Andy Edwards, with the help of Danny Webb, can get the club out of this sorry situation in League Two
Alberto Cavasin is a lovely person, a man that can be very charming and funny at times, but I see no way he can help Leyton Orient move forward and if they are to ensure this season doesn’t end in relegation, they must make a managerial change.
The Italian has watched O’s lose eight of his 10 matches in charge and even the two victories he achieved had an element of luck.
Since his arrival on October 2, the Brisbane Road outfit have slipped down the League Two table and the quality of football has not changed.
Cavasin insisted from the start of his reign his philosophy was to keep the ball on the floor and while we see that on occasions, we’ve also seen the players abandon this tactic to knock the ball long.
Orient won 3-0 at Colchester United on November 12, but there is no doubt it seems the squad are not playing for their manager.
If they are still behind him, it doesn’t seem that way and some of their recent displays at Brisbane Road have gone under the radar because of the anger towards chairman Francesco Becchetti.
Obviously it must be hard for the O’s players due to the language barrier and the constant issues behind the scenes, but they are professionals being paid to do a job and at the moment too many are not stepping up.
Why? Who knows, though you can be fairly certain little will change if Cavasin continues to be Orient manager and in fact it could get a whole lot worse.
The League Two campaign is 18 games old and O’s, a club with a proud 135-year history, are embarrassingly close to the bottom two.
Only an 88th minute goal for Wycombe Wanderers at Newport County last night prevented them dropping into the relegation places.
But after Saturday’s match at Doncaster Rovers, they may well be back in the bottom two again.
When Cavasin was appointed just under two months ago, I firmly expected him to be in charge for the rest of 2016.
Unfortunately, despite the consistently poor results, I still believe Becchetti has no interest in sacking him. Yet the Orient chairman does tend to listen to the supporters when the chants and boos grow louder.
Take Ian Hendon as an example. The pressure grew on the former O’s captain following a mixed run of results and when the fans completely turned on him during the 3-1 defeat to Exeter City on January 16, Becchetti made his mind up.
It was the same with Kevin Nolan just three months later. The ex-West Ham United skipper was sarcastically cheered off at Barnet having substituted himself.
Nolan’s ‘bad form’ – a run of three defeats out of four – was enough to relieve him of his managerial duties.
The catalyst for both decisions was the Orient supporters going against the person in charge of the squad and when Andy Hessenthaler was dismissed, fans’ frustration towards the experienced boss played a part.
If the O’s faithful truly want Cavasin to leave, they need to chant so and that way it will make Becchetti take note. What is going on at Brisbane Road right now is a sorry state of affairs, yet there are still 28 matches to play in League Two.
You would have to be the biggest optimist in the world to truly believe Orient could achieve their aim this season and earn promotion.
At the moment the only way O’s are leaving this division is through the relegation trap door and now is the time for change.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing and Becchetti really should have offered Andy Edwards the job following Hessenthaler’s dismissal.
Orient’s current number two produced a tactical masterclass during the 2-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle on September 27 alongside Danny Webb when O’s had nine men for 74 minutes of the match.
The following game he helped the east Londoners keep a rare clean sheet at Barnet and you could see the players were willing to give absolutely everything for him.
Everything has gone downhill since and Cavasin has proven after 10 games he is not the answer. Becchetti must act fast and give Edwards the chance to move Orient forward before it is too late.
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