Art of the deal: How Leyton Orient can buy and sell its way to the top

[This piece first ran in Orientear issue 293 and has been lightly updated and expanded with a Q&A with Leyton Orient Chief Operations Officer Steve Tait] Leyton Orient sold Hector Kyprianou to Petersborough United in the summer of 2022 for a reported transfer fee of more than £400,000. Seen by many at the time as …

Leyton Orient building for the future, but the present is now

After a brilliant unbeaten January and a largely satisfying February, the wheels have come off a bit for Leyton Orient. We enter the ides of March on the heels of three straight goalless games for the O's, including Tuesday night's turgid performance against Port Vale, with offence harder to find than Kate Middleton's whereabouts. And …

The transfer window that could’ve been, and the playoff race we’re in

I was sat at my laptop last week, trying to decide what to blog about -- Nigel Travis' livestreamed Q&A from Monday, the methodical win against Blackpool on Tuesday -- when the news broke on Wednesday that Leyton Orient had signed defender Jack Simpson, which honestly threw me for a loop. As the lads on …

Frustrations ooze out the O’s molehill on the way up the League One mountain

As romance mystery thrillers go, The Challenge Culture: Why the Most Successful Organisations Run on Pushback by Nigel Travis suffers from a rather stodgy plot and a protagonist who seems more interested in running companies than doing anything interesting, like killing his enemies, solving lurid crimes or leading on a bevy of love interests. But …

Scouting for footballers: An interview with Leyton Orient’s recruitment team

We are in the depths of the January transfer window, but action has been relatively slow across the EFL and Leyton Orient are yet to announce any signings. Manager Richie Wellens has spoken of his desire to add a winger and perhaps a striker to fortify the attack, while rumours are swirling around the future …

Leyton Orient at the halfway mark: What do we have?

Omar Beckles' goal in the 80th minute against Charlton on Boxing Day wasn't exactly a thunder strike. But it was most definitely a pressure release valve for the Leyton Orient faithful. Weeks of scuffling and scraping, with six losses since early November, including an inexplicable FA Cup elimination to fifth-tier Chesterfield, along with two draws …

Out of form, out of position: Richie Wellens’ tactics undermined by injuries and youth

Just 17 shopping days left until Christmas, and well, Leyton Orient's squad will have to find a new gift for the club board, after chucking away what on paper should have been an easy FA Cup win at the weekend over National League side Chesterfield and a potentially nice payday at Watford in the third …

Into the fire for Leyton Orient’s January newcomers

The company I work for has recently moved out of Canary Wharf for the City, and while I don't particularly pine for the soulless corporate environs of our former location, there is one restaurant kiosk I do miss called Grill'd. Confusingly, for an establishment with its name, it does not serve burgers nor steaks nor …

Trials and tribulations for Leyton Orient through a terrible run

They say, Leyton Orient supporters, that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. You are no doubt wallowing in the pain of seeing the League Two title chase slip away, weeping in despair after the O's were thoroughly beaten down by Stevenage, and questioning your life choices that led you to follow this …

Leyton Orient look inward as January transfer window approaches

We are well into the 12 days of Christmas, and no more time for minced pies and mulled wine, as Leyton Orient scuffed to a chippy 0-0 draw against title challengers Stevenage on Tuesday and face a run of more tough matches ahead. The O's will be back in action on Friday at Newport County, …