The Bet

Faramir · January 28, 2006

23.2.13

Leyton Orient (1) Aston Villa (1)

Orient- D.Vanni 18

Aston Villa- S.Giddings 83-P

MOM- Stuart Giddings, Aston Villa

Orient managed to turn what looked like was going to be a close win into a 1-1 draw with late mistakes. Orient had established both the lead and the tempo of the match early on when Davide Vanni made a nice passing sequence pay off when he rifled a shot past Luke Daniels inside the near right post. Daniels held the visitors in the remainder of the first half including one series where he stopped Richard Hunt from close in twice. Villa was having difficulty getting their offense going as Orient completely blanketed Wayne Rooney and kept him from becoming a factor. Orient's lineup didn't feature many of the regular first line, due to the upcoming Champions Cup midweek match, but did feature the return of Sebastien Frey from injury. Despite the sending off of Mark Harding due to his 2nd yellow card at the 74 minute mark, Orient still seemed on course for the win as they were frustrating the Villa rally attempts. The complexion of the match changed when Robin Faber made an extremely bad decision and was whistled for a handball in the area. Stuart Giddings converted the penalty kick to ruin Orient's day as Villa settled for the 1-1 draw.

Drabek was fuming. "I guess that reaffirms Faber's transfer list status. I will have to see if I can push the interest in him."

"It was a bad choice, but he didn't play that badly."

"I don't mind bad choices. I hate dumb choices and that is what it was. He told me he wanted out of here last week because he isn't a regular starter. I will see if we can oblige him."

axeman · January 29, 2006

An excellent story Mike

I've just spent the better part fo 7 hours reading it from start to the current spot. Though I do miss the subplot, like the one that got the story going initially. I know how hard it is to come up with a good one though, so I won't be nagging you too much about it.

KUTGW

Faramir · January 29, 2006

axeman- thanks very much for the kind comments They are much appreciated (though I have to wonder if 7 hours was really worth it *chuckle*

***

27.2.13

Real Sociedad (1) Leyton Orient (1) Champions Cup 2nd Round Leg 1

Real Sociedad- Y.Anger 4

Orient- D.Poole 38

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

In an entertaining, but not particularly well played, match Orient managed to fight back to earn a 1-1 draw at Anoeta in their first leg against Real Sociedad in the Champions Cup 2nd round. Orient's backline was guilty of a bit of running around in the opening moments of the match and the Spanish side made them pay for their mistake when Yasser Anger broke cleanly down the right side of the pitch before he chipped over Sebastien Frey when he moved out to challenge him. Orient didn't manage many chances- only three shots total- in the match, but Jason Reynolds made a terrific flick-on that set David Poole in free on Cristian Abbiati and Poole powered past Abbiati when he tried to smother the ball and pushed it into the net for the equalizer. Orient did a nice job of getting Reynolds roaming out free on the left- but the flamboyant youngster wasted four different decent scoring chances by dribbling too long and seeing the experienced Abbiati come out and gobble the ball up before he could shoot. A yellow card to Lee Sims means he will miss the 2nd Leg at Brisbane Road.

"Youthful inexperience by Jason (Reynolds)," shrugged Field.

"It was that, but at least one of those would have been a great chance for David (Poole)- he was wide open on the far side and Jason insisted on dribbling in," replied a thoughtful Drabek.

"Jason said he didn't see him."

"That's the point though Spencer. He has to be able to see him- he has to be aware of those kind of chances- to maximize our scoring chances in this offense. If he can't do it, then maybe he isn't the best partner for David- though I don't want to give up on him too quickly with his great talent."

"I understand what you are saying- our offense really does work better with a complimentary forward working with David. Still, I have to agree that we should make sure- we have already allowed Wayne Rooney and Stefan Moore to move to other clubs because they were unhappy playing mostly 2nd forward to David."

"Well, they are both talented- Wayne and Stefan rank among the best here- but David is *our* player. He has carried this club to so much success that he is- and will be- our number 1 forward until he can't do it anymore."

Faramir · January 30, 2006

Other Champions Cup 2nd Round Results:

Arsenal (3) Real Madrid (0)

Brondby (3) Sparta Prague (1)

Dinamo Kiev (2) Manchester United (1)

Juventus (2) Tottenham (1)

Lazio (0) Inter (0)

Partizan (1) Vfb Stuttgart (1)

Wisla (1) PAO (1)

***

"Well, Robin (Faber) will have a new home on July 1st," stated Drabek.

"Which offer did he accept?"

"FC Bayern's. That was pretty nice since it was the best cash offer we received- even if spread out over 2 years."

"Not like we need all the money at any one time anyways."

Drabek laughed, "Funny you should mention that. The Board was singing us many praises when they talked to me last week. We remain almost a half-million under their budgeted weekly wage and keep building the coffers because of that."

"Despite the fact that we have spent a lot in transfer fees?"

"That is minor because we haven't come close to really putting a crimp on the transfer budget. Faber's sale for example- we signed him on Bosman and now get another 4 Million for him. We are floating in the black because we haven't splurged on the high-profile players and have developed a bunch ourselves."

Faramir · January 31, 2006

9.3.13

Millwall (2) Leyton Orient (1) FA Cup 6th Round

Millwall- M.Phillips 5 G.Andre 86

Orient- R.Hunt 71

MOM- Mark Phillips, Millwall

Millwall broomed Orient out of the FA Cup competition when they scored a late match winning goal to edge Orient 2-1 in front of their ecstatic fans at The New Den. Orient almost wound up behind in the opening minute of play when Matthias Franz was whistled for pushing Adam Smith in the area. Sebastien Frey came up big though and stopped both Craig Turner's penalty kick and then the rebound. Millwall broke through shortly after to take the lead when Smith again beat Franz on the dribble and crossed smartly to Mark Phillips. Phillips deflected the cross past Frey into the left side of the net and the crowd was roaring. Orient played a poor first half, but regained composure and life in the second half. Richard Hunt scored a brilliant equalizer off a nice run past Craig Duffy after a good pass from Franz gave him room. Millwall trumped that goal when Gerard Andre took advantage of Robin Faber moving out of position to slide in behind him and then make a superb shot off the inside of the near right post past Frey for the dramatic match winning goal. Few Orient regulars were playing today as their return Champions Cup match with Real Sociedad looms in midweek.

"We could have done better," grumped Drabek.

"Our execution was shoddy, but the boys never gave up."

Faramir · February 1, 2006

13.3.13

Leyton Orient (4) Real Sociedad (1) Champions Cup 2nd Round Leg 2 (Leyton Orient advances on 5-2 aggregate)

Orient- D.Poole 13,38 D.Arrieta 20,45

Real Sociedad- M.Lahitie 84

MOM- Danilo Arrieta, Leyton Orient

Orient put their stamp on this match early as Real Sociedad wasn't able to cope with the forward tandem of David Poole and Danilo Arrieta. Orient took the lead early when Poole made a brilliant header of a Jason Reynolds (playing in midfield today) free kick and it snuck inside the near right post past Cristian Abbiati. Minutes later, Poole tried to feed a pass to Arrieta and the ball bounced off Moises Filho. Arrieta scooted past Filho and took the loose ball around a diving Abbiati before firing the ball into the net to stake Orient to a 2-0 lead. Reynolds gave another fine pass to Poole, just beyond defender Mikel Abaka, and Poole ripped a low shot past Abbiati as he tried to challenge him for his 2nd goal of the match. Arrieta added his 2nd goal of the match in the last moments of first half injury time when Poole again skipped a pass off Filho and Arrieta made another nice move on Abbiati to score. Orient was happy to play defense in the second half, but did allow the visitors a consolation goal when Matti Lahitie squeezed between three Orient defenders to half-volley a centering pass from Lee Chun-Soo past Sebastien Frey to ruin the clean sheet.

"Jason (Reynolds) did really well in the midfield today," stated Field.

"He did, and that allowed us to use Arrieta- and he was a dominant player today," replied Drabek.

"Think we will use that combination again?" asked a slyly smiling Field.

Drabek chuckled, "Pretty likely, wouldn't you say?"

***

Other Champions Cup 2nd Round 2nd Leg Results:

Inter (3) Lazio (1) (Inter advances on 3-1 aggregate)

Manchester United (4) Dinamo Kiev (1) (Manchester United advances on 5-3 aggregate)

PAO (0) Wisla (0) (PAO advances on away goals after 1-1 aggregate)

Real Madrid (0) Arsenal (0) (Arsenal advances on 3-0 aggregate)

Sparta Prague (3) Brondby (0) (Sparta Prague advances on 4-3 aggregate)

Tottenham (4) Juventus (0) (Tottenham advances on 5-2 aggregate)

Vfb Stuttgart (2) Partizan (0) (Vfb Stuttgart advances on 3-1 aggregate)

***

Champions Cup Quarterfinal Pairings

Arsenal vs. Inter

Manchester United vs. PAO

Leyton Orient vs. Tottenham

Sparta Prague vs. Vfb Stuttgart

Faramir · February 2, 2006

"One coming, one going- that's the way it seems to work," sighed Drabek.

"Is Danny (Byrne) really back in full training tomorrow?"

"Yes. Doctor thinks he is fully healed and should be fine now."

"Was it David (Rowe) that you sent to the physio?"

"Yes. Surgery for David- he is out until at least July to fix his knee."

***

17.3.13

Southampton (0) Leyton Orient (2)

Southampton- None

Orient- D.Poole 55 J.Rowe 80

MOM- Jan Evrard, Leyton Orient

Despite losing keeper Robert Green to injury early in the first half, Southampton gave a gritty effort but ultimately fell to Orient 2-0 at St. Mary's Stadium. Neither side had a good first half of the match and the scoreless nature reflected many botched passes, tackles and headers. Orient's lone good chance had been smothered by sub keeper Steve Norman when Jason Reynolds let the ball get away from him on the dribble while in clean on goal. Orient finally broke through in the second half when Daniel Fredheim Holm alertly stole a pass from Mathew Sadler, then ran by Sadler before crossing to David Poole. Poole overpowered Daniel Higginbotham and blasted his shot past Norman to give Orient the lead. Southampton tried to rally and Orient had to play scrambling defense to deny them some good scoring chances. When Jan Evrard corralled an errant corner kick from Matthew Etherington and laid the ball off- James Rowe drove it past Norman and that seemed to remove the spirit of the home side (and the fans from the Stadium) as Orient finished out their 2-0 road win that keeps them in the driver's seat for their 5th straight EPL title.

