Who's the wally with the scarf?

"The hedge at Glebe Park last night was more impressive..."

Here's my dignity-free moment at the Emirates Stadium on 2 March - showing 50,000 Arsenal fans, and around 9,000 Leyton Orient ones, what a real football team's knitwear looks like. O's supporter Mark Smith balked somewhat, but was gracious enough to snap it for me. I was in north London to watch the East-enders try to repeat their moment of glory at Brisbane Road, when they earned the prestigious, money-spinning FA Cup Fifth Round replay with a fine 1-1 draw.

This evening, things would turn out a little differently. Arsenal's pitch is like a billiard table, well suited to a flowing, passing game. Orient, to their great credit, took on the Gunners in this department and displayed not a little technical ability. The standards of lower league football in England have increased exponentially since I first saw (old) Fourth Division Brentford in 1967. However, whatever the Os could do, Arsenal could do better. They clinched the game 5-0, going in at half time 3-0 up. It could have been more.

But Orient had a couple of good chances too, and did not disgrace themselves, in spite of the end result and only having 35% of possession. It was a clear, freezing cold evening, though, and not one on which it was ever going to be possible for the comparative minnows to hassle the Champions League wannabes off the ball. At one point, the away support chanted, along with "2-1 to the Birmingham!" (a reference to the previous week's Carling Cup final), "You're going to win f*ck all!" towards the Arsenal end. Cruel but possibly not unfair - as the Gunners' ejection from the top table of European competition to Barcelona and subsequent FA Cup exit to Manchester United indicated. I'd really love Arsene Wenger's men to win the EPL - on pure footballing grounds. But I still doubt that it will happen.

Meanwhile, Orient's supporters, including the contingent I was with (thank-you, Kevin Scully, for my early Christmas present, including the special scarf and programme) had a wonderful time, defeat notwithstanding. "You're so loud, you sound like Aldershot!" they cried to the relatively silent home fans. And, when the third goal went in, "We're going to win 4-3!"  Marvellous stuff. This was also my first visit to the Emirates. Wonderful architecture, pitch and scale. Mind you, the concourse at the away end was a bit spartan, given all the oil money behind it. And did I mention how cold it was?  You'd think they could afford central heating. Not even any free snoods, before FIFA bans them.
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From Glebe Park to the Emirates

Pat Walker

Last night's game between Dumbarton and Brechin City at Glebe Park was a really good muscle-and-guts affair. Getting pitch-side by the famous 'hedge' on a cold night have you a real feel for how much effort and intensity was being displayed by the Sons - together with quite a bit of pace and skill, given the (lack of) quality of the muddy, lumpy pitch. There were mistakes as well as moments of inspiration, of course; and six goals. It was a great evening and a four-hour round trip for the Edinburgh contingent... five-and-a-bit for me, given the additional bus back to Leith.

Tonight, by contrast (and it will be a huge one!), I'm down in London at the majestic Emirates Stadium, watching Leyton Orient seeking to make the most of their FA Cup Fifth Round replay with the mighty Arsenal - smarting from their Carling Cup Final defeat to Birmingham City. This too will be quite an occasion, and hopefully quite a match.
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Where Barca fear to tread?

In what may seem the unlikely (but not impossible) event of Leyton Orient beating Arsenal in the replay of their FA Cup Fifth Round tie at the Emirates stadium on 2 March 2011, their reward would be an away tie at Manchester United ten days later.

After today's remarkable home 1-1 draw against the Gunners, the Os fans were chanting, "We're better than Barcelona!" - referencing Arsenal's equally notable 2-1 midweek win against the Catalans in the European Champions League.

The merchandisers are on song too, I see -- with an eBay auction for a video of today's Brisbane Road encounter already up and running. Meanwhile, Orient goalscorer Jonathan Tehoue was not among the seven things the Gunners had been advised to watch out for in East London... a cunning ploy from Matt Simpson (author of Leyton Orient Greats) in the West Stand, no doubt.

