The O’s have yet another new manager, but to be fair, this is one managerial change that simply had to happen, writes fan view writer Mat Roper.

Alberto Cavasin was a mistake from day one, and despite the general feeling among supporters that he was a genuinely nice guy trying to do his best, his appointment, and the continuing boardroom struggles meant that the club, certainly on the field, has lost yet further ground.

They have been put back another couple of months to a level only previously seen on one other occasion in our proud 135-year history.

Andy Edwards and Danny Webb, in my humble opinion, are two very bright sparks. OK, they have yet to test their metal in the rather more ruthless world of first team professional football.

But if the energy and aptitude shown with the youth development side of the club is anything to go by, then we could have two real gems now occupying the home dugout.

Just yet another reason why the youth development side of the club is at quite possibly one of its golden era’s and a real credit to not just Andy and Danny, but all the hard work from several individuals that goes on at Under-18 level downwards.

This will be, however, a really tough test for the new guys at the top. Whilst we all applauded the appointment, I do not believe that any supporter is under any illusion as to the problems they face both on and off the training ground. Andy and Danny have inherited a weak and disjointed squad that is vastly low on confidence and seemingly in a relegation dog fight.

There is, however, two things immediately going in their favour. Firstly, we still have 27 games to play. Even when you are not pulling positive results out of the bag, 81 points left to play for is huge, and even if aspirations are simply to survive what would be a disastrous drop into the National League, that 81 points left to play for still gives everybody hope that we can drag ourselves clear.

Secondly, the new management duo have a transfer window to work with in January. The squad is quite threadbare at the moment. Harry Cornick and Liam Kelly (probably two of the more influential players) are sidelined for some time, we have a couple on short term deals and there are also several possibilities of loan deals both in and out, as well as possible new signings to be made in an effort to freshen things up.

I wouldn’t necessarily agree that there needs to be a root and branch change, but certainly a couple of new faces might help, give everybody a lift and also create real competition for places. Do this wisely, and as every manager and supporter knows, it can suddenly mean with hard work and tactical nous, things can suddenly look a lot different prior to January.

The one thing that simply has to happen though is that Andy and Danny need to be left alone to make EVERY single football decision on their own merit. Training schedules, transfers in and out, team selection – all of this has to sit firmly with them with absolutely NO interference, as well as being given the full 27 games (and hopefully far longer) and backing to sort the mess out. If the players respond to their methods and ideas and we can chuck in a dollop of luck here and there, then at the very minimum we will live to fight another day within the Football League and see where we go from there.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

Mat Roper