EPL Table (all 30 matches played, except Tottenham with 28)

1- Leyton Orient 71 pts (+42)

2- Arsenal 58 pts (+28)

3- Bolton 58 pts (+25)

4- Tottenham 53 pts (+20)

5- Blackburn 50 pts (+17)

6- Newcastle 47 pts (+7)

7- Chelsea 45 pts (+2)

8- Leeds 42 pts (+8)

9- Millwall 41 pts (+2)

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Faramir · February 6, 2006

23.3.13

Leyton Orient (1) Bolton (1)

Orient- R.Hunt 53

Bolton- M.Hart 33

MOM- Matt Hart, Bolton

Neither Orient or Bolton played particularly well in their frenzied match at Brisbane Road and the 1-1 result was a fair one for both sides. Orient was again featuring few of its regular first line players- due to the midweek Champions Cup match with Tottenham- and certainly played very disorganized at times. Bolton fared little better as they had difficulty coping with Orient's pace advantage. Bolton took advantage of a bad mental mistake by Orient's Ben Hutchinson as he was caught well up the pitch and they counter-attacked right into the opening. As the Orient backline shifted to try and contain Robin van Persie, van Persie sent a sharp cross and Matt Hart outleaped Chris Sutton to deflect the ball past James Hicks. Orient fought back and finally started putting a little pressure on Bolton in the early moments of the second half. Dave Davison made a terrific lead pass to Richard Hunt (on for ineffective John Turner) and Hunt slipped past Peter Whittingham before driving a scorching shot past Chris Howarth to even the match at 1-1. The pace of match became frenetic in the waning moments, but both sides were having a difficult time making good passes, which meant neither side managed another good scoring chance as time ran out on the 1-1 draw.

"Well, that certainly wasn't our best performance," muttered Field.

"I didn't expect perfection- I knew leaving out most of the first line might cost us in this match," replied Drabek.

Field looked out the window, "At least we came back and managed to get a draw out of it- it didn't hurt us in the standings because Arsenal lost."

"I was most disappointed in Ben Hutchinson today. He mouthed off to the press about not being in the first team and then managed to play so badly today that our own fans were cringing and booing him- that takes some doing."

"He had a bad match. I am not sure how to take his performance this season- he played well before this year, but just hasn't done anything well in the matches we have used him this season."

Faramir · February 7, 2006

27.3.13

Leyton Orient (2) Tottenham (1) Champions Cup Quartefinal Leg 1

Orient- D.Poole 30 J.Reynolds 42

Tottenham- S.Davis 28

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

After spotting Tottenham a goal, Orient came roaring back with a pair of goals to allow them to edge Tottenham 2-1 in a bitterly contested Champions Cup first leg. Tottenham took the lead, and scored what may be a very important away goal, when Sean Davis snapped a header past Sebastien Frey on a free kick from Simon Davies. Orient answered back almost immediately when David Poole deflected a Daniel Fredheim Holm corner past Tim Howard. Orient took the lead when Jason Reynolds was quickest to the rebound after Howard stopped him initially on a close-in shot late in the first half. The second half belonged to the keepers as Howard was sensational in stopping Poole, Reynolds, Stephen Pearson and Matthew Etherington on good scoring chances. Frey wasn't worked quite as hard, but made a key save late in the half when he parried away Robbie Keane's shot after a flick-on had sent Keane in free on Frey. The 2-1 final sets the stage for a climactic battle at White Hart Lane.

"I would have felt much better if we could have put one more marker on the board," stated Drabek.

"Me too. Howard was just having a phenomenal match. We were probably fortunate to get two goals off of him."

"It was great to have both Steed Malbranque and Stephen Pearson back in the lineup for this match. Nice to finally be getting most of the players healthy again."

"Is Danny Byrne ready to go?"

"Yes, but Daniel (Fredheim Holm) has been playing so well in Cup competition that I wanted to keep him starting for now."

***

Other Champions Cup Quarterfinal Action (1st leg)

Arsenal (3) Inter (0)

Manchester United (3) PAO (2)

Sparta Prague (3) Vfb Stuttgart (0)

Faramir · February 8, 2006

30.3.13

ENGLAND

England (2) Poland (0) World Cup Qualifiers Group 3

England- W.Rooney 15,55

Poland- None

MOM- Wayne Rooney, England

England continued to remain undefeated and on top of Group 3 following their impressive 2-0 win over Poland in front of a sold-out crowd at Wembley. Poland looked lackluster throughout the match and their top threat- Emmanuel Olisadebe- was completely muzzled by the strong English defensive play. England struck early in the first half when Owen Hargreaves, starting for the injured Steven Gerrard, laid off a beautiful pass and Rooney drilled a rising shot into the upper left corner of the net past Tomasz Jacinski. Early in the second half it was strike partner David Poole who slipped him a fine pass and Rooney fired his shot underneath the sprawling Jacinski. With the lead, England settled back to continually frustrate Poland by not allowing them any time on the ball at either end of the pitch. The 2-0 win means that England now has a new record of seven consecutive wins in non-friendly play- a new record. With Wales battling Denmark to a 1-1 draw in Copenhagen, England now has a commanding 7 point edge on 2nd place Wales in the Group. In the other Group 3 match FYR Macedonia scored a late goal to edge Luxembourg 1-0.

Faramir · February 9, 2006

Drabek was obviously excited as he talked on the phone with Spencer Field, "I finally have some good news Spencer."

"Go ahead Will."

"I just checked my voicemail and Daniel Fredheim Holm's agent left me a message that he agreed to our last contract offer. Apparently he decided that Brisbane Road was a good place to stay. Please have the secretary fax them a copy of the contract- you will find it locked up in my top right desk drawer- and they will sign it and get it back to us."

"That is great news Will, glad to hear Daniel will continue to be with us."

***

3.4.13

ENGLAND

Luxembourg (1) England (1) World Cup Qualifiers Group 3

Luxembourg- M.Bernard 67

England- J.Cole 23

MOM- Joe Cole, England

Luxembourg showed heart and gritty determination as they managed to battle to a 1-1 draw while hosting heavily favored England. England was left rueing their missed chances as they couldn't see off the smaller side due to a lack of finishing. England held the first half lead when Joe Cole blasted a 25 yard free kick past Alain Bernard. Luxembourg had only two scoring chances in the match, but they were both beauties and Wes Brown cleared their first one off the goal line to keep England ahead at halftime. The home side's second chance came on a throw-in and the ball bounced around to Patrick Schmit. Schmit slotted the ball and Marc Bernard blasted away from 25 yards out. Richard Wright got a hand on Bernard's shot, but the ball trickled past him and into the net for a dramatic equalizer. England pushed hard for the win, but were unable to score despite some great chances. Denmark beat FYR of Macedonia 4-0 to move into 2nd place in the Group, while Wales edged Poland 2-1 in Warsaw to remain even with Denmark on points.

Faramir · February 10, 2006

10.4.13

Tottenham (1) Leyton Orient (1) Champions Cup Quarterfinal 2nd Leg (Leyton Orient advances on 3-2 aggregate)

Tottenham- R.Keane 90

Orient- J.Reynolds 7

MOM- Jason Reynolds, Leyton Orient

Orient barely survived a furious effort from Tottenham to edge them 3-2 on aggregate and move on to the Champions Cup Semifinals. It was a huge goal for Orient when Jason Reynolds knocked home a volley on a nice cross from strike partner David Poole to give Orient the early edge and even out Tottenham's away goal. Tottenham piled the pressure on the remainder of the first half, but Sebastien Frey- with the help of staunch backline play- stood firm and kept them off the scoreboard. Tottenham did a nice job of limiting Orient to only a very few chances after the Reynolds goal and looked all set to jump right back in the match at the 60 minute mark when Jan Evrard was whistled for holding Helder Postiga in the area. The crowd at White Hart Lane could only groan as Guillaume Petit shot over the net on the penalty kick and was left shaking his head in disbelief. Tottenham continued trying to rally and finally broke through just as the match entered second half injury time as a sharp cross from Simon Davies was headed into the far side of the net by Robbie Keane to give Tottenham a glimmer of hope. Orient's scrambling defense then made a pair of saving tackles in the area to help Frey preserve their aggregate win and a trip to the Semifinals.

"Close one," sighed Drabek.

"We were fortunate today- they really outplayed us quite badly."

"Sebastien (Frey) showed why earns top-dollar again today. He is the one who really won this Quarterfinal for us."

***

Other Champions Cup Quartefinal Results

Inter (0) Arsenal (1) (Arsenal advances on 4-0 aggregate)

PAO (1) Manchester United (0) (PAO advances on Away Goals after 3-3 aggregate)

Vfb Stuttgart (0) Sparta Prague (0) (Sparta Prague advances on 3-0 aggregate)

***

Orient Draws Sparta Prague

In the pairings draw of the Champions Cup Semifinals, Leyton Orient was drawn to face Sparta Prague, while Arsenal and PAO will face each other. The first leg will occur in Prague on 24.4.13.

Faramir · February 11, 2006

13.4.13

Portsmouth (2) Leyton Orient (2)

Portsmouth- C.Reid 27 I.Holland 90

Orient- J.Reynolds 42 L.Talbot 78

MOM- Jason Reynolds, Leyton Orient

Orient wasted a fine effort when they allowed 19th place Portsmouth to even the match in the waning moments and made the long trip home with only a very unsatisfying 2-2 draw on the books. It was a golden opportunity for Orient to put some more ground between itself and the other challengers, but they saw Portsmouth take the lead when Craig Reid overpowered Jan Evrard and Chris Sutton to deflect a corner from Ian Richards past Sebastien Frey. Jason Reynolds evened the match before halftime as he outraced keeper Matt Murray to the loose ball after a slide tackle on Richard Hunt was made by Richard King. Reynolds took the ball away from Murray and snapped it into the net. Orient took the lead midway through the second half when Lee Talbot knifed between two defenders on the dribble and blasted a shot past Murray inside the left post. All of Orient's efforts seemed wasted when they allowed Ian Holland to stroll in from the left side after a throw-in and then saw him beat Frey cleanly inside the far right post with a well-placed shot for a dramatic equalizer in the 2-2 draw.

"Wasteful performance on our part," sighed Drabek.

Field nodded, "A bit better execution offensively and we could have had a hatful of goals. Instead we were fortunate to get the two we had- they were both on individual effort alone."

***

"Bad news Will."

"What now?"

"Richard Hunt has a torn hamstring. Tony (Chamberlain) is reccommending surgery and then he will be out at least 4 months."

Drabek slumped in his chair thinking, "Might as well do it now. It would be much better for him to get it all taken care of now."

sherm · February 12, 2006

still excellent as ever faramir. just caught up with the last few posts, top stuff

i found my own version of cm 03/04 and decided to wipe the dust off and give it a go

oskarsson and torhallsson, aswell as tsigalko...world beaters

Faramir · February 12, 2006

17.4.13

Leyton Orient (1) Leeds (0)

Orient- J.Reynolds 18

Leeds- None

MOM- Stephen Pearson, Leyton Orient

Orient won a very tough physical match as they edged Leeds 1-0 at Brisbane Road. There were plenty of minor nicks to go around, along with 6 yellow cards in the rough match. The lone goal came when Stephen Pearson slipped a pass through and Jason Reynolds was quicker to the ball than John Ryan as his shot skipped past Paul Robinson for his 20th goal of the season. Minutes later, Orient missed a chance to go up 2-0 when David Poole fired his penalty kick off the post after Reynolds was pulled down in the area by Jloyd Samuel. Leeds managed a few good chances too and James Hicks had to be especially sharp to save the curling blast from Andrea Napoli. Hicks stopped Alan Smith and Marco Borriello in the opening moments of the second half to take some of the wind out of their comeback effort. The final whistle found Orient still clinging to the 1-0 score that made them winners.

