Leyton Orient

Leyton Orient were originally formed by members of the Glyn Cricket Club in 1881, many of whom were former students of the Independent College, Homerton in nearby Hackney (now Homerton College in Cambridge); an annual fixture is still held between the club and the college. The team has had several name changes since, first as Eagle Cricket Club in 1886, then as Orient Football Club in 1888.

The 12 history books written on the club by its historian Neilson N. Kaufman between 1974 and 2015 suggest that the choice of the name Orient came about at the behest of a player, Jack R Dearing, who was an employee of the Orient Steam Navigation Company, later part of P&O – Peninsular & Oriental. The club's name was changed again to Clapton Orient in 1898 to represent the area of London in which they played, though there was another team called Clapton F.C.

Before their relegation in 2017, the Os were the second-oldest league club in London behind Fulham and were the 24th oldest club currently playing in the Football League. Following Fulham's promotion to the Premier League they became the oldest London club playing in the Football League. They played in the Second Division of the Southern Federation's League in 1904, joined the Football League in 1905. By this time players such as part-time outside right, Herbert Kingaby could earn £2 4s (2012: £200) per week – payment being somewhat sporadic.

The name Leyton Orient was adopted following the conclusion of the Second World War. The club had moved to Leyton in 1937, though again there was another team called Leyton F.C. A further rename back simply to Orient took place in 1966 after the Municipal Borough of Leyton (in Essex) was absorbed into the London Borough of Waltham Forest. That renaming followed a financial crisis – one of several to hit the club and by no means the first or last – and restructuring of the company behind the club; this is remembered for a "pass the bucket" collection that took place at a special meeting of supporters in the East Stand, when complete closure was claimed to be a definite possibility.

The club reverted to Leyton Orient in 1987, shortly after Tony Wood took over as chairman and at a time when a supporters' campaign was taking place in the Leyton Orientear fanzine to reinstate the Leyton part of the club's name.

The 1914–15 season was the last football season before the league was suspended due to the outbreak of the First World War. A total of 41 members of the Clapton Orient team and staff joined up into the 17th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (the Footballers' Battalion), the highest of any football team in the country and the first to join up en masse. At the final game of the season – Clapton Orient vs Leicester Fosse, 20,000 people came out to support the team. A farewell parade was also hosted but not before the O's had won 2–0. The British Film Institute holds a brief recording of this historic match and parade in its archives.

During the Battle of the Somme, three players gave their lives for king and country: Richard McFadden, George Scott and William Jonas. Though they were the only Orient staff to have died during the First World War, many others sustained wounds, some more than once and were not able to resume their football careers after the war. Prior to the First World War and whilst on a training run, O's striker McFadden had saved the lives of two young boys who were drowning in the River Lea – this, only a week or so after rescuing a little girl from a house fire, when walking through Clapton Park on his way to the O's ground. It is also documented that he had dragged a man from a burning building prior to signing for the Orient.

History was made on Saturday 30 April 1921 when the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VIII, visited Clapton Stadium/Millfields Road to see the O's play Notts County. The Orient won 3–0 and this was the first time a member of royalty had attended a Football League match. The royal visit was to show gratitude for Clapton Orient's patriotic example during the Great War and there is now a plaque erected on the site of the Millfields Road Stadium to commemorate this historic event.

Leyton Orient were Division Three South champions in the 1955–56 season and spent 20 of the next 25 years in the Second Division, before being relegated at the end of the 1981–82 season. They have not been back to that level since.

Orient's golden years were in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1961–62 season Orient were promoted to the top tier of English football, the First Division, for the only time in their history, after finishing second in Division Two under the management of Johnny Carey. The team struggled in the top flight and were relegated after just one season. Nonetheless, they did defeat local rivals West Ham United at home.

They were Division Three champions in the 1969–70 season and spent the whole of the 1970s in Division Two. In 1972 Orient achieved one of the most famous results in their history – coming back from 2–0 down to beat Chelsea 3–2 in the FA Cup fifth round. On 28 August 1973, Bobby Fisher became the first black player to represent Orient, and would go on to play 384 times for the club. They were also Anglo-Scottish Cup runners-up in 1976–77. In 1978 Orient were defeated in the semi-final of the FA Cup, the furthest they have progressed in that competition.

In 1978 the club was indirectly responsible for the album Variations composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his brother, the cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. This reached No.2 in the pop album charts. Variations came about as the result of a bet between the two brothers on the outcome of Orient's final game of the 1976–77 season against Hull City.

