In our new series at Everything Orient, we take a look at ex-Orient players and see where their careers have taken them since their departure from Brisbane Road.
Say the name Matt Lockwood to any Leyton Orient fan, and it is bound to put a smile on their face.
Lockwood, A left back known for his number of remarkable goal contributions, established himself as a fans favourite at Brisbane Road.
Lockwood’s career began as a youth product of Southend United’s academy in 1993, where a two-year spell without making a first team appearance, saw him sign for QPR in 1995. A short spell in London and a two-year, 60+ appearance term with Bristol Rovers, saw him make the move to E10.
Lockwood arrived at Orient on a free-transfer in 1998, however, quickly established himself as an integral part of the first team. Orient reached the play-offs in 1999, which saw Matt Lockwood score the decisive penalty in the semi-final to take the O’s to Wembley. A sea of 36,985 Orient fans, wearing Croatian styled red and white shirts witnessed Orient narrowly miss out to Scunthorpe in a 1-0 defeat.
Lockwood’s impressive performances in the following years, earned him a place in both the 1999-00 and 2000-01 PFA team of the year awards. The latter of those awards, awarded after a season which ended in more play off disappointment. A semi-final goal for Lockwood earned Orient a place at the Millennium Stadium where Blackpool, and another play off final defeat awaited.
Lockwood continued to impress in the following seasons. Interest from clubs in both the Premier League and the Championship, come calling for a player who had established himself as a fans favourite at Brisbane Road.
However, a new contract and a key figure in the Orient team that won promotion to League 1 in 2006, saw Lockwood named as the 47th best player outside of the Premier League in a study conducted by FourFourTwo magazine.
Matt Lockwood left Leyton Orient at the end of the 2006-07 season. Another remarkable season for the E10 Roberto Carlos, saw him finish as the clubs second leading goal scorer with 11 goals, that included a famous second half hat-trick against Gillingham.
At the time Lockwood left Orient, he had scored a remarkable 56 goals in just over 370 appearances. Short spells with Forest and Colchester followed, but injury cut playing time short and after loan moves to Barnet and Dagenham, Lockwood registered over 100 appearances playing for Dundee as a player/assistant manager.
Lockwood retired from football in 2014, and now lives in Edinburgh where he has his own football academies and also appears as a commentator for BBC London.
Lockwood is in my eyes A Orient legend, and one of the greatest testaments to the man is that he makes it into nearly all Orient all time 11's.
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