Ranking Leyton Orient's top 7 best managers based on PPG - Russell Slade = 3rd | OneFootball

Leyton Orient have endured plenty of ups and downs in recent years, having been on the brink of Championship football before plummeting into non-league.

The O’s have been resurgent in recent seasons though, with promotion from League Two in the 22/23 campaign followed up with a stellar first season back in the third tier in the most recent campaign.

The East London club have had their fair share of top bosses at the helm at Brisbane Road in the past, and here we take a look at the best in terms of points per game, accounting for three points for a win and having managed a minimum of 25 games.

Some popular faces of the recent past make the list, but who ranks top in the history of the side?

7 Billy Holmes - 1.35

Billy Holmes took over as player-manager in May 1906, following in the footsteps of former boss Sam Ormerod, with the club in its former guise of Clapton Orient.

The former Manchester City player would go on to be in charge of the O’s for 15 years, right the way through until 1922, overseeing memorable victories against Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Woolwich Arsenal along the way.

Having been just 25 when he took charge of the club, Holmes oversaw a London Challenge Cup victory in 1912, as well as steering the club through the First World War.

Holmes died at the age of 41 while still in charge of the side, having won 163 of his 437 games in charge of the club.

6 Alec Stock - 1.38

Alec Stock was appointed O’s boss in August 1949, and would go on to have a decade in charge of the side.

Stock oversaw a historic FA Cup run in 1952 that saw Orient reach the fifth round after defeating Birmingham City and Everton, before eventually bowing out to Arsenal.

That effort was bettered two years later, with a run to the sixth round seeing them face Port Vale, before going down 1-0 to the Valiants.

His ten years in charge weren’t all plain sailing though, with a brief departure to head to Arsenal, although he returned after 53 days, claiming: “My mind said Arsenal, my heart said Orient.”

Following his return, the club won their first promotion to Division Two, seeing out Brighton by a point to win the Division Three South in 1955/56.

Eventually, Stock left for good in 1959, as Queens Park Rangers came calling, leaving his overall record as 181 wins from 464 matches.

5 Tommy Taylor - 1.38

Moving into more recent history now, and in 1996, Tommy Taylor was given the role of boss at Orient, and held the post for the next five years.

Having suffered relegation the season before, Taylor steadied the ship in his time at Brisbane Road, and took them to the playoff final in 1999, before losing to Scunthorpe United in the final.

A battle with relegation followed the next season, but Taylor turned things around to steer the club to safety, and push towards the playoffs once again in the following campaign.

Alas, another final defeat came the O’s way, with Blackpool emerging 4-2 winners in Cardiff, despite Chris Tate’s opener 32 seconds in.

Taylor resigned in the following October, having won 98 of his 269 matches in charge.

4 Peter Eustace - 1.42

Another 90s boss for you now, and this time it’s Peter Eustace, who took over in July 1991 after Frank Clark moved from manager to manager director.

The start of that decade was a frustrating one for Orient, who continued to battle in the top half of the then-Division Three, but narrowly missed out on the play-offs time and time again.

Eustace’s third season in charge saw the club finish in 18th, and he left his post in April of that year, having won 58 of his 150 games in charge of the club.

3 Russell Slade - 1.54

We’ve reached the turn of the century now, and Orient are flying high in League One, although with the threat of relegation looming, Geraint Williams is sacked and replaced with Russell Slade in April 2010.

Having been successful in his initial task of saving the O’s from the drop, Slade earns his side finishes of seventh, 20th and seventh in his first three full seasons at the club, before narrowly missing out on automatic promotion in the 13/14 season.

With a third-placed finish the O’s had to navigate the play-offs once again, with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Peterborough United seeing them through to the final.

Having taken a two-goal lead in the Wembley final, Slade looked as if he had masterminded the most unlikely of promotions, only for Rotherham United to fight back in the second half before winning on penalties.

With new owner Francesco Bechetti taking over the following summer, Slade had a tough job overseeing matters at Brisbane Road, and duly left his post in September 2014, having won 103 of his 242 games as manager.

2 Richie Wellens - 1.59

Current O’s boss Richie Wellens has one of the best records of any Orient manager ever, having helped his side secure promotion to League One in the 22/23 campaign.

Orient were rampant in that season in the fourth tier, winning 26 of their league matches on the way to the title, with Wellens’ emphasis on front-foot attacking football paying dividends.

Having taken over in March 2022 following the dismissal of Kenny Jackett, Wellens transformed the side into one of the best football playing sides in League Two, before emulating that success with a strong showing in League One in the 23/24 campaign.

A top half finish in the third tier having just been promoted is no mean feat, and Orient’s 18 league wins saw them adapt to life at their new level comfortably.

With a new deal signed with the club in May 2024, the future looks bright for both manager and club, as he looks to build on his record of 53 wins from 116 matches in charge.

The one, the only, Justin Edinburgh, is a man revered in East London for many a reason, with the former Tottenham Hotspur man having the best points per game record of any Orient manager ever.

Having guided the O’s back to the Football League in the 18/19 campaign, Edinburgh won 45 of his 83 games in charge of the club, before his tragic death just a month after promotion was secured.

It was a moment that rocked not just the club, but football as a whole, with the 49-year-old commemorated with a stand being named after him at Brisbane Road, such was his effect on the club.

Not only was he a top personality away from the pitch, Edinburgh was a leader and an excellent man-manager in the dugout, and those qualities shone through during his time in East London.