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Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose impressed in England’s 2-0 win against Costa Rica at Elland Road last week, and his performance didn’t go unnoticed by Manchester United fans on Twitter who urged their club to sign the defender, rated at £27m by Transfermarkt.

The Red Devils have been heavily linked with the 27-year-old in the past, but recent reports suggest that Jose Mourinho, who is reportedly targeting a 6ft 5in beast who would be the centre-back partner Eric Bailly has been crying out for, is ready to turn his back on the Three Lions star and keep the faith with Ashley Young and Luke Shaw, with new right-back Diogo Dalot also able to feature there.

Rose found it difficult to break back into the Spurs starting XI under Mauricio Pochettino following an injury at the beginning of the 2017/18 campaign, with Ben Davies establishing himself as the first-choice left-back/left wing-back.

Despite his lack of games he got the call from Gareth Southgate for the tournament in Russia this summer, and it remains to be seen whether he could still impress Mourinho enough to convince him to bring him to Old Trafford.

We asked Man United supporters to vote on our poll to see whether they thought that Rose would be an upgrade on Young at left-back, and a huge 83% said that he would be.

Those fans obviously disagree with Mourinho’s reported thoughts that he doesn’t need a new player in that position, and it would be no surprise if the Portuguese boss changed his mind before the window slams shut on August 9.

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According to The Mirror, Everton are interested in bringing Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere to Goodison Park this summer, but the Toffees should instead consider re-signing Marouane Fellaini from Manchester United.

What’s the story?

Wilshere announced last week that he would be leaving Arsenal following the expiration of his contract on June 30.

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West Ham United have been strongly linked with a move for the English midfielder, but according to The Mirror, Everton are also very much in the race.

The report claims that new Toffees boss Marco Silva and the club’s director of football Marcel Brands believe that the arrival of Wilshere could help bridge the gap on the top six in the Premier League next season.

Wilshere worked his way back to fitness and form last term, and there is absolutely no question that he still has time on his side.

The 26-year-old is certainly an attractive proposition on a free transfer, but Everton should instead be looking to re-sign Fellaini, who is valued at £10.8m by transfermarkt.co.uk, from United ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

Why Fellaini?

Like Wilshere, Fellaini will see his contract expire at the end of this month, and it does appear that the Belgium international will be leaving Old Trafford.

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United boss Jose Mourinho wants to keep the 30-year-old, but it is understood that the two parties have failed to agree a new contract, and Fellaini will surely soon announce his departure.

Fellaini has scored 20 times and registered 10 assists in 156 appearances for United since making the move from Everton in the summer of 2013.

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It was at Everton where the midfielder really made his name, however, scoring 33 times and registering 26 assists in 177 appearances for the Merseyside club.

The Toffees’ supporters have recently revealed their desire for Fellaini to return to Goodison Park, and it could turn out to be a genius piece of business from Silva and Brands.

Indeed, Fellaini’s best performances in England have come as an advanced forward at Goodison Park, and the offer of a long-term deal – and healthy wages – could convince the Belgian to seal what would be an incredible return to Merseyside.

Newcastle United are interested in signing Guingamp midfielder Clement Grenier, according to L’Equipe.

What’s the story?

27-year-old Grenier played most of his career at Lyon before he signed for Guingamp in January this year.

The versatile midfielder has impressed since his move, scoring five goals and assisting four in 14 games.

Grenier is comfortable playing in both central and attacking midfield positions and is valued at £3.6million on Transfermarkt.

According to L’Equipe, Grenier could be available for as little as £2.6million as he only has 12 months remaining on his current contract, but Newcastle will have to see off interest from Fulham, Rennes, Fenerbahce and AC Milan.

What’s the catch?

So far, so good for Newcastle, as it seems an in-form player in a position they need strengthening could be available on the cheap this summer.

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The main problem with Grenier is his injury record which has seen him play only 29 times in the last three seasons.

Rafa Benitez will have to weigh up the risks but at £2.6million, he could be worth a punt.