In the 1980s Leyton Orient fared less well and after two relegations found themselves in the fourth tier of English football. However, they ended the decade on a high, as they were promoted in the 1988–89 season, when under manager Frank Clark they were promoted in the Division Four play-off final after a 2–1 aggregate victory over Wrexham The early 1990s saw steady progress in the Third Division, missing out on a play-off place in the 1992–93 season on goal difference. However, the financial crisis at the club caused by then-chairman Tony Wood losing his business in the Rwandan Civil War led to a relegation back to the fourth tier, now renamed as the Third Division following the formation of the Premier League. Barry Hearn became chairman in 1995 after the club was put on sale for £5 by then-chairman Tony Wood, a period covered by the television documentary Orient: Club for a Fiver (made by production company Open Media for Channel 4 and listed in Forbes magazine in 2020 as one of its "Top Five Sports Documentaries"). Under manager Tommy Taylor, Orient were defeated in the 1999 and 2001 Third Division play-off finals, played at Wembley Stadium and the Millennium Stadium respectively. The latter final saw the fastest ever play-off final goal scored to date at the Millennium Stadium, as Orient's Chris Tate scored after just 27 seconds. Orient's fastest ever goal was scored after just 12 seconds by Lee Steele in a match against his former club Oxford at The Kassam Stadium on 28 March 2005.

After the 2001 play-off final defeat, Leyton Orient took several years to recover from their second play-off final defeat in three years. After Tommy Taylor left the club, Paul Brush spent two unsuccessful years in charge and after he was sacked, former player Martin Ling took over as manager in October 2003, with Orient second-bottom of the league. After several years of steady improvement, Leyton Orient gained promotion in the 2005–06 season, finishing in third place and gaining automatic promotion to League One. This was the club's first automatic promotion in 36 years and ended a period of 11 years in the English league's bottom division. This promotion season also saw an excellent FA Cup run, with Leyton Orient progressing to the fourth round after beating Premiership side Fulham. Promotion was only secured in the final minutes of the final game of the season, away at Oxford United; with the score tied at 2–2 and Orient seemingly destined to miss out yet again, news came through of a late goal scored against promotion rivals Grimsby Town F.C. that would potentially promote Orient. The Orient fans were still celebrating this when just 14 seconds later, Lee Steele scored to confirm Orient's promotion. The result also relegated Oxford to the Football Conference. Grimsby's manager that season was Russell Slade, who would later become Orient's manager.

In 2006–07, Orient endured a difficult season in the third tier, having spent most of the season in or around the relegation zone and were bottom of the table at times during the first half of the season. An improvement in fortunes after Christmas – including memorable wins against Millwall, Tranmere Rovers and a vital win at eventually-relegated Bradford City near the end of the season – helped them finish in 20th place, one spot above the relegation zone. Most of the 2006 promotion-winning side left at the end of the season. Some players were released, some declined new contracts and the club's longest-serving player Matthew Lockwood was re-signed but later moved in pre-season to Nottingham Forest.

2007–08 was better, as Orient finished 14th with 60 points. The O's began the season in fine form, not dropping out of the top seven until after Christmas. However a loss of form in the second half of the season, recording only three wins from the last 12 games, meant the season ended in a respectable mid-table finish.

Leyton Orient kicked off the 2008–09 season with a 2–1 win over Hereford United at home. Dean Beckwith put Hereford ahead before JJ Melligan and Adam Boyd gave Orient the win. Orient then continued the season with multiple poor results and performances throughout September and October and their only wins were away matches against Walsall and Southend United in the Football League Trophy first round. However Orient were knocked out of the trophy in the following round in an away match at Brighton & Hove Albion. They were in 22nd position in the League One table. Orient booked a place in the second round of the FA Cup after beating Colchester United 1–0. Two Goals from Jason Demetriou and Danny Granville in a 1–2 away victory against Bradford City put Orient through to the third round of the FA Cup where they played Sheffield United at home. They lost 4–1 and, after a run of bad form in the league, Orient parted company with manager Martin Ling and assistant Dean Smith. Youth team manager Kevin Nugent was named caretaker manager overseeing three games. On 5 February 2009 Geraint Williams was announced as manager until the end of the season. He enjoyed a very positive start, winning seven of his first nine matches and moving Orient up to 15th. After Geraint Williams' positive influence on the team they secured their League One status on 13 April with a 1–0 win over Swindon Town at the County Ground and eventually finished the season in 14th place.

Orient had a proud day when they beat former Premier League runners-up Newcastle United 6–1 in a pre-season friendly match on 25 July 2009. By beating Colchester United away, in the first round of the Football League Cup, they earned a home second round fixture against Premier League Club, Stoke City.

