“The standard of football in this division really has improved since we’ve been away” is an observation that has been made by a number of Orient fans since the club’s return to the Football League in August.
The reasons for this upturn in quality can largely be put down to the increased standard of coaching and more specifically the influx of young managers into League Two, since the O’s were relegated in 2017.
These youthful coaches with innovative ideas and strategies often go against the grain in terms of how football in the English fourth tier is expected to be played, and are currently very much in vogue for good reason.
If you take a look at the current top seven in League Two, the average age of the manager’s occupying those positions is an astonishingly low 40.7 years old, with Matt Taylor, currently in charge of league leader’s Exeter, being the youngest at 37 and Forest Green’s Mark Cooper, being the outlier at the age of 50.
Furthermore, if you asked a selection of Orient supporters to name the most impressive side to come to Brisbane Road this season; many would return with the answer Swindon Town.
Richie Wellens, the Robins’ manager, is a prime example of the type of coach the O’s should be looking to attract. A manager with a set philosophy on how to play and a bucket load of fresh ideas to implement, his side have produced some mouth-watering attacking football so far this season and look well placed to make a return to League One.
The arrival of a number of young successful manager’s at this level isn’t a completely new phenomenon either.
Michael Appleton, Darrell Clarke, Nathan Jones, Danny Cowley and Ryan Lowe are all notable names that have guided clubs out of the fourth tier over the last four years, with all of them being 40 years of age or under whilst doing so.
And going back even further, managers such as Eddie Howe, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Paul Tisdale have all successfully cut their teeth at this level at a young age.
Obviously there are drawbacks to this way of thinking, for every Nathan Jones there is a Harry Kewell for example. However, with a growing impressive infrastructure in place that is matched by the ambitions of the owners, there is no reason why the club couldn’t aim to emulate the impressive achievements of Luton in recent years, which was kicked started by the appointment of Nathan Jones back in January 2016.
The current favourite with the bookies for the vacant job at Brisbane Road is Colin Calderwood. A long time friend of Director of Football Martin Ling, there’s little doubt that he’d be able to steady the ship in E10 and prevent the worst case scenario of relegation back to the National League.
The problem with his appointment, or indeed any other manager brought in of a similar ilk, is where is the ceiling in terms of an appointment like that? Is there room to dream with a steady hand in charge?
With it being all but confirmed that there is going to be only one club falling out of the Football League trapdoor this season and with a fairly young squad in situ that looks ripe to be molded into a team, now would seem like the perfect time for Martin Ling and the board to take a risk and show the true extent of their ambition by scouring the country in search of a bright young coach seeking an opportunity.