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Newcastle have had success identifying gems from Ligue 1 and Grenier has the ability to become another if he manages to stay fit.

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Liverpool will look to end what has been a brilliant 2019 on a high when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Anfield on Sunday.

The Reds extended their advantage at the top of the Premier League table and maintained their unbeaten 2019/20 start to the top flight campaign when they comprehensively beat then second-placed Leicester City 4-0 at the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day.

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Despite their fine run of form and performances, this is the Merseyside outfit’s ninth match in December, and Jurgen Klopp may well be tempted to make changes even if he is missing the likes of Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Fabinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain through injury.

Here we predict the starting XI the German is going to select against Wolves…

Alisson keeps his spot between the sticks, and with the likes of Matip and Lovren absent we think that Klopp will only make one change to his backline against Nuno Santo’s men.

We feel that second-half substitute against Leicester – James Milner – will fill one of the full-back spots to give one of Andy Robertson or Trent Alexander-Arnold a much-needed rest – and we think it could be the latter despite his wonder performance against Brendan Rodgers’ men where he had a hand in three goals and scored the other in the 4-0 win.

There are also changes in midfield too, with Adam Lallana and Xherdan Shaqiri coming in for Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson, who suffered a knock late on against the Foxes.

There is one change to the first-choice attacking trio as well, with Divock Origi coming in on the left-hand side to allow Sadio Mane a break from the starting XI.

Can you score at least 80% on this Ultimate Premier League Quiz? Test your knowledge now…

Mo Salah came off with 20 minutes left against Leicester to suggest he’ll start against Wolves, and we think he’ll once again be joined by Roberto Firmino in attack if Mane is rested.

In other Liverpool news, some Reds fans have called on their club to sign a 23-year-old Premier League star after his latest display…

A number of fans online have dropped some brutal claims on Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk after he failed to impress for Ukraine in their clash with England.

What’s the latest on Mykhailo Mudryk?

On Sunday evening, the 22-year-old represented his country at Wembley in a qualifier for Euro 2024. However, the Three Lions managed to pick up all three points with relative ease.

Indeed, two first-half goals saw Gareth Southgate’s men pick up their second win of the international break having also beaten Italy in Naples on Thursday.

It was Bukayo Saka who really stole the show from an England point of view as he laid on a superb assist for Harry Kane to open the scoring before the Arsenal man then curled one into the top corner from the edge of the box to seal the 2-0 victory.

Playing for Ukraine on the same flank, Mudryk failed to have the same sort of impact. Of course, the winger could have ended up being Saka’s teammate had things gone to plan in the winter.

After all, he seemed desperate to join Mikel Arteta and co – making several social posts about his desire to end up in north London – before Chelsea came in and convince Shakhtar Donetsk to sell for £88.5m.

And so, the 22-year-old joined Blues on a long-term contract that could keep him with the club up until 2031 – while getting paid £97,000 per week.

Mudryk has just one assist in his first six Premier League games so far in England, so it’s not as if he’s hit the ground running. At Wembley on Sunday, he failed to win over any doubters too.

Indeed, as per SofaScore, he picked up a 5.7 match rating – the lowest on the pitch for either team. What’s more, he failed to attempt any crosses, pull off any key passes or have any shots on target.

Furthermore, he won just one out of nine ground duels and didn’t make a single tackle.

In comparison, Saka picked up a man-of-the-match 8.8 rating with one goal, one assist, three key passes, two big chances created, eight out of ten ground duels and two tackles.

All in all, it’s clear Mudryk struggled to impress and it’s safe to say fans online noticed. Here are some of the strongest reactions…

Transfer rumours have been flying into Football Fancast Towers thick and fast and from every direction throughout the summer, and they’ve now gone into overdrive with just days of the transfer window remaining.

So thick and fast in fact, that we’re struggling to keep track of them all. You probably are too, and thus we thought it would be a good idea to compile all the rumours regarding the Premier League’s top clubs into one easily accessible place, trimmed down into digestible chunks with a simple-yet-effective ‘Three In, Three Out’ format.

