A Alexander, Gary. The former Hull striker has certainly found his feet at Brisbane Road after joining them a few years back. He never settled at Hull and was often called up for disciplinary problems before the move to London. Apparently he was close to joining the Imps when Hull suggested a swap for then City striker, Lee Thorpe. He was made captain of the Orient side midway through the 2003/4 season and has gone on ever since to become one of the league’s most deadly strikers.

B Barnet, the only other London team in the division. Orient just have the edge over their local rivals winning 6 of the 17 matches between the two clubs, with Barnet winning 5 and the other 6 being draws. They met each other this season on September 10^th and Orient won 3-2 in what has been described as an exciting game. Barnet haven’t beat Orient since December 1998.

C Craig Easton, a Scottish midfielder who joined the club from Scottish Premiership side, Livingston. Often described as a hard working and tenacious midfielder, he is potentially a match winner.

D Donny Bonnard, one of the current defenders at Brisbane Road after working his way through the youth ranks at Orient. He is a natural defender although has tendencies to get forward and he creates a lot of opportunities for the other players.

E Efe Echanomi. The young Nigerian is rated by many as the best young player in the division after some impressive displays in the Orient shirt after working his way up through the ranks. Apparently scouts from several London teams will be at Saturday’s game to see if Echanomi is just pure hype or whether he is good enough to play at a higher level.

F FA Cup. In the 2001/2 season, the two clubs met in the 2^nd round of the FA Cup just 2 weeks before their league meeting. City took a first half lead from an Ian Hamilton free kick before two quick fire goals from the livewire Jabo Ibehre sent Orient through to a tie at Portsmouth. City did have a last minute goal disallowed for offside. 2 weeks later, Orient thrashed the Imps 5-0 which stills remains as their biggest win and City’s biggest defeat this century.

G Gary (Taylor) Fletcher. A name that needs little introduction to either set of fans. A highly rated Fletcher joined Orient from Keith Alexander’s Northwich Victoria and failed to live up to his potential and only scored once during his time at Brisbane Road. He joined the Imps at the beginning of the 2003/4 season and became City’s highest scorer that season. His returned to Brisbane Road saw one of the best City goals seen in a long time as he waltzed through the Orient defence before unleashing an unstoppable shot that even brought a standing ovation from Orient fans. He often turned games around and was a fan favourite with the City fans but some lacklustre performances in the 2004/5 season, saw him end with him barely sneaking into double figure goals before being released by City. He now plays for Huddersfield.

H Hull. Orient’s most successful season this century was easily the 2000/1 season which saw them finishing in the playoffs. They were to face Hull and lost 1-0 in the first leg at Boothferry Park. However, goals from Steve Watts and Matt Lockwood in the return leg at Brisbane Road sent Orient through, however, they were defeated 4-2 by Blackpool, despite taking a 1^st minute lead.

I Incredible. This word was used by many Orient fans after the match at Sincil Bank last season. Gareth McAuley gave City a 3^rd minute lead before Steele equalised 10 minutes later. However, within a minute, Yeo made it 2-1. Orient continued to press however and Jabo Ibehre equalised again just before half time. McAuley put the Imps in the lead yet again just after half time before Steele popped up and headed Orient level again. Late on in the game, Lockwood sent Steele through and the striker shot past Marriott for his hatrick and the round off the highest scoring game at Sincil Bank last season.

J Jabo Ibehre. A striker that I have always admired and judging by comments I’ve seen from Orient fans, I’m not alone in thinking that. The young striker, yet another plundered from the youth system has played regularly for 5 years now and is always a thorn in City’s side. Although he has never scored more than 5 in a season, he is an extremely talented player who I would love to see in a City shirt one day.

K Ken Matthews, an Orient fan that apparently went to every single Orient game between 1923 and 1974. In those 51 years, he spent (today’s equivalent) of a staggering £104,500 on going to watch his team, now that’s commitment.

L Lee Steele, after signing from Oxford, Steele gave the Imps the run-around in the game mentioned above and with Gary Alexander, formed one of the most dangerous partnerships in the lower leagues. However, injury this season has meant he hasn’t been able to play after scoring 16 league goals last season.

M Martin Ling. Ling was appointed temporary manager of Orient after Paul Brush was sacked after a 3-0 defeat at Huddersfield. Ling’s first match in charge was a 1-1 draw with Northampton and that signalled a change for Orient as they marched up the table, however, a terrible slump towards the end of the season saw them win just 1 of their last 15 games, that one game relegated York City and Orient eventually finished 19^th.

Last season was the same again as they started well and for a time, sat top of the table, however another slump saw them fall down the table and out of the promotion picture all together and they finished a respectable 11^th. Overall, many view Ling as the man to turn Orient around and they’ve defiantly started this season well, sound familiar???

N Not defeated. Orient have gone 6 games unbeaten which has taken them to 3^rd in the division. The run started with the aforementioned win at Barnet. This was followed with a 1-1 draw at Wrexham before an impressive 3-2 away win at Carlisle. A 2-1 win over Torquay was followed with a 3-1 success over Mansfield before Saturday’s draw at Stockport.

O Ole Orient, Ole Orient, Ole. Indeed

P Prat. Last season, Lincoln fans were chanting “Alexander’s barmy army” whilst winning 1-0 at Orient. A random Orient fan stands up and starts hurling abuse at us saying “you wanted him out a few months ago”. That’s rich coming from an Orient fan, a team where the majority of fans wanted Paul Brush out for 2 years. He quickly sat down when I pointed this out to him.

Q Quigley. A character from the horror film, Cube Zero, a film that will never be shown in Orient’s supporters bar.

R Revenge. Orient’s first game of the 2005/6 season was at home to Macclesfield, the identical opening day fixture from the season before. Macclesfield had come out 3-1 winners on that day thanks to goals from Matt Tipton and 2 from the gorilla. However, this opening day saw Orient get revenge. Keith opened the scoring in the first minute before Paul Harsley’s 51^st minute leveller before arguably the most amusing goal so far this season. Echanomi rounded the keeper in the 91^st minute and stopped the ball on the line before waiting for a Macclesfield player to get near him before rolling the ball over the line.

S (the) Streets. Rap group, The Streets recorded a section of their video for “Dry Your Eyes” with “singer” Mike Skinner sitting in the main stand at Orient looking out towards the terraced section that was knocked down during the recent redevelopment.

T Tiny. Orient’s squad is one of the smallest in the country with just 21 registered players for the first team. If they get an injury crisis before the transfer window, then they will defiantly be in trouble.

U U is for Underground, the best way to get to the Matchroom Stadium.  Leyton underground station is on the Central Line and is ten minutes walk from the ground. (thanks go to Orient fan, Kerim Salih for providing this information)

V Vincent Richards. An Orient fan who is currently trying to beat Ken Matthews run of 51 years without missing a game and is currently at 2 months, erm, still a fair old way to go.

W Won any cup competitions? Nope.

X Xishi, an ancient Chinese spiritual leader who was around a long time before the Wyvern at Orient (their mascot).

Y are there no serious ones for the end of this A-Z? If you can give me a decent X and Z for Orient then I’ll be more than happy to include them.

Z Zakuani. Yet another talented youngster at Orient and yet another one with a silly name :P. The 19 year old is already a regular in the starting lineup at Brisbane Road. After making his debut against Bournemouth, he quickly impressed a lot of people and has often been tipped to play at a higher level, not bad considering he comes from a country that also begins with Z, Zaire.

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