Southend United : Club Background
The early years of football in Sarfend (or Southend-on-Sea as the more pretentious residents prefer to term it) involved a plethora of amateur teams, and it wasn’t until 1906, out of a whole series of political battles between various factions, that a professional club – Southend United – was formed. The new club applied for and was admitted into the Southern League.
In 1920 Southend became a founder member of Division Three, which was expanded and split into North/South the following season, United finishing bottom and requiring the first of only three re-elections in their history. Neither however were they troubling the other end of the table. For year after year Southend were almost unremittingly mid-table. When regionalisation ended in 1958 the Shrimpers were one of only six clubs ever present since the formation of Division Three South, and had a good enough record to get a place in Division 3 rather than the newly created Division 4. There they remained, once again mostly mid-table, until 1966 saw the club’s first ever relegation.
As if to counter their previous rather humdrum existence Southend became something of a yo-yo club in the Seventies and Eighties, regularly switching between the two lower divisions. On one of these occasions, 1980-81, they won their only Championship in the Football League to that date.
The mid-Eighties was a dark period for the club when local businessman Anton Johnson took control. His reign ended with financial chaos, ‘missing’ funds, arrest, and sanctions for breaking League regulations. From this unpromising position Southend rebuilt, and under the second of three spells with David Webb in the driving seat moved up to Division 2 for the first time in their history in 1991. The renumbering of the Divisions to accommodate the creation of the Premiership meant Southend then became a Division 1 club, a status they held on to for five seasons.
The mid-Nineties saw it all fall apart again as the Shrimpers suffered two successive relegations, and looked for a while as if they were going straight through Division 3 into Non-league the year after that. They eventually bottomed out in 18th. Managers regularly came and went, including Mr David Webb for that third spell, taken from Yeovil Town, and for six seasons Southend United were back in territory familiar from their past – consistently mid-table.
In 2004-05 new man at the managerial helm, Steve Tilson, began putting things together and Southend had their best season for years. It was nip and tuck at the top throughout the campaign and the penultimate game of the season with Yeovil Town was virtually an automatic promotion decider. Yeovil emerged victorious at Roots Hall, but such was the generosity of spirit to that defeat there can’t have been many Glovers who weren’t rooting for the Shrimpers as they marched through the play-offs. A year later and more glory for Tilson and Co as they leapt straight into the Championship – something that left the bookies very flat-footed indeed.
The Championship was a bit of a nasty jolt to the system – perhaps the rise of the Shrimpers had been too much too soon. Their stay was merely one season, although they nearly managed survival which would have been an incredible achievement. To their credit, the club did not seek to blame the manager for this apparent ‘failure’ – in fact they responded by extending Tilson’s contract. Southend accepted relegation with grace (after 46 games worth of a great experience rubbing shoulders with the big boys). Their approach to their relegation position in 2006-07 saw far less mud-slinging and finger-pointing than is common at most clubs, and probably because of that, there remained a lot of very familiar (and now experienced) players in Southend’s line-up. And of course they still had Tilson at the helm. The end result was that the Shrimpers had a second go to grab a Championship spot in 2007-08, through the play-offs. However a 0-0 at home to Doncaster Rovers was followed by ‘one of those evenings’: the Shrimpers being caned 5-1 in the second leg.
In 2008-09 Southend finished a healthy 8th, though chairman Ron Martin felt obliged to issue a vote of confidence in Tilson along the way. It was around this time that some cracks started to appear in the Southend structures, with the rumour mill working overtime. Chairman Martin appeared in denial for much of the season, abusing the local press and any one else asserting that the finances were in a desperate state. Eventually the truth emerged, as winding up orders and the PFA stepping in to meet players wages could no longer be hidden. Former Glovers boss David Webb was brought back in, for a vaguely defined ‘over-seeing’ role.
Southend’s financial turmoil was still causing them problems in the summer of 2010 when they dropped out of League One. Suffering delays in paying players wages, under a transfer embargo, and with a winding up order due that summer due to non-payment of tax debts, you’d think that any rational Chairman would pat his manager on the back, apologise for the appalling circumstances that he was having to deal with, and to give him support. Instead Tilson, who had achieved back-to-back promotions for the Shrimpers earlier in his reign, was put on gardening leave, thus increasing Southend’s creditors list.
