Exploring The Myth That We Are A Big Club

[TMWLT]

For many of the new posters on here that have been following the shrimpers only for the last few seasons or so, like the youngsters and super roy fox, they are all of the persusasion that we are a big club, so while I was in athens last week for the european cup final, i took time out of my busy schedule to try and define what is a big club. is it the average attendance that define a big club is the position that the club has attained in the league set up, is the silver ware, who knows, anyway a bit of research has revealed thus.

In terms of silverware, and honours, next season we have 12 teams all of whom have been in the top flight, 3 former fa cup winners, 4 former league cup winners, 1 european cup winner, 1 fairs cup winner, and then teams that have finished higher than our 12th in the old division 2, which puts us at 14th in the list of honours. IE the 14th biggest club by tradition??

Then you can do it by stadium capacity, which puts us 13th

And finally the nub, by average attendances, but how far do you go back??

if you take the last 20 years, then we are about 18th in average attendances if you take the last 5, then we become 10th

but all in all I dont think we are a big club, next season I expect 11 teams to be having bigger crowds than us,

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

This notion that some promote that Southend United is a big club always amazes me. Much as I hate to say it, I agree with TMWLT ...

 

[SUFCEssex]

I would have thought that if it comes down to silverware with 1 league 1 title and 1 Div4 title we are probably lower than 14th.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I'm actually surprised that we rank that high. Who are the clubs in the 3rd division that we are bigger than?

 

[southend_united_fan]

we arent a big club - i find that strange when people suggest that we are!!! - you have to expect to be complelty out fought when trying to compete with the same players as forest, leeds, swansea etc.

Having said that, to some clubs in this division (league 1)we are 'big' in the fact that we have come down from the championship - i cirtainly thought that about gillingham for example when we played them after they had come down.

Thats why we need this new stadium - not just becasue of having a little extra cash to splash, but more importantly, being able to attract better players through facilities, grandness of stadium, and fan base(which will increase with a new stadium). It would be an upward spiral - and in my eyes would signal a new era for southend, giving the club the boost to really compete at a higher level.

 

[Mad Cyril]

We are the biggest club in Essex and Essex is the 6th largest county by population and the 11th largest county by size

 

[Groyne Strain]

Everyone knows West Ham are the biggest club in Essex by a country mile or 6. It says so in the Echo and on BBC Essex.

 

[southend_united_fan]

We are the biggest club in Essex and Essex is the 6th largest county by population and the 11th largest county by size

hence our potential

 

[shrimpled]

We're not a big club and we never will be in my lifetime. But i quite like that.

 

[NZamba Legend]

Man makes history but not under conditions of his own choosing.

Let's hope Billy Paynter reads Karl Marx

 

[stickyboy]

I would have thought that if it comes down to silverware with 1 league 1 title and 1 Div4 title we are probably lower than 14th.

you forgot the Essex Senior Cup mate!

 

[South Bank Hank]

For many of the new posters on here that have been following the shrimpers only for the last few seasons or so, like the youngsters and super roy fox, they are all of the persusasion that we are a big club, so while I was in athens last week for the european cup final, i took time out of my busy schedule to try and define what is a big club. is it the average attendance that define a big club is the position that the club has attained in the league set up, is the silver ware, who knows, anyway a bit of research has revealed thus.

In terms of silverware, and honours, next season we have 12 teams all of whom have been in the top flight, 3 former fa cup winners, 4 former league cup winners, 1 european cup winner, 1 fairs cup winner, and then teams that have finished higher than our 12th in the old division 2, which puts us at 14th in the list of honours. IE the 14th biggest club by tradition??

Then you can do it by stadium capacity, which puts us 13th

And finally the nub, by average attendances, but how far do you go back??

if you take the last 20 years, then we are about 18th in average attendances if you take the last 5, then we become 10th

but all in all I dont think we are a big club, next season I expect 11 teams to be having bigger crowds than us,

I can never understand your compulsion to shatter people's illusions with respect to the greatness of Southend United - our club is what it is, and we love our club BECAUSE of what it is - but you do make some interesting points...

As you've said, the size of any club will always be a factor of its honours achieved, its current position, its capacity, and its attendances (historic and current), but I think there's far more to it than that.

If you're looking to determine a club's size, then surely you would want to consider its dominance over the other nearby clubs, its turnover, its overall fanbase, its merchandising potential, its media power, its ownership, its spending power, and its reputation. It's certainly not an exact science.

Overall though, I think it can only be comparative.
Are Southend United a big club?

Compared to Canvey Island, Grays, etc?
Yes, we're a massive club.

Compared to Derby County, Birmingham and Sunderland?
We may be stretching the point a little.

All we know for certain is that with the advent of our new stadium, good leadership and decent performances on the pitch will enable us to become bigger than we are now. If that allows us to become a more dominant force in English football then you can bring it on and I don't care if we are considered small, medium or large!

 

[londonblue]

I would imagine that the same was pretty much true two seasons ago in League 1. So whereas I agree that we aren't a big club (yet!) I don't see it as something that should necessarily hold us back at this level.

Surely is also proves that we should give the players and management even more praise for over-achieving two years ago.