"How long has it been since David (Poole) has missed a penalty?" asked Drabek.

"I think it has been at least 2-3 seasons since I saw him miss last."

***

EPL Standings (all with 5 matches remaining)

1- Leyton Orient 76 pts (+43)

2- Tottenham 66 pts (+28)

3- Arsenal 64 pts (+33)

4- Bolton 63 pts (+29)

5- Blackburn 56 pts (+21)

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Faramir · February 13, 2006

20.4.13

Leyton Orient (1) Blackburn (0)

Orient- M.Morris 31

Blackburn- None

MOM- Jason Reynolds, Leyton Orient

Orient edged visiting Blackburn 1-0 at Brisbane Road in another tough, physical match. The lone goal in the match came when Matt Morris slipped into the crowd in front of Martin Krivanek and deflected Ben Hutchinson's corner off the inside of the right post. It was a good thing Orient found a way to score on the corner, as Krivanek did a fantastic job on everything else. Davide Vanni was feeling very unlucky by the end of the match. Not only had Krivanek stopped him three times in one-on-ones, he also saved his penalty kick after Jason Reynolds was tripped in the area by Paul John. Krivanek also made a good diving save when it appeared that Reynolds had an open net to shoot at in the second half. Sebastien Frey was sharp when he had to be to earn another clean sheet in the 1-0 win.

"That was a big win," commented a pleased Field.

"Very big win. With only 4 matches left now- we are in very good shape for the title."

"And we finally saw Ben Hutchinson play a good match."

"Maybe we just need to match him with Andrea Rossi- like today- instead of Jan Evrard or Mark Harding."

Faramir · February 14, 2006

Pool on Last Legs

Liverpool is standing on the brink of the precipe and relegation looms as they were once again beaten. Southampton trounced the stumbling Anfield men 5-0 for their 5th straight loss and now they will host top placed Leyton Orient in their first 'do or die' match.

***

"I signed him because I was impressed by his play on the Under-21 side," simply stated Drabek.

"He looks like a solid player, but I don't know how we are going to get him any playing time."

"Well, Robin (Faber) is leaving. I think he may claim some time that way."

Orient Clips Campbell

Leyton Orient today announced the signing of promising young fullback Chris Campbell. Campbell is a 20 year old D/DMRL who Orient signed away from WBA. The tribunal cost for the signing was set at 775K. Campbell is not expected to see significant senior side time with Orient this season.

Faramir · February 15, 2006

24.4.13

Sparta Prague (1) Leyton Orient (1) Champions Cup Semifinal 1st Leg

Sparta Prague- M.Janu 77

Orient- J.Reynolds 17

MOM- Martin Janu, Sparta Prague

Orient held a slim lead through much of the match, but Titus Bramble gave them a penalty kick and Martin Janu whacked home the rebound after Sebastien Frey saved his penalty kick to earn the home side a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions Cup Semifinal. Orient didn't play particularly well in the match, but a slick passing sequence saw Daniel Fredheim Holm pick out Jason Reynolds in the area. Reynolds showed his quickness by whirling past Jiri Zelenka and blasting a shot past Karel Zapletal. Sparta Prague picked up the pace after the goal and Orient was hard pressed to do anything but play solid defense in their end. Titus Bramble had struggled through much of the match, but appeared to be back to his old form when he made a pair of saving tackles in the Orient area. His tackle on Martin Janu was a bad one though, and properly a penalty kick was given due to it. Janu made the most of the rebound as Frey guessed right and parried his initial blast and Sparta Prague was back even at 1-1. The home side tried to take the match from that point and Orient held on by their fingernails as Frey made another nice save on Janu to at least earn them a draw going into the 2nd leg at Brisbane Road. Arsenal thumped PAO 2-0 at Ashburton Grove in the other Semifinal match.

"We will have to play much better than that if we want to make the finals," stated Drabek.

"I don't know why we weren't clicking today, but except for that goal by Jason- nobody seemed on the same page offensively in the match."

WeWillAlwaysBeALight · February 15, 2006

Great story, I read it all the way through a few days ago, but totally forgot to leave a comment. Up the O's.

Faramir · February 20, 2006

Thanks much WeWillAlways... I appreciate your comments

Sorry to all about the posting delay- we had a wee bit of snow in Northern Michigan

***

29.4.13

Liverpool (1) Leyton Orient (2)

Liverpool- R.Gardner 35

Orient- M.Morris 23 D.Poole 60

MOM- Matthew Etherington, Leyton Orient

You could sense the sadness in the 'Pool fans at Anfield as the final whistle sounded the death knell on the season. The 2-1 loss sealed Liverpool's relegation to Division 1 play for next season. Orient took the lead in the first half when Matt Morris deflected Matthew Etherington's corner past Ross Flitney. Liverpool answered with their 1st goal in the six matches when Ross Gardner found the seam in the Orient defense and whipped a shot past James Hicks after a good pass from John Arne Riise. Both sides struggled for the all-important next goal in the second half. James Hicks was called on to make several saves on long shots from Anthony Le Tallec. Orient broke through when David Poole got free and leapt for a cross from Jason Reynolds. Poole flicked the header past Flitney inside the left post and it proved to be the back breaking goal that doomed Liverpool. The win not only doomed 'Pool- it clinched Orient's 5th straight EPL Championship and it was doubly morose for the Anfield fans to see the Orient side celebrating on their way to their dressing room.

"It hasn't been an easy season," sighed Drabek in the midst of the celebration.

"No, but that's what makes this one very worthwhile," agreed Field.

"I think the nicest thing about this- is that David Poole got to put the exclamation point on the season. He worked hard to come back from that injury."

"Well, the part I like is that we have had many close matches this season- today being another one- and we have found ways to win them."

Faramir · February 21, 2006

4.5.13

Leyton Orient (4) Wolves (0)

Orient- J.Torhallsson 12,41,66 S.Lee 83

Wolves- None

MOM- Johann Torhallsson, Leyton Orient

If this was, as expected- because the rumors are he will retire for real this time, Johann Torhallsson's final appearance as an Orient player it was a terrific send-off for a cornerstone player at Brisbane Road. This was Torhallsson's first appearance in quite some time and that seemed to answer the rumors of his impending retirement. Torhallsson was a dynamo on offense in the match and no Wolves player had any luck marking him. His shooting was precision as he fired past Richard Lee three times for an impressive hat-trick. Torhallsson received a standing ovation after the match when he was announced as Man of the Match and there were tears on the Icelandic forward's face as he acknowledged the tribute of the crowd. Orient really ran roughshod over a demoralized Wolves squad and the 4-0 result was a fair indication of their domination of the match.

Faramir · February 22, 2006

8.5.13

Leyton Orient (2) Sparta Prague (0) Champions Cup Semifinal 2nd Leg (Leyton Orient advances on 3-1 aggregate)

Orient- D.Poole 21 D.Fredheim Holm 32

Sparta Prague- None

MOM- David Poole, Leyton Orient

Orient showed its veteran moxie again as they defeated Sparta Prague 2-0 in front of a sold out Brisbane Road to advance to the Champions Cup Finals. The key goal in the match was the first one as Jason Reynolds made a superb flick-on that found David Poole moving past Martin Klein. Poole then made a dazzling move with the ball, leaving keeper Karel Zapletal stuck in place, as he took the ball around him and fired it into the right side of the net. Orient's 2nd goal was more of the accidental variety as Daniel Fredheim Holm picked up a loose ball in the middle of the pitch and blasted away toward the cluster of players in front of Zapletal. Improbably, the ball skittered through the crowd of players and Zapletal saw it too late to react quickly and couldn't grab it as it bounced into the net. With the two goal margin Orient concentrated on stifling the flowing Czech attack and played airtight defense in front of Sebastien Frey. Orient limited Sparta Prague to two shots for the match and Frey had an easy time putting up another clean sheet in the 2-0 win. The press was buzzing after the match, as Arsenal moved past PAO on 4-2 aggregate and will face Orient in a much anticipated Finals showdown to be held at Old Trafford in Manchester.

"I am really proud of how workmanlike we were on defense, we never let them have any time on the ball today," offered a pleased Drabek.

"That and we did just enough offensively to win the match. We really didn't play that well offensively, but we did take advantage of a couple opportunities," replied Field.

"We will have to play much better against Arsenal."

"They are really on a roll now- it is going to be a difficult match."

Faramir · February 23, 2006

12.5.13

Manchester United (1) Leyton Orient (2)

Manchester U- C.Ronaldo 5

Orient- D.Arrieta 64 M.Etherington 90

MOM- Matthew Etherington, Leyton Orient

Manchester United was looking to give caretaker manager ? a win after Steve Bruce had been fired two days previously. They started out on a flyer when Cristiano Ronaldo took advantage of James Hicks wandering out of the net to blast a 35 yard shot past the young keeper for his 25th goal of the season and a quick ManU lead. Orient spent most of the first half on their backheels as they sported a patchwork lineup that wasn't working cohesively on either side of the ball. Manchester U was unlucky not to be leading by more than one goal as both Sanli Tuncay and Damien Duff had blasted shots off the posts behind beleagured Hicks. Orient seemed to right themselves at halftime, but it wasn't until Danilo Arrieta subbed on for a winded Jason Reynolds that they really started clicking offensively. Matthew Etherington made a sensational tightrope dribble down the left sideline after a throw-in and picked out unmarked Arrieta inside the top corner of the area with his centering pass. Arrieta volleyed the ball past 41-year old Fabien Barthez for the equalizer. Etherington then capped off a superb match when he picked up a loose ball just inside midfield and wended his way through Christian Hanke, Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea before zipping a shot inside the left post past Barthez to score a magical goal- his 5th of the season and a dramatic match winner in second half injury time.

"Matthew's (Etherington) goal has to be one of the finest we have seen here at Orient," commented Drabek.

"It was a terrific one to watch, he looked like a hot knife through butter as he moved through their defense," agreed Field.

"This was a fine comeback win, I was happy with the effort- although that goal that James (Hicks) allowed them was a brutal one."

"He just made a bad decision. Hopefully, he chalks it up to experience- especially since we came back to win the match."

Faramir · February 24, 2006

"Why now? Why all this bullcrap now?" asked Drabek rhetorically of Field.

"Frustration. Expectations. Worries over the summer- you can pick any of them."

"Well, I can understand Orri Freyr Oskarsson's outburst more than Jason Hughes'- Orri has been an established player, but he just isn't aging well and if he wants to move during the summer- he can. As for Hughes- did he expect to waltz in here and be selected over Sebastien Frey and James Hicks?"

"Apparently so. This is the third time he has been to the press about it."

