Football Season Review

Leyton Orient enjoyed one of the most successful campaigns in recent memory as they enjoyed FA Cup success and narrowly missed out on the play-offs. Despite a poor start to the season which saw them hovering on or around the bottom of the table for the first few months of the campaign after some very unlucky defeats, the O’s rocketed up the table thanks to a club-record run of 14 league games without defeat. This also coincided with some fine results in the FA Cup. Despite needing a replay to beat non-league Droylsden in the 2nd round, they beat Norwich 1-0 at Carrow Road then Swansea 2-1, also away, before holding Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Brisbane Road. They did lose 5-0 in the Quarter-Final replay at the Emirates, but the run will have provided success-starved O’s fans something to remember for years to come as well as providing the club with a vital financial boost. The vast number of games, with the club playing twice a week almost non-stop after the end of the bad weather in January, did eventually take its toll and Orient slipped back, although they were still in contention for a play-off place with two games left after Bournemouth also hit a sticky patch. Indeed they finished only a point behind the Cherries in 7th place after winning three of their last four games. There were several stand-out performers over the season, including summer signing Alex Revell, who has improved considerably since leaving Southend, and left-back Charlie Daniels. However, midfielder Dean Cox was head-and-shoulders above the rest and he continually provided the creative spark the O’s have lacked in recent years. He and Daniels formed a formidable left-sided partnership which supplied most of the team’s goals, and Cox finished top of the assist table in League 1.

Player of the Season: Dean Cox