O’s welcome should they drop down
It’s at this stage of the season when league tables stop telling lies. There is nothing false about the positions of Lincoln and York City, despite getting long odds on the latter – relegated from the Football League last season – propping up the likes of North Ferriby, Maidstone and Guiseley at the foot of the National League before yesterday’s victory against Eastleigh.
Everywhere you look, fans are bracing themselves for their respective run-ins and in the Football League the emotions are running high, most notably at Newport County and Leyton Orient – the two clubs currently occupying the relegation spots in League Two. That trapdoor is opening wider by the week, and despite Orient’s thumping 4-0 win over the Exiles yesterday, the clutches of Non-League football awaits both clubs.
Indeed, in Orient’s case, the situation could get a whole lot worse and the particular destination – should the club get relegated for performances on the pitch – may not be the National League. That’s because the Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust is considering the formation of a phoenix club with the crisis-hit O’s facing a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs for non-payment of tax, believed to be £250,000. A High Court hearing has been pencilled in for March 20.
The dirty stick is being pointed once again at the club’s controversial foreign owner, Francesco Becchetti, with rumblings that he will not stump up the cash having already decided he wants to sell up and try to recoup the £4 million he paid former owner Barry Hearn in July 2014. To counter this, the Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust have set up a ‘fighting fund’ to be prepared for every eventuality with a target of £250,000, the amount understood to be owed to the taxman. All options are being considered; forming a consortium to purchase the club, or administration, would seem the two most likely scenarios. But the prospect of a phoenix club would be of massive appeal to the Non-League pyramid should the club suffer liquidation. A new club, just as AFC Wimbledon did back in 2002, would likely start down in Step 5.
“It’s an angle people have picked up on and it was raised at our meeting, but there’s not a huge willingness to do that,” said the trust’s vice-chairman, Tom Davies. “It would be a lot of hard work and you would go down at least three divisions. There have been some high-profile success stories, but it’s the last resort at the moment. It’s only something we would do if there was no Leyton Orient at all otherwise.”
If there are any Orient fans reading this, I would advise you to turn to page 8 to read Sam Elliott’s poignant column on his emotions being a Wimbledon fan. Sam’s club was taken away from him 15 years ago, but it is now back stronger than ever. If you do make the move, it may just turn out to be the best thing. With no outsiders meddling, the fans really are the heartbeat of the club. What’s more, you’ll have the support of every club around you. There is no sniping or joy in another’s misfortune.
Should they make the drop, Non-league football will welcome Orient wherever they play. It will be a journey for everyone to enjoy.