In his place, Paul Sturrock was appointed, and he lasted just under three years, despite a hellish start that saw him have to register 17 players on the opening day of the 2010-11 season, after the Football League reluctantly lifted their transfer embargo to allow them to start the campaign. Sturrock managed a relatively decent 13th position, and followed that up with a 4th place in 2011-12, only to fall in the play-off semi-finals to the eventually promoted Crewe Alexandra.
In 2012-13, Sturrock began the season again under a transfer embargo – surprisingly he still managed to take them to the Football League Trophy Final … before Chairman Martin fired him because he wasn’t happy with their league position just outside the play-offs. In came Phil Brown who saw out the tail end of the season trying to deal with the ever-lasting financial shambles around Roots Hall, while Martin had the cheek to ask the sacked Sturrock to actually manage the side at Wembley for him. Unsurprisingly Sturrock told him to ‘do one’, and watched the Shrimpers lose 2-0 from the stands, to Crewe Alexandra again.
Brown was soon faced with yet a further transfer embargo as the 2013-14 season began, with more winding up orders from HMRC in the High Courts. Despite this Brown got them up into League One through the 2014-15 play-offs, beating Wycombe Wanderers 7-6 on penalties. In the 2018-19 campaign Southend only stayed up on goal difference and Brown must have known the execution gun was loaded, just a question of when it would be fired. That moment came a few months into the next season, and Sol Campbell came in as the new manager in October. Yet again there were winding up orders, players and staff not being paid and the club under embargo that dominated the whole season. Campbell’s side ended the season on 19 points (but not actually bottom as Bolton Wanderers had had 12 points deducted) and were relegated to League Two.
As soon as the season was over Martin attempted to force the whole team into furlough without their consent, which wasn’t legal and the players refused. Campbell and his three assistants all departed by ‘mutual consent’. Mark Molesley, formerly manager at W*ymouth, was brought in.
Meanwhile Martin found some money from somewhere down the back of a sofa after ten months of stalling in the courts and paid off £493,931 owed to HMRC in October 2020. Molesley’s appointment was not a great success – one can take a man out of Weymouth but not Weymouth out of a man – the main surprise being he wasn’t sacked until April, when with a record of W8 D12 L20 the Shrimpers were deep in the relegation mire. Phil Brown was brought back on a temporary contract, but with just six matches to go he failed to get them out of the mess and a second relegation in two years saw Southend United lose their Football League status after 101 years.
Despite the relegation Martin gave Brown a two year contract in May 2021 with the obvious brief of getting the club back into the Football League. Life in the National League did not start well, and Brown clearly knew the writing was on the wall – in fact seemed almost to be courting dismissal, talking the crisis up. On 20th September he described Southend as being “in a chasm, it’s massive”. And a fortnight later that the club was “facing oblivion”. After losing at home to Chesterfield 0-4 on October 9th, a match held up for 14 minutes by fans protesting on the pitch – more against owner Ron Martin than manager Phil Brown it’s only fair to note – the club found itself in 20th place having won two and drawn two of its first ten games. Brown was sacked within minutes of the final whistle leaving the Shrimpers seeking their seventh manager in four years.
A former player, Kevin Mayer, was brought in as Head Coach. The Stan Collymore saga, which was running throughout most of 2021, is too bizarre to try to make head or tail of. Suffice it to say he is now supposedly “Senior Football Strategist” – whatever that means. Oh, and to no one’s surprise, Southend was back in court again, and with yet another transfer embargo imposed, before Christmas; though it appeared to have been lifted just before we visited them last January. After that disastrous start to the campaign the Shrimpers did eventually haul themselves up to a mid-table finish in 13th.
As for the New Stadium at Fossetts Farm saga, that’s been running for over twenty years and it would take an article twice as long as this one to even scratch the surface of all the machinations and dubious dealings, re-inventions and false dawns which have been going on with that. This latest artist’s impression at least is er, impressive.
In July 2022 they actually began work at last – on some training pitches and a players’ car park. So a bit of a way still to go then.
