Independent Leyton Orient Forum

20th anniversary today.

My first Orient game. I borrowed £300 from my father and travelled to London by myself to see the game. I can only remember a few things;

- I always thought Scunny outmuscled us a bit. Billy Beall and Martin Ling struggled against their midfielders.
- Stuart Hicks won everything in the air, but looked very "limited" with the ball at his feet (Tommy T agreed, took him off at half-time).
- Alex Inglethorpe should have scored near the end.
- I heard some rude songs about Steve Watts on the tube back after game.

Even though we lost the game, it was a great occasion.

Any other memories?


Mr. Hicks at Wembley. 1st half.

Was on holiday with the family at Disneyland Paris. Pre-internet I don’t think I found out the result until very late that night.

I thought that we just " never turned up " for that game. A long way to travel for a disappointment, Bergen. ( I am reading a book about our World War II Norwegian campaign, I don't think that we turned up for that one either ). Surprised you are still talking to us!

I was there and thought we played crap.

Poor game overall. Didn't Jabo keep a shot on the ground and hit the post? I hated Calvo-Garcia for years after that game.

Omygawd wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 5:16 pm Poor game overall. Didn't Jabo keep a shot on the ground and hit the post? I hated Calvo-Garcia for years after that game.

That was Blackpool a few years later wasn't it? Ingelthorpe hit the post.

Bergen wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 4:32 pm 20th anniversary today.

My first Orient game. I borrowed £300 from my father and travelled to London by myself to see the game. I can only remember a few things;

- I always thought Scunny outmuscled us a bit. Billy Beall and Martin Ling struggled against their midfielders.
- Stuart Hicks won everything in the air, but looked very "limited" with the ball at his feet (Tommy T agreed, took him off at half-time).
- Alex Inglethorpe should have scored near the end.
- I heard some rude songs about Steve Watts on the tube back after game.

Even though we lost the game, it was a great occasion.

Any other memories?


Mr. Hicks at Wembley. 1st half.

It was a great occasion - really? Personally both the crap performance and the fact we lost a playoff final make it a pretty pants one for me.

Not sure that Taylor necessarily agreed with you about Hicks - more about taking a defender off to get more attacking players on.

I was 12 and was amazed by the whole day really. Football was everything at that age and was excited for what turned out to be my only visit to the old Wembley.

Remember going to a pub somewhere in east london and getting on an open top bus to Wembley in the blazing heat (someone almost lost their head on a low overpass). Remember pre-kick off, the huge inflatable men in Orient kits that you see outside car dealerships and watching Scott Barratt warm up. Have very vague recollections of the game including thinking Barratt should have done better with the goal and Ingelthorpe hitting the post.

Mainly remember at the end, walking back up the steps and seeing grown men cry and finding that all a bit weird. Got back on the coach and scunthorpe fans started giving it and throwing things at us and then as soon as we hit the road, the heavens opened and a huge thunderstorm erupted meaning everyone was huddled on the bottom deck in near silence.

Carl Griffiths was on the same train from Liverpool St to Wembley Park as me/lots of other fans. That's the only specific thing I remember about the day really.

Remember meeting up with friends in the Head of Steam at Euston then getting the overground to Wembley.
Quite emotional hearing all the chants in the stadium, never thought I would see the O's play there.
The game had that feeling from early on that we could play all day and never score

Ended up back in the same pub at Euston and the sky went a strange colour then a massive thunderstorm erupted.
Got on the train back home feeling very subdued, same as quite a few other occasions of O's watching.
Felt even more weird because it was the first time I had journeyed back to St Ives since moving from Walthamstow
Put my unlucky scarf that I bought before the FA Cup semi final back in the cupboard.
It ended up in the shed where mice chewed it up and made a nest out of it, poxy bloody thing

Remember that we never recovered from the early goal and we were poo poo, as a game it was poor overall - But Scunthorpe got the early goal and got over the line which was all that mattered.

As poor as we were - Inglethorpe still had that one golden chance with the header near the end.

Drove back back home, then drove down to Weston Super Mare after going back home, eating and picking up the family for a short trip down there as it was half term week. Went back round the same route passed Wembley on the North Circular to get on the M4. Gutting day, but we were really poor I thought.