"Three strikes and you're out- I know, I know- an American baseball expression, but it has a lot of application here. I am tired of this whining and will be more than pleased to try to usher Mr. Hughes to a new home."

***

Hughes Hitching on in Brighton

Brighton announced that Leyton Orient had agreed to their transfer offer for disgruntled keeper Jason Hughes. Hughes has apparently quickly reached a contract agreement with Brighton and was pleased to be moving there when the transfer season opens up again in early June. The reported agreement has Brighton splashing out 1.7 Million in graduated payments and also reportedly has an appearnce clause.

Faramir · February 26, 2006

19.5.13

Leyton Orient (1) Tottenham (0)

Orient- D.Arrieta 87

Tottenham- None

MOM- Daniel Fredheim Holm, Leyton Orient

Orient put a successful exclamation point on their EPL Championship campaign as they edged 2nd place Tottenham 1-0 on a late goal to please the Brisbane Road crowd. The entire match was closely played and both sides were sporting their regular 1st team lineups as they sought to deliver a statement to each other about the season. The first half featured precious little offense as there was some stellar tackling and overall defensive play from both sides. Tim Howard and Sebastien Frey both started earning their pay in the second half as each of them was called on to make some good saves. It appeared the match was on its way to a scoreless draw when Lee Sims hooked a long cross to the far side of the pitch. Daniel Fredheim Holm showed superb timing and judgement as he beat Hanno Balitsch to the spot and headed the ball down to Danilo Arrieta. Arrieta, who had subbed on for a tiring Jason Reynolds, then showed his sniper's touch by striking a sizzling grass-cutter that scooted past Howard and into the net for a pleasing match winner. Tottenham's last chance saw Stephen Appiah's booming shot skim the crossbar and go over the net as Orient completed their regular season with the 1-0 win.

"A determined effort. The boys really did want Tottenham to realize who the Champions are," observed Drabek.

"They were fired up for it. We didn't click well on offense, but it was another terrfic defensive match."

"Now to get them ready for Arsenal..."

***

2012-13 Final EPL Table

1- Leyton Orient 28-7-3 91 pts (+51) (Conceded 21 goals)

2- Tottenham 22-12-4 78 pts (+36)

3- Bolton 20-13-5 73 pts (+33)

4- Arsenal 21-9-8 72 pts (+34)

5- Newcastle 18-10-10 64 pts (+17)

6- Leeds 16-11-11 59 pts (+18)

7- Blackburn 15-13-10 58 pts (+15)

8- Chelsea 16-8-14 56 pts (+3)

9- Millwall 13-11-14 50 pts (+0)

20- Liverpool 6-10-22 28 pts (-37)

</pre>

Faramir · February 27, 2006

English Players Player of the Year

1- Matt Hart, Bolton

2- Adriano, Arsenal

3- Richard Wright, Everton

***

English Players Young Player of the Year

1- Andrea Napoli, Leeds

2- Neil Gould, Bolton

3- Tom Thorpe, Southampton

***

English Footballer of the Year

1- Giacomo Cipriani, Bolton

2- Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United

3- Jens Forster, Arsenal

***

UEFA Cup Final

Newcastle over Udinese 2-1 on a pair of goals from Michael Chopra in Lisbon.

***

English FA Cup Final

Division 1 Barnsley stuns Leeds with 2-1 win in extra time on penalty kick by 19 year old phenom striker Neil Francis.

Faramir · February 28, 2006

"That was the one thing I was trying to avoid," said Will Drabek as he watched Lee Sims undergo treatment in the dressing room.

"How bad does Tony (Chamberlain) think it is?" asked a concerned Spencer Field.

"Bad enough that he won't be ready to play in the Finals. He really thinks he will be out only a few days, but he also said there is no way he can bring the swelling in Lee's ankle down soon enough to have him ready to play against Arsenal."

"How do you want to adjust the lineup?"

"I guess we will have to start Carl Laurie at rightback and use Andrea Rossi at leftback."

***

29.5.13

1- Pearson hits post from outside the area

7- Frey tips Henry blast over net

28- Adriano just wide into the side netting

35- Kirkland smothers Reynolds in one-on-one

43- Kirkland parries Reynolds in one-on-one and then grabs off his rebound shot as well

51- Reynolds finally wins one-on-one from sharp angle and fires into net past Kirkland 1-0 Leyton Orient

53- Frey tips Pennant volley around the post

55- Gerrard misses over the net from close-in

56- Pearson steps in to take Forster pass and gives to Reynolds- who misses over the net

64- Henry subbed on for by James Graham (bad match for Henry)

66- Pennant great run on right side past Rossi- sharp cross in headed by Adriano, but Frey makes a sensational save in pushing it past the post

70- Adriano runs down ball on space to rightside, Frey challenges and Adriano takes it around him, but then misses wide on the very sharp angle at the open net

93- Bramble saving tackle as Gerrard slides the ball to unmarked Adriano

93- Graham makes a great spin-around move just beyond the six-yard box, but Frey tips his shot over the net

94- Frey grabs off the last-gasp corner from Arsenal to preserve the 1-0 Orient win.

Leyton Orient (1) Arsenal (0) Champions Cup Final- Old Trafford, Manchester, England

Orient- J.Reynolds 51

Arsenal- None

MOM- Jason Reynolds, Leyton Orient

Orient won their 4th straight Champions Cup thanks to superlative performances from the young (Jason Reynolds) and the old (Sebastien Frey) as they edged Arsenal in a nail-biting 1-0 match at Old Trafford. Reynolds was a huge problem for Arsenal throughout the match as they had difficulty marking him. The third time was the charm for Reynolds as Chris Kirkland stopped him twice in one-on-one situations in the first half before Reynolds scored the only goal of the match in a one-on-one early in the second half. After Reynolds' goal, Orient was forced to lean hard on the rock solid performance of keeper Frey, as Arsenal attacked incessently the rest of the match desperately trying to get the equalizer. Arsenal tested Frey severely, but were left shaking their heads as the 33 year old French keeper gave a performance that will remain in Finals lore as he preserved the close win with his stellar work in net.

Drabek and Field were beaming, enjoying the celebration.

"Have you ever seen Sebastien (Frey) play better?" asked Field.

"No. I would have picked him MOM over Jason, but it was a close call."

"Anything that you pick up on why David (Poole) played so badly today? Was he hurt?"

"No, I guess he was just tired- that was his worst match in a long time. If he plays up to his normal ability, we likely win this match much more easily."

"Why didn't we sub for him? Danilo (Arrieta) is hot and was ready to go..."

"Because David is the best penalty taker we have- and the way they were buzzing around our net, I really thought it would wind up in penalties when it was all said and done."

"Glad it didn't."

"Me too. Let's enjoy it- it was a great win."

Faramir · March 1, 2006

2012-13 Leyton Orient Selected Stats

Forwards

Jason Reynolds 37 apps 22 gls 14 asts 11 MOM 8.16

Richard Hunt 19 apps 9 gls 1 ast 4 MOM 7.53

Davide Vanni 17 apps 11 gls 2 asts 3 MOM 7.29

Danilo Arrieta 32 apps (23 subs) 12 gls 3 asts 3 MOM 7.25

Johann Torhallsson 13 apps 10 gls 4 asts 3 MOM 7.15

David Poole 15 apps 9 gls 6 asts 3 MOM 7.13

Orri Freyr Oskarsson 20 apps (11 subs) 1 gl 5 asts 0 MOM 6.85

John Turner 16 apps 1 gl 3 asts 0 MOM 6.31

Midfielders

Stephen Pearson 30 apps 3 gls 6 asts 2 MOM 7.57

Daniel Fredheim Holm 30 apps 5 gls 11 asts 3 MOM 7.50

Matthew Etherington 31 apps 5 gls 10 asts 3 MOM 7.48

James Rowe 25 apps 4 gls 7 asts 0 MOM 7.20

Danny Byrne 11 apps 1 gl 1 ast 1 MOM 7.18

David Rowe 14 apps 1 gl 1 ast 0 MOM 7.14

Lee Talbot 15 apps (10 subs) 3 gls 6 asts 0 MOM 7.07

Matt Morris 21 apps 4 gls 2 asts 1 MOM 7.05

Steed Malbranque 22 apps 1 gl 3 asts 1 MOM 7.00

Richard White 24 apps 0 gls 6 asts 0 MOM 6.92

Lee Bowler 8 apps (8 subs) 1 gl 0 asts 0 MOM 6.88

Jan Kristiansen 38 apps (32 subs) 2 gls 4 asts 0 MOM 6.87

William Flood 10 apps (10 subs) 0 gls 1 ast 0 MOM 6.80

Steve Lee 12 apps 1 gl 0 asts 0 MOM 6.67

Dave Davison 6 apps 0 gls 1 ast 0 MOM 6.50

Defenders

Chris Sutton 18 apps 0 gls 1 ast 0 MOM 7.56

Carl Laurie 36 apps 2 gls 1 ast 1 MOM 7.53

Jan Evrard 22 apps 0 gls 1 ast 1 MOM 7.45

Lee Sims 35 apps 1 gl 1 ast 1 MOM 7.37

Andrea Rossi 35 apps 2 gls 1 ast 0 MOM 7.31

Titus Bramble 39 apps 1 gl 0 asts 0 MOM 7.13

Robin Faber 21 apps 1 gl 3 asts 1 MOM 7.00

Ryan Garry 14 apps (6 subs) 1 gl 2 asts 0 MOM 6.86

Mark Harding 12 apps 0 gls 0 asts 0 MOM 6.67

Matthias Franz 7 apps 0 gls 1 ast 0 MOM 6.50

Ben Hutchinson 6 apps 0 gls 1 ast 0 MOM 6.00

Keepers

Sebastien Frey 43 apps 27 conceded 20 clean sheets 1 ast 1 MOM 7.16

James Hicks 15 apps 7 conceded 10 clean sheets 0 MOM 6.67

Jason Hughes 1 app 2 conceded 0 MOM 5.00

Faramir · March 5, 2006

8.6.13

ENGLAND

FYR of Macedonia (1) England (4) World Cup Qualifiers Group 3

FYR- D.Georgievski 56

England- G.Johnson 13 D.Poole 18 M.Hill 62 L.Croft 80

MOM- Jason Reynolds, England

England kept their lead in Group 3 intact with a confident performance as they pushed their way past Macedonia 4-1 at Skopje. It was a quick start for England when Jason Reynolds sent a corner back to lurking Glen Johnson and he made inattentive Macedonia pay with a 25 yard blast past Dejan Smilevski for his 1st International goal. Wayne Rooney and David Poole looked like partners of old after Rooney made a neat move to get past two Macedonian defenders on the left sideline and then was able to pick out Poole with a dazzling pass. Poole had a step on two defenders and just enough time to half-volley the ball home for a brilliant goal to make it 2-0 England. Macedonia got a glimmer of hope when they drew a goal back as Dejan Georgievski drilled a 30 yard free kick off the inside of the right post past Richard Wright. England quashed that hope when Matt Hill scored his 1st International goal as he deflected a Joe Cole corner past Smilevski. Jason Reynolds then capped his selection for MOM honours as he slid past two defenders and then unselfishly laid the ball off for Lee Croft to blast into the left side of the net to cap the 4-1 win. In other Group 3 play, Denmark easily handled Poland 4-1 in Copenhagen and Wales marched to an easy 4-1 triumph in Luxembourg.

