Southend United is a club that very recently were on the brink of financial meltdown with the club almost being in critical danger when it came to its existence. The Shrimpers were founded in 1906 and in the past have reached the highs of the Championship to the very present and intimidating lows of the National League where they have resided while their ongoing financial and ownership issues thrive.
Photo - Joseph Staines
Not too long ago in modern football, this historic club from South Essex was holding tight in League One as a very respectable club who were on the brink of reaching the playoffs for the Championship in the 2016/17 season, only to just miss out in 7th place by one point to Millwall, who eventually won the playoffs.
What could have been a real twist of fate for the club’s significant near future troubles, the Shrimpers had to settle in the third tier once again with hopes that they could push harder to obtain their place in the playoffs or promotion, as tipped by many before the 2017/18 season, however, this hope was very quickly eradicated.
Roots Hall, Southend United F.C.
Much to the fans' displeasure, midfield favourite Ryan Leonard was sold in the January transfer window of the 2017/18 season to Sheffield United for a reported £700,000. While the fee was fairly substantial for the level combined with the fact that Leonard only had five months left on his contract, the hole that was left by the three-time player-of-the-season winner was too significant to be filled with the same impact.
A mere 12 days later, manager Phil Brown, who enjoyed a 5-year stay at the club, had resigned after a very poor first half of the season which saw them sit at 18th at this point, being taken over by Chris Powell less than a week later who helped guide them to a 10th place finish – a disappointing season based on pre-season predictions yet a respectable finish considering the circumstances.
Soon after, the catalyst of key players being sold and managerial appointments not being up to standard, Southend were relegated in back-to-back seasons from 2019-2021, falling to the National League.
At this point, the owner of Southend United for 25 years Ron Martin had become a figure representing the severity of the rapid decline of the club’s stature and position.
In the present day, Southend’s ebb has reached its lowest as they currently sit 15th in a tightly contested bottom half of the table after a 10-point deduction at the beginning of the season following a failure to clear debts before deadlines as reported by the BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/66591344).
Protests are still being planned as fans demand to be updated on the ongoing takeover of the club, which has been a long-term process since the announcement of an agreement being reached with Australian businessman Justin Rees in early October. Since then, it was announced that there were delays as a result of ‘legal formalities’ but a statement has yet to be released since the end of October – summarising the disarray the Shrimpers have been in under Ron Martin’s ownership.
Comments