Independent Leyton Orient Forum

History if you take into account the stability of the current owners with what I presume is one of the highest wage bills in the division. That there is at least some money available. Crowd sizes which remain high. A supposedly strong backroom team and DOF. Yes, we were relegated to a division lower, obviously, but that team were playing under impossible circumstances and I think would have beaten this one comfortably with our current set up. Some of the other bad sides over the years were when we were broke or playing in front of one man and his dog. The FA Cup defeat recently surely was. Our current position is one of the worst. This is not a knock on the owners and what they have done, if I was them I would be asking the same question. They have high expectations this season in terms of points tally, quite rightly, and must be wondering what on earth is going on. Is the real problem here that our players are just not good enough and we massively underestimated what losing Bonne and Koroma meant to the team with Bonne already showing he is a championship striker or has the loss of Justin, and everyone knew what a genius he was in terms of motivation as well as a friend, affected them more than we can imagine. In my opinion there are no more than 4 players that should be anywhere near the first team and all things equal with the strength of the base of the club we currently have, i think the 11 that are starting now might just be the WOAT.

Followed the O’s for 57 years and I can assure you the answer to your question is No!

I think there is a worrying lack of confidence and leadership.

They will have to admit that change is coming and is a must. They seem they just aren't ready for it. When everyone is fit mid table is our mark, no manager is gonna come in and turn this team into a league one team. Who ever comes in they must let him do his work which is to build a new team over time.

Definitely not the worst.

The squads of 1995-98 were far worse, and those in the early 2000's too.

We should have strengthened in the summer with 2 or 3 more signings and then the squad would be fine for this league. We saw in the little run in September that when we have Wilkinson and Angol available we can score goals. The lack of a goalscorer at present is our main problem.

It's fair to say, every player thats at the club, has been brought in by Ling. He's DOF, so obviously he's responsible for players.

My criticisms of him over the years, often stem from the fact, IMO, he doesnt recognise a good player, or indeed a bad player as well as Id like a DOF to do.

Therefore, the team, which is one of the worst of my 53 yrs supporting, is because of this.

While Martin is in charge of selecting & bringing players to the club, this will continue

I dont want to give the impression he has never brought a good player to the club, but in my opinion, there have been more 'iffy' ones than good uns.

The board think the sun shines out of his rear end, and while that is the case, this will continue.

I dont think Ross is the answer long term, but I worry about any new manager brought in while Ling is here, using much the same system to select one.

The squad now is poor .......but it's not as bad as some of the sides I've seen in my 50 plus years as a supporter

Been following the O's since 1960 - answer is no - this is not the worst team - it's one of the worst motivated, fit and led.

cymruO wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 10:38 am Been following the O's since 1960 - answer is no - this is not the worst team - it's one of the worst motivated, fit and led.

That is the trouble Taffy - no-one is leading, either on the pitch or off.

cymruO wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 10:38 am Been following the O's since 1960 - answer is no - this is not the worst team - it's one of the worst motivated, fit and led.

That I would agree with!

Not even close, what a stupid question. It’s 90% the same team you would have been waxing lyrical about 4 months ago.

No, not even close to being our worst team.

No way is this the worse squad but the defeat by malden was far and away the worse I have encountered in 69 years of watching the orient.

This squad did win the league last season so has honours to it that our other bottom-of-the-table sides didn't so on that basis no.

However they aren't strong enough for this league without additional reinforcements. I think Alex Ferguson once said even if you win the Premiership it's necessary to keep adding to the squad to ensure you keep up with the competition.

The club didn't do that and in fact made it weaker by letting more go than they brought in. The result of that is showing already and we haven't even hit the difficult Xmas fixture congestion yet.

As above the Maldon defeat was the worst in the club's history, absolutely shameful.

No it’s not.

gshaw wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 12:14 pm the Maldon defeat was the worst in the club's history, absolutely shameful.

Not as bad as 1988 when we lost to Enfield after two draws. And we were promoted that season!

Thor, of course it was. maldons part timers and colchesters youth loanees are 4 divisions below us , and they saw out the last 10 minutes with 10 men and several of their players suffering cramp. A disgraceful defeat.

I think we have a big big problem down Brisbane Road way at the moment. It's far too cliquey! We need an experienced manager with a strong personality. The whole management team needs restructuring, and some need pushing back further into the background. This whole set up, in my opinion, just isn't going to work in the long run.

Obviously the football now is easier on the eye vs some of the poor teams of the past. That is mainly because the pitches are better, the players are fitter, there is structure to the play and systems. Some of the players in the 80’s had beer bellies and smoked 20 Malbros. But, with the money this lot are on, with the crowds we get, with the money spent on Ling and the rest of the coaching staff, with our postcode in a thriving global city and we are still sitting in one of the worst positions we have ever been in league wise (putting aside the Bechetti debacle) if not the WOAT then it’s close. Close to the worst of all time behind some of the other rubbish we have seen. CTTWOATBSOTORWHS.

Redcard wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 12:27 pm Thor, of course it was. maldons part timers and colchesters youth loanees are 4 divisions below us , and they saw out the last 10 minutes with 10 men and several of their players suffering cramp. A disgraceful defeat.

That game was the worst result in our entire history and you will not see me argue that point. However, a team is not defined over one game, it’s defined over a much longer period. Possibly the worst side I’ve seen was the Sitton one.

Disoriented wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 10:39 am

cymruO wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 10:38 am Been following the O's since 1960 - answer is no - this is not the worst team - it's one of the worst motivated, fit and led.

That is the trouble Taffy - no-one is leading, either on the pitch or off.

Taffy? Well I never a liberal racist

ComeOnYouOs wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 10:24 am It's fair to say, every player thats at the club, has been brought in by Ling. He's DOF, so obviously he's responsible for players.

My criticisms of him over the years, often stem from the fact, IMO, he doesnt recognise a good player, or indeed a bad player as well as Id like a DOF to do.

Therefore, the team, which is one of the worst of my 53 yrs supporting, is because of this.

While Martin is in charge of selecting & bringing players to the club, this will continue

I dont want to give the impression he has never brought a good player to the club, but in my opinion, there have been more 'iffy' ones than good uns.

The board think the sun shines out of his rear end, and while that is the case, this will continue.

I dont think Ross is the answer long term, but I worry about any new manager brought in while Ling is here, using much the same system to select one.

And he wonders why Danny Macklin has blocked him on Twitter

Thor, that’s what I said. This squad is a long long way from the worse, but that defeat at home by maldon was an utter disgrace.

Just need to clear up a couple of things! Down here in the Land of Song 'Taffy' is considered an insult. Also, I'm not Welsh - if I was I would have titled myself as 'Cymraeg O' - 'Welsh O'. I was born and brought up in Ilford to English parents, but I've lived in Wales for over 30 years. Hence 'Cymru O' - 'Wales O' and Ilford boy who lives in Wales. Having said that, I'm Orient till I die and really struggling to get a grip on what on earth is happening to this team.

cymruO wrote: ↑Sun Nov 17, 2019 1:42 pm Just need to clear up a couple of things! Down here in the Land of Song 'Taffy' is considered an insult. Also, I'm not Welsh - if I was I would have titled myself as 'Cymraeg O' - 'Welsh O'. I was born and brought up in Ilford to English parents, but I've lived in Wales for over 30 years. Hence 'Cymru O' - 'Wales O' and Ilford boy who lives in Wales. Having said that, I'm Orient till I die and really struggling to get a grip on what on earth is happening to this team.

No offence intended fella. We agree on the rest.