『O's Through The Ages - A Brief History Of Leyton Orient F.C.』のカバーアート

O's Through The Ages - A Brief History Of Leyton Orient F.C.

O's Through The Ages - A Brief History Of Leyton Orient F.C.

著者： Through The Ages Podcast
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Leyton Orient were founded in 1881 by a cricket club in East London. They named themselves after a shipping company. They have spent most of their existence in the lower reaches of the Football League, winning nothing that anybody outside of E10 would consider significant.


They have also survived two world wars, a string of financial disasters, an Italian owner who appointed eleven managers in three years, and relegation from the Football League after 112 consecutive years of membership.


Orient Through the Ages is a ten-episode series — roughly thirty minutes each — covering the full history of the club from Victorian East London to the present day. Players who went to the Somme and didn't come back. Tommy Johnston, who scored 121 league goals and asked for his ashes to be interred at Brisbane Road.

Laurie Cunningham, who arrived from Archway and was at Real Madrid within five years. The 1978 FA Cup semi-final. A Channel 4 documentary Forbes named one of the five greatest sports films ever made. Justin Edinburgh, who won the National League title and was dead nine days later.


Not the story of a glamour club. The story of a club that has endured — and why that turns out to matter more.

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  • Episode 8: Ninety Minutes Away - The Hearn Years, the Rebuild, and the Day at Wembley (1995–2014)

    Episode 8: Ninety Minutes Away - The Hearn Years, the Rebuild, and the Day at Wembley (1995–2014)
    2026/08/27
    Send us Fan MailBarry Hearn takes over a club that nearly ceased to exist and steadies the ship. Twenty years of careful, if unspectacular, stewardship. Martin Ling delivers promotion to League One in 2006. The Olympic Stadium saga — Orient's extraordinary legal challenge against West Ham's tenancy of the 2012 venue, and what it revealed about power, money, and the forgotten clubs of East London. The episode builds to its heartbreaking conclusion: the 2014 League One play-off final, a penalty shoot-out defeat to Rotherham United — and then Hearn selling the club five weeks later.Player of the Era: Jobi McAnuff — the winger who embodied the Hearn era, left in 2014, and came back to be part of the revival.Research SourcesLeyton Orient F.C. Wikipedia — confirms: Barry Hearn chairman 1995–2014; Tommy Taylor manager; 1999 play-off final loss to Scunthorpe at Wembley; 2001 play-off final loss to Blackpool at Millennium Stadium (Chris Tate scored after 27 seconds — fastest goal in play-off final history at that venue); Martin Ling appointed December 2003; 2005-06 League Two promotion (first automatic promotion in 36 years); eight League One seasons; 2013-14 play-off final loss to Rotherham on penalties; Hearn sold 90% stake to Francesco Becchetti July 2014.2014 Football League One play-off final Wikipedia — full match details: Odubajo goal 7th minute (chested down, volleyed from 25 yards), Cox goal 12th minute; Alex Revell two second-half goals including a stunning 30-yard half-volley equaliser; 2–2 after 120 minutes; Rotherham win 4–3 on penalties (Adam Collin saves from Mathieu Baudry and Chris Dagnall); attendance 43,401; Orient led League One table for 22 weeks; Orient and Rotherham both finished on 86 points (Orient third on goal difference); Russell Slade named joint League One Manager of the Season.FourFourTwo — "The Greatest Goal I Ever Saw: Alex Revell vs Leyton Orient 2014" — supporter account of the equaliser and its effect. "That speculative volley still chills the bones." Essential reading for the Fan's Eye View section.These Football Times — "How a nightmare owner took Leyton Orient from the gates of the Championship to the end of 112-year Football League spell" — comprehensive account of the Hearn sale, Becchetti takeover, and the decline that followed. Hearn quoted describing the Becchetti sale as "an absolute disaster."Martin Ling Wikipedia / Grokipedia — confirms: appointed December 2003 with Orient second-bottom of League Two; signed John Mackie from Reading as captain; 2005-06 promotion confirmed on final day with 3-2 win at Oxford United (goals from Easton, Alexander, Steele); first automatic promotion in 36 years; ended eleven-year spell in fourth tier. Ling post-match: "You might find me in the gutter later tonight."East London Advertiser — 2005-06 promotion report: nearly 5,000 travelling Orient fans at Oxford; Lee Steele's injury-time winner; Grimsby required to drop points simultaneously.Barry Hearn Wikipedia — confirms background: born Dagenham 1948; snooker promoter (Steve Davis); boxing; darts; football chairman 1995–2014; West Stand completed 2005 via Samuel Beadie lease arrangement; Olympic Stadium legal challenge 2011–12; sold 90% stake July 2014.Dean Cox — confirm via Orient archives: joined 2009 from Brighton; 250+ appearances; left for Gillingham 2015. Player profile at eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk and leytonorient.com.Sky Sports — Barry Hearn confirms sale to Becchetti July 2014: "Hearn acquired a controlling stake in Leyton Orient from Tony Wood in March 1995, making him one of the longest serving owners in English football during which time the club's stadium has been rebuilt on three sides and the team has established itself in League One, following promotion in 2006."Wembley Stadium official match report — confirms: Rotherham won 4-3 on penalties; Orient led League One for 22 weeks; "harsh on Russell Slade's Orient." Post-match quotes from Slade (Las Vegas trip as "just the tonic they need") and Hearn (confirmed Las Vegas promise honoured regardless of result).The following is a collated record of all research sources used across the ten episodes of Orient Through the Ages. Sources are listed by episode and organised into books and primary sources, digital archives and databases, journalism and fan media, and Wikipedia entries. All facts, dates, scorelines, and biographical details were verified against at least one source before inclusion in the scripts. Where sources conflicted, the most reliable or corroborated account was used, and the discrepancy is noted in the relevant episode’s production notes.Episodes01The Cricketers’ Club, 1881–190502They Took the Lead, 1905–192903Coming Home, 1929–195504A Season in the Sun, 1955–196605The Boy from Archway, 1966–197706...
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    16 分
  • Episode 7 : Club for a Fiver - The Long Decline, the Documentary, and the Man Who Saved Them (1982–1995)

