Independent Leyton Orient Forum

Disoriented wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:00 pm Not bad. Widdowson a 6 is too generous though.

dOh Nut wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 12:56 pm Never done ratings before and I dare say after this I won’t again.

In the context of what at times was a scrappy game and free flowing football was generally absent from both teams, the Orient performance was a good one for an away team, struggling in the league and leaking goals. I thought we did well to snuff out their threat most of the time, though not pretty to watch, was effective, clean sheet is proof.



Brill. Routine stuff, one decent save, catching OK. distribution not great. Middle of the Road 6
Ling. N/A
Ekpiteta. Did well given the circumstances. Offered more than Ling usually does. 7
Happe. Did well, nothing spectacular but solid and worked well with Coulson to subdue their attack 7
Coulson. Bossed his attacker most of the time. Improvement 7.
Widdowson. Had a decent game, defended well but didn’t offer much going forward. 6
Gorman. Worked hard but for me never offered any creativity. Not helped by a poor tackle that could have seem him go 5
Clay. Hugged and puffed, plenty of effort. No creativity. But together with Gorman did enough to nullify their midfield 5
Wright. Plenty of energy, decent at times but nothing special. 6
Brophy. Had a decent game in my opinion, and scored a decent goal. 7
Harold. I though he had a good game, made himself a nuisance and great pass for the goal. 7
Wilkinson. Seems to be getting better by the game. Puts himself about but missed a decent opportunity 7


Scores reflect a performance that was full of effort, plenty of fight, but lacking in quality for the most part. But it was a tactic that got us three points and that is all that mattered. If that was Ross’s plan, it worked. An ugly win.

Sid Bishop wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:08 pm

dOh Nut wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 12:56 pm Never done ratings before and I dare say after this I won’t again.

In the context of what at times was a scrappy game and free flowing football was generally absent from both teams, the Orient performance was a good one for an away team, struggling in the league and leaking goals. I thought we did well to snuff out their threat most of the time, though not pretty to watch, was effective, clean sheet is proof.



Brill. Routine stuff, one decent save, catching OK. distribution not great. Middle of the Road 6
Ling. N/A
Ekpiteta. Did well given the circumstances. Offered more than Ling usually does. 7
Happe. Did well, nothing spectacular but solid and worked well with Coulson to subdue their attack 7
Coulson. Bossed his attacker most of the time. Improvement 7.
Widdowson. Had a decent game, defended well but didn’t offer much going forward. 6
Gorman. Worked hard but for me never offered any creativity. Not helped by a poor tackle that could have seem him go 5
Clay. Hugged and puffed, plenty of effort. No creativity. But together with Gorman did enough to nullify their midfield 5
Wright. Plenty of energy, decent at times but nothing special. 6
Brophy. Had a decent game in my opinion, and scored a decent goal. 7
Harold. I though he had a good game, made himself a nuisance and great pass for the goal. 7
Wilkinson. Seems to be getting better by the game. Puts himself about but missed a decent opportunity 7


Scores reflect a performance that was full of effort, plenty of fight, but lacking in quality for the most part. But it was a tactic that got us three points and that is all that mattered. If that was Ross’s plan, it worked. An ugly win.

Thanks for the ratings as you saw it.
King Harrold, or as they say on the Orient twitter ''The Ginger Pele'' !! played well by all accounts, strange indeed that Ross kept putting Alabi on as a sub in preference to Matt earlier in the season ? Quote you... ''Ekpiteta. Did well given the circumstances. Offered more than Ling usually does. 7'' Someone on this forum, cannot recall who, made the suggestion of playing Marvin at right back, as I recall that the idea did not go down that well. So ok, he did a good job yesterday, so will be interesting if Coulson and Happe continue as the central defence pairing as to if Marvin will keep the right back slot when Ling fit again ? Looking at the YouTube highlights, I thought our goal was a cracker, great pass by Matt to James Brophy who showed great pace as he scored with a very well taken goal, left wing is his best position.

dOh Nut wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:21 pm

Sid Bishop wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:08 pm

dOh Nut wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 12:56 pm Never done ratings before and I dare say after this I won’t again.

In the context of what at times was a scrappy game and free flowing football was generally absent from both teams, the Orient performance was a good one for an away team, struggling in the league and leaking goals. I thought we did well to snuff out their threat most of the time, though not pretty to watch, was effective, clean sheet is proof.



Brill. Routine stuff, one decent save, catching OK. distribution not great. Middle of the Road 6
Ling. N/A
Ekpiteta. Did well given the circumstances. Offered more than Ling usually does. 7
Happe. Did well, nothing spectacular but solid and worked well with Coulson to subdue their attack 7
Coulson. Bossed his attacker most of the time. Improvement 7.
Widdowson. Had a decent game, defended well but didn’t offer much going forward. 6
Gorman. Worked hard but for me never offered any creativity. Not helped by a poor tackle that could have seem him go 5
Clay. Hugged and puffed, plenty of effort. No creativity. But together with Gorman did enough to nullify their midfield 5
Wright. Plenty of energy, decent at times but nothing special. 6
Brophy. Had a decent game in my opinion, and scored a decent goal. 7
Harold. I though he had a good game, made himself a nuisance and great pass for the goal. 7
Wilkinson. Seems to be getting better by the game. Puts himself about but missed a decent opportunity 7


Scores reflect a performance that was full of effort, plenty of fight, but lacking in quality for the most part. But it was a tactic that got us three points and that is all that mattered. If that was Ross’s plan, it worked. An ugly win.