This article focuses on Manchester United and their biggest transfer stories from the last week; some incoming, some outgoing, but all with the potential to be completed before the transfer window slams shut on 6pm September 1st.

So are the Red Devils on the verge of snapping up some title-winning talent? Who’s set for a last-minute exit from Old Trafford? Read on the find out!

OUT – DAVID DE GEA

It’s been a long and arduous summer of will-he-wont-he for David De Gea, the Spain international’s much-awaited move to Real Madrid seemingly inevitable yet still to materialise with just days of the summer transfer window remaining.

Indeed, the Red Devils won’t have much time to source a replacement for their 2015 Player of the Year shot-stopping extraordinaire but they’re also not in a position to be rejecting sizable bids, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.

Louis van Gaal already appears to be preparing for life without him, excluding the 24 year-old from all of his match-day squads so far this season.

That might be because he’s expected this week’s news from some time; per The Daily Mail, a final take-it-or-leave-it £33million bid from the former European champions. According to Mirror Football, De Gea’s camp are growing increasingly confident that a deal will be struck before the transfer window slams shut.

IN – NEYMAR

Perhaps the most audacious rumour of the summer transfer window thus far. According to reports from last weekend, Manchester United have prepared a £165million bid for Barcelona star Neymar.

It goes without saying that the miniscule winger-forward is one of the leading talents in world football, boasting 44 goals for Brazil, a Champions League title, an instrumental role in the Barcelona starting Xi, the 2011 Puskas award, consecutive South American Footballer of the Year awards and a CL Golden Boot at the tender age of just 23.

United allegedly want to make him the new face of the club’s global brand and of course, the shining star of their starting Xi – even surpassing captain Wayne Rooney.

Certainly an enticing offer for Neymar as an individual – especially amid long-term concerns that he’ll always inevitably be overshadowed by Lionel Messi at the Nou Camp – but the Catalans have made it clear they aren’t interested in selling the former Santos prodigy so late in the transfer window. In fact, they’re now planning to offer him a five-year contract to snub out the Red Devils’ interest before it grows further.

So an arrival before September 1st seems incredibly unlikely. But something tells me reports linking Neymar with an Old Trafford switch will become commonplace over the next few years.

OUT – VICTOR VALES

David De Gea is by no means the only Manchester United goalkeeper expected to head out of the Old Trafford exit door by 6pm on September 1st.

Indeed, Louis van Gaal made his feelings regarding Victor Valdes known some time ago, revealing in July his intentions to sell the former Barcelona No.1 after his apparent refusal to represent the Red Devils’ U21 squad last season.

The 33 year-old arrived at Carrington on a free transfer midway through last season and that seems to be the manner in which he’ll also leave. According to Mirror Football, he’s expected to join Besiktas for no fee within the next few days.

IN – ALEKSANDR KOKORIN

One rumoured forward target certainly more within Manchester United’s reach than Neymar comes in the form of Dynamo Moscow star Aleksandr Kokorin.

The 24 year-old is hardly a household name but comes highly rated, boasting 45 goals in 193 appearances for the Russian outfit – 28 of which have come in his last 71 league outings. He was also the Russian national team’s stand-out star at last summer’s World Cup, scoring in a 1-1 draw against Algeria and providing some much-need pace going forward.

Agent Cyril Loginov declared earlier this week; “Right now I’m working on Kokorin’s transfer. United and Tottenham are interested in his services. There are many reasons to think that it will [happen] in one of two teams before August 31.”

It’s believed United could snap up Kokorin for around £8million due to his contract expiring at the end of the season. But also in desperate need of added firepower before the transfer window slams shut, Arsenal are targeting the 6 foot forward as well.

OUT – JONNY EVANS

The Red Devils may be short on top quality at the heart of defence but that doesn’t appear to have affected Jonny Evans’ status as surplus to requirements.

Indeed, the Northern Ireland international managed just 14 Premier League appearances under Louis van Gaal last season – his second-worst campaign haul since becoming a United regular in 2008 – and he’s now seemingly at the bottom of a pecking order that includes Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind.