With Ron claiming as usual “nothing to see”, reports are that for the umpteenth time Mr. Martin is treading the financial tightrope – this time failing to pay wages (August 2022) on time rather than taxes… but doubtless that’ll be just around the next corner…
Update 01/10: … and that expectation didn’t take long to come true, with the football authorities imposing yet another transfer embargo on 30th September after the club missed a payment to HMRC. Further, main sponsors
Southend United: We’ve Met Before
Previous Results for Yeovil Town First Team vs Southend United
| 15/11/1958 | Away | FAC1 | D | 0-0 | 15296 | ||
| 20/11/1958 | Home | FAC1R | W | 1-0 | 7700 | Dennis | |
| 16/11/1963 | Home | FAC1 | W | 1-0 | 7638 | Foley | |
| 11/12/1982 | Away | FAC2 | L | 0-3 | 4554 | ||
| 05/08/2001 | Home | Frnd | L | 0-3 | 1352 | ||
| 15/11/2003 | Home | EFL3 | W | 4-0 | 5248 | Elam 33, Way 40, Johnson 43, 56 | |
| 24/04/2004 | Away | EFL3 | W | 2-0 | 5676 | D Rodrigues 21, 32 | |
| 20/11/2004 | Home | EFL2 | W | 3-1 | 5839 | Jevons 43, Guyett 83, Tarachulski 85 | |
| 30/04/2005 | Away | EFL2 | W | 1-0 | 11735 | Jevons 83 | |
| 27/09/2005 | Away | EFL1 | L | 1-4 | 6654 | Jevons 45 | |
| 04/02/2006 | Home | EFL1 | L | 0-2 | 6289 | ||
| 12/01/2008 | Away | EFL1 | D | 1-1 | 7352 | Owusu 71 | |
| 23/02/2008 | Home | EFL1 | L | 0-3 | 4820 | ||
| 04/10/2008 | Home | EFL1 | L | 1-2 | 4008 | Schofield 88 | |
| 24/01/2009 | Away | EFL1 | W | 1-0 | 6409 | Brown 6 | |
| 14/11/2009 | Home | EFL1 | W | 1-0 | 3906 | Bowditch 76 | |
| 03/04/2010 | Away | EFL1 | D | 0-0 | 6854 | ||
| 06/08/2013 | Away | EFLC1 | W | 1-0 | 2971 | Dawson 36 | |
| 04/11/2017 | Home | FAC1 | W | 1-0 | 2079 | Khan 29 | |
| 11/01/2022 | Away | NLP | L | 1-2 | 4845 | Reid 90 | |
| 26/03/2022 | Home | NLP | W | 2-0 | 2475 | Reid 4, Knowles 8 | |
| 01/10/2022 | Away | NLP | L | 0-1 | 5324 | ||
| 01/04/2023 | Home | NLP | L | 0-2 | 3630 | Hyde 24, Murphy 90+1 | |
| 14/10/2023 | Home | FAC4Q | W | 2-0 | 2697 | Wannell 2, Young 67 | |
Results Summary For Yeovil Town First Team vs Southend United
| Home | Away | Overall | ||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A |
| 8 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 23 | 22 |
Southend United: Club Statistics
RECENT RESULTS
| 06/08/2022 | Boreham Wood | Home | NLP | L | 0-1 | 5681 | |
| 13/08/2022 | Solihull Moors | Away | NLP | D | 1-1 | 1341 | Wreh 64 |
| 16/08/2022 | FC Halifax Town | Away | NLP | D | 0-0 | 1943 | |
| 20/08/2022 | Oldham Athletic | Home | NLP | W | 1-0 | 5414 | Mooney 30 |
| 27/08/2022 | Eastleigh | Away | NLP | L | 1-2 | 2383 | Powell 22 |
| 29/08/2022 | Maidenhead United | Home | NLP | W | 2-0 | 5563 | Scott-Morriss 24, Powell 52 |
| 03/09/2022 | Torquay United | Home | NLP | L | 1-2 | 5177 | Wreh 86 |
| 10/09/2022 | Barnet | Away | NLP | POSTPONED | |||
| 13/09/2022 | Chesterfield | Away | NLP | L | 2-3 | 6269 | Powell 32, Dackers 46 |
| 17/09/2022 | Wrexham | Home | NLP | D | 0-0 | 6266 | |
| 24/09/2022 | Wealdstone | Away | NLP | W | 1-0 | 2391 | Dackers 62 |
| 01/10/2022 | Yeovil Town | Home | NLP | W | 1-0 | 5324 | Hyde 37 |
ATTENDANCE STATISTICS
Highest League Attendance: 5,177
Lowest League Attendance: 6,266
Average League Attendance: 5,620
CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS
| Games Without A Win: | 0 | Games Without A Home Win: | 2 | |
| Games Without An Away Win: | 0 | Games Without Defeat: | 2 | |
| Games Without A Home Defeat: | 1 | Games Without An Away Defeat: | 1 | |
| Games Without A Draw: | 1 | Games Without A Score Draw: | 8 | |
| Games Without A No-Score Draw: | 1 | Games Without Scoring: | 0 | |