 

[BoyWonder2]

We are a small Club at the moment, but we are on the up. I imagine the best we can hope for in the future is a medium sized Club in the Championship with the odd day in the sun that allows us to dream.

 

[RPG]

Whilst I agree that we are not at the moment a big club there is no reason why that in years to come (with ambition) we will be. We are due to move to an impressive stadium in the next couple of years which should attract more fans and investment. We will then be able to compete with the likes of Watford and Ipswich who are towns far smaller than Southend and its vast catchment area (the surrounding area including Benfleet, Basildon and Chelmsford has a population in excess of 750,00).

We are at a disadvantage of having to compete with the London clubs however so for example are Watford who's achievments and status we should be looking to "mirror" once we are in the stadium.

A club's size is not determined by the size of the stadium or investment but the number of loyal supporters and to an extent the History. We will never be considered a big club however with ambition we could and should be a bigger and better supported club than we are now.

This will depress a number of people who post on this board who would much rather be in the position we were a couple of years ago with 3000 fans in the ground playing the likes of Mansfield and Rochdale every week. I however hope and believe that these days are now a distant memory.

 

[WickfordShrimper]

For many of the new posters on here that have been following the shrimpers only for the last few seasons or so, like the youngsters and super roy fox, they are all of the persusasion that we are a big club, so while I was in athens last week for the european cup final, i took time out of my busy schedule to try and define what is a big club. is it the average attendance that define a big club is the position that the club has attained in the league set up, is the silver ware, who knows, anyway a bit of research has revealed thus.

In terms of silverware, and honours, next season we have 12 teams all of whom have been in the top flight, 3 former fa cup winners, 4 former league cup winners, 1 european cup winner, 1 fairs cup winner, and then teams that have finished higher than our 12th in the old division 2, which puts us at 14th in the list of honours. IE the 14th biggest club by tradition??

Then you can do it by stadium capacity, which puts us 13th

And finally the nub, by average attendances, but how far do you go back??

if you take the last 20 years, then we are about 18th in average attendances if you take the last 5, then we become 10th

but all in all I dont think we are a big club, next season I expect 11 teams to be having bigger crowds than us,

Biggest and best club in the world... and no one will be changing my heart :-)

Once we get our new ground Get back to the championship where we belong we be getting 16000 plus gates cos the Essex man loves Essex and its number 1 Club :-)

Happy days

ONE TEAM IN ESSEX
SOUTHEND UNITED FC

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

In terms of silverware, and honours, next season we have 12 teams all of whom have been in the top flight, 3 former fa cup winners, 4 former league cup winners, 1 european cup winner, 1 fairs cup winner, and then teams that have finished higher than our 12th in the old division 2, which puts us at 14th in the list of honours. IE the 14th biggest club by tradition??

Those former top flight clubs include Orient and Northampton - and I don't think even the most one-eyed Cobbler or Wyvern would claim that their clubs are currently bigger than ours.

I take the traditional route: the club is the fans. So the biggest clubs in our league next season are those with the biggest gates.

next season I expect 11 teams to be having bigger crowds than us,

I don't. I think we'll be in the top 10 for largest gates in the league - even if we have an average season. We averaged over 6,000 in our promotion season from League Two; over 8,000 from our League One Championship season; and over 10,000 last season. Even with our drop back to League One, I'm confident that there are enough new fans - and enough exciting games - to ensure that we'll finish with an average gate in excess of 7,000 - even if we only have a mediocre season. I reckon that the division divides up like this - the figures are for average gates:

Above 20,000
Leeds United
Nottingham Forest

Above 11,000
Swansea City
Huddersfield Town

Above 9,000
Millwall

Above 7,000
Southend United
Carlisle United
Doncaster Rovers
Luton Town
Swindon Town
Bristol Rovers

Above 6,000
Tranmere Rovers
Oldham Athletic
Gillingham
Walsall
Brighton & Hove Albion
AFC Bournemouth

Above 5,000
Yeovil Town
Northampton Town
Crewe Alexandra
Hartlepool United

Above 4,500
Leyton Orient
Port Vale
Cheltenham Town

Incidentally, do I think we're a "big" club? No. We probably belong in the third tier - I look at the other clubs currently in our league and, with the exception of Leeds & Forest, it seems to me that most of the other sides belong down here with us. Swap those two plus Swansea for Col Ewe, Scunny and Barnsley, and League One does rather look to me as the division in which historically we belong.

Now it's up to Uncle Ron to decide whether he wants that to be the case going forward...

Matt

 

[choggy]

Didn't think orient's ground had a 4,500 capacity....

 

[CC51DAS]

As far as I am concerned, I put us on a par with Chelsea and A.C. Milan ;)

 

[Beefy]

I don't think I've ever read anyone on here seriously say that we are a big club. Everyone knows that we're not but I'd rather people have an optimistic view of us as a club on the up with the potential to grow and be something than see us as only ever being able to be a lower-league club. Why shouldn't we aspire to be more? Why should we have to see our future as being rivals with the likes of Orient and Dagenham, even if that is what it transpires to be? I want more for my club. That is part of being a football fan.