Thanks for the ratings as you saw it.
King Harrold, or as they say on the Orient twitter ''The Ginger Pele'' !! played well by all accounts, strange indeed that Ross kept putting Alabi on as a sub in preference to Matt earlier in the season ? Quote you... ''Ekpiteta. Did well given the circumstances. Offered more than Ling usually does. 7'' Someone on this forum, cannot recall who, made the suggestion of playing Marvin at right back, as I recall that the idea did not go down that well. So ok, he did a good job yesterday, so will be interesting if Coulson and Happe continue as the central defence pairing as to if Marvin will keep the right back slot when Ling fit again ? Looking at the YouTube highlights, I thought our goal was a cracker, great pass by Matt to James Brophy who showed great pace as he scored with a very well taken goal, left wing is his best position.

Just cannot see why Alabi got the nod over Harold. Sure Marv can’t be judged on one game, but it was a decent one game and I liked what I saw. Even based on that I’d sooner him than Ling at RB.

Coulson and Happe looked good, Happe a natural on the left, good pairing. Worked well. Marv in the middle gives me the jitters sometimes.

Brophy is a lot one-footed but it’s a bloody good one foot, that and his pace, which was fantastic for the goal, works for me.

Sid Bishop wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:36 pm

dOh Nut wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:21 pm

Sid Bishop wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:08 pm
Thanks for the ratings as you saw it.
King Harrold, or as they say on the Orient twitter ''The Ginger Pele'' !! played well by all accounts, strange indeed that Ross kept putting Alabi on as a sub in preference to Matt earlier in the season ? Quote you... ''Ekpiteta. Did well given the circumstances. Offered more than Ling usually does. 7'' Someone on this forum, cannot recall who, made the suggestion of playing Marvin at right back, as I recall that the idea did not go down that well. So ok, he did a good job yesterday, so will be interesting if Coulson and Happe continue as the central defence pairing as to if Marvin will keep the right back slot when Ling fit again ? Looking at the YouTube highlights, I thought our goal was a cracker, great pass by Matt to James Brophy who showed great pace as he scored with a very well taken goal, left wing is his best position.

Just cannot see why Alabi got the nod over Harold. Sure Marv can’t be judged on one game, but it was a decent one game and I liked what I saw. Even based on that I’d sooner him than Ling at RB.

Coulson and Happe looked good, Happe a natural on the left, good pairing. Worked well. Marv in the middle gives me the jitters sometimes.

Brophy is a lot one-footed but it’s a bloody good one foot, that and his pace, which was fantastic for the goal, works for me.

Brophy as a professional footballer should be working overtime on improving his right foot.
One of the old school ways was from a young age to be hitting a ball against a wall for a long time, alternating between left foot and right foot, it was also the first step to learning to pass the ball first time with either foot. We had an old deserted country school next to where I lived from the age of 7 years old so spent many hours practicing this. Can you remember the old comic annuals where famous footballers passed tips onto youngsters ? Tommy Lawton, heading the ball by a football suspended from a beam by a piece of string was another one, or getting someone to lob the ball to you in the air !! So many tips, Stanley Mathews on how to dribble the ball and Tom Finney various tips as to how he made himself two footed. Great stuff when the top footballers were more down to earth then today and could often be seen on a normal bus travelling to the Saturday match and chatting to the fans on the bus etc.

Sid Bishop wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:08 pm

dOh Nut wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 12:56 pm Never done ratings before and I dare say after this I won’t again.

In the context of what at times was a scrappy game and free flowing football was generally absent from both teams, the Orient performance was a good one for an away team, struggling in the league and leaking goals. I thought we did well to snuff out their threat most of the time, though not pretty to watch, was effective, clean sheet is proof.



Brill. Routine stuff, one decent save, catching OK. distribution not great. Middle of the Road 6
Ling. N/A
Ekpiteta. Did well given the circumstances. Offered more than Ling usually does. 7
Happe. Did well, nothing spectacular but solid and worked well with Coulson to subdue their attack 7
Coulson. Bossed his attacker most of the time. Improvement 7.
Widdowson. Had a decent game, defended well but didn’t offer much going forward. 6
Gorman. Worked hard but for me never offered any creativity. Not helped by a poor tackle that could have seem him go 5
Clay. Hugged and puffed, plenty of effort. No creativity. But together with Gorman did enough to nullify their midfield 5
Wright. Plenty of energy, decent at times but nothing special. 6
Brophy. Had a decent game in my opinion, and scored a decent goal. 7
Harold. I though he had a good game, made himself a nuisance and great pass for the goal. 7
Wilkinson. Seems to be getting better by the game. Puts himself about but missed a decent opportunity 7


Scores reflect a performance that was full of effort, plenty of fight, but lacking in quality for the most part. But it was a tactic that got us three points and that is all that mattered. If that was Ross’s plan, it worked. An ugly win.