With his contract expiring at the end of next season, Manchester United look set to sell before the transfer window draws to a close. Everton have been mooted as potential suitors, should they require a last-minute replacement for John Stones, but reports this week suggest he’s much closer to joining West Bromwich Albion in a £10million move.

IN – FELIPE ANDERSON

A final rumour from yesterday evening courtesy of The Express. The British tabloid claim Manchester United will launch a £32.8million bid for Lazio’s Felipe Anderson before the end of the transfer window.

The Brazil international has emerged as one of the most exciting talents in Serie A over the last 18 months or so, last term finishing up with ten goals and seven assists in just 23 league starts whilst averaging the third-most dribbles per match (3.3) of an player in the division.

He’s also a fantastically hard worker, averaging 1.9 tackles per match, and renowned for his versatility, having featured on both flanks, in central midfield and at centre-forward for the Stadio Olpymico outfit last season.

The 22 year-old has been mooted as a potential alternative to former Barcelona star Pedro, now of Chelsea, and although Anderson ruled out a move earlier in the summer United see now as the perfect time to buy, following Lazio’s failure to escape the Champions League’s play-off round.

Whether that’s enough to force Lazio into selling a player under contract until 2020, however, remains to be seen.

Chelsea’s terrible transfer window has cost them badly this season. While other teams around them strengthened in the summer, the Blues sat back and certainly raised a few eyebrows with some of their signings.

The transfer of Papy Djilobodji in particular was mind-boggling. Having tried to lure John Stones away from Merseyside for a long period of time, Chelsea fans could not believe their eyes when an unknown Senegalese defender from France turned up at their Cobham training ground.

It was clear straight away that he wasn’t a Jose Mourinho signing and the player is already looking at his options in January, with Turkish side Besiktas reportedly interested in a loan deal.

The fact certain people decided to spend £2.7m on a player who, so far, has made one substitute appearance in a Capital One Cup fixture at Walsall raises big questions. Technical director Michael Emenalo has been heavily criticised in recent weeks and should also be made accountable for the position Chelsea currently find themselves in.

Mourinho reportedly asked his board to sign three quality and handed in a shortlist, which included Gareth Bale, Raheem Sterling and John Stones. There was a genuine feeling that a golden era of dominance had just begun, but the club felt his requests were unnecessary. While some of the targets may have been out of reach, they still should have backed their manager in strengthening his squad.

Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, also made the decision to sell legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech to Arsenal – against Mourinho’s will.

Old problems seem to be recurring, problems that eventually lead to The Special One leaving West London in 2007.

While the club must stick with him until at least the end of the season, they have to make a real statement during the January transfer window. If they are serious about backing Mourinho and turning their season around, they must sign some quality players and potentially get rid of the dead wood and troublemakers.

Chelsea need to replace Falcao with a world class striker, and with Djilobodji also on his way out, they need to sign another top class defender. Not only to improve their position in the league table, but also to compete in the Champions League.

The next few months are massive for the club and all people, from top to bottom, need to do their best to get Chelsea back on track.

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With every passing defeat under Steve McClaren, I grow more convinced that Alan Pardew did an exceptional job during his rollercoaster four years in charge of Newcastle United.

I’m not the Crystal Palace manager’s biggest fan but he held together a club riddled with off-field issues and underinvestment to qualify for the Europa League and record an average final standing of 12th from his five seasons at the helm, despite never having anything close to the full backing of the Tyneside support.

In fact, quite the opposite; the sheer existence of SackPardew.com, a website that helped orchestrate protest demonstrations and handed out anti-Pardew paraphernalia at St. James’ Park, tells all about the 54-year-old’s frosty relationship with the Toon Army.

McClaren’s struggles since taking Newcastle’s managerial reigns in the summer, claiming just ten points from his first twelve Premier League fixtures at the helm, pay testament to Pardew’s relative success. But considering how supporters chewed up and spat out his predecessor, who unfortunately became the face of everything wrong with Geordie football, the fear is that McClaren will soon endure similar treatment unless results improve. Mick Quinn of The Chronicle, Newcastle’s regional news service, is already calling for the axe to be wielded.

