LEYTON ORIENTEAR | est. 1986
LEYTON ORIENT
leytonorientear. com • @ leytonorientear
PETE RANGER
FAVOURITE COVER The first issue after our current owners took over, when we were worried whether there was even going to be an Orient after the horror show of Francesco Becchetti’s era. The new chairman, Nigel Travis, used to be CEO at Dunkin’ Donuts. In my head, I always see this cover and feel a sense of relief because of how close we were to going out of business. It also happens to be the first Orientear I co- edited with previous editor James Nichols, so I think it’ll always be a personally important one. Also: who doesn’t like doughnuts?
STANDOUT MOMENT It’s always great to hear people say how much they enjoyed the last issue, or how pleasantly surprised they are to see we’re still going. With the ubiquity and immediacy of digital content, it pleases me that not only do we have quite a few regular contributors, but that sales have held up. If people keep buying it, we’ll make it. MEMORABLE PLAYER/ MANAGER INCIDENT
John Sitton sent a four- page handwritten letter to the Orientear in 1995 after he had been sacked by the club, responding to criticism from within our pages and outside of them after the famous Club for a Fiver documentary [ FFT 310] which made him famous for all the wrong reasons. I’m not sure we’ve had anything quite so memorable since, but we’ve definitely annoyed those in ‘ the circus upstairs’ ( to paraphrase Sitton) over the years. I think that’s a good thing for the most part, mind.
MOST IMPORTANT STORY Fanzine culture started as a way for fans to find out what was going on at their clubs. The founder of the Orientear, Dave Knight – who sadly died last year – worked incredibly hard to broaden fans’ involvement in how the club was run, including helping to set up the fans’ trust. However, he didn’t just stop at Orient: Dave worked with countless other supporters’ groups when things were going badly for them, and right up until the last he was committed to fighting against injustice in football and real life. His influence led to so many others getting involved.