    Episode 7 : Club for a Fiver - The Long Decline, the Documentary, and the Man Who Saved Them (1982–1995)
    2026/07/23
    Send us Fan MailThe long slide. Relegated from Division Two in 1982 and again in 1985. Back in the Fourth Division. The name reverts to Leyton Orient in 1987. A play-off promotion in 1989 under Frank Clark. And then — 1994–95. The season immortalised in the Channel 4 documentary Orient: Club For A Fiver, in which a student filmmaker captured the club on the verge of extinction. No away wins all season. Eight games without scoring. A bucket collection to keep the lights on. And yet — they survived. This episode is about what football clubs mean when they're fighting not for trophies, but for their existence.Research SourcesOrient: Club for a Fiver (1995), dir. Jo Treharne — available in full on YouTube. Essential viewing before scripting or recording this episode. The IMDB entry confirms: team failed to win away all season, eight consecutive scoreless games, nine straight defeats to close the campaign, finish bottom of the table. Tony Wood's coffee business collapsed due to the war in Rwanda.The Leyton Orientear (substack.com) — "Still Crazy After All These Years" (October 2025) — first-hand fan account of the documentary's broadcast, the season it captured, and its long afterlife. Confirms Channel 4 broadcast date: 12 October 1995. Notes that the documentary was listed by Forbes in 2020 as one of its "Top Five Sports Documentaries."John Sitton Wikipedia — detailed biography confirming: joint caretaker appointment April 1994 with Chris Turner; the Blackpool half-time scene (7 February 1995); Orient won just 7 of 47 games under Sitton and Turner; sacked in 1995; Hearn briefly considered a three-year contract before appointing Pat Holland instead. Post-documentary: 18 months of unanswered job applications, depression, therapy, retraining as London taxi driver.The42.ie — "All I did was throw a c-bomb into the mix" — Sitton interview giving his account of the fallout from the documentary, the depression that followed, the retraining as a cabbie. Essential reading for a balanced treatment of his story.Barry Hearn takeover analysis (miltonsfootballfinance.blogspot.com) — detailed breakdown of the financial structure of the 1995 takeover: Tony Wood's loan written down to £200,000 and assigned to Hearn; Matchroom Limited provides £100,000 interest-free loan; equity injection of £400,000 in 1996. Confirms finances stabilised within two years.Frank Clark (footballer) Wikipedia — nine years as Orient manager (including two as managing director), relegated to Division Four in second season, guided promotion via play-offs 1989, departed for Nottingham Forest 1993 to succeed Brian Clough.1989 Football League Fourth Division play-off final Wikipedia — two-legged final vs Wrexham, won 2-1 on aggregate. Mark Cooper scored the winner with eight minutes remaining in the second leg at Brisbane Road. Detail confirmed: Cooper departed by helicopter after the match to catch a flight to Ireland where he was to be married that afternoon.Leyton Orient F.C. Wikipedia — confirms: name changed back to Leyton Orient in 1987; relegated to Division Three 1982 and Division Four 1985; promoted via play-offs 1989; missed play-offs 1992-93 on goal difference; relegated to Division Three (renamed following Premier League formation) 1995; Barry Hearn chairman from 1995.Tony Wood quote (The Independent, December 1994) — "I will hand over the keys to any fan who gives me £5. Nobody knows the horrendous year I've been through and nobody seems to care. I can't do any more. I have lost everything and, like Micawber, I am hoping something will turn up."Key Dates1981-82 — Relegated from Division Two to Division Three after 12 years in the second tier.1984-85 — Relegated again, from Division Three to Division Four. Club at its lowest league position since 1905.1987 — Club reverts to Leyton Orient name (from Orient FC since 1966).1988-89 — Under Frank Clark, Leyton Orient promoted via Division Four play-off final. Beat Wrexham 2-1 on aggregate (second leg at Brisbane Road; Mark Cooper scores the winner eight minutes from time; Cooper departs for Ireland by helicopter to be married that afternoon).1992-93 — Orient miss out on Third Division play-offs on goal difference. Frank Clark's last full season before departing for Nottingham Forest.April 1994 — Peter Eustace sacked. John Sitton and Chris Turner appointed joint caretaker managers. They earn four points from the last two matches and keep the club up.April–July 1994 — Rwandan genocide. Tony Wood's coffee business destroyed. The club's finances begin to collapse.Summer 1994 — Sitton and Turner given permanent contracts. Jo Treharne begins filming.7 February 1995 — Orient lose to Blackpool at Brisbane Road. Sitton's half-time team talk: Terry Howard sacked on camera. The most famous scene in Club for a Fiver.December 1994 — Tony Wood gives The Independent interview: "I will hand over the keys to any fan who gives me £5."Spring 1995 — Sitton ...
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    23 分
  • Episode 6 : The Cup That Got Away - The 1977–78 FA Cup Run, Peter Kitchen, and the Semi-Final That Still Hurts (1977–1982)

