Opposition Lowdown: Richie Wellens’ Winless Leyton Orient

Reading return from the international break with a home game against Leyton Orient. Join us as we take a closer look at the opposition.

Form

Leyton Orient finished last season in 11th place in League One, in their first season back in the third tier in eight years. They secured promotion back to League One in the 2022/23 season after finishing as champions of League Two, six points clear of runners-up Stevenage.

They have had a poor start to the current season and are one of only two Football League teams who are yet to pick up a point. Sitting bottom of the league, they have seen losses to Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Birmingham City and Shrewsbury Town. They have seen more success in the League Cup where they are into the third round after beating Newport County and Championship side Millwall.

Last season’s fixtures saw Orient claim a 2-1 victory over Reading at home in October, before the sides played out a 1-1 draw at the Select Car Leasing Stadium in January this year.

The boss

Richie Wellens: Wellens was appointed Orient manager in March 2022, taking over from Kenny Jackett, who was sacked after nine months in charge.

Wellens was a midfielder during his playing career, having come through the Manchester United academy. He played for the likes of Blackpool, Leicester City and Doncaster Rovers over the course of an 18-year professional career.

He started his coaching career in 2017, starting out at Oldham Athletic, where he was then appointed manager. His next managerial role came at Swindon Town, where he secured promotion to League One after the season was cut short due to Covid-19. A four-month spell at Salford followed in 2020, after which he joined former club Doncaster in 2021, where he lasted six months.

Wellens secured promotion in his first full season at Leyton Orient, winning the League Two title and the manager of the season award. The 43-year-old likes his teams to play attacking football and sees Sir Alex Ferguson as one of his greatest inspirations.

Squad

Orient have seen 10 players join the club this summer with four joining on permanent deals and six players signing on loan. Permanent additions include right-back Sean Clare, who joined from Wigan, and winger Diallang Jaiyesimi, who signed from Charlton, both on undisclosed fees. Midfielders Lewis Warrington and Dominic Ball also joined the club on free transfers.

Their loan signings include goalkeepers Zach Hemming (Middlesbrough) and Josh Keeley (Tottenham Hotspur), left-back Jack Currie (Oxford United) and forwards Jamie Donley (Tottenham), Sonny Perkins (Leeds United) and Charlie Kelman (Queens Park Rangers).

Seven players left the club over the summer including defender Rob Hunt, midfielder Max Sanders and forward Ruel Sotiriou.

Expected lineup

Hemming, Sweeney, Happe, Cooper, Clare, Galbraith, Ball, O’Neill, Jaiyesimi, Agyei, Kelman

Key player

Ollie O’Neill: Midfielder O’Neill joined Orient in January this year, signing from Premier League Fulham for an undisclosed fee.

He started his career in the youth setup at Brentford, before joining West London rivals Fulham in 2016. He signed his first pro deal with the Cottagers in 2020 but never made a first-team appearance for the club.

O’Neill spent time on loan at Derry City in 2023, making 19 appearances for the club. He signed for Leyton Orient in January and has 23 appearances to his name so far, scoring five goals.

The 21-year-old Irishman has represented his country at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level and has two youth international goals to his name. O’Neill is an attacking midfielder who typically plays on the left-hand side and is a creative threat.

One to watch

Charlie Kelman: Forward Kelman joined Orient on a season-long loan deal from QPR this summer. He started his career at FC Dallas before joining the youth setup at Southend United. It was at Southend that he made his professional debut in 2019, before going on to make 35 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals.

Kelman joined QPR on a permanent deal in 2020 but has found first-team football hard to come by in West London. He has had a number of loan spells, representing the likes of Gillingham, Wigan and Orient, where he also spent the 2022/23 season.

Although he was born in England, Kelman has represented the United States at under-18 and under-20 level. The 22-year-old can play as a central striker or on the right-hand side of attack and is a physical presence up top.