Barry Glendenning also makes a good point about the future of the competition that has engineered this little piece of football magic, too: "Leyton Orient's players are as jubilant as you might expect and have just been joined by their chairman Barry Hearn, who looks beside himself with excitement. Hearn featured in the Observer this morning saying it would be crazy to do away with FA Cup replays, and those scenes are proof that further meddling in the format of the FA Cup just to please Premier League titans who can't be bothered to field full-strength teams to win matches first time out would be most unwelcome."

Speaking on Sky Sports News, Hearn says of today's result: "We can play a lot better than that... there's still a long way to go in this tie." He pays tribute to manager Russell Slade and says this is the best Orient team in sixteen years.

The money from the Cup tie will be used to fight the EPL, the Football League and West Ham over the Olympic Stadium issue, he says. "This is going to run longer than an Agatha Christie novel!"
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Half way and more for the Os

The BBC's Chris Bevan reports at half-time: "So far, so good for Leyton Orient, who are halfway to a money-spinning replay at the Emirates. They have been out-passed but not outclassed by the Gunners and, for the most part, restricted Arsene Wenger's men to shots from range." The Telegraph's Thom Gibbs adds: "Fair play to Orient... for keeping this game so tight. Arsenal's tactic will surely be to pass their opponents into oblivion and deliver a killer blow when tiredness kicks in at around the 77 minute mark."

The Guardian's feed has rather more entertaining anecdotage, incidentally - including the biscuit saga and fashion news about well-paid commentators and summarisers slumming it in the East End of London. On the football front, Barry Glndenning reports: "Leyton Orient get the second half started and they've a fresh pair of legs on the team. Tom Carroll, who's at Brisbane Road on loan from Spurs comes in for Jason Crowe, who's been struggling with an ankle injury.

53mins: 1-0 Arsenal, courtesy of Tomas Rosicky. Orient are still trying though, and Jonathan Tehoue has added different options and energy up front. Some great stops from Os 'keeper Jamie Jones, too. Time to bring Spurs loanee Harry Kane off the bench, methinks (18.07). He's a goalscorer.

"The hosts appeal for a penalty, but the tide marks on Squillaci's face prove otherwise," says Sam Lyon.  Chris Bevan again: "For all Orient's energy and effort, Arsenal have bossed this game from the start. The League One side are looking tired now too - the pitch at Brisbane Road is the biggest in the Football League and chasing the ball for most of the game is taking its toll on the O's, who are running out of time and ideas."

Orient's Smith in action

And then, football being football, Orient equalise! Sam Lyon again: "Incredible! Orient, so adept at late comebacks this season, have done it again - and on the biggest stage of their season so far. Substitute Jonathan Tehoue is the hero, dancing between Kieran Gibbs and Ignasi Miguel and slamming a fierce low shot under Arsenal 'keeper Manuel Almunia's dive and home to send the home fans ballistic. Unbelievable."

18.24: FULL-TIME Leyton Orient 1-1 Arsenal. "What scenes at Brisbane Road. The players are lapping up the acclaim - of which there is more than enough to go around. The home fans are going postal and owner Barry Hearn, understandably, looks just about ready to implode. How sweet will the prospect of a replay taste?"
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Big test for the Orient lads

Kevin Scully

In between other tasks, I'm keenly following the progress of Leyton Orient as they take on Arsenal at Brisbane Road in the FA Cup this afternoon. They are, you could say, my "London team".  I must have seen them a dozen or more times over the last few years, courtesy of the good man in the picture.

Anyway, concerns about the future of the Os in the light of West Ham's Olympic stadium bid can be put aside for a few hours today, as the Waltham Forest maestros hunt a bit of glory at the expense of Arsene Wenger's crowd-pleasing millionaires.

East end priest, writer and Leyton Orient season ticket holder, Kevin Scully, was (unusually for him) reduced to clichés in the lead up to his team's clash with the Premiership titans. Arsenal are 43 places above the League One side, who often play at home to crowds of fewer than five thousand.