| Games Without Conceding: | 2 | Home Results Sequence: | LWWLD | |
| Away Results Sequence: | DDLLW | Overall Results Sequence: | LDDWLWLLDW |
Southend United: Club Information
Roots Hall Stadium
Victoria Avenue
Southend-on-Sea
Essex
SS2 6NQ
(Click for map)
Telephone Number : 01702 304050
Fax : 01702 304120
Email: info@southendunited.co.uk
Chairman : Ron Martin
CEO : Tom Lawrence
Ticket Office Manager : Jordan Groom
Media Manager : Matt Mundy
Manager : Kevin Maher
Capacity : 12,260
Seated : All-seated
Covered Terrace : n/a
Record Attendance : 31,033 v Liverpool, FA Cup 3rd Round, 10th January 1979
(All-seater record: 11,735 v Yeovil Town, League Two, 30th April 2005…….only come to watch etc.)
Colours : shirt navy blue with white trim; shorts navy blue; socks white.
Nickname : Shrimpers; The Blues.
Ticket Prices : Away fans are housed in the (Solopress) North Bank Stand with a maximum capacity of 2,248. The prices listed below are for tickets bought in advance. Add £2.00 to all listings for tickets bought on matchday.
Adult: £18. Senior (60+): £13. Young Adult (17-23): £13. Disabled/Emergency Services/Full-time Student (all with relevant valid ID): £13. Junior (9-16): £8. Child (8 and under): £3.
Mysteriously (or maybe not so mysteriously!) while ticket sales for home fans have been available through the on-line portal at the above prices for weeks the away section has remained “unavailable”. There appears little doubt this is a deliberate ploy by Southend United to force away fans into paying the £2.00 extra surcharge. Whether this egregious dirty little trick is against the letter of the ‘fair pricing for home and away fans’ code it is certainly against its spirit. It may be worth phoning the Box Office* (0344 477 0077, open 11.00 a.m.- 4.00 p.m. weekdays) to see if it is selling to away fans at the non-surcharge price – or of course it may not. (*Calls to the Box Office will be charged at the local rate plus carrier charge.)
UPDATE 26/09/22: whether someone has complained, or Ron Martin has suddenly found a conscience (unlikely), but Southend ticket office should have received instruction to still charge Yeovil supporters the early purchase price for tickets bought walk-up on matchday. Feel free to challenge them if try to charge the £2.00 extra.
Matchday pricing is:
Adult: £20. Senior (60+): £15. Young Adult (17-23): £15. Disabled/Emergency Services/Full-time Student (all with relevant valid ID): £15. Junior (9-16): £10. Child (8 and under): £5.
As an additional insult the two pounds extra gives access to some of the most cramped unpleasant bolted-on-to-terrace seating available anywhere.
The ticket office is close to the club shop near the main entrance into the Roots Hall site off Victoria Avenue. Information as to whether it is accepting card payment as well as cash chops and changes on a regular basis but be aware the latest on their Official Website is once again claiming “CASH ONLY“. It remains open until 3.00 p.m. (7.45 p.m. for evening kick-offs) allegedly, though you may not wish to cut things that fine. Once a ticket’s obtained it’s decision time: do you take a risk and cut across the car park hoping the steel gates that shut off the away end are open (they were once on one of my trips), which will be 150 yards; or accept the likelihood they will be closed, exit the site back onto Victoria Avenue, left along Fairfax Drive, and then back into the site and the away turnstiles (13-16) from there, which will be about 500 yards. Note that the stadium has electronic ticket readers installed so try to keep your ticket relatively uncreased.
