Southend United F.C.
 |
||||
| Full name | Southend United Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Shrimpers, The Seasiders, The Blues |
|||
| Founded | 1906 | |||
| Ground | Roots Hall Victoria Avenue Southend-on-Sea (Capacity: 12,306) |
|||
| Chairman | Ron Martin | |||
| Manager | Paul Sturrock | |||
| League | League Two | |||
| 2009–10 | League One, 23rd (relegated) |
|||
|
||||
Southend United Football Club is an English football club based at Roots Hall Stadium, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, who currently play in League Two of the English Football League. The club plans to move into a new 22,000 seater stadium located at Fossetts Farm in the near future.
Contents |
History
Stadium
The club has had three stadia: the Kursaal, the Greyhound Park, and the rented out Writtle Street, after many years of good service the club moved to a renovated amusement park on the Kursaal and played there until 1955 and their current stadium Roots Hall. Roots Hall was the club's first stadium and was built on a council landfill site in 1954/55 with simple fencing to hold back spectators. Roots Hall has been the home of Southend United since August 1955 after the site was purchased in 1952.
It took ten years to fully complete the building of Roots Hall, the first game being played here on 20 August 1955, a 3-1 Division Three (South) victory over Norwich City, but the ground was far from complete.
The main East Stand had barely been fitted and ran only 50 yards of the touchline, whilst only a few steps of terracing encircled the ground, with the North, West and the huge South Bank still largely unconcreted. The North Stand had a single-barrelled roof but this only ran the length of the penalty area whilst the West Bank was only covered at its rear by a similar structure. Although the ground was far from finished, during the inaugural season this was the least of the club's worries, for the pitch at Roots Hall showed the consequences of having been laid on top of thousands of tonnes of compacted rubbish. Drainage was somewhat of a problem, and the wet winter had turned the ground into a quagmire.
The pitch was completely re-laid in the summer of 1956 and a proper drainage system, which is still in place, was constructed whilst the West Bank roof was extended to reach the touchline, creating a unique double-barrelled structure.
The terracing was finally completed soon after, but the colossal task of completely terracing the South Bank, all of its 72 steps, was not completed until 1964. The North Bank roof was extended in the early 1960s, and the East Stand was extended to run the full length of the pitch in 1966. Floodlights were also installed during this period.
Roots Hall was designed to hold 35,000 spectators, with over 15,000 on the South Bank alone, but the highest recorded attendance at the ground is 31,090 for an FA Cup third round tie with Liverpool in January 1979.
Until 1988 Roots Hall was still the newest ground in the Football League, but it was then that the ground saw a significant change. United had hit bad times in the mid 1980s and new chairman Vic Jobson sold virtually all of the South Bank for development, leaving just a tiny block of 15 steps.
In 1994, seats were installed onto the original terracing whilst a second tier was added, with the upper level giving some of the best views in the country. The West Bank had already become seated in 1992 upon United's elevation to Division Two whilst the East Stand paddock also received a new seating deck, bolted and elevated from the terracing below. In 1995 the West Stand roof was extended to meet up with the North and South Stands, with seating installed into each corner, thus giving the Roots Hall we see today, with a capacity of just under 12,500.
The future of Roots Hall has been in doubt since it was sold to property developers in 1998. On 24 January 2007, Southend Borough Council unanimously agreed to give planning permission for a new stadium at the proposed Fossetts Farm site with Rochford District Council following suit 24 hours later. The application was subsequently submitted to Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for government approval. However, the application was unexpectedly "called in" at the beginning of April 2007, a move which at best delays the development by some considerable time and at worst might jeopardise the whole project entirely. The inquiry began in September 2007. In October 2007 a "final" inquiry began where chairman Ron Martin called for supporters to show in numbers at Southend's local government headquarters. On 6 March 2008, Fossetts Farm was given the green light by the Government. The club hopes to move in at the start of the 2012–13 season.
