The Beautiful Game?: Oi, Barry Hearn Sort It Out – An Open Letter to Barry Hearn

Dear Mr Hearn,

As Chairman of Leyton Orient, you need to get your act together and sort things out at the club before it is too late.

I moved to London in 2000 from Newcastle where I had been a season ticket holder for many years. I rapidly identified a lot of similarities between Leyton Orient and my beloved Newcastle United. Both were clubs that in the last 50 or so years have not had much success. Both are clubs with a hardcore of loyal fans, and many staff who have the best interests of the club at heart.

On the field both clubs flatter to deceive and just when you think they are going places, they fall flat on their faces. When I started coming to Orient they had been in the old 4th Division longer than just about any team other than Rochdale. Like Newcastle, Orient were able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Like Newcastle, Orient could get a good result against the top team in the division and then the next week lose to a side who hadn’t scored in 10 games.

Orient had a fleeting glimpse of success in 2006 when they won promotion, but this was only from the 4th tier to the 3rd tier of English football. It was hardly a roaring success. Last season, Orient showed their true colours, getting to the Johnston’s Paint Trophy Southern Final before losing at home to a poor Southend side who were struggling in the division below. Then Orient were winning away in the 2nd leg and were within seconds of getting to the national final at Wembley before reassuringly throwing it away.

Following Orient, is like following Newcastle in that it is comforting to know they are going to throw it away. Even after a good run, you know they are going to lose to the side at the bottom of the table.

Then we get nights like tonight. As Chairman of Leyton Orient you should be taking action to ensure this does not happen again. After 6 wins out of 6 games and incredibly the only club in the top 6 divisions with a 100% record, Orient were to host a Notts County side who were bottom of the table with only 1 point from a possible 18. Add to this the fact that despite being only mid September, it was chucking it down with rain and freezing cold. Top of the division Orient playing at home to the bottom side. This being Orient, the faithful turn up in the expectation, based on years of experience, that the O’s would screw it up and lose miserably at home.

So what did your manager Russell Slade and his team serve up? A pathetic home display culminating in a 1-0 home defeat or perhaps a real off night and a heavy home defeat. Such performances are so reassuring to the long suffering faithful at Brisbane Road. Instead of this, Leyton Orient let all of us regulars down by destroying Notts County and winning at home 5-1 whilst their nearest rivals were losing at home to leave Orient 5 points clear of the 2nd placed team after only 7 games. Orient are already a ridiculous 17 points off the relegation places.

This is not the sort of thing we expect. It was appalling tonight to see the faces of Orient fans facing the prospect of going home tonight to their other half or to work in the morning unable to moan about how rubbish the O’s are. People in the North Stand tonight were even seen smiling and laughing.

It is up to you as Chairman and owner of the club to put an end to this sort of behaviour. We don’t expect to see sides put to the sword, to see our strikers substituted and to still score 2 more goals after those substitutions. We don’t pay our money to see Kevin Lisbie scoring for fun or Dean Cox curling sublime shots round the opposition keeper. None of us expect to see Shaun Batt running through defence and scoring or subs scoring with their first touch of the ball.

As Orient fans, we expect to be let down and to have reasons to moan.

Its about time you ended this winning streak and do something to return normal service to Leyton Orient

The scenes below are not what we pay our money for. We demand mediocrity and failures and an end to this winning lark. Its not something we spectators are able to cope with.