"It will be a big test for the lads in the Cup of Dreams but, by all reports, they are up for it," he said. There is a good delegation coming from Bethnal Green, where Kevin - a good friend - is the Rector of St Matthew's Church. "The afternoon draw means that the supporters from the church can be in both holy places in one day," he added. "I will make sure I am in the appropriate dress for both venues."

Initial impressions are good. A driving 25-yard strike from O's Charlie Daniels on the quarter hour has been the best chance of the game so far. BBC Sport's Chris Beva declares : "Orient promised to get 'in Arsenal's faces' and they have definitely done that so far. The League One side are setting an incredible early tempo."

16.58: "Twenty-six minutes gone at Brisbane Road and Leyton Orient more than holding their own, despite conceding the great majority of possession. Exactly as home boss Russell Slade would have planned."

Fingers crossed. So to speak.
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What about Orient?

House of dreams or nightmares?

While the vast majority of media coverage concerning the Olympic Stadium bid in East London revolved around "will it be West Ham or will it be Spurs?" (it was, to no-one's great surprise, the Hammers), the real rub is going to be felt by Leyton Orient - who I go to see with friends when I am in the London area, and not otherwise occupied with Dumbarton. They are just down the road from the news stadium, and their supporter and financial base could be hit very badly indeed.

Matt Porter, chief executive of the Os, reacted quickly after the announcement earlier today, which I was watching on Sky Sports News. He declared: “We now have to consider whether our future is viable at Brisbane Road so close to a substantially larger club. What we will do is assess the position, but our lawyers believe we have a very good case for a judicial review. However, we aren’t going to rush into anything. We made our position very clear that the decision to give it to West Ham or Tottenham would not have been satisfactory. We weren’t surprised by the decision. But there’s no point being disappointed, it’s the reality for us now so we have to deal with it.”

Some of the background is sketched by Dave Hill on his Guardian sportblog. (There's also a great YouTube link to a historic clip of Orient's 3-2 win over Chelsea in the 1972 FA Cup). A couple of days ago he wrote: What's going to happen next? O's chairman Barry Hearn is pondering his own options for moving grounds. He recently told the BBC that he'd be interested in moving the club to the Olympic hockey stadium if it become available. Tom Davies of the Leyton Orient Fans Trust reported on notions of migrating Orient towards Essex which would, after all, only be following in the tracks of many of its supporters. Hearn is also casting a litigious eye over the football authorities' rule books. The club recently issued a statement claiming that both the Premier League and the Football League would be in breach of their own regulations if they sanctioned the move of another club to the Olympic bowl."
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A volley at the Valley

Well, OK, not strictly a volley... but a free kick just outside the post from Leyton Orient at Chartlon Athletic tonight. The Os won 1-0. They are the first team to win against the Addicks at home this season in League One. It was a pulsating game - end to end, though sometimes lacking in quality finishing. The scorer, from a diving header 7 minutes into the second half, was Scott McGleish.

Orient need three kings or so

Another good day out at the football for me today, albeit one that unfortunately did not end positively for my O's-supporting friend Kevin Scully and his companions. Leyton Orient now find themselves awkwardly planted in the League One relegation zone after throwing away a valuable lead against relative high-flyers Southend.

This is not the first time the O's have suddenly buckled after gaining the advantage -- far from it -- and bad footballing habits can be difficult to unmake. First, Adam Chambers put the home side ahead on 57 minutes at Brisbane Road, with a very well-taken opportunistic strike from a loose ball. But within a minute or so the first of two unfortunate defensive slips was punished by Southend captain Adam Barrett. Orient's game then seemed gradually to disintegrate, and after another 15 minutes midfielder Alan McCormack pounced on Lee Barnard's blocked shot to make it 1-2. Barnard is an ex-O himself, though that will be of no comfort to the home fans.