On 3 April 2010 Geraint Williams was sacked as manager after a 3–1 home defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Hartlepool following a poor run of form. Kevin Nugent once again took control for the 2–1 defeat at Southampton on 5 April and after the match Russell Slade was named as manager until the end of the season. With even less time to save Orient from relegation than Williams before him, Slade managed to bring about a change in form that saw Orient finish in 17th place, just one point but four places clear of relegation. In the summer of 2010 Slade's contract was extended for two years. After a poor start to the 2010–11 season, Orient's league form picked up towards Christmas, culminating in an 8–2 win against non-league Droylsden in an FA Cup second round replay. In a game described as "the weirdest football match ever", Orient had trailed most of the game 2–0 but scored six goals in extra time to progress into the third round. Orient then beat high-flying Championship side Norwich City 1–0 at Carrow Road to progress into the fourth round where they met another Championship side, Swansea City, at the Liberty Stadium. Orient beat Swansea 2–1 to set up a glamour fifth round tie against Premier League giants Arsenal at Brisbane Road, which finished in a 1–1 draw thanks to a late Jonathan Téhoué equaliser for the O's. This set up a replay at the Emirates Stadium. Leyton Orient lost that replay 0–5, bringing to an end their longest run in the FA Cup since 1981–82. Either side of the Arsenal games, Leyton Orient achieved a club record-equalling 14 games unbeaten, putting the team just outside the play-off positions. However they were unable to maintain that momentum and ultimately missed out on the play-offs by just one point.

The 2013–14 season saw more success for Orient, finishing third in the league and securing a place in the play-offs. They defeated Peterborough United to advance to the playoff final at Wembley, but lost in the final to Rotherham United via a penalty shoot-out.

The 2014–15 season saw a reversal of fortunes for Orient after the club was taken over by Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti. Long-standing manager Russell Slade left early in the season and was replaced by caretaker manager Kevin Nugent, followed in quick succession by Mauro Milanese and then Fabio Liverani before Christmas 2014. A disastrous second half of the season meant that Orient was relegated from League One after a 2–2 draw at Swindon Town on the final day. Liverani, with only eight wins in 27 matches, left the club by mutual consent on 13 May 2015.

Orient finished one place but six points away from a League Two play-off place in the 2015–16 season. However, the following season (2016–17) saw another disastrous slump, under five different managers, as well as off-pitch turmoil, including a winding-up hearing against Becchetti for unpaid taxes. Another managerial departure saw Daniel Webb resign from the club, with assistant manager Omer Riza taking over first-team duties until the end of the season. On 22 April 2017, Orient were relegated to the National League after a 3–0 loss to Crewe Alexandra, ending their 112-year stay in the Football League. Becchetti who had overseen two relegations in three years, saw continued criticism for his ownership, which resulted in a pitch invasion and protest against him on 29 April, resulting in the game being called off. On 22 June, the club was officially sold to Nigel Travis, the chairman of Dunkin' Brands.

After a poor start to the season, manager Steve Davis, appointed at the start of the National League campaign, was sacked on 14 November 2017, and was replaced by Justin Edinburgh. Under Edinburgh the club fared better, and spent much of the 2018–19 season competing for promotion from the National League. On 27 April 2019, following a 0–0 draw with Braintree Town, Orient secured promotion to League Two as champions of the National League after two years in non-League. The club also reached the final of the FA Trophy, but were defeated by AFC Fylde.

On 3 June 2019, manager Justin Edinburgh was admitted to hospital following a cardiac arrest. He died five days later, aged 49. His assistant Ross Embleton was appointed as interim manager for the new season. Embleton was replaced by Carl Fletcher in October 2019 but Fletcher was sacked the following month after just five games in charge without gaining a win, Embleton was reinstated as interim boss. Embleton was appointed permanently in January 2020 on a 12-month rolling contract. Orient's first season back in League Two produced a 17th-place finish, with the final table ultimately being determined on a weighted points per game basis because of football's suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the club furloughed all players and staff to reduce the financial burden on the club due to the pandemic. The following season, the club finished in 11th place in League Two. Ross Embleton was sacked in February 2021 and was replaced by Jobi McAnuff until the end of the season. In May 2021 Kenny Jackett was named as the new manager. Jackett was sacked in February 2022 after a bad run of form which left the club only 3 points above the League Two relegation zone and was replaced by Richie Wellens who kept Orient up and secured a comfortable 13th-placed finish. A strong 2022–23 season saw the club promoted back to League One on 18 April 2023, after eight years away from the level, securing their promotion with four games remaining despite a 2–0 defeat to Gillingham. Orient took the League Two title four days later with a 2–0 home victory over Crewe Alexandra. In the 2023-24 season, Orient cemented their place in League One for a following season, finishing 11th.