    Episode 6 : The Cup That Got Away - The 1977–78 FA Cup Run, Peter Kitchen, and the Semi-Final That Still Hurts (1977–1982)
    2026/07/14

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    On 8 April 1978, Leyton Orient walked out at Stamford Bridge in front of 49,698 people for an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal. They had beaten Chelsea and Middlesbrough to get there. They had a centre-forward who had scored in every single round. They were one match from Wembley.

    They lost 3-0. They have never been that close since.

    This episode tells the story of Orient's greatest FA Cup run — the improbable victories, the Brisbane Road nights, the goals of Peter Kitchen, who arrived from Doncaster in the summer of 1977 and spent one winter scoring goals that supporters are still talking about fifty years later. It is also, inevitably, the story of what happened afterwards: the dispersal of the team, the descent through the divisions, and the dawning realisation that the cup run had been an exception, not a beginning.


    Research Sources

    Football Fan Cast — "A Moment in Time: Leyton Orient's 1977/78 FA Cup Run" — round-by-round summary of the cup run including Chelsea fifth round win, Middlesbrough quarter-final replay, and Arsenal semi-final scoreline (3-0).

    Leyton Orient Programmes database — confirms semi-final details: Orient 0 Arsenal 3, 8 April 1978, Stamford Bridge, attendance 49,698. Full Orient XI: Jackson, Fisher, Roffey, Grealish, Hoadley, Roeder, Clarke, Gray, Mayo, Kitchen, Bennett. Arsenal scorers: Macdonald (2), Rix.

    Peter Kitchen Wikipedia — born Mexborough 16 February 1952; seven years at Doncaster Rovers, 105 goals in 250+ appearances; signed by Orient July 1977 for £45,000; 29 goals total in 1977-78 including 7 FA Cup goals in every round; sold to Fulham February 1979 for £150,000.

    Peter Kitchen interview, Fulham Focus — confirms Petchey sacked after two games; Bloomfield arrival; Evening Standard and Daily Mirror Footballer of the Month; Orient Player of the Year. Norwich (£140,000) and Crystal Palace (£145,000) offers refused before Fulham (£150,000) accepted.

    Peter Kitchen interview, Far Post Header — confirms squad composition (Crystal Palace veterans John Jackson, Phil Hoadley, Bill Roffey alongside youth products Glenn Roeder, Tony Grealish, John Chiedozie). "We had some good players but not a good team" — honest assessment.

    East London Advertiser — coverage of the 40th anniversary reunion dinner, March 2018. Glenn Roeder quotes about being underdogs and the freedom that brought.

    1977-78 FA Cup Wikipedia / Grokipedia — confirms Orient beat Chelsea 2-1 in fifth round replay at Stamford Bridge; Orient beat Middlesbrough 2-1 in quarter-final replay at Brisbane Road (Mayo equaliser, Kitchen winner 80th minute). ITV broadcast semi-final live.

    Jimmy Bloomfield Wikipedia — confirmed his death from cancer April 1983 aged 49; voted Orient's best ever manager in 2014 Football League poll.

    The League Paper, "Where Are They Now" — confirms what happened to the 1978 squad after the cup


    The following is a collated record of all research sources used across the ten episodes of Orient Through the Ages. Sources are listed by episode and organised into books and primary sources, digital archives and databases, journalism and fan media, and Wikipedia entries. All facts, dates, scorelines, and biographical details were verified against at least one source before inclusion in the scripts. Where sources conflicted, the most reliable or corroborated account was used, and the discrepancy is noted in the relevant episode’s production notes.

    Episodes

    01The Cricketers’ Club, 1881–1905

    02They Took the Lead, 1905–1929

    03Coming Home, 1929–1955

    04A Season in the Sun, 1955–1966

    05The Boy from Archway, 1966–1977

    06...
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    18 分
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