The Swindon director of football did not appear to be present to witness Conor Thomas’s late winner over Millwall which gave the Robins a glimmer of hopeHow do you galvanise a callow, dejected team that appears to be sleepwalking into League Two? It was a question Luke Williams had to ponder before his Swindon Town team faced Millwall on Saturday. They had lost four games in a row, three of them to goals in the dying minutes, and were seven points from safety. When Williams assessed the mood at training early in the week, he sensed that hope was ebbing away. Two days before the game he told them exactly that: it seemed, the head coach informed his squad, as...
A winding-up petition against the League Two club has been adjourned until June and worried Orient fans were there to follow developments In the end it takes just seven minutes. The high court in London decides not to liquidate Leyton Orient, or place them in administration, but instead accepts a promise from the owner, Francesco Becchetti, that he will put another £1m into the club to clear its debts. But it has been a gruelling day for fans of a club that just three years ago was on the brink of the Championship.There had been a small cheer in Court 1 at the Rolls Building as Leyton Orient’s name was read out for the first time. Around 40 fans have...
London’s second-oldest professional club are being led a merry dance by Francesco Becchetti, who in 30 months has steered Orient from the verge of the Championship to the brink of non-league footballThis has been quite the season for crisis clubs. The Premier League title race may be a foregone conclusion but the battle for the “honour” of most mismanaged club in England could go right to the wire. Charlton, Coventry, Blackburn, Blackpool and Morecambe have endured campaigns pockmarked by protest and off-field chaos but surely none can match the meltdown at Leyton Orient, who look destined for relegation to the non-league ranks after 112 years of Football League membership. And it is looking less like a relegation through misjudgment or...
‘Communication is difficult,’ say Morecambe of contacting their Brazilian owner, who disappeared within a few months of taking over, but more and more clubs seem to have problemsIf we are going to be generous, it is fair to assume Diego Lemos must have a few stories that have been passed down through the family. His father, Luisinho Tombo, was the leading scorer in the Rio State League of Brazil on two separate occasions, the most prolific striker in the history of his first club, America, with 311 goals, and played alongside Zico at Flamengo. One uncle, Caio Cambalhota, was at Flamengo and another, César Maluco, was part of Brazil’s 1974 World Cup squad because of his performances for Palmeiras.Whether that makes...
Impressive wins for all three sides keeps pressure on Newcastle and Brighton, Sheffield United inflict more Boxing Day misery on Oldham and Doncaster take over at the top of League Two• All the Boxing Day scores and scorers• With Newcastle United losing to Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton not playing until Tuesday night, their three closest pursuers at the top – Reading, Huddersfield Town and Leeds United – all made ground on them with impressive victories. Third-placed Reading moved to within five points of second place with a 3-1 win over Norwich City. Related: Glenn Loovens shocks Newcastle in Sheffield Wednesday bruising Continue reading...