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The Young Americans [Leyton Orient]

Leyton Orient QuarterbackStyle
Started on 11 October 2013 by Northwood
Latest Reply on 13 May 2014 by Northwood
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Louis O. : Don't think I'm not following since I'm not commenting! :P Good start for Orient considering they're Orient, nice job ;)

Glad to have you onboard :)
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/TYA_zps59403399.jpg

Keep on trucking


The month of November started out with a brilliant road win over fellow promotion-contender Peterborough. David Mooney continued his hot streak with another two goals and had now scored five in the last three games. A striker who could score goals was just what the doctor had ordered.

But the winning came with a price as three players from the regular starting lineup were out due to injury.

I decided to throw the FA Cup match against the MK Dons. Players like Dean Cox, Mathieu Baudry and David Mooney had played in almost every single game since the start of the season and desperately needed some rest. A good run in the FA Cup would be nice but I had to admit that we simply didn't have the depth in the squad this season to make it happen.
With the second string players on the field we turned in the worst performance since I took over the team and lost 0-4 in front of not very happy home supporters. After the game I took a hammering in the press for messing with a winning formula.
We were now out of all the cups and could concentrate on the league.

We lost the second league game of the year to Bristol City in the end of the month but also picked up another three wins while scoring plenty of goals in the process.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Novresults_zps224d107f.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Novstanding_zps2ec4b6fb.jpg

Even with two losses during the month our performance overall was good enough to win me my second award in three months when I won the “Manager of the Month” for November in front of so illustrious names as Uwe Rösler and Roy Keane.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Novaward_zps07c19cad.jpg


It was a rough day to be an English football fan. In the first leg of the World Cup playoffs, England was humiliated 0-3 at home at Wembley bye the Belgian wonders kits. A few days later they lost again in the return leg and the World Cup in Brazil would go on without England.
That was not the only shock for English football fans. A quick look at the EPL standing also surprised a lot of people.

Perhaps it was not a big surprise that Chelsea was in first place but that they were still undefeated after 13 games was way above expectations for the Blues.
And what happened just behind them in the table nobody could have predicted before the season. Fulham and Swansea were the two teams in closest pursuit in second and third place while the two Manchester teams were already 15 and 16 points behind down in 6th and 7th place.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/EPLStanding_zps87657ef5.jpg
I see Thomas Nordskov has turned into Tom Northwood :P
Still going well at the top! Living up to Orient in real life.
Louis O. : I see Thomas Nordskov has turned into Tom Northwood :P

I might have to tell you about my evil twin……

Walter : Still going well at the top! Living up to Orient in real life.

They really need to stop that. They are ruining my story :D
Northwood's avatar Group Northwood
11 yearsEdited
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/TYA_zps59403399.jpg

O´s So Special Christmas


19/46 into the season we reached december month. Normally a busy month for an English football team but we started the season with a two weeks break and only had four games to play all month. That gave us a chance to get the entire team back to health.

With no games scheduled I instead sat down with Barry Hearn and the rest of the board and negotiated a new contract for myself. The original contract was just for one year but the club had already now decided to extend it for another year and raise my base salary to £2.100 p/w.

The game just before christmas against Crawley was brutal. We won the game 2-0 but beside from the final scoreline almost everything went wrong. Jody Morris was sent off after just 27 minutes after two yellow cards and would have to sit out for two games.
But much worse was that we lost both Romain Vincelot (3 weeks) and Dean Cox (5-6 weeks) due to injury.

In the next game against one of the worst teams in the league Gillingham, we got very lucky with another game winning goal in overtime.
After that result I was not overly confident going in to the final game of the year against our closest competitors Wolverhampton who was looking to reduce our advantage to “just” six points.

We got off to an excellent start when David Mooney scored his first goal of the month. I quickly changed the tactic and dropped back and looked for counter opportunities instead. It almost worked but just a few minutes before the break we gave up the equalizer from a corner. During the break I did my best to cheer up the team and urging them to keep fighting.
And again we could not have hoped for a better start. just 4 minutes into the second half xx was pulled down in the box and David Mooney scored his second of the day on the ensuing penalty.
We did our best to keep the Wanderers away but in the end we had to settle on a draw after they got a second from.
I was happy with the result against a tough opponent on the road and even happier to be able to celebrate New Year on top of the Sky bet League One, nine points clear.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/des_13results_zpse7910a0e.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/des_13standing_zps29df3960.jpg

Had my work cut out. Of the 24 players currently under contract, 13 of them would be out of contract after the season. Luckily only three of the players regularly appearing in the starting lineup had contracts expiring.

The one player i wasted no time resigning was goalie Jamie Jonas. Looking at his report card and his attributes showed what looked like an average player. But taking a second look at his stats sheet was a different story. His just 18 goals allowed in 23 games was outstanding.