"You should have seen Jason (Reynolds)," said Drabek into the cell phone.

"It looked splendid on the telly," replied Spencer Field back in England.

"Jason looks ready to live up to whatever accolades he can earn- he was terrific today."

Faramir · March 6, 2006

"Ok, Spencer. Don't worry about it now- I will take care of it when I am back."

Field's voice sounded tinny, "It won't be a problem for a while. John (Wardle) and Tony (Chamberlain) can handle all the physio chores until you hire another one."

"We will miss Mark (Leather). He has been a big part of our success."

"True, but Mark felt he just needed less travel and such- he was ready to take his prize money and find a business."

***

12.6.13

ENGLAND

England (4) Wales (0) World Cup Qualifiers Group 3

England- S.Moore 1,34 D.Poole 12 M.Owen 76

Wales- None

MOM- Stefan Moore, England

With Wayne Rooney missing due to yellow cards, it was another old tandem for David Poole and Stefan Moore as they worked beautifully up front. England struck for the lead in the first minute of play when Steven Gerrard broke up a Wales attack and after a pass that was sent on by Jermaine Pennant, Poole flicked a header on to unmarked Moore and he smashed a shot past Owain Fon Williams for a stunning start to the match. Moore returned the favor as he flicked on a long pass from Titus Bramble and picked out Poole beyond Gareth Owen. Poole's lightning quick shot scooted by Williams and England was rolling, ahead 2-0. A pretty corner play found Pennant flicking the ball back across to Moore, again unmarked by Paul John, and Moore scored his 2nd of the match to make it 3-0 at halftime. Michael Owen, on for the slightly injured Poole, then put a capper on the match as he picked out Moore with a good pass and then used his still substantial pace to find room among three Welsh defenders before slotting home a goal to the left side past Williams to finish off the 4-0 win. In other Group 3 action, Denark dumped Luxembourg 3-0 on the road, while FYR Macedonia and Poland battled to a 3-3 draw in Skopje. England is now on the verge of clinching the top spot in Group 3, with Denmark solidly second.

Faramir · March 7, 2006

2013 Confederations Cup

England Roster

GK- Richard Wright, Chris Kirkland

Def- Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Glen Johnson, Ashley Cole, Lee Sims, Carl Laurie, Matt Hill, Titus Bramble

Mid- Jermaine Pennant, Joe Cole, Jason Reynolds, Steven Gerrard, Jermain Jenas, Lee Croft, Owen Hargreaves, Jerome Thomas

For- David Poole, Wayne Rooney, Stefan Moore, Michael Owen

***

Drabek's laugh carried the miles to Spencer Field's phone, "How much?"

Field couldn't help smiling, "Well the Board's dividend payout was 1.7 Million- that meant you were in very good favor with them. The TV money came to 18 Million. Add that to the fact that we are 700K a week under the Board's expected weekly wage budget of 1.7 Million and that all adds up to the fact the Board is more than willing to let us splurge a little on the transfer market."

"Ok, ok Spencer, quit teasing me. How much of a transfer fund?"

"67 Million."

"WHAT?"

"A nice little, tidy sum of chump change, eh?"

"Criminy. Well, we can talk about it when I get back from the Middle East after the Confederations Cup."

"How are the United Arab Emirates as a place to compete?"

"Everything seems very first class. Security is tight as you would expect."

"Stay safe, I'll talk to you soon."

Faramir · March 8, 2006

England Starting Lineup versus South Africa (Confederations Cup)

GK- Wright

DR- Johnson

DL- Laurie (Ashley Cole Suspended for this match)

DCR- Bramble (Ferdinand minor injury will keep him from playing today)

DCL- Brown

MR- Pennant

ML- Joe Cole

MC- Gerrard

MC- Reynolds

SC- Poole

SC- Rooney

***

ENGLAND

20.6.13

England (0) South Africa (0) Confederations Cup Group B

England- None

South Africa- None

MOM- Lucas Mazibuko, South Africa

England did not play particularly well as they allowed South Africa to leave with a scoreless draw thanks to indifferent execution. The English play was best described as a 'muddy river'- they flowed continually into the South African end, but muddled passing wound up costing them many chances. South Africa had the first good chance of the match, as Gift Leremi took the ball in alone on Richard Wright after Joe Cole inexplicably failed to pick up the ball at the edge of the area. Wright proved why he has been the starting keeper for so long with a brilliant save on Lermei to keep things scoreless. Moments later it looked like another chance for South Africa, but Benedict Valakazi looked to be cleanly away and then appeared to tumble as Titus Bramble came on to him from behind. The English fans held their breath, and the call went against Valakazi as he drew a yellow card for diving. That was the last good chance South Africa would have. On the attack now, England came close late in the first half when David Poole made an excellent pickup after Emille Baron mishandled the ball. Poole swung the ball back for Jermaine Pennant, but Pennant- as he did most of the match- blasted his shot high over the cross bar. Early in the second half Wayne Rooney ran down a ball on the left sideline and made a pretty cross to Poole, but Baron got his hand on Poole's header and steered it around the post. England's last good chance in the waning moments was a free kick just beyond the area in the center of the pitch, but Joe Cole's rising blast skittered off the top of the crossbar and that left England with a disappointing 0-0 draw.

***

"Ok, Spencer I agree with you on those. You talked to Dave (Colley) and Paul (Quentin)?"

"Yes, they agree with our assessments also on them."

"Offer Ross Paul, Robert Byrne and Daniel Steele new contracts then. Release the rest of the Under-19 players."

"Ok, I am convinced this is the right thing to do. None of the others has shown anything close to the level of ability or development that we were hoping to see. Those three are all borderline, but you are correct that they will sign inexpensively and are worth keeping at this point."

Faramir · March 9, 2006

ENGLAND

24.6.13

Costa Rica (0) England (0) Confederations Cup Group B

Costa Rica- None

England- None

MOM- Jose Brenes, Costa Rica

With a second ineffectual offensive showing, England put themselves in the unenviable position of having to defeat the host UAE club to have a chance at the Confederations Cup playoff. Much more was expected of the veteran English club, but their poor passing and the lack of a player to step up and break open the match continued to mystify their fans as they outplayed Costa Rica but couldn't capitalize on their chances. England's best chance came late in the first half when David Poole got up to flick a header. Costa Rican keeper Ivan Garcia made a fingertip save, but appeared to be at the mercy of Wayne Rooney who had a wide open net. Rooney fluffed his shot and the ball rolled to a thankful Garcia. Alfonso Solis had Costa Rica's best scoring chance, but fired into the side netting from just beyond the six yard box. England Manager Will Drabek likely rues the loss of Lee Croft- as the midfielder will miss the remainder of the cup with injury and young Jason Reynolds hasn't yet demonstrated the dynamic force he has shown previously. England will now have to face UAE in two days and then even if they win, have help from South Africa if they are to have a chance to advance to the playoffs. Glen Johnson will be suspended for the UAE match on yellow cards.

Faramir · March 11, 2006

"Yeah, Spencer- I feel like I have to change the lineup somewhat. We aren't doing anything so far offensively. Jermaine Pennant is going to the bench and Jason Reynolds will play on right wing. Jermaine Jenas will move into the central midfield. Stefan Moore will replace Wayne Rooney up front."

"You're going to hear a lot from the press on that Will- moving Wayne Rooney out and leaving Poole in- they are going to be all over you if it doesn't work."

Field could almost hear the shrug from Drabek over the phone, "I do what I believe is best for the club. If it doesn't work, then I deserve all the heat. Not like they could match the heat of the desert here anyways."

Field laughed, "Good luck with it Will."

"Thanks Spencer. I will call you to check on training again tomorrow."

***

ENGLAND

26.6.13

United Arab Emirates (1) England (3)

UAE- A.Obeid 41

England- S.Moore 59,

MOM- Stefan Moore, England

In a 'must-win' match for England, their fans had to shocked as they went to half-time trailing 1-0. The first half was another nightmare for England offensively as they couldn't put pressure on UAE due to more poor passing and decision making- both of which have plagued them the entire Confederations Cup tourney. The entire English club looked down when Abdulla Obeid drilled a 30 yard blast off the inside of the left post past Richard Wright after Ahmed Ibrahim had flicked a header back out to him off of a corner. England got off to a more determined start in the second half, but the host side was doing well at thwarting English chances in the area with fine tackling. At 59 minutes, England finally broke its scoreless string in this year's Cup competition. David Poole flicked on a long pass from Lee Sims, and Stefan Moore picked it up and moved past Abdulla Juma before rocketing the equalizer past Ali Rabeea. England kept pressing, their desperation evident as they needed the win, and their movement forward paid off at 84 minutes when Ashley Cole's good pass picked out Moore in the area. Moore pivoted past Tariq Mohammed, who had come on for Abdulla Juma, and slammed a low shot past Rabeea to send the small contingent of English fans into a frenzy and the sold out host crowd into stunned silence. Moore then capped off his tremendous match by clinching the win for England as he completed his hat-trick. It appeared an innocent goal kick, but Jason Reynolds headed the ball on and David Poole raced past his marker to pick the ball up. Rabeea came out to challenge Poole, only to see Poole cross to the far post where Moore headed the ball in after slipping past Mohammed's marking. Despite the win, the host UAE side can still knock England out of the competition if they defeat South Africa in their final Group B match. Ashley Cole's yellow card ensures he will miss his next English match on suspension.

Faramir · March 12, 2006

"It was a great win Spencer, now everything depends on South Africa and I have heard rumors they may just play for a draw."

"That would be a shame, but they certainly favor UAE over you."

"Nothing we can do but hope for the best. We will be home quickly if UAE wins. Everything going Ok in trainging so far?"

"Yes, no injuries yet."

"Sounds good, talk to you soon."

***

"Yeah, it was great Spencer. Whatever rumors I heard about South Africa were wrong. They wanted to win that match badly and qualify as the top place club in Group B- so they get China in the Semi-finals."

"Well, you're in now, but Italy wants to beat us badly Will- you know that..."

"I believe they do Spencer," said Drabek, his grin evident in the sunny voice, "I also believed the road to winning the Cup was through them in any case- so meeting them in the Semifinals doesn't bother me at all."

"If the boys play as badly as they have against South Africa and Costa Rica..." Field trailed off.

"We will get swatted if we play that badly Spencer, you and I both know that. Still, hopefully we turned the corner with that strong second half against UAE."

