Relegation is NOT the end of the World.

[DoDTS]

In 1966 Southend were relegated for the first time in their history. I was 14 at the time and thought it was the end of the world, but it was NOT.

At the time I could not imagine playing in the fourth division against all those strange Northern clubs. I dreaded the thought of facing people at school, for me life was unbearable.

As it turned out the fourth division wasn't that bad, we probably needed the shock of relegation to instill, life and interest into what had become a predictable and boring third division.

The other side of the coin from Relegation is Promotion, you can't have one without the other, if you want promotion you have to accept relegation as an occupational hazard.

In the following forty four years we have expereinced relegation and promotion on several occassions the world hasn't stopped and all you can do is get on with it.

DoDtS

P.S. 1966 Southend Relegated, England won the world cup, 2010 Southend relegated ..........

 

[John Cena]

My question to you is..... What did the team that got relegated in 1966 do the following season?

 

[DoDTS]

Finished sixth, which would next year mean play-offs

DoDtS

 

[John Cena]

:) Lets hope we can do a little better than that.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

i just hope we have a squad of players at the club next season who are getting paid on time and actually want to play for us.

 

[Kenny]

just checked my Betfair account as I did put a £20 insurance bet on us going down in Feb at short odds so was only expecting to find about £25 coming back but to my surprise I had £103 waiting to be collected. I had forgotten that I had also put £10 on the same outcome back in early September at longer odds.

A big thank you to Ron Martins financial mismanagement for my ill gotten gains I now find myself with.

 

[shrimperpaul]

Been here so many times over the years but will still keep following the mighty Blues.

 

[Harold Bishop Killer]

Worse things could of happened - we could of not had a club to support after this season!

Think it is time to start afresh. Kepp Tilly of course but lose the deadwood, get some money in for them and use it wisely on younger ambitious players mixed with old hats. Worked well last time we were in League 2. Dont need to break the bank to do well in this league, just players who want to play for the shirt. Oh and also a 20+ goal a season striker would be helpful. Maybe time to raid non-league again to see how could be the next star in waiting?

 

[Bluesgirl]

Although it felt like it yesterday, its not the end of the world.
We have to focus on the future now and hope that the business side of things is sorted quickly.
It's not like we haven't been in League 2 before and its not impossible that we could pick up another Freddie from a non-league side, so chins up people, we could be in a lot worst position than we are right now!

 

[Richard_Cadette]

I don't think it's the end of the world - having gone through a number of relegations since following the Blues in 1981, it is nothing new. However, this season feels totally different to me. If it was just a bad season, we got relegated, and that was that, then OK, you can bounce back, but what worries me the most is, we're in absolutely no position to bounce back financially.

I don't recall a time I have ever felt less optimistic about our club, and if things do not improve off the field, as bad a standard of football Division 4 is, we could quite easily end up "Doing a Cambridge/Oxford/Luton" and end up in the abyss that is the Conference - and look how Cambridge and Oxford have struggled to return... not to mention Wrexham!

To have got to this point, from being a Championship club 3 years ago, is inexcusable, considering how well the club was doing, and how successful it appeared to be off the field.

The other problem for me is how much of the excellent work the club has done in attracting fans to this club has now been undone. How many are realistically going to turn up on a freexing cold Tuesday night at home to Accrington Stanley next season when they could be at home, in the warm, watching Champions League football? Where is the motivation for the young kids to now stick with us, rather than go over to the likes of Man Utd, Chelsea, Tottenham and Co? Make no mistake, this league is soul destroying, and the last time we arrived in it, we stayed for 7 unbearably long years!!

End of the world, no, perhaps not, but it's gut wrenchingly bad all the same, and I don't think we've hit rock bottom just yet either!