Rivalries
The club has a local rivalry with fellow Essex side Colchester United. The two clubs were promoted from League One at the end of the 2005–06 season after a long battle for top spot was eventually won by Southend. The rivalry extends back many years. At the end of the 1989–90 season Southend's promotion from the Football League Fourth Division coincided with Colchester's fall from the Football League and the clubs had to wait almost 15 years before meeting once again in competition when they met in the Southern Final of the Football League Trophy; the Shrimpers won 4–3 on aggregate to secure their first ever appearance in a national cup final. The two clubs met again in an Essex derby match in the same competition the following season, with Southend emerging as the victors once more after a penalty shootout. The overall competitive head to head record for the rivalry stands at 29 wins to Southend, 24 wins for Colchester with 17 draws.[1]
Southend are also rivals with Leyton Orient. The closest geographical club to Southend is actually Gillingham, across the River Thames in Kent, but they are not considered rivals despite sharing divisions several times. As well as this they have established a minor rivalry with Dagenham & Redbridge as they have met several times in cup competitions over the last few seasons. Chelmsford City are another local rivalry who meet the shrimpers in an annual pre-season friendly and who have met in cup competitions in recent seasons.
Current squad
- As of 22 August 2010.[2]
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position | Date Of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||
| 1 | Glenn Morris |  |
GK | 20 December 1983 | Leyton Orient | |
| 24 | Rhys Evans | |
GK | 27 January 1982 | Bristol Rovers | |
| Defenders | ||||||
| 2 | Sean Clohessy | |
RB | 12 December 1986 | Bath City | |
| 3 | Peter Gilbert |  |
LB | 31 July 1983 | Northampton Town | |
| 5 | Graham Coughlan |  |
CB | 18 November 1974 | Shrewsbury Town | |
| 6 | Bilel Mohsni |   |
CB | 21 July 1987 | Sainte Geneviève Sports | |
| 15 | Mark Phillips | |
CB | 27 January 1982 | Brentford | |
| 16 | Luke Prosser | |
CB | 28 May 1988 | Port Vale | |
| 18 | Johnny Herd | |
LB | 3 October 1989 | Youth Setup | |
| 23 | Chris Barker | |
LB | 2 March 1980 | Plymouth Argyle | On loan from Plymouth Argyle |
| Midfielders | ||||||
| 4 | Josh Simpson | |
CM | 6 March 1987 | Peterborough United | On loan from Peterborough United |
| 7 | Anthony Grant | |
CM | 4 June 1987 | Chelsea | |
| 8 | Craig Easton |  |
CM | 26 February 1979 | Swindon Town | Club Captain |
| 11 | Sofiene Zaaboub |  |
LM | 23 January 1983 | Walsall | |
| 12 | Ryan Hall | |
LM | 4 January 1988 | Bromley | |
| 14 | Adam Bouzid | |
CM | 13 November 1987 | Mouloudia Club Oujda | |
| 17 | Louie Soares |  |
LM/RM | 8 January 1985 | Aldershot Town | |
| 29 | Merrick James-Lewis | |
CM | 24 March 1992 | Youth Setup | |
| Forwards | ||||||
| 9 | Matt Paterson | |
FW | 18 October 1989 | Southampton | |
| 10 | Barry Corr | |
FW | 2 April 1985 | Exeter City | |
| 20 | Harry Crawford | |
FW | 10 December 1991 | Youth Setup | |
| 21 | Blair Sturrock | |
FW | 25 August 1981 | Truro City | |
| 28 | Scott Spencer | |
FW | 1 January 1989 | Rochdale | |
| Management | ||||||
| Paul Sturrock | |
Manager | 10 October 1956 | Plymouth Argyle | ||
| Tommy Widdrington | |
Assistant Manager | 1 October 1971 | Salisbury City | ||
| Graham Coughlan | |
Reserve Team Manager | 18 November 1974 | Shrewsbury Town | ||
Shirt sponsors
| Years | Sponsor |
|---|---|
| 1980–1981 | Charterhouse |
| 1983–1984 | Motor Plan |
| 1985–1986 | Laing |
| 1986–1990 | Firholm |
| 1990–1992 | Hi-Tec |
| 1992–1994 | Elonex |
| 1994–1995 | Crevette |