The injustice of Win Walschaerts' red card and subsequent banning for the final (never a sending off) along with (if memory recalls) Griffiths being sold felt like we were always up against it.

Went on an open-top bus on the way there, people lobbing sweets from front to back on the top deck was fun, as was "are you Simba in disguise?!" to a lookalike spotted on the journey up. In fitting fashion it chucked it down on the way back with soaked, defeated O's squashed into the lower deck. My inkjet-printed badge and banners all running was the physical manifestation of the day gone wrong.

I remember being gutted by that day, then so fed up of basement division football when we lost at Cardiff a few years later wanting to see Orient win something for once.

Funny how times change and League 2 has become the prize we all sought whilst reaching that goal in a blaze of glory. Funny old game eh...

The thing that’s always stuck with me was walking down Wembley Way, seeing those Twin Towers and then an old geezer next to me in a flat cap said “I’ve waited my whole life for this”. Magic..

And then it all went downhill from there. Some spammers started singing ‘Bubbles’ and the game was crap.

Smoked some puff in the Wembley toilets (I was that age) then went raving that night but was completely drenched from the monsoon that happened after the game.

Griffiths being sold is what cost us dearly, all because he was on a goal bonus and 1 further goal would have triggered the payment. Bad business by Hearn as I’m convinced we would have won had he still been at the club.

Thor wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 7:20 pm Griffiths being sold is what cost us dearly, all because he was on a goal bonus and 1 further goal would have triggered the payment. Bad business by Hearn as I’m convinced we would have won had he still been at the club.

Was that seriously the reason?! FFS Hearn always about the money rather than the football with him.

Absolutely pissed it down after, that’s about all I remember.

Rotherham away was much more enjoyable than the final.

Thor wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 7:20 pm Griffiths being sold is what cost us dearly, all because he was on a goal bonus and 1 further goal would have triggered the payment. Bad business by Hearn as I’m convinced we would have won had he still been at the club.

Wasn't Carl Griffith suspended for that game

Shocking game, just want to forget it.

point nine one eight wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 10:38 pm

Thor wrote: ↑Wed May 29, 2019 7:20 pm Griffiths being sold is what cost us dearly, all because he was on a goal bonus and 1 further goal would have triggered the payment. Bad business by Hearn as I’m convinced we would have won had he still been at the club.

Wasn't Carl Griffith suspended for that game

A season that started with so much promise .
Griff & Garcia ripping defences to shreds , only for Garcia to get badly injured
And Griff throwing the punch that got him sent off in the last home game of the season .


As for the scunny game , i think the football gods paid us back for keith simpsons faux pas 10 years earlier
Congratulations on scunthorpes promotion , wild scenes of celebration from scunny fans
Errr Actuall Scunny fans , congratualtions on reaching the play offs .

Remember lingy running the length of the pitch to clear the ball off the line, then turning around & running the length of the pitch to get back up the other end .

I thought the keeper saved inglethorpes shot & it then hit the post.

I do remember the mighty scramble in the scunny box & it bobbling
wide after maybe 20 legs swung at the ball 1st .

Lots laughed that they only bought 9500 to wembley, yet we managed
less for cardiff 2 years later.

Griffiths got sold to Vale the season we played Sunny. Wim wasn't banned for the final as far as I'm aware.

The season we played Blackpool, Griff got sent off at Mansfield and was suspended for the final.

Living abroad, this was my first O's game for about 15 years and I'd really looked forward to it. Pre-match I thought we'd really struggle for goals, given the players we had available, and we did. Great goal from them, but from what I recall we only turned up for the second half. I was very disappointed with the O's crowd, very little noise. I was surrounded by massed ranks of Arsenal and Spurs who had Orient as their "second" club but no passion for us.

Then that thunderstorm afterwards.

Took me years to get over that game.

I had a nice day out, traveling down from Liverpool with my then 4yo who had a great time playing with all the balloons bouncing around (we were in the front row). I agree we never turned up or looked likely to win. My one abiding memory is of the Scunthorpe fans bouncing up and down and singing along to the New Radicals - You Get What You Give, a brilliant sight.