Disabled Info: Registered disabled supporters, upon confirmation of status*, are eligible to receive a concessionary ticket for entry to the stadium, and their carers (who must be responsible adults) will be issued with a complimentary ticket.
There are 20 wheelchair spaces for home and away supporters in the rear of the (Gilbert & Rose) West Stand which does mean that there is some restricted viewing at times. The carers seats are alongside the wheelchair spaces and the whole area is under cover.
There is an adapted disabled toilet at the back of the (Gilbert & Rose) West Stand which has been fitted with a Radar lock so that it can be for the exclusive use of disabled supporters. There is also a disabled toilet in the (MidexPRO) East Stand on the level below the adapted executive box, with access via the lift.
There are three designated disabled spaces for blue badge holders (but extra spaces may be made available subject to availability) in the main Roots Hall car park behind the (MidexPRO) East Stand.
(* Confirmation of status will be the production of evidence showing a disability living allowance at a high level of care.)
Programme: £3.00
Official Away Travel
The Green & White Supporters’ Club is running away travel to Southend United on Saturday 1st October 2022, 3.00 p.m. kick-off.
Details are as follows:
Members: Adults £32, Concessions £30
Non-Members: Adults £35, Concessions £33
Coach departs Huish Park: 8.45 a.m.
To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570 or email him on paulhadlow@outlook.com.
If you are getting in touch by email, please make it clear which match you are booking for and that you give your full name, the names of people that are travelling and a contact telephone number.
You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat.
Southend United: Directions To The Ground
General
Southend is on the coast of Essex, roughly where the Thames has become more sea than river – hence the -on-Sea bit of the name presumably. It’s something of a sprawling mess with, depending where one draws the boundaries (a lot of contiguous places are very insistent they are not in Sarfend), a population of 180,000 in the core and over 300,000 if the wider metro area is included. In 2022 it received its charter for City status granted the previous year.
By Road
Bit of a mare this one. The A303 will probably be crawling as usual; the M3 busy; the M25 a nightmare; come off at Junction 29, and then it’s a real drag for 20 miles along the A127. 20 miles? Is that all? Do it in half an hour and thank the Lord, 45 minutes is more likely.
Continue along the A127 until meeting a roundabout with a Tesco store and the Strawberry Fields pub and Travel Inn. Take the 3rd exit following the signs for ‘Central Southend’. At the next set of traffic lights continue on past The Bell Hotel to the next roundabout. Take the 3rd exit (Victoria Avenue) and continue down the hill to a set of lights. You will be seeing Roots Hall to your right by this time. Turn right at the lights into Fairfax Drive for the away supporters entrance.
Parking
If you’ve used it previously be warned, there is no longer any parking at the ground for supporters except those who have bought a Season Parking Ticket. Southend Civic Centre, which is on Victoria Avenue, has 137 spaces and charges £1.00 per hour up to 6.00 p.m. after which it’s free. There are some (number unspecified) electric car charging points. The walk to the stadium is 10 minutes. Prittlewell Railway Station (see By Rail below) has a car park but it is small, only 42 spaces. This is a flat rate £4.00 charge on a Saturday. The club plugs Southend High School for Boys (which is about 15 minutes walk away) which charges £5.00 for parking on a matchday. Otherwise begin the search for on-street spaces.
By Rail
Southend is on two different railway lines. The nearest station to the ground is Prittlewell (the Liverpool Street line out of London, Greater Anglia trains, terminus Southend Victoria) – generally three trains an hour with a journey time of 56 minutes.
From Prittlewell leave the station by the set of steps at the very end of the platform. Walk along Station Approach until a reach multi-road junction (by The Railway Tavern, see pubs below). Go right, along St Benets Road, then first left along St Mary’s Road. At the end of St Mary’s turn right onto Victoria Avenue and you’ll find the main entrance to Roots Hall (and the ticket office) about fifty yards along on the opposite side of the road. Total distance and time a third of a mile so just over five minutes.