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Yet, McClaren’s credentials cannot be debated. Although, like most managers, there are many blotches on his CV – the largest and most notable being his nightmare spell in charge of England – the 54-year-old is talented and proven, having won a League Cup and reached a UEFA final with Middlesbrough as well as leading FC Twente to the only Eredivisie title in their history during the 2009/10 season.

There is no instantaneous remedy to the damage caused during Pardew’s tenure – mostly centring around recruitment policy – and rather than a query of his own ability, the underwhelming start to McClaren’s regime proves that the problems at St. James’ stem far deeper than simply the man in the dugout. His loudest sound-bite since taking the Newcastle job has been simply one of patience and it’s not hard to see why; McClaren is rebuilding a squad, a philosophy and a club almost from the ground up.

Some have lamented Newcastle’s play as too simplistic – a style belonging to the previous decade in which McClaren recorded his greatest achievements – but I see a manager going back to basics after inheriting a squad riddled by inconsistency. Pardew drew just 41 of his 185 games in charge of Newcastle but the ability to scrape out a point under unaccommodating circumstances is essential for any bottom half Premier League club. Maybe that’s not what Newcastle fans want to be but that is the reality nonetheless and knowing how to take a point, especially on the road, is a weapon that must be added to the Magpies’ arsenal.

That is no easy task when your squad boasts neither dependable firepower nor a resilient defence, which is why McClaren has started the season playing simple, direct and largely cautious football. He’s trying to implement a level of organisation that can overcome the deficiencies of his team, split almost exactly down the middle between players of Premier League quality and players lacking it, and that requires hours of work on the training field.

It hasn’t always been pretty and the results thus far are by no means astounding, but the Magpies have claimed nearly half as many clean sheets as last season, three compared to seven, in just twelve games. Defence must come first when you’re in the Premier League’s bottom five and those clean sheets are a sign of improvement. That rear-guard smash-and-grab display against Bournemouth before the international break, for example, could prove integral come the end of May.

Of course, a few hard-fought wins can change everything and that’s what McClaren is banking on. Before he can allow his team off the leash and play a more open brand of football, they need confidence and form on their side. I’m sure that will happen at some point and as a consequence, I’m sure Newcastle will improve as the season goes on, especially in aesthetic terms. But it will require the patience of a fanbase that has grown fickle and short-tempered under owner Mike Ashley.

The motivation to do so is certainly more carrot than stick. Whilst McClaren isn’t offering an instantaneous return to Newcastle’s heyday of scintillating attacking play and top half finishes, the aim of simply surviving this season and building on from there is realistic. The summer marked Newcastle’s most expensive window to date under Ashley but clearly the squad still lacks vital components, particularly at the heart of defence, and McClaren is dependent on players he probably wouldn’t select if more options of his own choosing were at his disposal.

Although he is working on fine margins, with Newcastle currently 17th and just one point above the relegation zone, McClaren has stayed on the right side of them so far. Barring an appointment like Jurgen Klopp or Jose Mourinho, I doubt most managers would fare significantly better and sacking him feels almost like a pointless enterprise, simply putting a new face on pre-existing, long-standing problems. If the Magpies are ever to return to the glory days of old, they need a manager who will be in the job for four or five years and given time to reinvent the club, making it an attractive proposition for transfer targets of proven quality.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and there will be many more days of toil ahead of Newcastle fans. But in the context of both this season and turning the club around in the long term, McClaren is still the right man for the job. It’s just a case getting over an early and admittedly rather sizable hump first.

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To look at Jurgen Klopp bouncing around on the touchline, in a tracksuit and floppy hair, you wouldn’t think of a chess player. Just by looking at the man, the mind doesn’t immediately jump to comparisons with the great tacticians of footballing history.

The mind jumps more to a Martin O’Neill or someone like that. A good manager, for sure, but more of a motivator, a man-manager who makes his teams look like more than the sum of their parts.

And although Klopp does know how to care for his players, there’s a lot more of the cerebral around the man.