Faramir · March 13, 2006

ENGLAND

1.7.13

Italy (0) England (1) Confederations Cup Semifinal

Italy- None

England- D.Poole 46

MOM- Joe Cole, England

Italy was left shaking their heads once again, after seeing England win another close match against them. The last time Italy had defeated England was in a friendly at Wembley in 2010 in the run-up to the World Cup. The 3-1 win they scored seem to wake up the England squad that then defeated them 3-2 in the World Cup Final. England again beat them in 2011 in the Confederations Cup Final. Italy looked for revenge in the early going, but the English backline was playing stalawart defense- led by Leyton Orient bookends Lee Sims and Carl Laurie starting at the fullbacks. Neither side had very good scoring chances in the first half but the play was spirited. Miscommunication between Matteo Ferrari and Daniele Bonera cost Italy dearly in the opening moments of the second half. A long centering pass fell between them and neither moved quickly as David Poole snuck between and smashed a low shot past ancient Gianluigi Buffon. Italy tried desperately to rally, but found England quicker to every loose ball as England played with much more tenacity than they had shown so far in this Conferderations Cup. The final whistle found Italy trudging despondently off the pitch again as England moves on to face South Africa again, as the plucky side defeated China on penalties after playing to a 1-1 draw in regular time. English skipper Rio Ferdinand will miss the Finals as he injured his neck in the match and gamely played the match out with the injury.

***

"I thought it was a nice touch Spencer. He isn't match ready, so I don't expect to play him- but he deserves the spot."

"The fans liked it too- though hopefully it won't end up hurting you in the Finals."

Rooney Injured- Will Miss Finals

Wayne Rooney suffered an injury in training and will miss the Confederation Cup Finals tomorrow. England Manager Will Drabek announced in a surprise move that retiring winger David Thompson would be named to replace Rooney on the National side.

Faramir · March 14, 2006

ENGLAND

4.7.13

South Africa (0) England (0) Confederations Cup Final (South Africa wins on penalties)

South Africa- None

England- None

MOM- Stefan Moore, England

It mattered little that England dominated regulation and extra time play as they could not find a way to score and the match went to penalties. It was there that England fell short of capturing their 3rd straight Confederations Cup. Glen Johnson will likely be unfairly branded the goat of the match, as he had a chance to win the match on penalties for England after Richard Wright made a great fingertip save to deny Gift Leremi, but Johnson missed over the top of the net and then Joe Cole missed wide to send the South Africans into a wild celebration at their upset win. England had plenty of good opportunities to score during regulation, but either saw Emile Barron come up with big saves, or they missed closely. For the match, England hit the post once and the side netting several times. After the match, the English crowd graciously gave retiring David Thompson a huge ovation- even though he had not been dressed for the Finals.

Field could hear Drabek's sigh over the phone, "We gave it our best Spencer, but we just didn't have that finishing touch today. I thought we had them when Glen Johnson stepped up, but that is the way of it in penalties..."

"It was a good match Will, you could see they were hanging on by their fingernails under the pressure the boys applied to them."

"I am not disappointed in our effort, it was all that we had. How are things in training?"

"So far, so good. No major injuries to report and the club is starting to round into shape for our friendly with Paris-SG."

"Sounds like you are doing a fine job Spencer. I will be home in a couple days and will call you when I am there."

Faramir · March 15, 2006

Drabek Sacked as English Manager!

In a stunning announcement, the head of the English Federation announced today that they had decided to make a change in the leadership of the English National side and that Will Drabek would not be continuing in that role. The firing was announced after yesterday's Confederation Cup loss to South Africa on penalties. Despite winning two European Championships and Two Confederations Cups to go with their runner-up finish at the last World Cup, it is rumored that Drabek had somehow made powerful enemies who had been actively seeking his removal. Drabek, who is travelling home seperate from the National side on a scouting trip to Italy, could not be reached for comment.

***

"Yes, Spencer- I am fine. It was a bit of a surprise to find out through the press and not with a personal call- but I can live with it."

"They didn't even contact you before the press conference?" asked an incredulous Field.

"No. I have to wonder a bit about that, but in the end it matters very little. I will just concentrate on Orient now."

"Want me to comment to the press? They are stacked like wood around here- waiting on your return."

"No. Just let them stew for now. I will make a comment when I am back tomorrow. I should be there about 7:30 in the evening."

"Want me to let them know that?"

"I am not looking forward to it, but it might as well be then- so go ahead and tell them that."

***

Drabek looked out at the sea of cameras and reporters, "Just a moment. Before any questions I would like to make a brief statement. I want to thank all the players and staff that have been part of the English National side during the almost 7 years I was involved with the program. We have accomplished much that our country, our fans and our loved ones can be proud of. I am sorry that I won't be a part of that in the future, but I trust that the players will continue to scale the highest heights."

Drabek waved his hand as a gesture to start the questions.

"There are rumors that you made some powerful enemies on the Board that were the cause of your dismissal. How do you respond to that?"

Drabek gave a short laugh, "I guess you can judge the mettle of most men by the quality of their enemies. Mine are likely top drawer."

"When were you informed of the decision by the Federation?"

Drabek gave a short bow to the willowly, black haired female reporter that had first broken the story, "When I saw your story Amanda."

There was a bit of a stunned silence as the throng digested that.

The lady reporter, Amanda Steele, spoke up again, "You mean they did *not* inform you personally of their decision?"

"That is correct. I am sure they have their reasons for how this was handled and you will have to discuss that with them, as I can't and won't offer any comments on that."

"Is there any truth to the rumor that they let you go because you had been involved in organized crime?"

More silence, this time complete as many reporters looked inquiringly at the reporter who asked the question.

Drabek smiled, "No use lying to you, since it is a matter of my birth record- yes, Drogo Drabek is my paternal father. That however, doesn't make me involved in whatever ventures he held during his life, nor does that provide you with any proof that I was. I dare you to come out with that in a story and then see how well the slander charges hold up against you."

The reporter smiled a wicked smile, "The dare. Wonderful, I love bringing down the 'high and mighty'. You will fall just like any other Drabek." With that said, he spun and left the press tent quickly before any of the quietly murmuring press could think about stopping him.

Drabek sighed tiredly, "Gentlemen, I am tired and it is time for me to say good night to you. I do not plan on offering any further comments regarding my sacking, but if you would like to discuss Orient- come and see me anytime."

Faramir · March 16, 2006

"Did you see that Wayne Rooney is complaining about his contract again at Aston Villa," asked Spencer Field.

"What a surprise," replied Will Drabek dryly.

"Yes, it did seem a bit deja vu to me too."

***

"I guess we should have knocked on wood more Spencer."

"Well, the other injuries were minor. You and I both knew this one wasn't when he was carted off."

"I had to agree with Tony Chamberlain on the diagnosis. Best to get the surgery out of the way now, we will get him back sooner and hopefully 100% for the rest of the season."

"Have to agree on that, still losing Jason (Reynolds) for three months is a big blow to us. We don't have much depth at forward- while we do have more at any other spot."

"I will see what we might be able to bring in to help. I don't want to overreact and add a big, high-priced name, because with Danilo Arrieta and Davide Vanni we do have a couple quality players."

"True, but beyond them we have unhappy John Turner, untested Lee Peacock and injured Richard Hunt."

"Hunt should be back in full training soon though. So he isn't all that far from being ready for the start of the season."

"I still think we need to explore getting another veteran in though- after all, we have a long European grind awaiting too..."

***

"Well, what do you think so far?" asked Drabek of Assistant Manager Spencer Field.

"I like the veteran core we have, but we seem thin on depth Will."

Drabek nodded, "We are a bit more thin on veteran depth- especially at forward- but I think this has to be the year that we start transitioning over to the younger players that we have."

"Like Mark Harding?"

"Well, I am still not sure about Mark. He has wonderful talent, but he still makes too many mistakes and has never had much consistency."

"We haven't really given him the chance..."

"With Andrea Rossi around, he will just have to bide his time. By the way, I am seriously looking at pairing Chris Sutton and Rossi in the middle."

"If we do that, then we have an overload of center defenders. You're sure you don't want them at fullbacks like we originally planned."

"I am not discounting playing them there, but I do want to see how they fare in the middle. Our next friendly against Inter will be a good opportunity."

"Keep your eyes open for another forward, because I really do feel we need one..."

Faramir · March 17, 2006

Drabek flipped the printed report to Field. "Let me know what you think."

Leyton Orient 2013-14 Press Guide

Sebastien Frey- (33, 47000/2015)- Nicknamed 'The Rock' by the Brisbane Road faithful- Steady Frenchmen has been the starting keeper in the large majority of the important matches Orient have played since he arrived in 2009- One of the veteran leaders and steadying influences in the dressing room for Orient- In his 4 seasons with Orient Frey has 98 clean sheets- 7 French Caps- Frey's Transfer purchase price of 16.75 Million from Parma remains a club record

James Hicks- (20, 15500/2017)- Since arriving late in 2009, Hicks has been mentored by the Frey- 29 clean sheets in his time with Orient- Current English Under-21 Keeper and being touted for a future place on the National side- Nicknamed 'Robin' for his supposed sidekick status to Frey- Transfer price fixed by Board from Arsenal for 1.1 Million after signing with Orient

Daniel Carr- (23, 7250/2014)- One of the longest serving Orient players, having arrived in 2005 while Orient was on their way up the ladder- Reportedly will play out his contract this season and then will seek a club that will allow him to start regularly- Originally purchased from Wimbledon for 2K

Carl Laurie- (31, 22000/2016)- An unquestioned leader of Orient who can play at either fullback, but has been starting leftback for several seasons- Came to Orient in 2004 on 45K transfer purchase from Swansea- 36 Caps- Though specializes at Fullback role can play a number of postions within the Orient system

Lee Sims- (28, 24500/2016)- The starting Rightback for Orient since 2004 when he signed on after being released by Manchester United- 10 Caps- One of the fiercest tacklers on the Orient backline- Another steady veteran presence in the Orient dressing room

Ryan Garry- (29, 19000/2016)- The valuable 'Swingman' of the Orient backline, Garry has filled in for either Fullback role on a regular basis- Joined the club on Free Transfer after being released by Arsenal in 2006- Important Gameday sub who can play any position on the Orient backline- 1 Cap

Titus Bramble- (32, 28000/2015)- One of the Co-Captains of Orient- Steady presence in the backline has been one of the keys to Orient's success in European play- 43 Caps- Arrived in Orient as a result of 1.5 Million Transfer purchase from Newcastle early in the 2006-7 season- Reportedly wants to play out his career at Brisbane Road and then remain as a Coach

Jan Evrard- (29, 47000/2015)- Belgian was not highly regarded as a center defender when arriving at Orient after Transfer purchase for 3.1 Million from Anderlecht after the 2008-9 season, but has proven his mettle against the toughest competition- 42 Belgian Caps- Surprisingly good passer and a key cog in Orient's counterattacks

Mark Harding- (24, 15250/2015)- Another long serving member of Orient having arrived in a 1K Transfer purchase from Wimbledon following the the 2005-6 season- Has not been able to break into the lineup on a regular basis despite his solid skills- Depth player if injuries occur in the center defense

