Southend United F.C.
They secured promotion as play-off winners in 2015, but suffered another double relegation in 2020 and 2021, amid deep financial problems that several times pushed the club to the brink of liquidation, to drop—after 101 years in the Football League—into the National League, where they remain.was founded on 19 May 1906 in the Blue Boar Hotel[2][3] after landlord Oliver Trigg invited a group of footballers and businessmen to discuss setting up a new professional club.[7][b] Other signings included goalkeeper Charles Cotton from West Ham, outside right Arthur Holden from Portsmouth, and centre-forward Harold Halse from Wanstead, plus players from Southend Athletic, Grays United, South Weald and Leigh Ramblers.[6] To aid the country's war effort, parts of the club's ground Roots Hall were dismantled and requisitioned to a nearby timber yard where buildings had been destroyed by bombs.[6] After a successful twelve years, Birnie left to be replaced in May 1934 by David Jack, son of the club's first manager,[6] and the Shrimpers moved from the Kursaal to the Southend Stadium.[6] A highlight of Jack's six-year tenure saw Southend draw 4–4 in the FA Cup third round at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur in January 1936 before losing the replay.[9]: 72 In 1984, the club was relegated to the Fourth Division (Bobby Moore was manager), and the following season finished 20th, narrowly avoiding having to seek re-election to the Football League.[11] Southend finished 14th in Division One in his first season as a manager, but were relegated a year later and Whelan left the club, later winning a case for wrongful dismissal.Martin Dawn PLC (run by Ron Martin) and Delancey Estates, together forming South Eastern Leisure (SEL), took control of Southend United in November 1998, buying the club and its centrally located Roots Hall ground for £4 million from then chairman Vic Jobson, who at the time owned 55% of the issued share capital of the club.The club's first flirtation with the High Court came in July 2000, when a debt to the Inland Revenue was paid off shortly before a scheduled winding-up petition hearing.In May 2006 Southend became League One champions after beating Bristol City 1–0 at Roots Hall in front of over 11,000 fans - the club's first title in 25 years.[53] Phil Brown returned as manager[54][55] but could not rescue the situation; Southend suffered a second successive relegation, dropping out of the Football League after 101 years.After members of staff were late receiving their October 2022 salaries,[66] the Shrimpers Trust and shirt sponsor PG Site Services each loaned the club £40,000.[87] Three companies, including shirt sponsor PG Site Services and Engie Power, were also involved in the petition regarding a £275,000 debt,[88] but the hearing was adjourned to 12 July 2023, giving Martin more time to sell the club.[95] While players were eventually paid, manager Maher and other backroom staff remained unpaid three days before the winding-up hearing, while club sale discussions were reportedly being held up by the stadium side of the transaction.[107] On 23 August 2023, the winding-up hearing was adjourned for a third and final time, to 4 October 2023, with Judge Sebastian Prentis telling Martin if he was in charge of any other business it would have been wound up.[115][116] Due to injuries and suspensions, the club were left with just 10 available players ahead of a match against Maidenhead United on 19 September, with manager Kevin Maher appealing against the red cards and talking to the National League about bolstering his squad.[117] The club signed former West Ham goalkeeper David Martin to make his immediate debut, with Portuguese midfielder Mauro Vilhete one of just two substitutes,[118] as Southend won 2–0.[120][121] Meanwhile, fans staged an anti-Martin protest march to Roots Hall ahead of the club's league tie against AFC Fylde on 23 September 2023.[131] On 23 December 2023, Martin and the Rees consortium exchanged contracts for the sale of the club; the deal remained conditional upon Southend Council's approval of property transactions.[132][133] On 8 March 2024, Southend CEO Tom Lawrence said final completion of the takeover was a couple of months away, being dependent upon a council review of the Fossets Farm plans.Southend Council's new leader Daniel Cowan blamed the previous administration for assurances that "fell outside of normal practice and were simply not achievable".[147][148] Adding to the pressure, on 24 June 2024, the National League ordered Southend United to provide a £1m bond due to ongoing financial uncertainty.[152] On 26 June 2024, a payment plan was agreed with a second creditor (PG Site Services, owed £350,000) and the winding-up petition was dismissed in the High Court.[162] The main East Stand had barely been fitted and ran along only 50 yards of the touchline, and 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 which ran only the breadth of the penalty area, and the West Bank was covered at its rear only by a similar structure.[162] Although the ground was unfinished, 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.The pitch was completely re-laid in the summer of 1956 and a proper drainage system, which is still in place, was constructed, and the West Bank roof was extended to reach the touchline, creating a unique double-barrelled structure.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.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.
Roots HallKevin MaherNational League2023–24Home coloursAway coloursThird coloursCurrent seasonassociation footballSouthend-on-Sealevel of English footballColchester UnitedEssex derbyRoots Hall StadiumPrittlewellSouthern LeagueFootball LeagueFourth DivisionSecond DivisionSteve TilsonChampionshipLeague OneHistory of Southend United F.C.Robert JackPlymouth Argyle Football ClubAlfred Ernest WatkinsMillwallGeorge MolyneuxPortsmouthEnglandCharles CottonWest HamArthur HoldenHarold HalseGrays UnitedSouth Weald1906–07following seasonFA Cup1907–081910–11 seasonWorld War IThe Kursaal1919–20Third DivisionThird Division SouthTed BirnieDavid JackSouthend StadiumWhite Hart LaneTottenham HotspurWorld War II1939–401948–49Grimsby TownWatfordBobby Moore1991–92 seasonDavid WebbColin MurphyBarry FryDivision OneBirmingham CityPeter Taylor1994–95LiverpoolRonnie WhelanAlvin MartinRon MartinDelancey EstatesFossetts Farm Stadiumthe Football LeagueAlan LittleFootball ConferenceRob NewmanSteve WignallBlackpoolFootball League TrophyMillennium StadiumCardiffWrexhamLeague TwoLincoln Cityplay-offBristol City2006–07SunderlandManchester UnitedLeague CupFreddy Eastwood2007–08Doncaster RoversOldhamHM Revenue and CustomsProfessional Footballers AssociationSheffield WednesdayPlymouth ArgylePaul SturrockCrewe AlexandraBritt AssombalongaPhil BrownWycombe WanderersSol CampbellIpswich TownCOVID-19 pandemicfurloughMark MolesleyHigh Courtphoenix clubTorquay Unitedworking capital2023–24 seasonMaidenhead UnitedDavid MartinMauro VilheteAFC Fylde2023–24 National LeagueInsureandGoPaddy PowerHummelMacronKursaal (amusement park)KursaalNew Writtle Street StadiumChelmsford Citylandfill