Ironically, Orient played some good football, especially in the opening spell. However, it is errors at the back and a lack of incisiveness up front which often do the lasting damage at this level. Patulea, who I saw score for Orient against Brighton in the Carling Cup earlier this season, had a stinking first half and was rightly replaced by the much sharper looking Pires. Young Townsend, on loan from Spurs until January 2010, was by far Orient's best player, and McGleish and Chorley turned in solid performances overall.

There was little other inspiration in the O's side, however, and with the aforementioned Seagulls (who they drew with 0-0 on Boxing Day) coming back from two behind to trounce Wycombe Wanderers 5-2, they slumped to 21st spot and will struggle to survive on current form. Mind you, so will my (until recently) local side Exeter City, who are losing regularly on the road and could only grab a home point against Gillingham, with three tough games about to hit them. It's crunch time.

And yes, I know, it should be Os rather than O's. But the greengrocer's apostrophe has some helpful differentiating uses...

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The New Year kicks off

I'm off to St James' Park again this afternoon - the first time in a number of weeks - to see Exeter City kick off the New Year against Port Vale. Thank goodness I have my thermals ready. It's going to be bloody freezing. A good start to 2009 is needed to regain momentum after the 2-0 defeat by Brentford on 28 December, brought about by a questionable penalty decision towards the end of the match.

I'm also keeping my fingers crossed for my Conference namesakes Barrow (pictured), who take on Premier League Middlesbrough in the FA Cup. It's much more important that they avoid relegation, of course. But this should be a great day out. Good luck to Kevin's beloved Orient, too. They were dire away against Colchester and now have some serious work to do to avoid the drop from League One.
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A journey to the East

Yesterday afternoon I whiled some football time away at Brisbane Road watching my friend Kevin Scully's beloved Leyton Orient fail to achieve their Eastern promise against Swindon Town. The last 15 minutes was pretty exciting, thanks to some controversial refereeing decisions involving a penalty and plenty of shouting. Then, as often happens, the game sprung to life... and juddered to a halt: though not before the Os had grabbed a goal back in a match they never looked like winning, in fairness. The League One scrapping continues in Colchester tomorrow, and I'll be there, too - thanks to a Christmas sojourn in Bethnal Green. Oh yes, that's me on the far left above (taken this time last year), with Kev next to me in the exotic red scarf, an an assortment of his relatives from Australia, and servers from St Matthew's Church, where he's the rector.
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Dahn the O's with Kev the Rev

Yup, that's me lurking on the far left of this fine picture snapped at the end of last year at Leyton Orient FC, by club photographer Simon O'Connor. My friend Kevin Scully (to my right in a huge red scarf) is Rector of St Matthew's Anglican Church, Bethnal Green, and a huge O's fan. (You kinda have to put the apostrophe in to make that abbreviation work, even though it's superfluous.) I really should have been wearing my Dumbarton colours, huh? The rest of the crew are parish servers who were "manager's sponsors" for the game on 22 December 2007 - plus Kevin's relatives from Oz. The Aussie A League is a bit more elevated than English League 2, frankly, and this one was a slightly grim affair: a 0-0 draw against Yeovil, who are an hour down the road from where I live in Devon, as it happens. Still, we had a great day. I was up for Advent 4. I'm next at Orient on 23 February, with Kevin and my colleague Jonathan Bartley. Jon will be in disguise, as he's a Nottingham Forest supporter, and the O's are going to get stuffed by Cloughie's ghost, I reckon. I shall adopt a studied neutrality by sitting on the fence ... with a cuppa. Incidentally, 'Rev Kev', described as "an old acquaintance and one of our most notorious fans" by prolific and erudite O-Net Weblog scribe Cobra, got chucked out of the home end for cheering an O's goal at Brentford on an away trip to Griffin Park last year. It's earned him quite a few Brownie points down at Brisbane Road. What an odd bunch we are, eh? At least none of us are revved up Cheslea fans. Phew! [Photo with acknowledgements to the photographer, LOFC and St Matt's]