Independent Leyton Orient Forum

Last season everyone blamed the squad, this season we have a good squad and depth

essexfootball wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:00 pm Last season everyone blamed the squad, this season we have a good squad and depth

We have a squad filled with quantity rather than quality

Scarlett is so far off it it's untrue - looks slow, unfit, completely off the pace, no first touch, god knows how he's starting

Kabia not much better today either but at least we've seen some quality from him this season

Been saying since end of August, Wellens must go, & until he does, we'll get lower and lower, & be in league 2 next season, which we only avoided last season because Bradford won the last game.
Wellens hasn't got a clue, he's all over the place

Watch him come out, and give crap answers to the soft questions he gets asked, & you'll think you watched a different game to him

Hoover Attack wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 4:55 pm

PT78 wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 4:53 pm Idris Cost us a point.
Been awful this season so far, Wellens dropped him to get a reaction. Maybe drop him for a month because hes been sh*t

WJ1 cost us three points. Let’s drop him first.

Who ?
I'm sorry new on here so not sure what or who you mean. Idris was sh*t today & there is no escaping that
He lost the ball, he wasn,t strong enough to win the ball back . Don"t make excuses for him.

essexfootball wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:00 pm Last season everyone blamed the squad, this season we have a good squad and depth

There's no gaping holes in the squad like last season but they still seem just as unfit compared to other sides

You can rant and bitch all you want but Wellens will not deny his offspring the chance of getting on the.bench for a lower National League North team.

Hoover Attack wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 4:55 pm

PT78 wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 4:53 pm Idris Cost us a point.
Been awful this season so far, Wellens dropped him to get a reaction. Maybe drop him for a month because hes been sh*t

WJ1 cost us three points. Let’s drop him first.

No he didn’t . His dad lost us 3 points because he doesn’t play his best 11 and only has plan A.

gshaw wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:07 pm

essexfootball wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:00 pm Last season everyone blamed the squad, this season we have a good squad and depth

There's no gaping holes in the squad like last season but they still seem just as unfit compared to other sides

Why only blame fitness? Some of the players attitudes don't appear right and some are just lacking in ability and/or experience. Then add in the fact that some of our "better" players aren't performing currently (which may be due to recovery from injuries...) and there is a whole plethora of possible reasons. Finally, add in the common denominator - Richie. It's a combination of all of these reasons but the buck must stop with Richie.

People are mad we've had about 50 players in two years, they can't all be bad players

MrB wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:01 pm

essexfootball wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:00 pm Last season everyone blamed the squad, this season we have a good squad and depth

We have a squad filled with quantity rather than quality

Nonsense. That was true last season, definitely not this season.

This squad is easily good enough for top 10 - even top 5 - and the fact we look so far off the pace is solely down to one man.

We've had Ballard and Kelman to paper over the cracks the last few seasons. There is absolutely no way Scarlett or Kabia will get anywhere near their returns. I do fear for this season, apart from up front we should be doing much better, every other team looks way more organised and direct than us. Kabia is our record-signing FFS.

Is it correct that WJ1 needs a certain number of appearances to get another year, or did I imagine that?

o-no wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:14 pm We've had Ballard and Kelman to paper over the cracks the last few seasons. There is absolutely no way Scarlett or Kabia will get anywhere near their returns.

But we don't need them to if the rest of the team is chipping in with a decent number of goals. I'd be happy if Kabia/Scarlett got 10-15 each and the rest of the team chipped in with 1-5 goals each. The problem is we're not creating anything for anyone.

E10quence wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:13 pm

MrB wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:01 pm

essexfootball wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:00 pm Last season everyone blamed the squad, this season we have a good squad and depth

We have a squad filled with quantity rather than quality

Nonsense. That was true last season, definitely not this season.

This squad is easily good enough for top 10 - even top 5 - and the fact we look so far off the pace is solely down to one man.

In your humble opinion.

o-no wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:14 pm We've had Ballard and Kelman to paper over the cracks the last few seasons. There is absolutely no way Scarlett or Kabia will get anywhere near their returns. I do fear for this season, apart from up front we should be doing much better, every other team looks way more organised and direct than us. Kabia is our record-signing FFS.

Is it correct that WJ1 needs a certain number of appearances to get another year, or did I imagine that?