| 1995–1996 | United Artists |
| 1996 –1998 | Telewest |
| 1998 –2000 | Progressive Printing |
| 2000–2002 | Rebus |
| 2002–2003 | Martin Dawn |
| 2003–2004 | GKC Communications (Home) Wyndham Plastics(Away) |
| 2004–2006 | Betterview Windows and Conservatories |
| 2006– | Insure and Go |
Kit suppliers
| Years | Sponsor |
|---|---|
| 1975–1978 | Admiral |
| 1978–1980 | Bukta |
| 1988–1991 | Spall |
| 1992–1996 | Beaver |
| 1996–1999 | Olympic Sportswear |
| 1999–2000 | Rossco |
| 2000–2001 | Pier Sport |
| 2001–2002 | Hi-Tec |
| 2002–2003 | Sport House |
| 2003– | Nike |
Club honours
- League One Champions: 2005/2006
- League Two Play-off Winners: 2004/2005
- Third Division Runners-up: 1989/1990
- Fourth Division Champions: 1980/1981
- Fourth Division Runners-up: 1971/1972, 1977/1978
- Football League Trophy Runners-up: 2003/2004, 2004/2005
- Southern League Second Division Winners: 1906/1907, 1907/1908
- Southern League Second Division Runners-up: 1912/1913
- Essex Professional Cup Winners: 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1973
- Essex Senior Cup Winners: 1983, 1991, 1997, 2008
- Essex Thameside Trophy Winners: 1990
Club records
- Biggest Victory: 10–1 v Golders Green, FA Cup, 1934–35; 10–1 v Brentwood, FA Cup, 1968–69; 10–1 v Aldershot, Football League Trophy, 1990–91
- Heaviest Defeat: 1–9 v Brighton & Hove Albion, 1965–66
- Highest Attendance (All Comps): 31,033 v Liverpool, FA Cup, 10 January 1979
- Highest Attendance (League): 21,020 v Leyton Orient, Football League Third Division South, 9 September 1955
- Lowest Attendance (All Comps): 945 v Cambridge United, Associate Members Cup, 16 December 1986
- Highest Average Attendance: 12,089 1949–50 Football League Third Division South - Southend Stadium
- Lowest Average Attendance: 2,103 1984–85 Football League Fourth Division - Roots Hall
- Most Appearances (All Comps): Alan Moody (506 - 1972-1984)
- Most Appearances (League): Sandy Anderson (452 - 1950-1962)
- Most Appearances (FA Cup): Alan Moody (32 - 1972-1984)
- Most Appearances (League Cup): David Martin (25 - 1986-1993)
- Most Appearances (Other Cup): Kevin Maher (26 - 1998 to 2008)
- Most Goals (All Comps): Roy Hollis (135 - 1954-1960)
- Most Goals (League): Roy Hollis (120 - 1954-1960)
- Most Goals (FA Cup): Roy Hollis (15 - 1954-1960) and Billy Best (15 - 1968-1973)
- Most Goals (League Cup): Sammy McMillan (15 - 1967-69) and David Martin (15 - 1986-1993)
- Most Goals (Other Cup): Brett Angell (10 - 1990-1994)
Player of the Year
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Kevin Maher |
| 2001–02 | Darryl Flahavan |
| 2002–03 | Leon Cort |
| 2003–04 | Mark Gower |
| 2004–05 | Adam Barrett |
| 2005–06 | Freddy Eastwood |
| 2006–07 | Kevin Maher |
| 2007–08 | Nicky Bailey |
| 2008–09 | Peter Clarke |
| 2009–10 | Simon Francis |
International representatives
- Jimmy McAlinden (Ireland (IFA) + (FAI) 7 app 1948)
- Tom Scannell (Republic of Ireland 1 app 1954)
- Sammy McCrory (Northern Ireland 1 app 1957)
- Derek Spence (Northern Ireland 29 apps 1980-1982)
- Ronnie Whelan (Republic of Ireland 53 apps 1995)
- Tesfaye Bramble (Montserrat 1 app 2004)
- Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Jamaica 20 app 2006)
- Freddy Eastwood (Wales 10 app 2007)
- Peggy Lokando (Democratic Republic of Congo 1 app 2008)
- Adam Federici (Australia 1 app 2008 + 3 for 2008 Olympics)
References
- ↑ "All time results between Colchester United and Southend United". http://www.soccerbase.com/head2.sd?team2id=2393&team1id=612.
- ↑ "Squad Profiles". Southend United F.C.. http://www.southendunited.co.uk/page/TeamHome/0,,10444,00.html. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
External links
|
||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||