Player of the season

1. Charlie Daniels 34%

2. Scott McGleish 23%

3. Tam Mkandawire 21%

Pretty close result in the end but a well-deserved win for full back Charlie Daniels. The differences between his performances this season and last were vast. As more than one reply put it, he has turned into a highly consistent performer. One respondent said that he is now “confident, his decision making is now spot on and he has the experience.” Phill Cook said he had been “our most consistent player and a real bright spot” and it is hard to disagree with that view. It’s good news that Charlie has signed a new contract and will be at Brisbane Road again this year. Taking second place was Scott McGleish, whose early season performances up to Christmas seemed to have made him the clear favourite for this award. Sadly the goals dried up slightly from then on, but it was still a fantastic effort from a player who gives his all in every game that he plays. Tam took the next position and will be sorely missed now that he has left for Millwall. He had an excellent spell here at Orient, where his consistency, tackling and heading ability always stood out and made him one of the best centre halves seen down here for many a year. Other players to get a vote were Jamie Jones, Sean Thornton, Ben Chorley and Nicky Adams. The fact that Adams only played half a dozen games in his loan spell here shows just how poor Orient were for most of last season.

Idiot of the season

1. EDL at Brentford 22%

2. Swindon fan with flare 17%

3. Jason Demetriou 14%

A rather distressing winner in this category with the fans who caused the problems during the Brentford away game upsetting a lot of you. We don’t want these fans associated with Leyton Orient and we don’t want to get a reputation as having a racist or hooligan element at the club. Sadly it was another unsavoury moment that took second place in this category. During the home game with Swindon a flare was set off in the East stand section where the away fans were sitting. Flares are generally used at games without much problem, but setting one off in an old, wooden stand meant that until it was extinguished it caused a few palpitations for many in the ground. Jason Demetriou took the bronze medal as his attitude and petulance finally caused the fans to lose patience with him. It’s a shame that a player who clearly had some talent and came through the system here at Orient has now left with most fans glad to see the back of him. Other nominees were Barry Hearn, Colin West, Tommy Taylor, Loick Pires. Sean Thornton and Kristian O’Leary. Former manager Geraint Williams also picked up a surprisingly few number of votes in this section. Generally sacked managers have tended to dominate proceedings here but not this time around. One of the votes he did get was for “signing Jamie Scowcroft.” Interestingly Scowcroft himself got more votes than Geraint.

Game of the season

1. Norwich (H) 75%

2. Charlton (A) 11%

3. Bristol Rovers (H) 4%

There was never going to be much doubt about the winner in this category. Orient put in one of their best performances of recent years when it was most needed and beat the side romping away with the title. Not many fans had thought Orient were going to get much out of this game beforehand and would have settled for a point in the fight against relegation. However an inspired performance by all, but especially Sean Thornton saw Russell Slade’s first home game as manager end in a deserved win that really got everyone thinking the side would stay in League One. With it being vital for the club that we don’t return to League Two, the importance of this result cannot be overstated. Our 1-0 win at Charlton was a long way back in second place here, with just over 900 O’s fans making the short trip to the Valley. They and those who stayed at home to watch it Sky were treated to an excellent team performance that was capped off by Scott McGleish scoring the only goal of the game. Our five goal thrashing of Bristol Rovers was the next favourite. Not surprising as it was the first time Orient had managed to score that many in one game for God only knows how long. It was backed up by the fact that Rovers were doing well at the time and looking good for a shot at the play-offs. The result gave us 10 points from the last 12 and had most of us thinking that we might be saved the agony of yet another battle against the drop. Little did we know it was going to be our last win for eight games. Other games to warrant a mention were the home game with Southampton and the away trips to Carlisle, Yeovil, Leeds and Wycombe. Yet again it wasn’t a huge amount of fun watching games at Brisbane Road last season. Hopefully that will be improved this time around.

Away trip of the season

1. Charlton 42%

2. Wycombe 11%

3. Brentford 8%

Fairly comprehensive winner in this category with the Monday night trip to Charlton coming out on top. Obviously helped by Orient getting a win, but the fans were in good voice, the atmosphere was excellent and the journey isn’t too far for most. Wycombe was your next choice, which seems to have really been because it was fairly local. “Nice to be home by 7pm,” I’m surprised to see Wycombe place so highly in this category. The ground in the middle of nowhere and a pain to get to, there aren’t many decent pubs around and the game itself wasn’t much cop. Looks a 1-0 win covers a multitude of sins. Despite the unpleasantness mentioned earlier about the EDL, the trip to Brentford was up next. It seems that the trip on the Sunshine Boat organised by Joe Durston had everyone well refreshed and merry by the time they got there. A lot of the votes for this trip mentioned the good time getting to the game for the reason in selecting it. Shame Orient weren’t able to add to the day and get one over Brentford.

Worst game of the season

1. Hartlepool (H) 54%

2. MK Dons (A) 15%

3. Southend (H) 10%

The only thing I’m surprised by in this section is that so many of you found other games apart from the shocker against Chris Turner and his monkey hangers to vote for. This game was one of the worst seen at Leyton Orient for many a year. It really reminded me of some the shambles we put up with under Paul Brush. This was a truly disgusting performance that saw the manager sacked with just a few games of the season left and the club seemingly doomed to relegation. Russell Slade deserves immense credit for turning the side around after this game. MK Dons away was next, as Orient sunk to a 1-0 defeat that must have been bad as the O’s own website even describes the game as “low key.” You know you’re in trouble if that’s the most positive spin that can be put on something. And yes, this me desperately trying to cover the fact that I didn’t go to the game and have nothing to say about it. Our 2-1 defeat to near neighbours Southend took the final place, with yet another shocker of a home performance ending with Orient throwing away a lead and sinking further into the mire. Other games to test your love for the Os were the thumping we took at Southend (typical Orient to give away six points to a team who got relegated) and our defeats at Stockport and Hartlepool. Finally the shambles that was our FA Cup replay at home to Tranmere picked up a couple of votes.

See you next month for the final section of the poll

Harry Exton