I have heard this as well.
He signed a two year deal but to get a third year he has to make X amount of appearances.
But surely Ritchie wouldn't risk his own job by playing Charlie knowing he has better & stronger options on the bench.....or would he???

BoniO wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:18 pm

E10quence wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:13 pm

MrB wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:01 pm

We have a squad filled with quantity rather than quality

Nonsense. That was true last season, definitely not this season.

This squad is easily good enough for top 10 - even top 5 - and the fact we look so far off the pace is solely down to one man.

In your humble opinion.

Fourth most valuable squad in League One. Ironically, Burton have fourth lowest.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/league- ... bewerb/GB3

essexfootball wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:13 pm People are mad we've had about 50 players in two years, they can't all be bad players

Of course not. Nobody has suggested that they're all bad but we have some poor/inexperienced players who regularly start games at the moment.

E10quence wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:23 pm

BoniO wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:18 pm

E10quence wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:13 pm

Nonsense. That was true last season, definitely not this season.

This squad is easily good enough for top 10 - even top 5 - and the fact we look so far off the pace is solely down to one man.

In your humble opinion.

Fourth most valuable squad in League One. Ironically, Burton have fourth lowest.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/league- ... bewerb/GB3

Since when has amount spent been linked to a team's quality? Been one or two (or more) teams who've spent big time and still had poor squads.

E10quence wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:23 pm [quote=BoniO post_id=520985 time=<a href="tel:1792858736">1792858736</a> user_id=291]
[quote=E10quence post_id=520978 time=<a href="tel:1792858429">1792858429</a> user_id=1732]
[quote=MrB post_id=520967 time=<a href="tel:1792857718">1792857718</a> user_id=67]


We have a squad filled with quantity rather than quality

Nonsense. That was true last season, definitely not this season.

This squad is easily good enough for top 10 - even top 5 - and the fact we look so far off the pace is solely down to one man.
[/quote]

In your humble opinion.
[/quote]

Fourth most valuable squad in League One. Ironically, Burton have fourth lowest.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/league- ... bewerb/GB3
[/quote]


Look at some of the individual valuations in there, though! Just trying to save you from the inevitable “block of laughy faces” from Tuffers…

E10quence wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:13 pm

MrB wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:01 pm

essexfootball wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:00 pm Last season everyone blamed the squad, this season we have a good squad and depth

We have a squad filled with quantity rather than quality

Nonsense. That was true last season, definitely not this season.

This squad is easily good enough for top 10 - even top 5 - and the fact we look so far off the pace is solely down to one man.

Why is it good enough for top 5? I don’t see any evidence of that.

There are definitely issues in our squad - Hayden is a dud and neither strikers have shown much, albeit they are being let down by how stodgy our attack is - but is it bad enough to be consistently outplayed by teams like Burton, Barnsley (who are second from bottom and played us off the pitch), Wycombe etc?

I love Richie and appreciate everything he's done for the club, but we have looked dreadful for 15 months now. A few ground out home wins have papered over some serious cracks.

When was the last time we played a decent 90 mins of football?
It seems a very long time
Performances have been lacklustre
The odd decent win, but it’s been thin pickings for a long time

If the highlights show that CW is at fault for both goals alongside a meh performance then God love him but at long last it’s Richie out for me.

Primarily because he is clearly putting his sons chances of having a professional career ahead of or alongside the club in a bleak patch.

Which as a father I don’t blame him for, I get it.

BozO wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:53 pm If the highlights show that CW is at fault for both goals alongside a meh performance then God love him but at long last it’s Richie out for me.

Primarily because he is clearly putting his sons chances of having a professional career ahead of or alongside the club in a bleak patch.

Which as a father I don’t blame him for, I get it.

Ultimately it’s not doing anyone any favours at all

BoniO wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:25 pm

E10quence wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:23 pm

BoniO wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 5:18 pm

In your humble opinion.

Fourth most valuable squad in League One. Ironically, Burton have fourth lowest.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/league- ... bewerb/GB3

Since when has amount spent been linked to a team's quality? Been one or two (or more) teams who've spent big time and still had poor squads.

Are you joking?

Financial resources/squad value are consistently among the strongest determinants of league position in professional football.

Look at Birmingham - they had the most valuable squad in L1 by some distance, and walked the league. Wrexham same.

There are always exceptions to the rule, and teams who massively underperform/overperform vs budget, but there are few clearer correlations in football.