Vital Statistics
Founded: 1881
Chairman: Francesco Becchetti
Last Season: League Two - 8th
Nickname: The O's, Orient
Rivals: Southend United, Dagenham & Redbridge, Brentford
Major Honours
None
Scheduled Matches
Portsmouth vs Leyton Orient: Saturday, January 14th (3pm)
Leyton Orient vs Portsmouth: Saturday, October 8th (3pm)
Leyton Orient: A brief history
Formed as Eagle Cricket Club in 1886, the club changed its name to Orient Football Club two years later and has also been known as Clapton Orient during much of its history where it played mainly in Division Three and Division Two, although there was one season (1962/1963) in the top flight.
When the club were renamed to Leyton Orient in 1987 it played most of its football in the bottom division due to financial problems and remained there until 2006 when Orient were finally promoted back to the third tier after finishing third in League Two.
The London club struggled in League One for most of its time there but the penultimate season saw Orient miss out on promotion to the Championship under Russell Slade due to a play-off final penalty shootout defeat to Rotherham. Things went awry when Italian Francesco Becchetti bought the club from Barry Hearn and Slade left for Cardiff, with results under Mauro Milanese and Fabio Liverani being so bad that Orient were relegated two seasons ago.
The Manager: Andy Hessenthaler
Hessenthaler is something of a Gillingham legend having played for the Kent club over 300 times and managed them when they were promoted to Division One in 2000. He resigned as manager in 2004 but continued to play professionally until the age of 44 when at Dover.
He managed Dover for three years before returning to Gillingham but couldn't repeat the success there he had the first time round. He rejected a director of football role at the Gills in favour of being an assistant manager at Leyton Orient. He was then promoted to the top job after Kevin Nolan was demoted from his managerial position.
The Ground: Brisbane Road (Capacity: 9,200 - Away: 1,000)
Brisbane Road is definitely the strangest ground in the Football League and a mixed experience to say the least. Pompey fans are searched on the way in (a rarity for the lower leagues) and then are put in part of one of the worst away ends in the country.
It's full of rotting wooden seats that can easily be taken apart, there are supporting pillars to impede your view, the concourse is cramped and don't even think about using the toilet unless you like navigating obstacle courses full of puddles of piss and broken cubicle doors.
Opposite the away end is West Stand which looks strange due to having what looks like an office block above the seating area. It's not like anything else you'll see at any other football ground.
In each corner of the ground is an apartment block which just increases the uniqueness of the stadium. They're close enough to see what people living there are doing, as Pompey fans sang "we can see you washing up!" during their last visit to the ground. To the left of the away end and next to closest apartment block is the Tommy Johnston stand; named after the club's top goalscorer.
To the right is the North Stand that opened up as recently as 2007 and replaced a former open terrace. There's nothing special about it as it's your typical new stand for a lower league football club.
Overall, it's difficult to recommend going to Brisbane Road as the away end really is dreadful although you can make some noise in it.