Back In Time: July 2010

On a personal note, July 2010 was the month I was slowly waiting for. It wasn’t for nights out in Kent and St. Albans for pre-season friendlies, I was off on a reckless boys’ holiday to Tenerife for ten days.

Orient started the month with the news that Charlie Daniels had signed a new two-year deal with the club after some speculation he was leaving the club. Little did we know that Daniels would become a vital part of the club in 2010/11. Daniels was joined at Brisbane Road by new signings, Dean Cox (Brighton), Alex Revell (Wycombe), Lee Butcher (Spurs), Elliot Omozusi (Fulham), Terrell Forbes (Yeoovil), Aaron Brown (Aldershot), Stephen Dawson (Bury), Matt Spring (Charlton) and George Porter (Cray).

Our first friendly was on Tuesday 13th July 2010, where we headed to Kent as part of the George Porter deal to play Cray Wanderers. The 13th was a day I had etched on my brain since January of 2010 as that was the day I was off to the party town of Playa De Las Americas, so as the Orient team made up of four trialists were beating the Ryman League side 2-0, I was partaking in the consumption of cheap cocktails in the sun. Thinking back, I believe I found out about the win against Cray twenty-four hours or so later around the swimming pool. Three days later we headed into deepest Hertfordshire to meet an ex-O, Steve Castle, and his St Albans City side. Scott McGleish hit a seven minute hat-trick with new signings Alex Revell and Matt Spring adding two more to end the game 5-0 to The O’s. I visited the world famous Lineker’s Sports Bar on the 16th July 2010 and was dancing away on top of a table along with hundreds of others when I stopped and looked up at the Sky Sports News screen in the club, along the bottom ran ‘St Albans City 0-5 Leyton Orient’ and I celebrated as if we’d won the league, when we’d only beaten a non-league team.

Orient had announced a tour to Devon whilst I was away as well and took part in the Joma Cup, with our first game being against Eastleigh, of the Blue Square South on the 20th July. Goals from Jimmy Smith and new signing Cox scored to ensure a 2-1 victory over the non-league side. Just forty-eight hours later we were in action again, this time against Truro City. A 4-0 win and goals from Revell, Porter, Jarvis and Dawson ensured a 100% record in pre-season and in Devon. I returned back to England in the early hours of the 24th July, with a massive case of ‘Holiday Blues’ that didn’t look like leaving for a while, but come home to find Orient had progressed to the semi-finals of the Joma Cup and had Premier League new boys Blackpool in the last four.

Blackpool scraped a 2-1 victory past Orient and we returned to East London to play Tottenham Hotspur at Brisbane Road. With my tan fading and my ‘Holiday Blues’ increasing it wasn’t till the day of the Spurs game that I decided to go. Expecting to see the likes of Luka Modric, Jermaine Defoe etc I was disapointed that I’d spent £20 to watch players I hadn’t heard of like Harry Kane and Paul-José M’Poku (they will re-appear in time!). However, a night out contemplating what I’d be doing in Tenerife was taking place as Orient and Spurs’ Reserves played out a 2-2 draw. Orient twice took the lead through Chorley and McGleish but were pegged back late by the Premier League side twice. On the last day of July 2010, we visited another old friend as Russell took his side to Martin Ling’s Cambridge United. A 3-1 win rounded off our pre-season where Matt Spring scored a sensational goal from inside the Orient half, along with Jonathan Téhoué and McGleish adding to that to ensure the victory.

Also in July 2010:

* Spain won the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins sadly passed away, aged 61.

On the 15th July, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was stopped by capping the gushing wellhead.

Geordie nutter Raoul Moat shot his ex-girlfriend, her new boyfriend and a police officer, killing one, before going on the run which ended with Paul Gascoigne turning up to see his old pal ‘Moaty’. Moat shot himself at approximately 1.10am on the 10th of July.



ext month, August and the new 10/11 season…