Legendary Managers Added to Blues Lounge Mural
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We were pleased to be able to extend the mural in our Blues Legends Lounge ahead of our fixture against Eastleigh last night.
Part-funded by JLS Building Services’ sponsorship of the Southend United Ex-Players Association, the mural now includes the football from our Club crest as well as five of the greatest managers in our history.
The first manager is Dave Smith. Born in Dundee in 1933, he would become one of the most popular and charismatic managers in the Club's history. In May 1976 he took over from Arthur Rowley as Southend manager, becoming the first Scotsman to hold that position since Bob Jack, the Club's first ever manager.
In his second season at Roots Hall he guided Blues back to the Third Division and was offered a four-year contract. However, with his side suffering a goalscoring crisis, the club suffered a shock relegation at the end of the 1979/80 season.
There was no headache for Smith though as Blues won Division Four, our first major trophy, shattering many club records. Progress was maintained with a healthy seventh place in Division Three during 1981/82.
Next on the wall is David Webb. Webb managed Blues on no fewer than three occasions and even joined up as assistant manager as recently as 2010! He guided the Shrimpers to promotion from the old Fourth Division in 1990 and from the Third Division a year later, taking us into the Second Division for the first time in our history.
Under Webb, we briefly topped the Second Division halfway through the season, emerging as surprise contenders for a unique third successive promotion and place in the new FA Premier League, but fell away to mid-table during the final stages of the season, with Webb then resigning as manager.
Our third manager to be featured is Steve Tilson, who represented the Club as both a player and manager. As a player, the Wickford-born man made over 200 appearances between 1988 and 1998 and was part of the squad which won two consecutive promotions under Webb.
These experiences likely helped 'Tilly' in his own managerial career where he guided Southend to back-to-back promotions, taking the Shrimpers from League Two to the Championship between 2004 and 2006.
In addition to this, he masterminded his team of superstars to a number of memorable days including our win against Manchester United, draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, cup games against Tottenham Hotspur as well as the LDV Trophy Final in Cardiff.
The fourth manager to feature on our mural is loveable figure Paul Sturrock.
Sturrock had an immense playing career for Dundee United, featuring almost 400 times for the Terrors and also represented his country 20 times. As a manager, ‘Luggy’ racked up almost 1,000 games in charge of various clubs and joined a crisis-struck Southend United in 2010.
After being relegated to League Two, the Club were at risk of another relegation with just five registered players at the start of pre-season. In his first season in charge, Sturrock built a squad which finished mid-table, with the Scotsman naming that season his greatest managerial achievement. In 2012/13, we featured in our first ever Wembley cup final thanks to the efforts of Sturrock’s team.
The fifth and final manager to be featured is Kevin Maher, a man who needs no introduction. Starting his career as a trainee at Tottenham Hotspur, Maher joined Southend in 1998 and spent 10 years as an ever-present in the midfield during what was one of the most successful periods in the Club’s history.
The 47-year-old captained Blues to successive promotions in 2005 and 2006 and a famous League Cup win over Manchester United.
Maher’s coaching career began with a spell in charge at National League South side Chelmsford City before he became U21 manager at Southend in 2015. After four years, Maher joined Bristol Rovers where he teamed up with Graham Coughlan to form part of the Gas’ first team backroom staff, working under three other managers in his time at the Memorial Stadium.
Maher joined the club at a tricky time in the Club’s history. The Shrimpers were languishing near the bottom of the National League after back-to-back relegations and the Club appeared to be only going one way.
However, Maher quickly turned the tide for Southend. Guiding us to a mid-table finish in his first season, Maher has since taken us to 8th and 9th despite having to deal with multiple transfer embargoes and a points deduction.
Since being appointed, the team led by Maher, have won 60 of the 142 games Blues have played, with an impressive win percentage of 42% in spite of the challenges mentioned. We look forward to our future guided by ‘King Kev’.
