This week, Everything Orient got the chance to interview one of Leyton Orient’s standout players in recent times, as Gambian midfielder, Ebou Adams, reveals all about his time with the O’s so far.
In a fairly miserable season for Orient fans, we haven’t had much to shout about. However, this all changed in January, as a young midfielder arrived on-loan from Norwich City and has left fans on the edge of their seats ever since.
Joining the club on the 9th of January this year, the battling midfielder has certainly started to become a fan favourite at Brisbane Road. Furthermore, Adams went onto share how grateful he is of the fans since his arrival in E10.
“Ever since I played my first game at the ground, the fans have welcomed me and because of them I’m actually really enjoying my football at the moment.”.
This isn’t the first time that Adams has left his parent club in search of first team football, which demonstrates his eagerness to play and develop as a footballer. Prior to his move to Orient, Ebou was loaned out to Shrewsbury at the beginning of the season, who currently play in League One.
The Orient midfielder looks back on his time with the Shrews with great fondness but the only drawback being that he didn’t feature as much as he would have liked. Despite this, he recognised that it’s difficult to break into a side that are performing so well, as they currently sit top of their division.
Nonetheless, Adams came across as an optimistic character and chooses only to reflect upon the positives.
“Now I’m here (Leyton Orient), it’s all about game time. Once you start playing you start to enjoy yourself and you start to do things you wouldn’t normally do,” – with his fabulous strike against Gateshead certainly proving that.
Furthermore, before making his ‘big break’ at Norwich City, the Gambian international featured for non-league side Dartford. Adams made over 20 appearances for Dartford and his stint with the Kent based side also included a loan spell with Walton Casuals.
“When I was at Dartford, I was a youngster. When I turned 18 the main thing for me was to go out and play men’s football. Lots of players around this age continue to play youth football and it becomes too easy and forget that men’s football is a completely different story,
Luckily for me, I was sent out on-loan to a Ryman Prem side which is a lower league but still men’s football. My advice is to get into men’s football as early as possible and that’s how you develop.” Adams revealed.
Regarding his time with Orient, Adams has certainly hit the ground running and hasn’t looked back since. The midfielder has made a huge contribution since his arrival and has proven that he is the beating heart of the Orient midfield, which the O’s faithful are very thankful for.
Furthermore, he revealed that Orient’s 4-3 victory over Dover was the most memorable moment whilst playing in the red shirt – a game which had everything from end-to-end action to a last-minute winner, many thanks to David Mooney.
In addition to this, Ebou has demonstrated his commitment to the club in recent times, alongside Macaulay Bonne, as they chose to play club football over international and the midfielder went onto reveal why.
“Me and Macca (Macaulay Bonne) were speaking as we were called up on the same day. We said that we were fighting a relegation battle and it’s probably best if we ask our national team if they could let us off and thankfully Gambia did,
The situation we’re in we should never be in regardless. This is a big club and thankfully the decision paid off, with Macca scoring two goals and he maybe could have scored a hat-trick.”.
It would have seemed like a missed opportunity if we didn’t ask Orient’s current star man about his future at the club. Will he stay? Will he go? Well, Adams made sure that he kept his cards very close to his chest but with a grin on his face, he did reveal this:
“I don’t want to give anything away but what I’m going to say is I come here to play football and what I will let you know is that I am enjoying my time here without a shadow of a doubt,” the Gambian international shared.
Whether he’s a Orient player or not next season, when asked about what the aim is for the next campaign, without a single hesitation he replies ‘promotion’. Ebou recognises that this is a big club which shouldn’t be playing in the National League and his ambitions of promotion are matched by the manager’s.
With plenty of rumours floating around whether Adams will remain in east London or not, we truly hope he does. He is a fantastic footballer and an even greater person who Leyton Orient will desperately need if promotion is the aim next season.