The 2025 League One Play-Off final was contested between Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient, with Charlton being the victors and heading to the Championship.
However, while Leyton Orient may have expected to be back challenging for the play-offs once again this season, it has not turned out that way at all.
Ten months later, Orient currently sit in 21st place, two puts from safety of the relegation zone.
But how they managed to go from one game away from the Championship to being on the brink of League 2 football?
The first, and arguably most obvious issue for Leyton Orient this season has been their players.
From Orient’s latest game, a 2-1 loss to Bradford City, only two players remain from last season, that being Sean Clare and Oliver O’Neil.
Many of their players from last season got moves away, many to the Championship such as Jack Currie who moved to Oxford United, Ethan Glabraith who transferred to Swansea City and Charlie Kelman who moved to Charlton Atheltic.
Unfortunately for Leyton Orient, they have not been able to replace these major losses adequately.
For example, last season the O’s only conceded 48 goals all season, whereas now they have already conceded 58, the highest in League One.
This highlights the stark decline in the players Orient have at their disposal
With one win in their last eight, things certainly look bleak at the moment for Leyton Orient
If Leyton Orient wish to survive this relegation battle, they have to win some highly important fixtures.
The O’s have to face Mansfield Town, Rotherham United, Blackpool and Burton Albion in their final games of the season, each of which could decide whether Orient stay up or go down.
Unfortunately for Leyton Orient, they were only able to pick up point against Blackpool and Burton in the previous fixtures, so it’s not looking promising for them.
It will be up to the players to step up and claw Orient out of the relegation zone.
Dominic Ballard may be a very important figure, with the striker sitting third in the league’s top scorer rankings.
However, it is a stark contrast to just one year ago, when the Championship didn’t seem that far away.