Andrea Rossi- (25, 15250/2016)- A key addition during last season's success- Flambouyant Italian defender has played on their Under-21 side, but has not yet Capped- Versatile defender who proved he could also play Leftback last season- Came to Orient on Transfer purchase from Parma for 2.9 Million

Chris Sutton- (23, 15250/2016)- Offered Orient depth when they needed it on their backline last season- Like Rossi, proved that he could play Rightback despite doubters- Has appeared on English Under-21 side- Arrived at Orient on 1.8 Million Transfer purchase from WBA before 2011-12 season

Matthias Franz- (26, 18,250/2016)- Underrated depth player at Leftback for Orient- Arrived at Orient on 850K Transfer purchase from Hannover 96 in 2009-10 season- Reserve Keeper Patrick Franz is his cousin

Simon Campbell- (20, 14000/2015)- One of the several 'Young Turks' who are providing depth on the Orient backline- Came to Orient on 2.1 Million Transfer purchase from Millwall early last season- Expected to work with Titus Bramble who will reportedly mentor several of the young defenders that have come to Orient recently- Many English Under-21 appearances

Ben Hutchinson- (23, 14750/2015)- One of two players on the Senior side that came from the Orient youth program- Appeared heavily in 2011-12 campaign filling in for injured Titus Bramble

Richard Carter- (20, 11000/2016)- Just joined Orient this summer after being 1.3 Million Transfer purchase from Manchester United- Will work extensively with Titus Bramble- Reputation as a tenacious defender, but hasn't seen much Senior side play yet

Chris Campbell- (20, 1600/2016)- Flowing Fullback who can fill in on either side of the pitch- Hasn't yet fully filled out physically- Expected to work extensively with Carl Laurie, whose play many scouts say he resembles- Excellent at crossing- Has appeared on the English Schoolboy Level side- Came to Orient on 775K Transfer purchase from WBA following 2012-13 season

William Flood- (28, 14250/2014)- Has been a valuable, versatile gameday sub for Orient since arriving on Free Transfer after being released by Manchester City before 2008-9 season- 26 Irish Caps- Reportedly will leave Orient following this season to pursue a regular starting role for another club- Has played every position in the Orient lineup at one time or another while here

Danny Byrne- (28, 40000/2015)- Originally joined Orient on loan from Manchester United in 2004-5 season, but then was purchased by Orient for 2K with sell-on fees- Starting Rightwing for most of his time at Orient, but injuries have plagued Byrne including last season when he only played in 11 matches- 29 Irish Caps- In 2008-9, his finest season at Orient, Byrne managed to make 16 Assists

Daniel Fredheim-Holm- (27, 60000/2016)- One of the highest compensated Orient players- Joined Orient early in 2009-10 season on 4.6 Million Transfer purchase from Arsenal- Has played a key role on either Wing while playing for Orient- 27 Norwegian Caps, 5 International Goals- Appeared set to walk away from Orient early last season, but then chose to sign a new, hefty contract

Matthew Etherington- (31, 36000/2014)- Cultured Winger who reportedly is playing his last season at Orient- Rumored to be seeking new challenges following the season- Originally joined Orient on Bosman signing from Millwall after 2008-9 season- 12 Caps- Has played an important role in Orient success with play on the Leftwing

Stephen Pearson- (30, 55000/2015)- The 'Flying Scotsman' has been a key component in the Orient midfield success- Tenacious end-to-end player who leads the club by example- 37 Scot Caps, 11 International Goals- Joined Orient after 2.5 Million Transfer purchase from Wolves before the 2007-8 season

Jan Kristiansen- (31, 23000/2015)- Orient's 'Supersub' who has subbed on in 140 matches (50 starts) since arriving at Orient from Juventus in 2007-8 season as part of the exchange that took Aaron Lennon to Italy- 61 Danish Caps, 14 International Goals- A key veteran leader and powerful dressing room presence for Orient- Can fill any midfield role

Steed Malbranque- (33, 45000/2014)- Smooth, veteran French midfielder has played a lot of key matches for Orient since arriving in 2.5 Million Transfer purchase midway through 2010-11 season- 21 French Caps- Rumors are that Malbranque plans either a move back to France or retirement following the expiration of his contract with Orient after this season

Matthew Morris- (22, 7000/2018)- Promising youngster's development under Malbranque's tutelage has made Orient willing to allow Adam Roberts and previously David Fox go to other pastures- Came to Orient from Chelsea youth program as a 16 year old when purchased by Orient for 800K- recently signed a new contract that carries through 2018- First extensive Senior level play was last season, but expected to be featured even more this season

David Rowe- (21, 750/2015)- Known as 'The Bulldog' for tackling and tough disposition- Unliked by referees and other club's due to perceptions about his on-pitch behavior- Arrived at Orient from Doncaster after being purchased for 350K in 2008-9 season as a 16 year old- bidding for a major contract overhaul with this season's performance

Steve Lee- (21, 11750/2015)- One of the best Orient defensive midfielders- Has appeared on English Under-21 side- Came to Orient from Newcastle in 2011-12 in a 575K Transfer purchase- Has played small amounts the last two seasons, but is expected to see more action this season- has worked extensively with Jan Kristiansen since arriving

Richard White- (22, 28500/2016)- Some have compared him to a developing Beckham- Purchased in a bidding war with several other major European clubs from Spanish side Zaragoza after 2011-12 season for 1.8 Million- Had an amazing 41 assists for Zaragoza in 2011-12, the lone season for them after being purchased from Walsall- split time with Danny Byrne on the Rightwing and is expected to continue to do this season

Dave Davison- (20, 19000/2017)- One of newer arrivals at Orient after 6.5 Million Transfer purchase from Preston during last season- Starred at Preston after coming from Wycombe- Was the subject of many major English club's interest before Orient won the right to sign him- His presence has reduced Matthew Etherington's playing time and must be considered a key reason in the lack of a contract extension with Etherington

Mark Quinn- (16, 600/2014)- Newest arrival at Orient as he was purchased from Lincoln for 300K- Youngster is expected to sign a new contract as soon as his 17th birthday arrives- Is not expected to see extensive playing time, but is expected to stay with the Senior side in training all season

David Poole- (28, 34000/2015)- 'Mr. Orient' and 'Sniper' Poole is the main cog in Orient's extended success- 52 Caps, 39 International Goals- Came to Orient after being released by Manchester United following the 2003-4 season- Currently has 297 goals at Orient, 217 of those in League play- Holds 7 Orient records including Most Goals in a Season, Most Man of the Matches in a Season and Highest Average Rating- English Footballer of the Year in 2010,2012- Five-time Orient Supporters Player of the Year- Rumored to be considering retiring from International Football following the dismissal of Orient Manager Will Drabek as English National Manager

Jason Reynolds- (21, 50000/2016)- Flamboyant youngster was named Orient Supporters Player of the Year last season- 9 Caps, with first coming at age 21- Blossomed as Poole's strike partner after originally playing as a midfielder after arriving in 2 Million Transfer purchase from Newcastle in 2011-12- Will miss at least the first two months of the season after surgery in the summer

Danilo Arrieta- (26, 40000/2016)- The other Orient 'Supersub' has made 126 sub appearances (74 starts) since coming to Orient on Free Transfer after being released by Valencia following 2006-7 season- 34 Danish Caps, 16 International Goals- Well respected in the dressing room and an important veteran team leader

Richard Hunt- (22, 10000/2017)- Fleet youngster is one of Orient's biggest Transfer Purchases after costing 9 Million to bring him from Mallorca- 1 Cap- Injury problems have haunted his development, but he is looking forward to try and continue working through them- A not well known fact is that Orient tried desperately to sign him in 2007-8, but he committed to going to Mallorca

Johann Torhallsson- (33, 22000/2014)- The 'Old Man' is the longest serving Orient player, having arrived before the 2003-4 season in a 5K Transfer purchase from Icelandic side Tor- 156 career goals at Orient- Expected to retire at the end of this season, but rumored to be considering a sooner move to go into Coaching in Iceland- 27 Icelandic Caps, 12 International Goals- Has scored at least 23 goals in a season for Orient four times (high of 36 in 2003-4)

Davide Vanni- (23, 16250/2016)- Flashy Italian came to Orient in 100K Transfer purchase from Milan before 2010-11 season after being heavily scouted while on loan to Ipswich in 2009-10- Has appeared on Italian Under-21 side- 11 goals last season were a career high

Lee Peacock- (24, 3000/2017)- Along with Ben Hutchinson, one of two players on the Senior side that came up from Orient Youth program- Expected to finally make his Senior debut this season

John Turner- (27, 23500/2014)- 1 Cap- Disgruntled Forward came to Orient for 2.2 Million Transfer purchase from Tottenham in 2010-11 season- Had 9 goals and 9 assists in 2010-11, but playing time has steadily declined from there- Is on the transfer list at his own request and would love to find a club that would promise him a starting role

Faramir · March 18, 2006

"I thought he deserved it," stated Drabek. "I hope he finishes out his career here."

"You thought right," teased Field. "Still, it was a nice gesture and one that our fans liked very much- judging by the press on it."

Orient Signs Kristiansen to Extension

Leyton Orient today announced that the club and supersub Danish midfielder Jan Kristiansen have agreed on a contract extension that goes into 2016. Kristiansen was pleased with the slightly improved contract and the longer security. "I have come to regard Brisbane Road as my second home and am pleased to be here for another three years."

***

"The Skybet Odds are out," stated Field.

"Ok, what do they look like this season?" queried Drabek.

"We are favorites at 2-1. Arsenal is at 5-2. Tottenham is 14-1. Newcastle is 25-1. Chelsea and Bolton are both at 33-1."

"I am surprised they have us rated that strongly, but I don't mind being the favorite."

"Everyone is gunning for us anyways..."

Faramir · March 19, 2006

11.8.13

Leyton Orient (0) Barnsley (0) Community Shield- Wembley (Leyton Orient wins on Penalties)

Orient- None

Barnsley- None

MOM- Stephen Pearson, Leyton Orient

In a surprising turn, it was unheralded Orient keeper Daniel Carr that was the hero as Orient edged Barnsley on penalties to capture their 3rd straight Community Shield. Carr saved three penalty kicks to send underdogs Barnsley home frustrated after they had managed to battle Orient to a scoreless draw in regulation. Orient had only themselves to blame for facing penalties, as they wasted several excellent chances to score on Nigel Vaughan in regulation. David Rowe came closest for Orient in the first half as Steve Senior, who had a solid debut, lofted a pass that put him free down the middle. Rowe drew Vaughan out and then rifled a shot past him, only to be left shaking his head after the shot carromed back off the left post and Vaughan was able to smother it. Davide Vanni had a wide open net early in the second half after Vaughan mishandled a loose ball, but fluffed his shot well over the crossbar. Johann Torhallsson, another surprise starter for Orient who served as Captain, blistered a shot past Vaughan, but his caught the crossbar squarely and bounced back. Barnsley came closest when Klaus Salmutter broke in, but Carr made a diving parry of his scorching blast. This was Orient's 4th Community Shield victory. Several Orient players appeared to be nursing minor injuries by the end of the match.

