A New Season

Well today Southend United Kick off the new session with a game at away to Accrington Stanley and they will be looking for their first win of what I hope is a successful session. According to the boss, Phil Brown, "We're off the back of a good pre-season, but more importantly we only have the one injury." 

Hopefully after last sessions performance the team and the manager will be looking to build on the performance of last session and aim for the top of the table. Last year after a little bit of a wobble at the start we managed a good run in the league before running into a patch of poor form before hitting the highs again. If we can avoid that dip in the middle we have a good chance of ending in the top of the table and get promoted without having to go through the playoffs again. 

All in in all it is going to be an exciting session and I am full of a lot more hope this year that we will achieve something this session than I was last year. I just hope we get the new ground soon. If we are going to go up into league one it will be so important that we have the new ground to earn us the revenue to stay up there and play good football in the years to come. 

UPDATE 10th August 2014 - Southend United won there first game, it looked like a game in which it look like it could be a frustrating draw when they had the majority of the play until Lee Barnard scored from the spot to seal a win.

Sad end to the Season

It has been a long season for the blues with some highs and lows. At one point I thought they would be in a automatic promotion place at the end of the season but then they hit lean times and the wind was knocked out of their sails but they rallied and managed to get a playoff place only to be knocked out today, despite being the best of the two sides over two legs, but that is football for you. 

 

The boys have done well this year when you consider all the problems the club has had in recent years. I would have put them middle of the table if I was to be honest and not in one of the play off places. I think if we build on what we have done this year and carry on building the squad we could be in with a good chance of getting a automatic promotion place next year and be assured of a play off place at least. 

At last we have a good manager again and a man that wants to see the club go far and I'm sure he can make it happen. Lets home the money problems of the past are just that and we get the new ground too, we are going to need it if we go up at the end of next session.

New Season

Today sees the start of the new football season for Southend United and it hasn't started on a good note with all kinds of preseason problems and once again these are to do with the financial state of the club.

 

How we far this year might just come down to how the club gets out of the financial hole we find ourselves in. If money can't be found then we might find our self in receivership and the ten point deduction might force us into the low leagues. Again if we fight off receivership and the players don't end up get paid, as has happened in the past, we could lose as many points in low team moral. Finally with a small squad any player that is injured is to affect terms performance. All round it is going to be a hard year.

Personally I think the heights we achieved last year are beyond the club this year and we will do well to survive the year with the club in it's present state. What is sad is the new ground that has been talked of for so long seems further away now than it ever has. I know one thing it is going to be a hard year for the players and the supporters of the club. Personally I wish all connected to the club well in this most difficult time.

Southend United

Something I don't talk about very much is that I follow Southend United and have since I left Essex back when I was eighteen. I would have said support but I really have never had the chance to see them so I think it is fair to say follow to acknowledge all those people that go to Roots Hall week after week and whose money have kept this tiny club going over the years.

Most people will have first come across this lowly club when Freddy Eastwood caused a massive upset by scoring the most amazing goal to knock a star studded Manchester United in the fifth round of the Carling Cup a few years back. It was one of the most beautifully executed free kicks I have seen, and I know that any player in the Manchester United Squad that had taken it, and like Freddy scored from it, would have remembered with with pride. It was performances like that which built the confidence in the club that resulted in us ending up in the Championship. But confidence only gets you so far and the there wasn't the money to keep us there and now we are back where we started in Division Two.

This session has seen the side being rebuilt and plans being put in place to secure the financial future of the club which is still at the moment losing money week on week. Thankfully the rebuilding of the side is going well and a cohesive team is being formed that is capable of winning matches at home and away against all comers. Once the constancy of the side comes into place they will be in a strong position to go for a spot in the play off if not later this session then in next. In fact I would go as far as to say with some effort they could even be in a automatic promotion place next session if they carry on improving as they have been in recent matches. As for the financial side of club, that could be it's downfall especially if it doesn't get it's new ground sorted soon and bring in the money through the gate.

People sometimes ask me why follow such a lowly club, well the answer is simple, the football is hard and although the games might not have the style of the top premiership matches they are full of guts and fight and everyone gives there all. It is what football to me is all about, teamwork and commitment.