He has a bit of a reputation as a manager who out-thinks his opposite numbers. Dortmund upset the odds by winning the Bundesliga twice in a row, and were able to compete with the behemoths that are Bayern Munich for years in the most unlikely of circumstances – even reaching a Champions League final where they narrowly lost out to their domestic nemesis.

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The idea that teams work hard and try to win the ball back when they lose it is nothing new, of course.

The fact that Klopp – this ultra-popular proponent of hipster football – is implementing a pressing game at Liverpool has been mocked by those who point out that gegenpressing is what English clubs at all levels have been doing for years. They just don’t have a fancy name for it.

The cliches of the ‘honest and hardworking’ player are exemplified by that sort of style. The player who will run around and work hard is the kind of player who presses the opposition and chases lost causes.

But Klopp’s thoughts aren’t all about hard work. They’re about the opposition too. They’re about how likely the opposition are to try to counter attack or try to dominate the game.

Gegenpressing comes in many different forms. Maybe you press the opponents just after they win the ball back – it’s hard to launch a counter attack if you’re under severe pressure already. Maybe you press the man on the ball and force him into a mistake. Or maybe you press the ball itself and try to intercept it? Or maybe you press the players who could receive the pass – especially useful against a team like Manchester United who are slow in possession and like to build up from the back.

Liverpool under Klopp look like a more traditionally English team, but they’re a much more thoughtful team than they were under Rodgers. Their intensity is much higher, but that doesn’t mean you cut down on the intellectual side of the game, it just mean you think with intensity too. The players must come off the pitch mentally and physically drained.

Do you ever play a game of FIFA against that one mate with whom you’re so equally matched. The game is intense, you press mercilessly, your players are pulling up with hamstring injuries by the end of extra time, but it’s still 0-0 because you’ve been so focused on keeping your centre backs in position and not giving your mate a chance to cut you open with a through ball. It’s mentally and physically exhausting, it’s super intense, and yet it’s only a game of FIFA!

Liverpool’s players go through the real-life manifestation of that every game. But they know what they’re doing. They’re prepared for it and they’re braced for it. Poor Manchester City last weekend – they weren’t braced for how mentally tough that game was going to be.

Liverpool just looked better. They tore City apart. But that’s not because Liverpool have better players than City – they don’t – but because City weren’t ready for how mentally tough it would be to play against Liverpool. They may not have come off the pitch as physically drained as they might have expected, but mentally it must have been a different story. They were rattled right from the off with Mangala scoring a comical own goal, and from then on City weren’t on Liverpool’s level.

This is the new Liverpool under Klopp. His team is an old-fashioned English side modified for the modern game. The modern game of pristine pitches, soft fouls and mind-numbing tactical overload. Klopp is peak 70s physicality for a gentrified game – designer stubble and thick-rim glasses, not pornstar moustache and ultra-short shorts.

And until the rest of the league understands him, they’ll find it hard to beat him.

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I only say ‘little brother’ because not a few minutes down the road is the bigger sibling of the East End in West Ham United.

West Ham seemingly have everything that the O’s don’t have in terms of a top notch stadium (well, soon), money to invest, a star-studded squad, silverware of significance, a steady set of chairmen and a spot in the Premier League – and all that goes with that.

However, that shouldn’t detract from a club that has had a yo-yo life in the lower leagues. I recall Orient, as they were then, in the old second division and I remember the 1978 FA Cup semi-final, when Orient lost out to Arsenal in their iconic ‘braces style kit’. Bring that back, I say.

Leyton Orient started this season off with Ian Hendon in charge and stormed to the top of League Two after relegation last season. They went on an unbeaten league run from the first five games, but have been inconsistent since the beginning of October. That inconsistency and only four wins in 21 games, lost Hendon his job earlier this month after his appointment in May last year. Hendon was succeeded by his assistant Andy Hessenthaler up until last week’s appointment of player/manager Kevin Nolan. But where did this club begin and what’s gone on in between?