"Nice to see Daniel (Carr) earn some limelight," stated Drabek.

"He should have received the MOM honours," grumbled Field.

"I agree with you, but I think he appreciated the game ball more actually."

"True," grinned Field.

"What did Tony (Chamberlain) say about our walking wounded"

"Fortunately nothing major, although he is worried about Davide Vanni's injured knee. Steve (Senior) should be back in training in a day and Matthew Etherington should only be out a couple days."

Faramir · March 20, 2006

"What will be our starting lineup against Everton?"

"Well, I think it will be this way:

GK- Sebastien Frey

DR- Lee Sims

DL- Carl Laurie

DC- Steve Senior

DC- Jan Evrard

MR- Richard White

ML- Daniel Fredheim Holm

MC- Stephen Pearson

MC- Matthew Morris

SC- David Poole

SC- Richard Hunt"

"Hmm, not starting Titus? It is on the road after all..."

"No, we have to start challenging some of our young players to make the big step up. That is also why White gets the call over Danny Byrne."

Faramir · March 21, 2006

18.8.13

Everton (0) Leyton Orient (1)

Everton- None

Orient- R.Hunt 2

MOM- Richard Hunt, Leyton Orient

Orient made an early goal stand up as enough as they opened their holder defense with a close 1-0 win at Goodison Park. After Everton's James McFadden missed inches wide in the first minute of play, Orient counter-attacked and David Poole chipped a pass up to Richard Hunt. Hunt was just quicker to the ball than veteran Richard Wright and Hunt slid and hooked the ball past him into the net. Wright regained his composure quickly and made three other sterling saves against Hunt as he slipped away continually from the Everton's efforts to mark him. Everton came close several times as well, but Fredy William Thompson saw Sebastien Frey tip his shot over the bar and Jermain Dafoe was just wide of the net in the closing moments of the match, as Orient held on for the 1-0 win.

"A good solid effort," observed Field.

"We would have won much easier if Hunt hadn't tried to cash in on all the glory," stated Drabek. "Twice, David Poole was standing all alone in front and both times Hunt just blasted away at Wright."

"I agree he could have made better choices, but he did look like the best player out there today."

"Oh, he was. I am not disputing that. We just need him to grow up a bit and become the team player we need."

"That was bad news on Stephen (Pearson). Tony says he will miss at least 3 weeks with his jumbled kneecap."

"We didn't need that loss. At least we seem to have midfielders in abundance."

Faramir · March 22, 2006

21.8.13

Leyton Orient (1) Middlesbrough (0)

Orient- J.Torhallsson 8

Middlesbrough- None

MOM- Jan Evrard, Leyton Orient

With many lineup changes in this midweek tilt, it was little wonder that Orient occasionally looked out of sync offensively. The defensive effort was enough though as Sebastien Frey backstopped another clean sheet and Orient took full advantage of Danny Byrne picking out Johann Torhallsson with a pass. Torhallsson proved he still had the scorer's touch as he threaded a low shot just inside the left post past Robert Olejnik for the only goal of the match. The Orient backline played a swarming match as they ably supported Frey. Olejnik had to be sharp in stopping Torhallsson and Danilo Arrieta in the second half to keep his team close in the 1-0 loss. David Bellion provided some excitement in the second half with a long, winding run past three Orient defenders, but Frey smothered the ball and ended the spectacular play.

***

"I am getting a little tired of fielding all these offers Spencer," grumbled Drabek.

"They know we have money- and that we have room under our wage budget," offered Field.

"True, but these offers are ludicrous. Middlesbrough keeps offering me David Bellion for 15 Million. Such a bargain..."

"A bit pricey if you ask me, though his run against us was a thing of style and beauty."

"Way too pricey, as are all the others one of late."

"At least the transfer deadline is only a week away."

"If only that stopped them..." smiled Drabek.

Faramir · March 23, 2006

24.8.13

Leeds (0) Leyton Orient (0)

Leeds- None

Orient- None

MOM- James Hicks, Leyton Orient

Orient's offense continued to stumble as lacked execution in managing only a scoreless draw against Leeds. Early on it was all Leeds in the match and James Hicks picked up his Orient teammates with some brilliant work in the net to keep the clean sheet. Hicks made a diving stop Eirick Bakke and also a fingertip save against ex-mate Marco Borriello. Orient finally gained some momentum in the second half, but Johann Torhallsson was unable to take full advantage of the several scoring chances that were set up for him as he missed the net each time and didn't force Paul Robinson to come up with one save against his shots. The draw was definately disappointing for favored Orient and it was clear the fans that made the trip were rather unhappy with the result.

"We just haven't hit our form yet," shrugged Drabek. "Plus add the loss of Stephen Pearson, Jason Reynolds and for this match Richard Hunt- well we are a bit short after those."

"Still, we could and should have won this. We also need to start playing better in the early portions of our matches. There was no excuse for having to lean on Hicks' performance to even get a result out of this match."

***

"We were drawn into an interesting Group for Champions Cup," said Drabek thoughtfully.

"Oh? Who are the other three clubs?"

"Dinamo Kiev, Celta and Maccabi Tel-Aviv."

"Now *that* is an eclectic mix of clubs," chuckled Field.

"That's an understatement Spencer."

Faramir · March 27, 2006

30.8.13

Leyton Orient (0) Newcastle (1) Super Cup

Orient- None

Newcastle- M.Chopra 56

MOM- Shay Given, Newcastle

For the 3rd straight season and the 2nd season in a row to Newcastle, Orient fell to defeat in the Super Cup at Monaco. It looked like Orient was set to stretch the net early, but cagey veteran 37-year old Shay Given was brilliant in turning away good chances by David Poole and Johann Torhallsson. It appeared the momentum might shift early on when Orient manager Drabek was forced to bring on Daniel Carr in net to replace an injured Sebastien Frey, but Carr provided very steady work. Early in the second half, Newcastle caught the Orient backline pressing forward and Markus Feulner chipped a looping pass that Jan Evrard missed heading and that allowed Michael Chopra in free on Carr. Chopra fired a shot inside the right post for the only goal of the match. Orient tried desperately to rally, but Given was steadfast in denying them. The death knell for Orient was when David Poole was forced to leave the match with a sprained ankle after Orient had already brought on their 3rd sub. With only 10 men, it was much easier for Newcastle to thwart any attempted rally by Orient and they celebrated their 2nd straight Super Cup win when the final whistle blew on their 1-0 win.

"We could have played better, but the effort was there," sighed Drabek.

"If Given isn't as sharp as when he was much younger- well, I think the result would have been different."

"I was really pleased with the way Daniel (Carr) stepped in and played. He is really showing people that he can play."

"This was a match where we really missed the presence of Stephen (Pearson) on the pitch. We are a much steadier club when he is out there."

"Well, we have to figure a way to get along without him for awhile longer."

Faramir · March 28, 2006

"They finally agreed to our offer," commented a pleased Drabek.

"Parma is willing to accept 6.25 Million instead of 15?" replied Field.

"Yes, and surprisingly they now have dropped their request for a sell-on fee."

"Why?"

"Because Lazio made them an offer to co-own him, and they decided it was better to just sell him back to England."

Orient Marks Massey

In a surprising last-minute transfer purchase, Leyton Orient announced the 6.25 Million transfer purchase of 20 year old D/AMLC Steve Massey from Italian side Parma. Massey, who signed directly with Roma as a 15 year old wunderkid, has spent all of his professional playing time in Italy and was very pleased to be returning to England. "I am very happy to be coming home and coming to a club with the reputation of Orient," offered Massey during the press conference. With the injury to Stephen Pearson, Massey may move directly into the Orient starting lineup for their midweek tilt against Millwall at Brisbane Road.

Faramir · March 29, 2006

4.9.13

Leyton Orient (2) Millwall (1)

Orient- M.Morris 22 R.Hunt 43

Millwall- R.Vittek 32

MOM- Richard Hunt, Leyton Orient

A strong performance brought Orient a 2-1 Brisbane Road win over Millwall in a match where the scoreline could have been worse for the visitors. Orient had pressure on in the early stages of the match, but the Millwall backline made some excellent saving tackles. They could not stop Matthew Morris though and he struck a 25 yard shot that knuckled down and past a grasping Nicky Weaver to give Orient the lead. Millwall countered when Titus Bramble, who had a poor match, lost marking on Robert Vittek and allowed him an easy chance to fire past James Hicks to even the match. Orient took the lead again when a deft touch pass from Richard White allowed to him to blast away on the move and smash a shot past Weaver. Orient tried to add to the lead in the second half, but saw two goals waved off on offides. The home fans were content with the one-goal win at the final whistle.

"Richard (Hunt) can be a dazzling talent," observed Field.

"He was superb at picking up the offensive attack today." repled Drabek.

"Steve (Massey) had a pretty good debut, despite his lack of practice time."

"He was certainly steady there, and he reminded me a bit of Stephen (Pearson) in his complete play."

Faramir · March 30, 2006

"It is nice to finally see him join us, he is a talented youngster," stated Field.

"With both he and Richard White on Rightwing, well we may let Danny (Byrne) move on to other pastures when his contract expires."

Wilkinson Joins Orient

Peter Wilkinson, the 19 year old AMR that had signed with the club previously, had to wait for the end of his contract to move to Orient and finally joined their training today from Aston Villa. Wilkinson has a wide range of skills that made him intriguing to many of the EPL sides, but chose to move to Orient in hopes of an easier path to playing time.

***

"Champions Cup Odds are out- Skybet did them,"

"And?"

"We are 9-1. FC Bayern is favored at 3-1. Real Madrid is 4-1, Milan is 6-1, Arsenal is 7-1 and Juventus is with us at 9-1."

"Those sound fair to me."

***

14.9.13

Bolton (1) Leyton Orient (0)

Bolton- R. van Persie 77

Orient- None

MOM- Owain Fon Williams, Bolton

Orient looked less than sharp as they fell 1-0 to Bolton at Reebok Stadium. They managed very little up front as the midfield could not get the ball to either David Poole or Richard Hunt. Their best chances were a couple of blazing 25 yard shots from Matthew Morrison that Owain Fon Williams made diving stops on. Bolton really hadn't generated a good scoring chance until their goal. On their goal Thomas Buffel and Robin van Persie played the inexperienced combo of Chris Sutton and Steve Senior like a drum. They drew both out of position and then Buffel chipped past Senior and van Persie ripped a short shot past Sebastien Frey for the match winner. Bolton never allowed Orient any good chances to equalize and had to be well content with their close win.

"We still aren't gelling on offense so far," muttered Drabek.

"Nor on defense, at least on our backline," replied Field.

"We just have to keep working harder in training. It may take some time, but we will get there- I am sure of it."

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