UP THE ORIENT

 

Leyton Orient Football Club is based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London. The team competes in the EFL League One.

Founded in 1881 as the Glyn Cricket Club, they began playing football as Orient in 1888 and joined the London League in 1896 after success in the Clapton & District League. The club adopted the name Clapton Orient two years later and were elected into the Football League in 1905. Relegated out of the Second Division in 1929, the club adopted the name Leyton Orient after World Wat II. They won the Third Division South title in 1955–56 and secured promotion out of the Second Division in 1961–62, though were relegated out of the First Division after just one season, and suffered a further relegation in 1966. That summer the club's name reverted to Orient F.C. and they went on to win the Third Division in 1969–70. Orient spent the 1970s playing in the second tier, winning two London Challenge Cup and reaching the 1977 Anglo-Scottish Cup final and 1977-8 semi-finals, before being relegated in 1982 and again in 1985.

In 1987 the club reverted to being Leyton Orient again. They won promotion out of the Fourth Division via the play-offs in 1988-9, though were relegated again in 1995. Orient gained promotion out of League Two with in 2005–06, before Hearn sold the club to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti, who presided over two relegations in three years under 11 managers, taking the club out of the Football League for the first time in 112 years. Niger Travis took over running the club in 2017 and appointed Justice Edinburgh as manager, and under this stable leadership the club went on to reach the FA Trophy Final and win promotion back into the Football League as champions of the Natioanl League in 2018–19 and the club was crowned champions of League Two in the 2022-3 campaign.

They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professional level, and are known to their fans by their nickname "the O's". The club's home colours are all red. They have played home matches at Brisbane since 1937, having previously played at Millfields and Lea Bridge Road.

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

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

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

The name Leyton Orient was adopted following the conclusion of the Second World War. The club had moved to Leyton in 1937, though again there was another team called Leyton FC A further rename back to Orient took place in 1966 after the Municiple Borough of Leyton was absorbed into the London Borough of Waltham Forest. 

That renaming followed a financial crisis – one of several to hit the club and by no means the first or last – and restructuring of the company behind the club; this is remembered for a "pass the bucket" collection that took place at a special meeting of supporters in the East Stand, when complete closure was claimed to be a definite possibility.

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

Today, the Orient, a League One club, gave a good account of the in the FA Cup 4th Round, at home, against the high and mighty Manchester City, losing 1-2. The League One side took the lead against the Premier League champions in the 16th minute when Jamie Donley (below) latched onto a loose pass and looped a strike from distance over the head of Stefan Ortega. 

The shot hit the bar before ricocheting into the back of Ortega and into the back of the net. 

City then equalised after half-time when Rico Lewis’ strike deflected off of Abdukodir Khusanov to wrongfoot Josh Keeley. Kevin de Bruyne then came off of the bench to turn the tie on its head, poking a cool finish beyond the on rushing goalkeeper after being picked out by Jack Grealish.

De Bruyne bags the winner.