Francesco Becchetti unwilling to sell Leyton Orient for less than £4m as owner looks to get his money back

Pete Norton/Getty Images
Tom Collomosse14 February 2017

Leyton Orient owner Francesco Becchetti is unwilling to sell the crisis-hit club for less than the £4million he paid for them in 2014.

The East London club are fighting for their survival in the Football League, having slumped to 23rd in League Two, three points from safety.

Controversial Becchetti is open to offers for Orient but, although there are believed to be investors interested in taking over, none has yet shown the ability to meet the Italian owner’s asking price.

The Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust are so concerned about the future that they are putting together a “fighting fund” and have held talks about starting a “phoenix club” in the mould of AFC Wimbledon.

Last month, chief executive Alessandro Angelieri released a statement on the club website which read that “appropriate offers for the club will be considered. One offer has been received, but it was not acceptable for a number of reasons”.

Becchetti bought Orient from promoter Barry Hearn in July 2014. The previous season, Orient were on the brink of promotion to the Championship but lost the League One play-off final on penalties to Rotherham.

Since then, the club have dropped into League Two and, should they not improve under new manager Danny Webb, 33, face dropping out of the League for the first time in 112 years.

Standard Sport understands Becchetti still has an influence over team selection and has film of training sessions sent to him to study.

Spirits are low among senior players, who are worried about the lack of strength in depth of the squad. A number of them are out of contract in May and it is thought most are keen to leave. There is concern among them about the attitude and stomach for the fight of some of their team-mates.

Behind the scenes, the story is similar. Club sources talk about the absence of a clear chain of command, with virtually every decision needing to go through Becchetti.

Hearn’s Matchroom Sport company still owns the club’s ground, the Matchroom Stadium. Orient cut their wage bill substantially in January by allowing striker Jay Simpson, who had handed in a transfer request, to join Philadelphia Union. Alan Dunne and Jordan Bowery, who were among the higher earners, also left.

THE 10 ORIENT MANAGERS UNDER BECCHETTI

Manager P W D L Win%
Russell Slade (Apr 2010-Sept 2014) 241 102 61 78 42%
Kevin Nugent (Sept-Oct 2014) 7 2 2 3 29%
Mauro Milanese (Oct-Dec 2014) 8 2 1 5 25%
Fabio Liverani (Dec 2014-May 2015) 27 8 7 12 30%
Ian Hendon (July 2015-Jan 2016) 31 10 11 10 32%
Kevin Nolan (Jan-Apr 2016) 19 9 2 8 47%
Andy Hessenthaler (Apr-Sept 2016) 18 7 4 7 39%
Alberto Cavasin (Sept-Nov 2016) 10 2 0 8 20%
Andy Edwards (Nov 2016-Jan 2017) 9 2 1 6 22%
Danny Webb (Jan 2017-present) 3 0 1 2 0%

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