If you fancy seeing Southend’s Golden Mile (ahem) or the pier, then take the line from Fenchurch Street (usually platforms 1 or 3) which trundles along the Thames estuary to Southend Central (terminus is at Shoeburyness) on C2C trains. Journey time is between about 55 minutes and 80 minutes depending on the number of stops, with up to seven trains an hour at peak times dropping to four an hour during other parts of the day.
To reach the ground, head up the pedestrianised High Street (away from the seafront) to a new Odeon complex. Walk past the Odeon to the right, cross the dual-carriageway and head along Victoria Avenue, with Roots Hall off to the left (total walk 1.1 miles so around 20 minutes). There is probably a bus, if you can work it out.
NOTE: The industrial disputes on the railways, suspended for the period of Official Mourning, are back on with (at time of writing) Saturday 1st October designated a day of industrial action. While not every train company is involved the reality is that the bulk of the network will be at the least massively disrupted and on much there are likely to be few if any services at all.
By Bus
There are buses in Southend – from Arriva, First Buses and Stephensons. We tried the council site’s feature on bus services in its Public Transport section in earlier years and found it incomprehensible to anyone not born and bred in Southend – and possibly to them as well. Anyway, not to worry, as they shut it down last year. The nearest bus stop to Roots Hall appears to be outside the Blue Boar (see pubs, below).
By Air
Southend Airport is only 1.7 miles from Roots Hall so those with access to private planes or helicopters are well served on this trip.
Taxis
A selection of Southend-on-Sea taxi companies can be found here.
Web Sites
Shrimpers Trust
Unsurprisingly, given their owner and chairman’s activities, The Shrimpers Trust website is active, busy and a good read as well as containing all the info Trust members would require.
The Blue Voice
Started up as a Southend United social networking site in 2007 it seems to have run out of steam several years ago.
Web Message Boards
Shrimper Zone
Independent message board. With nine sub forums, this was always the main and busiest on-line voice for Southend fans over the years and seems to have outlasted the alternative forums. Over two million posts since it started 21 years ago.
Local Press
Basildon, Canvey & Southend Echo
Dedicated section on Southend United from the Echo: The Blues. Has a better record than much local press these days at challenging and calling out what’s going on at the club rather than merely copying and pasting anodyne official press releases.
Southend United : Food & Drink
This has often been a good day out across the years. On our first two league visits we had this match as our final away Saturday of the season and there was glorious sunshine, excellent beer and victories to boot. In fact so good that one particular Ciderspace co-editor at the time, with a mere two-hour journey, didn’t get home until 2.00 a.m. on one occasion… and could only partly blame that on the incompetence of the train services. Then the soddin’ fixture computer decided to spoil all with some cold damp rainy days in January and/or mid-weekers. Early October this time, so completely in the lap of the Gods – could be a last flurry of late-Summer or an early onset of Autumn storms. At least the clocks haven’t gone back.
Club Bar
There are five or six bars around the ground but the only one we’re aware of that has admitted away fans in the past is Shrimpers Bar (which was run by The Shrimpers Trust at one point) and to be found at the south end of the East Stand. It is beneath The Far Post Bar, which is not accessible to away fans. Given the Trust’s relationship with club owner and chairman Ron Martin has long been fairly fraught, and judging from Trust statements appears to have broken down completely in recent times, its running of Shrimpers seems to have ended although a lot of members appear to continue to use it. The Fans Guide on Southend’s Official Site suggests this bar does allow visiting fans (though it’s a page that, judging from some other information on there, may not have been updated for a while). However other sources also suggest Shrimpers still allows away fans. Opens from 1.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. for 3.00 p.m. kick-offs and from 6.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. for 7.45 p.m. kick-offs and has one real ale that changes every match as well as the more standard football stadium fizz. Has Sky Sports and does some food.
Local Pubs
As is to be expected in a resort town the bulk of the hospitality provision is close to and along the seafront, and that’s around a mile and half (and upwards) from the stadium. However the area around Roots Hall itself has a plus and a minus in terms of pubs. The plus is that, having been there since 1955, it has a number of pubs nearby. The big minus is that, throughout the period we’ve been visiting since 2003, some of these pubs have been intermittently closed (the Golden Lion – below – is one that currently is and seems unlikely will ever return to being a pub) and/or have had changing policies on whether they allow away fans or not.
