Football fans seek success, live for hope, and endure the bad times believing that one day, better days will come. However, the story of Leyton Orient over the past decade shows how the work of one individual can diminish all hope whatsoever – and almost kill an entire football club. In May 2014, Leyton Orient stood on the brink of the Championship, just one penalty shootout away from a return to the second tier for the first time since 1994-95. Guided by Russell Slade, the O’s came agonisingly close, only for Chris Dagnall’s missed spot-kick against Rotherham at Wembley to dash their dreams. Yet, as painful as that moment was, it would be nothing in comparison to what lay ahead.
In the years that followed that playoff final, Leyton Orient plunged into one of the worst crises in English football history. Financial turmoil, an owner who treated the club as his personal toy, fan protests, unpaid wages, and ultimately, relegation from the Football League for the first time in their 112-year existence.
Orient were not just in trouble; they were on the brink of existence. This is the story of how a football club was ripped into a thousand pieces – but are now on their way back. The 2013-14 season was a memorable one for Leyton Orient. Slade had transformed a squad once battling relegation in 2010 into genuine promotion contenders four years later. With a talented, likeable squad -including prolific strikers Kevin Lisbie and David Mooney, dynamic wingers Dean Cox and Moses Odubajo, and the ever-reliable Jamie Jones in goal – the O’s played exciting, attacking football and came within touching distance of the Championship.
In the summer of 2014, Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti – a man with no background in football -purchased Leyton Orient from Barry Hearn, a decision Hearn would later call “an absolute disaster.” Becchetti arrived with bold promises and immediate investment, bringing in fan favourites like Jay Simpson and Jobi McAnuff.
However, his tenure quickly turned into a masterclass in how to kill a football club.
One of Becchetti’s first moves was dismantling the foundation built under Hearn and Slade. When the club blocked an approach for Russell Slade from Cardiff City in September 2014, the popular manager resigned, setting off a chaotic managerial merry-go-round. Kevin Nugent took temporary charge before being replaced by Mauro Milanese, whose tenure lasted just six weeks. Then came Fabio Liverani.
Liverani couldn’t prevent Orient’s decline, and just a year after their playoff heartbreak, Brisbane Road hosted League Two football for the 2015-16 season. He was swiftly sacked, with Ian Hendon taking the reins. Despite a promising start, his tenure unravelled amid off-field turmoil, orchestrated by Becchetti.
One of the most infamous moments of Becchetti’s reign came after a 3-1 defeat to Hartlepool in November 2015. In a bizarre attempt at ‘team bonding,’ he ordered the entire squad and staff to stay in the Marriott Hotel in Waltham Abbey. Instead of uniting the team, the stunt only deepened the divide between Becchetti and those fighting to keep Leyton Orient alive in the Football League.
Andy Hessenthaler and Kevin Nolan were next to take charge, but chaos continued to reign. Hessenthaler found himself at the centre of attention in December 2015 when Becchetti was caught on camera kicking him up the backside after a defeat. The owner’s troubles didn’t stop there – in 2016, he was convicted of money laundering in Albania and placed under house arrest. With an international arrest warrant hanging over him, the man in charge of Leyton Orient was not only absent from the country but entangled in a legal crisis spiralling out of control.
Players went unpaid, and youth players were left to fight for survival in League Two, as there was simply no one else willing to play for a club in such turmoil. More managerial changes followed – Cavasin, Edwards, Webb, and Riza all attempted to stave off relegation. Five managers in six months, and an owner on house arrest across Europe. Leyton Orient were doomed.
By the time League Two relegation was confirmed on April 22, 2017, Orient were barely functioning as a professional club. The PFA had to step in – players and staff had not been paid for two months.
This was the turning point. A week after relegation was confirmed at Crewe, Orient fans stormed the Brisbane Road pitch during a 1-3 defeat to Colchester United. Flares were lit, flags and banners waved, as supporters occupied the pitch for over an hour, forcing the game to be suspended. Their protest exposed the farce of the EFL’s failure to intervene, allowing Becchetti’s destructive ownership to ravage their beloved club.
In response, Becchetti shut the club’s offices and cut communication entirely. He had single-handedly taken Orient out of the Football League, and couldn’t even bare to face the fans, a coward hiding from the wreckage he left behind.
As debts mounted, the supporters’ trust scrambled to raise funds, aware that urgent action was needed to save the club. If Becchetti had stayed even a few months longer, Leyton Orient might not exist today.
But in June 2017, hope emerged – Becchetti was gone.
Salvation came in the form of Nigel Travis, an Orient fan and former Dunkin’ Donuts CEO, who led a consortium to purchase the club. Alongside him was Director of Football Martin Ling, a former manager with an understanding of what was needed to stabilise and rebuild a club that had suffered years of damage. For the first time in years, the club had structure, leadership, and, most importantly, hope. However, they now faced the challenge of navigating the National League, a level the club had never encountered before.
Steve Davis was appointed manager by the new consortium but lasted only 19 league games before being replaced by Justin Edinburgh in November 2017. Edinburgh quickly transformed the squad, instilling a long-awaited identity on the pitch. The 2018-19 season would go on to be one to remember.
Led by the goals of Macauley Bonne and Josh Koroma, the centre-back duo of Marvin Ekpiteta and Josh Coulson, and the returning Jobi McAnuff, Orient won the National League and secured promotion back to the EFL.
Promotion was clinched in April 2019 with a 0-0 draw at Brisbane Road against Braintree Town, triggering a pitch invasion – this time for a much more joyous reason than the one two years earlier against Colchester.
After two years in non-league, the O’s were back. An FA Trophy final defeat followed shortly after, but it did little to dampen the spirits of the club.
That was until tragedy struck in June. Just weeks after securing promotion, Justin Edinburgh passed away at the age of just 49 after suffering a cardiac arrest. Orient renamed the West Stand at Brisbane Road the Justin Edinburgh Stand, and the Justin Edinburgh 3 Foundation was established to raise awareness of heart conditions in sport.
A managerial merry-go-round ensued as the club begun to rebuild in League Two. Ross Embleton, Carl Fletcher, Jobi McAnuff, and Kenny Jackett all took to the dugout but couldn’t muster anything other than mid-table finishes. Jackett was sacked in February 2022 with the club hovering above the drop zone, and was replaced by Richie Wellens.
After guiding Orient to safety, the 2022-23 season became one to remember for Richie Wellens and the O’s. Dominating the division, they secured promotion with four games to spare, and they went on to win the League Two title, finishing with 91 points and conceding just 34 goals in 46 games.
Fast forward to March 2025, and Wellens remains at the helm, with Orient firmly back near the top end of League One. Despite some recent indifferent results and a narrow FA Cup defeat to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City last month, the O’s have successfully consolidated their position in the division they once called home for so many years.
Just over a decade since Wembley heartache, Leyton Orient have risen from the ashes of Becchetti’s destruction. The club not only overcame an unimaginable tragedy in June 2019 but has transformed from a side marked by unpaid players, locked doors, and fan protests to one now aiming for the League One playoffs once again.
Orient fans will never forget the pain of the last decade, but they will also forever remember the character, courage, and resilience of those who helped rebuild the club through its darkest hours. Because Leyton Orient is still standing, and after everything they’ve endured, they are stronger than ever.