Thanks for the ratings as you saw it.
King Harrold, or as they say on the Orient twitter ''The Ginger Pele'' !! played well by all accounts, strange indeed that Ross kept putting Alabi on as a sub in preference to Matt earlier in the season ? Quote you... ''Ekpiteta. Did well given the circumstances. Offered more than Ling usually does. 7'' Someone on this forum, cannot recall who, made the suggestion of playing Marvin at right back, as I recall that the idea did not go down that well. So ok, he did a good job yesterday, so will be interesting if Coulson and Happe continue as the central defence pairing as to if Marvin will keep the right back slot when Ling fit again ? Looking at the YouTube highlights, I thought our goal was a cracker, great pass by Matt to James Brophy who showed great pace as he scored with a very well taken goal, left wing is his best position.

Beradogs wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 2:10 pm [quote="Sid Bishop" post_ Q Someone on this forum, cannot recall who, made the suggestion of playing Marvin at right back, as I recall that the idea did not go down that well. So ok, he did a good job yesterday, so will be interesting if Coulson and Happe continue as the central defence pairing as to if Marvin will keep the right back slot when Ling fit again ? Looking at the YouTube highlights, I thought our goal was a cracker, great pass by Matt to James Brophy who showed great pace as he scored with a very well taken goal, left wing is his best position.

Red_Army wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:36 pm Ekpiteta did fine but he's not a viable solution at RB in the long term. We had very little creativity on the right. He's not going to be able to get forward and cross like a proper full back would. In the circumstances, he was a good player to bring on for his height against their front two.

It's rubbish to say he offered more than Ling. It's not a criticism at all because he was just filling in, but he rarely ventured forwards and didn't put any crosses in or affect the game in the final third.

I'd be fine with him doing it when needed, but it's not viable long term.

Red_Army wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:36 pm Ekpiteta did fine but he's not a viable solution at RB in the long term. We had very little creativity on the right. He's not going to be able to get forward and cross like a proper full back would. In the circumstances, he was a good player to bring on for his height against their front two.

It's rubbish to say he offered more than Ling. It's not a criticism at all because he was just filling in, but he rarely ventured forwards and didn't put any crosses in or affect the game in the final third.

I'd be fine with him doing it when needed, but it's not viable long term.

Red_Army wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:36 pm Ekpiteta did fine but he's not a viable solution at RB in the long term. We had very little creativity on the right. He's not going to be able to get forward and cross like a proper full back would. In the circumstances, he was a good player to bring on for his height against their front two.

It's rubbish to say he offered more than Ling. It's not a criticism at all because he was just filling in, but he rarely ventured forwards and didn't put any crosses in or affect the game in the final third.

I'd be fine with him doing it when needed, but it's not viable long term.

RedO wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:25 pm The throw ins.

Marv is a better footballer in every respect and yes, I’d have him playing at RB over Ling every time. But can’t see it happening.

dOh Nut wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:14 pm

Red_Army wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 3:36 pm Ekpiteta did fine but he's not a viable solution at RB in the long term. We had very little creativity on the right. He's not going to be able to get forward and cross like a proper full back would. In the circumstances, he was a good player to bring on for his height against their front two.

It's rubbish to say he offered more than Ling. It's not a criticism at all because he was just filling in, but he rarely ventured forwards and didn't put any crosses in or affect the game in the final third.

I'd be fine with him doing it when needed, but it's not viable long term.

Tbh Ling offers very little going forward. Accept the odd very good move/pass, Salford springs to mind, but they are the exception, usually goes for the safe short pass even when playing a system that demands he goes forward. Something I find extremely annoying when in a good position. And he’s pretty slow getting back.

Marvs six goals last term suggests he gets forward quite a lot, he does, but perhaps not in the same way that Ling in expected to.

Marv to my mind is a better defender, tackling and heading, and closes down better, whereas Ling always seems to give his man time and space.

Neither are perfect. But given their respective skill base, it’s Marv for. But we all know it won’t happen.


Quote @dOh Nut '' Ling always seems to give his man time and space.''
Ling and also Judd often guilty of that, they give the wingers or man far too much room.
Widdowson as an older and more experienced full back marks his man more tightly. Problem with Joe is that he needs an ''Oxygen Mask''
if he goes beyond the halfway line !! More comfortable as an old fashioned style defensive full back.

Disoriented wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:28 pm

RedO wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:25 pm The throw ins.

Marv is a better footballer in every respect and yes, I’d have him playing at RB over Ling every time. But can’t see it happening.

How many goals have we scored from one of Ling’s super throw-ins?

Depending on how long Junior is out, it is either Marv or Shadrach. With the club’s aversion towards playing the yoof, as opposed to flogging them off, it’s going to be Marv.

Disoriented wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:29 pm Judd looks like he is on Boco Island too.