What’s probably the number one choice that’s within ten minutes walk of the ground for beer aficionados, West Road Tap, was closed for a winter break on our 2021-22 season visit but is available this time. We also missed out on the other micropub in the area, Mile and a Third, as it doesn’t open Mondays or Tuesdays. Both have been added in the guide (below).
Blue Boar: The very pub where the meeting that formed Southend United was held in 1906. Closed for years it was renovated and reopened at the end of 2002. Only had Tetley and Greene King IPA when we called in – which is why we didn’t bothered to darken its doors again on subsequent visits. ‘No children allowed on matchdays by police order’ – yep, so let’s encourage a family atmosphere shall we Mr. Plod – was a sign up when we passed the next few times. Then it closed again around 2010. Has subsequently reopened, as a smaller venue. Only one hand pump – so no prizes for guessing what that will be… yep, Doom Bar (though it has had the odd alternative from small independent breweries over the summer). Apparently it was designated “The Away Fans Pub” by the police after Southend got relegated… which makes one think they haven’t really grasped the concept of what Non-League football is in Southend yet. However now it’s reported things have gone entirely the other way and it’s a Home Fans Only pub. Should you wish to test the waters and see if allowed in opening hours are: 2.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Monday; 1.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Tuesday & Wednesday; 12.00 noon – 11.00 p.m. Thursday & Sunday; 12.00 noon – 1.00 a.m. Friday & Saturday. Sports TV. Hundred yards from the ticket office and four to five minutes walk to the away end.
The Blue Boar, 177 Victoria Avenue, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6EL. Tel: 01702 341999. Map: Blue Boar.
Golden Lion: Was the closest pub to the stadium main entrance, however… closed, briefly reopened, closed, there was a fire at some point, and now appears to be permanently lost as a pub.
Craftwerk Beers: Twelve keg tap (plus canned and bottled options in the fridges) ‘craft’ beer establishment that opened down in central Southend (and pretty convenient for Southend Central Railway Station) in 2019. There’s an updated menu on the website to keep customers informed as to what’s on tap. Food offering is pizzas. Opening: 3.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, 3.00 p.m. – midnight Friday, noon – midnight Saturday and noon – 11.00 p.m. Sunday. 1.2 miles from the ground, so around a 20 to 25 minutes walk or catch one of the buses from the station up Victoria Avenue.
Craftwerk Beers, 14 Alexandra Street, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS1 1BU. Tel: 01702 334344. Map: Craftwerk.
Last Post: Absolutely vast Wetherspoon with two bars in the middle of Southend close by Southend Central railway station (exit on the sea side) and the pier. The usual Doom Bar, Ruddles Best and Greene King Abbot as regulars plus plenty of guests and two or three real ciders – we found a larger and better range of beers than the average outlet in this chain on our earlier visits. Opening is 7.00 a.m. – midnight Sunday to Thursday and 7.00 a.m. to 1.00 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Children allowed until 9.00 p.m. if having a meal. A 1.1 mile walk to the ground, so around 20 minutes. On one of our previous visits someone had driven a landrover straight through the wall the evening before in an attempt to kill his daughter’s cheating boyfriend. It’s not dull in Sarfend.
Mostly gets an absolute slating in the reviews, but we’ve always found it OK. One just needs to remember this is a Spoons in a traditional British seaside resort. What a surprise it’s exactly like what one would expect, and not a thatched rustic wayside inn frequented by the waist-coated gentry sipping their mulled wine while discussing share prices and the good old days of fox hunting.
The Last Post, Weston Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS1 1AS. Tel: 01702 431682. Map: Last Post.
Mile And A Third: The name references Southend’s pier and it opened in 2019. A craft beer bar and shop, the website maintains a changing list of what beers and ciders are available on cask, keg and in bottles and cans in the fridges each day. The shop is at the front, the bar off to one side. On draught there’s two real ales (served on gravity), up to eight keg lines, and three real ciders/perries. Expect to find 50 or 60 can/bottle options across the three fridges. 20p CAMRA member discount on real ales and ciders. Disabled access, outside seating on pavement. Opening hours are from 2.00 p.m. – 9.00 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday, 2.00 p.m. – 10.00 p.m. Friday, noon – 10.00 p.m. Saturday and noon – 7.00 p.m. Sunday. Children allowed in bar area until 6.00 p.m. Around 15 minutes (0.9 of a mile) walk from Roots Hall.
