about pressurising the home side’s defence. It took until the 88th minute to get a result though and it was a good old-fashioned long ball from John Mackie that released Craig Easton as the midfielder strode forward before dinking the ball over the advancing Port Vale keeper to win the game 3-2 for us.
Leyton Orient – The Long Road Ahead 
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