Founded in 1881, as a cricket club, the team became known as Orient Football club in 1888 and joined the football league in 1905. Orient is a strange name for a club from the East End, as most teams take their town, city or borough name. The name of the club was at the behest of a player (Jack R. Dearing) who was working for the Orient Shipping Company that later became part of P&O. In 1898, the club became Clapton Orient, as the team played within the area.

In 1937, the team moved to Leyton and became Leyton Orient after the second World War. Further name changes took place, as in 1966, the club became known as just Orient and then it changed again in 1987, when the fans’ campaign to add Leyton to the name succeeded. Not many teams have had as many name changes as the O’s. The club badge has also changed a few times from the borough coat of arms to a single dragon and then to it’s current incarnation – the two Wyverns facing – in 1976.

The O’s had just the one season in the top flight and the golden years were the 1960s and the 1970s. In 1961/62, Orient were promoted to England’s top tier – the old Division One – but struggled and were relegated after one season. One notable scalp was the defeat of near neighbours West Ham at the Brisbane Road Ground, but sadly Orient found themselves back amongst the third tier soon enough before becoming champions in the 1969/70 season. In the ’70s, Orient enjoyed time in the second tier, they were Anglo-Scottish Cup Runners-Up in 1976/77 and there was the 1978 FA Cup semi-final that I mentioned earlier. Aside from that, older Orient fans will remember being 2-0 down to Chelsea in the FA Cup Fifth Round, only to win 3-2, but there’s not been much to shout about since.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the club see-sawed between the third and fourth divisions under a succession of managers, but financial crisis was just around the corner for the then owner, Tony Wood, which led to another relegation. Play-off finalists twice, but defeated twice left the club in the lower reaches until promotion in 2005/06 under Martin Ling. In April 2010, Russell Slade was appointed as manager after Geraint Williams was sacked, as Orient looked doomed for relegation again, but Slade did enough to save them and was awarded an extended contract. A decent FA Cup run saw them reach the 5th round with wins over Norwich City away, Swansea City away and a creditable draw at home to Arsenal. The replay was a 5-0 drubbing, but they had a decent cup run and went on a 14 game unbeaten run which wasn’t quite enough for the play-offs and possible promotion. In 2013-14, Orient finished third in the league and went to Wembley as they took on Rotherham in the play-off’s, only to lose once again. Relegated last year, Leyton Orient are battling their way back and under Nolan and it’s been 100% so far. They are currently in the play-off area in sixth with 43 points – eight points off an automatic place – but with some tough matches to come. Teams around them have games in hand on Orient, so they will need every point they can win to remain in the play-off places. Time will tell.

In 2014/15, Italian business man Francesco Bechetti took over Leyton Orient and it all appeared to go wrong. Under Barry Hearn, the club appeared solid and even requested the rights to become tenants of the Olympic Stadium. Again the claret and blue shadow followed them and Orient lost out. Russell Slade left, to be replaced Mauro Milanese and then by Fabio Liverani and all before Christmas 2014. The takeover and the comings and goings of managers clearly upset the club and things seemed to stabilise this year with Hendon’s appointment and the great start to the season.

Famous O’s have been Peter Shilton, Stan Bowles, Ralph Coates, Laurie Cunningham, Justin Fashanu, Glenn Roeder, Andros Townsend and Ray Wilkins. There are obviously a number of former players that the fans hold dear, but maybe not so dear to their hearts are those players that came from Upton Park. In the 60s and 70s a number of players transferred to the O’s – Tommy Taylor, Mervyn Day, Alvin Martin, Pat Holland and Geoff Pike to name but a few.

And strangely enough, the West Ham connection continues at the Matchroom Stadium. Ian Hendon, a former O’s player, left West Ham for the managers job and now Kevin Nolan keeps the circle turning.

The O’s are just one of those teams that to anyone outside of the area appear to be completely invisible. Within their area they are a well known and a well-liked club with tremendous community links. It’s generally considered with Nolan’s background, that he will do well and Orient fans have their fingers firmly crossed.

Let’s hope they find stability and and promotion before long.

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