Mile And A Third, 67 Hamlet Court Road, Westcliff, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 7EU. Tel: 01702 902120. Map: Mile And A Third.
Olde Trout Tavern: Strongly featured Brentwood Brewery beers when this pub re-opened in 2017 as an independent free house. However seems to have moved away from them recently. The ‘house’ beer, badged Trout Ale, is by Wantsum. Other offerings are by small independent breweries from both nearby and further afield. Cider is usually Rosie’s Pig by Westons. Food served lunchtimes, noon – 3.00 p.m. Sports TV and darts. Hours: opens 11.00 a.m. every day (except Sunday when it’s 12.00 noon); closes 11.00 p.m. every day (except Monday when it’s 9.00 p.m.). 0.8 of a mile, so around 15 minutes walk from the stadium.
Olde Trout Tavern, 56 London Road, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS1 1XN. Tel: 01702 337000. Map: Olde Trout Tavern.
Railway: Opposite Prittlewell Station and about five minutes walk from the ground. Much improved, and a considerably better reputation than it had at one time. Sports TV, large beer garden, family friendly. Doom Bar is the regular cask beer but some evidence it usually has better options from small independent breweries. Seemingly designated a ‘home pub‘ (see also Blue Boar and Spread Eagle for Southend local officialdom’s officiousness) we’ve no idea if this means you will be actually kicked out if they clock you’re Yeovil. Opening is from 2.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 1.00 p.m. – midnight Friday, noon – midnight Saturday and noon – 11.00 p.m. Sunday.
The Railway, 108 East Street, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6LH. Tel: 01702 616214. Map: Railway.
Spread Eagle: On the A127 and now the nearest pub to Roots Hall after the demise of the Golden Lion. Number 1 pub for home fans. Away fans used to be admitted, but messages being given out in recent seasons is that this is now a Home Fans Only pub, so if you do want to get in you’d need to cover up any colours. A large bar dominates the centre of the pub with public and saloon sides, which obviously get very busy on match days. Plastic ‘glasses’ on match days, unless you get there early and keep hold of an er, glass glass. There is an extensive paved beer terrace which can act as an overspill in good weather but also doubles as a car park, and a beer garden at the rear. The Real Ale is nothing more interesting than likes of Doom Bar, Bombardier and Greene King IPA, Bombardier. Has both Sky and BT Sports TV, a pool table and darts. There was a “No under 16s” sign outside last time walked by but don’t know if that remains the policy. Opening hours: 11.00 a.m. – 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 11.00 a.m. – 12.30 a.m. Friday & Saturday; noon – 11.00 p.m. Sunday. Fifty yards from the ticket office, four or five minutes from the away end.
Spread Eagle, 267 Victoria Avenue, Prittlewell, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS2 6NE. Tel: 01702 213674. Map: Spread Eagle.
West Road Tap: Micropub & Bottle Shop across two floors. Generally has one or two beers on cask, half a dozen on keg lines and a couple of real ciders, + thirty or so different cans & bottles in the fridges, all from small independent producers. Unfortunately its Oktoberfest event this year is scheduled for the weekend after our visit. Small beer garden. Opening hours are noon – 9.00 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday, noon – 10.30 p.m. Friday & Saturday, noon – 7.00 p.m. Sunday. Children allowed up to 7.00 p.m. 0.6 of a mile (c. 10 minutes walk) from the stadium.
West Road Tap, 2 West Road, Westcliff, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, SS0 9DA. Tel: 01702 330647. Map: West Road Tap.
Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You: Everyone is called Kev, Trev, Barry or Sharon, and they’re all geezas. The local dialect is Estuarine Mockney : Ya frum Yovul Tahn, is ya mate?
Top-Tip: Keep the kids away from the fun fair Adventure Island – it’ll cost you a fortune. I know. It used to me. Every time.
Other Points Of Interest: Southend has the longest pleasure pier in the World at 1.34 miles. You can take the pier train to the end, or adopt a plank for £100, should you conceivably wish to do either.
[No responsibilty is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice.]