The plan of turning Leyton Orient in to Americas team was getting off to a slow start. Without the board's permission to scout outside the UK it was impossible to get the project off the ground.
One player I was looking at was American youngster Will Packwood currently playing with Birmingham City FC. At the moment he was way out of my price range (£1.1 M) but he was very much the type of player I would like to sign in the future.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/usplayer_zps39bf9a58.jpg

Talking about America. The MLS Cup was decided in early december when LA Galaxy beat Sporting Kansas City 3-0 in the final. Let by Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, who combined for 60 goals during the season, were the better team not just in the final but also during the regular season where the finished 12 points clear of their nearest rivals.
9 points clear and flying high, well done! BRING IN MORE AMERICANS!!!
Halfway and still clearly on top, keep this up and you'll get automatic promotion in no time!
Walter : Halfway and still clearly on top, keep this up and you'll get automatic promotion in no time!
Let’s hope so. With such a long season there will be a slump. I just hope we can snap out of it again when it hits us.

Neal : 9 points clear and flying high, well done! BRING IN MORE AMERICANS!!!

Thanks Neal.

I would love to sign some Americans but it’s hard when I am not allowed to scout outside the UK. Hopefully next season that will change. I have a feeling that if we win promotion we will go thru a takeover.
just read all of this and i am very impressed and good month here to i love the title and the way its written
jasonvilla4ever : just read all of this and i am very impressed and good month here to i love the title and the way its written

Thanks a lot jasonvilla4ever. Glad that you enjoyed it.
More to come soon.
Northwood's avatar Group Northwood
11 yearsEdited
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/TYA_zps59403399.jpg

Winning in the dark days for January


Was it really supposed to be this easy to dominate in the League One?
At the beginning of the new year I felt that I could do no wrong. After good performances in wins over Shrewsbury Town FC and Carlisle United FC to start the month, the undefeated streak had now reached eight games.
No matter what team I put on the field they seemed to perform. In the absence of Dean Cox and Marvin Bartley due to injury, other players had taken over. A total of ten different players had now earned PoM for us this season.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Jan_14_PoM_zps835d4d28.jpg


I was almost too got to be true and of course it all soon came crashing down around my ears.

It started with our “star” player Dean Cox coming back from his five weeks injury break. That should be a good thing but the first thing he did when returning was to walk in to my office and demand a transfer.
I tried to stall telling him that the team would soon reach new heights. He would not listen and not even a suggestion to let him go at the end of the season was good enough for him.
He wanted none of it and demanded to be sold now.
I had to make a tough decision. With Tom Lawrence from Manchester showing improving form I decided that I did not want another disgruntled diva spoiling the moral on the team. I agreed to transferliste Dean Cox so he could leave before the end of the January transfer window.


The loss came against Crewe Alexandra FC on the road on a Sunday in the middle of January. We than in quick succession followed up by drawing two very winnable games at home. Suddenly we had only managed two points of the nine available in the last three games and the team that had scored ten goals in the first three games of the month had now only scored once in the last 270 minutes of play.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Jan_14_Results_zps36c46ca6.jpg

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Jan_14_Standing_zpsc502c8c9.jpg


The end of January was also the end of the silly-season and the last real chance to improve the team before the second half of the season began.

One of the reason I did not try to sign up any players to long term deals was the fact that I didn't trust a single word my Hd scout Gareth Casey had told me all year.
He kept handing me report after report, telling me that signing every middle aged, slightly balding, speed deficient player in the UK was crucial for Leyton Orient's future success.
The more I worked with him the more I knew that he was clueless and when I went thru his personnel file it was clear what was wrong. It was a surprise that he could even walk and chew gum at the same time without falling over. He was in way over his head and had to go sooner rather than later.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/HdScout_zpsdf4db55e.jpg

As I had no plan to buy any new players now anyway I would keep him until the end of the season and then replace him with a new improved model.


That didn't stop me from trying to improve the team. After a fantastic start to the month where our two strikers David Mooney and Shaun Batt had not set a foot wrong, they had struggled to find the way to the net in the end of the month. We still produced chances but suddenly the balls that had been lucky goals the first half of the season were now unlucky misses instead.

Behind them Yohann Lasimant was the only backup and I had no faith that he was good enough to play on this level.

I decided to “gamble” with another youngster from one of the big clubs. We got 19-year old Tottenham H striker Shaquile Coulthirst on loan for the remaining of the season. Of cause there was no actual risk involved as we did not have to pay any of his salary.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/Nordskov_dk/Leyton%20O/Jan_14_Transfer_zps402a6a40.jpg


When the transfer window shot close it also became obvious that Dean Cox had overplayed his hand. I had not received a single offer for the player and now he was not just stock with Leyton Orient for the rest of the season but also behind Tom Lawrence on the bench.


Enjoy and don’t forget to check out the latest “Men in Blazers” podcast.
Well, January wasn't the best month, but you're still first!
AAN : Well, January wasn't the best month, but you're still first!

Thanks for reading AAN.

The run had to come to an end sooner or later so the loss was not a huge surprise.

The two draws at home to follow were a bit more concerning as they were not part of the master plan.
Brilliant story so far! Especially after Constancia this has lived up to the hype that created! An incredible run leaving you top and hopefully promotion!

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