It's always rather sad when a long-established club drops out of the Football League and particularly one that has fought against the odds for so many years. But after a 112-year stay, the small London club of Leyton Orient have finally dropped into the National League, formerly known as the Conference.
If you were to name the most unfashionable London club, Orient would be up there, possibly with Barnet in close pursuit. For more than a century the club has struggled, primarily in the lower divisions and rarely threatening to disturb a modest trophy cabinet.
Playing at Brisbane Road, the one big season for the Os came in 1962 when they were promoted to the top flight, then Division One, runners-up to Liverpool. The two clubs have gone in very different directions since then. Incidentally, one of the teams Orient replaced that season was Chelsea who were relegated.
Unfortunately it was a brief stay for Orient who finished rock bottom, despite completing the double over neighbours West Ham. In a 1964 FA Cup tie, Orient attracted a record crowd of 34,000 which jammed into Brisbane Road to watch them take on the Hammers. This season their average gate has been around 4,500, which isn't bad considering their plight.
From 1995 the club gained a higher profile when it was taken over by sports promoter Barry Hearn who bought Orient for just five pounds after the previous owner went bust when his coffee business collapsed in Rwanda. The new owner brought financial stability to the club, unfortunately not replicated by performances on the pitch.
Hearn, better known as a snooker and boxing promoter, spent a lot keeping the club going and Brisbane Road was renamed Matchroom Stadium during his tenure, reflecting his snooker interests. After a few bad early results he commented, "If it carries on like this I'm guaranteed an ulcer."
When he finally sold Orient in 2014, Hearn admitted it was "a weight off my mind". He told the Independent, "I came in as a fan, and I leave as a fan." He wouldn't say how much he had spent on the club, remarking, "I don't want to say an actual figure because if my missus read it she would go mental."
Hearn finally sold the club to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti, which unfortunately has proven to be a big mistake.
When Becchetti took over, Orient had just missed out on promotion to the Championship, narrowly losing to Rotherham on penalties in the play-off final. Since then, Orient's fortunes have plummeted with the new owner not appearing to have much idea how to run the club. The result has been that the club has been relegated twice in three seasons. Becchetti also suffered a six-match stadium ban after kicking his assistant manager.
This season has been a total disaster, with five different managers, a winding up order and players' wages coming through weeks late.
Becchetti has understandably been the target of considerable wrath. Noting his background in waste management, one newspaper commented, "Becchetti is turning Leyton Orient into rubbish". A former manager termed the club "a madhouse".
Whatever happens in the coming months, you cannot ignore the club's colourful history. It began life as the Glyn Cricket & Football Club in the late 19th century but that was bit of a mouthful so they adopted the name of Orient as several players worked for the Orient Shipping Line.
In 1898 they became Clapton Orient, and that's the way it remained until the end of World War II. In 1946 the name changed to Leyton Orient after the local district, went back to Orient in 1966, but reverted to Leyton Orient in 1987.
One element of the club's history that should not be forgotten is its role in World War I. When war broke out in 1914, the entire first team of the then Clapton Orient joined up with the 17th Battalion Middlesex Regiment which quickly became known as the Footballers' Regiment. The regiment included 122 professional footballers from different clubs.
They were sadly involved in the horrendous Battle of the Somme in 1916, in which three Orient players lost their lives. Many more, including fans who joined the regiment, were wounded and never played again.
Orient fans, or what's left of them, are something special too. Supporting Orient when there are a number of seductive big clubs nearby requires an element of eccentricity. This probably accounts for one of their old chants: "We're all mad, we're insane; We eat Mars bars on the train". Their most famous fans are composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and his cellist brother Julian who even named his daughter Orienta.
Another quirky aspect of the club is that for years the team's entrance has been greeted with the strains of Herb Alpert's 1965 hit, Tijuana Taxi.
Being relegated into non-league life is not necessarily the end of the world. According to a Guardian survey, roughly one third get back into the Football League, but another third seem to get stuck in the Conference.
It's hard to bounce straight back though. It took Luton five years to regain promotion, while Grimsby and the newly promoted Lincoln City spent six years out of the league.
A few plunge further down the divisions, including Stockport County, Kidderminster Harriers and Boston United. Other clubs have been liquidated, but reformed to have a totally new start which is probably not a bad idea. Such clubs include Darlington, Hereford and Chester.
Orient fans need not totally despair, however. Bristol Rovers and Oxford United both suffered the drop, yet they recovered and are now performing well in League One.