It’s incredible what a difference a year makes.
This time last year O’s fans faced the stark reality of a High Court hearing that could have seen the club liquidated, compounding the trauma of relegation from the Football League after their 112-year long stay. There was a genuine risk that Leyton Orient as we know it would cease to exist.
It’s a relative luxury that a year on, our worst bit of news is that former loanee Ebou Adams has elected to sign a deal with National League rivals Ebbsfleet. That certainly stings, but it’s not quite an existential threat!
After an inconsistent, and at times turbulent, first season in non-league football, Orient finished slap bang in the middle of the table, 13 points off the play offs and 32 behind National League Champions Macclesfield Town.
If Orient are going to be in the mix come the end of next season then they’re going to need much greater consistency and focus than in the season just gone. Fortunately, there’s a lot to suggest that the O’s are set for a much better showing in 2018/19.
We all know the difficulties that Orient faced in pre-season last year. The chaotic situation created by the previous regime meant that there was always an element of playing catch up. No other team had to rebuild the way Orient did. 13 new players were brought in, a new coach. The club didn’t even have a functioning bank account when the new owners took over. Steve Davis lamented not having enough time to prepare. Before the season started away to Sutton he felt the team were still a few weeks less prepared than they should have been.
We have yet to see how the club will perform in the transfer market, but barring the loss of any senior players and with the expectation that Martin Ling and Justin Edinburgh will add to the squad, this coming season Orient are on a much better footing. The starting eleven is well established, Edinburgh knows in his mind which players are the best in their position and the players know what the manager expects from them. Contrast this with the first game of last season when not a single player had the same shirt number as the season before.
The squad is stronger too. The additions of Sam Ling and Marvin Ekpiteta, as well as the development of Dan Happe, mean we have strength in depth and competition for places in defence. Macauley Bonne is one of the best strikers in the league. Jobi Mcanuff is a highly intelligent footballer and still looks like he could play on for years. The addition of a centre midfielder and a new strike partner for Bonne could be all that’s needed to complete preparations for our promotion push.
The greater stability at the club, and better degree of preparation going into the 2018/19 season means it is reasonable to expect that Orient can start strongly and maintain a good run of form. A full pre season programme of training and friendlies should reduce the likelihood of injuries in the early part of the season, a key contributor to the 15 game winless run the O’s went on from September to December last season.
Of course, it wasn’t just injuries that caused that lamentable run. The failure to adapt tactically and inspire the squad cost Steve Davis his job. Since coming in, one of the most important things Justin Edinburgh has done is instill organisation and discipline. He has made Orient a tough side to beat. In Edinburgh’s 24 matches, Orient conceded less than half as many goals (17) than they had in the 22 games before (39). The 7 league games Edinburgh lost were all by a single goal margin.
Continuing that record is vital if we’re to challenge for promotion next season, especially at home. The truth is, if the O’s are going to win promotion back to the Football League then Brisbane Road is going to have to become a fortress. On their way to winning the title, Macclesfield lost just three home games last season, Lincoln only two the season before. We need the same kind of record. Orient lost 9 and won 8 at Brisbane Road in the League in 2017/18 – they won just as many on the road. Of course every result matters, but being hard to beat and building a strong foundation at home is essential for a promotion push in this highly competitive league.
As I said before, it isn’t certain until we’re safely past the transfer deadline with all our players nicely tucked up in E10. But all being well on that front the O’s have a clear aim: to shoot for the moon of promotion, and if they miss land amongst the stars of the playoffs. To do that means completing a strong and professional pre-season, readying them for the long campaign beginning in August. It means keeping organised and disciplined and grinding out results, being hard to beat and keeping clean sheets at Brisbane Road. Lastly, it means staying focussed and cutting out those silly mistakes that have cost us so many goals this season, we can’t afford to drop points against the teams below us.
As fortune would have it, the 2016/17 season that saw Orient relegated finished with Macclesfield slap bang in the middle of the National League, 14 points off the play offs and 32 behind winners Lincoln City. A year on, they’re back in the Football League. Funny the difference a year makes.