EastStandBlue
Life President
This is just an article i wrote for the All At sea Fanzine, thought i'd better start writing some stuff to go with my Uni Application and Personal Statement...
Success at Southend
As little as 24 months ago, the future of Southend United FC was in question, let alone the likelihood of advancing through the leagues. A lack of success on the pitch was met with the same off the pitch, with the club as a company struggling to cope with its debts and administration looked a real possibility. 3 months ago, in May 2005, Southend achieved promotion from Coca-Cola League 2 with their third visit to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in just under 18 months and the finances looked the most secure for approaching a decade, with the club announcing their first annual profit for some time for the 2003/4 season.
This remarkable turnaround is credit to many factors, possibly the most influential in the appointment of Steve Tilson as manager. Before his appointment, the position as manager had been somewhat of a revolving door at Roots Hall with even the likes of David Webb returning and later leaving earlier than most would of hoped. Any unease of Tilson’s appointment was soon put to rest though, as Southend reached their first cup final in their history. Above all, it could be argued that Tilson’s love and ambition for the club has led to our recent success, with his positive attitude rubbing off on the players who were credited to have “worn their hearts on their sleeves” by many last season.
However, there is far more depth to the reasoning behind the recent success at Southend. Tilson was keen to rid the club of the players playing for the wage rather than the club and appoint, instead, local talent from both sides of the spectrum in forms of talent and experience. Spencer Prior rejoined the Blues after a successful career at Cardiff, Derby and more famously Manchester City bringing experience to the defence which was also bolstered by the arrival of a certain Adam Barrett from Bristol Rovers, the latter winning fan acclaim across the league and receiving a haul of honours amongst which the League 2 Player of the year award.
This was met by the arrival of two new men upfront, Wayne Gray from Wimbledon and slightly later on in the season a young, unknown forward from non-league Grays Athletic, the goal scoring phenomenon that is Freddy Eastwood. The two formed a lethal combination scoring 32 league goals between them that fired Southend into their highest place finish for some time, a playoff position which granted them access to League 1. Some could put down the finding of Freddy Eastwood as a fluke or a stroke of long awaited luck for the club, However it has become clear that Tilson not only has an obvious talent as a manager, but also possesses a knack for unearthing gems from non-league, proven by the arrival of Mitchell Cole during the summer. The blend of youthful talent and experience Tilson has provided the squad during his time in the driving seat turned Southend United into what managers such as Gary Johnson of promoted Yeovil and Colin Calderwood of Northampton recognised as one of the strongest teams in League 2, with Roots Hall becoming something of a fortress, winning 13, drawing 5 and losing only 5 home games all season, scoring 31 goals and conceding 14 equalling an impressive +17 Home goal difference.
All this aside, one of the most important factors of Southend’s Success, which many teams can take inspiration from, is the competition for places Tilson implemented into the squad. Many players and managers brand competition as healthy for a club, forcing players to play for there place, and substitutes pulling special performances out of nothing to stake a claim for a regular place. This can be seen throughout the Southend squad, from between the sticks to those shooting through them. Darryl Flahavan produced some extraordinary performances after Bart Griemink suffered an injury, with Peter Beagrie acknowledging one of his saves as “The save of the season if in the Premier$hite” live on SoccerAM. Lewis Hunt performing well at the beginning of the season to keep his place ahead of Duncan Jupp was also one of the Highlights before his injury. More recently this has taken place in the form of Southend’s front two, with the summer arrival of experienced Shaun Goater issuing warning to both Wayne Gray and Freddy Eastwood that they could to lose their place, with Wayne Gray disproving his critics with three excellent opening appearances this season, topped with a stunning goal-of-the-week-winning scissor kick against Port Vale.
The club is in a far more secure position than it was 24 months ago. Financially the club have benefited from the highest average attendance for the club in recent memory, the extensive cash payouts from 2 successive LDV Vans Final appearances and a Play-off final victory and the deals for Television rights for certain games this season, namely Vs. Southampton in the League Cup and Vs. Nottingham Forest in the league. In some respects, Southend have been extremely lucky as of late, with cup draws becoming an advantage and the undeniable success in the transfer market, despite what some may think. However, this is not to take any credit from the marvellous job Steve Tilson, Paul Brush and the squad have done in achieving what many deemed impossible those 24 months ago, as this proves that a club is not successful due to one factor alone, it takes many strengths in individual factors for a club to be truly successful, and Southend have proven to be an example of this.
Success at Southend
As little as 24 months ago, the future of Southend United FC was in question, let alone the likelihood of advancing through the leagues. A lack of success on the pitch was met with the same off the pitch, with the club as a company struggling to cope with its debts and administration looked a real possibility. 3 months ago, in May 2005, Southend achieved promotion from Coca-Cola League 2 with their third visit to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in just under 18 months and the finances looked the most secure for approaching a decade, with the club announcing their first annual profit for some time for the 2003/4 season.
This remarkable turnaround is credit to many factors, possibly the most influential in the appointment of Steve Tilson as manager. Before his appointment, the position as manager had been somewhat of a revolving door at Roots Hall with even the likes of David Webb returning and later leaving earlier than most would of hoped. Any unease of Tilson’s appointment was soon put to rest though, as Southend reached their first cup final in their history. Above all, it could be argued that Tilson’s love and ambition for the club has led to our recent success, with his positive attitude rubbing off on the players who were credited to have “worn their hearts on their sleeves” by many last season.
However, there is far more depth to the reasoning behind the recent success at Southend. Tilson was keen to rid the club of the players playing for the wage rather than the club and appoint, instead, local talent from both sides of the spectrum in forms of talent and experience. Spencer Prior rejoined the Blues after a successful career at Cardiff, Derby and more famously Manchester City bringing experience to the defence which was also bolstered by the arrival of a certain Adam Barrett from Bristol Rovers, the latter winning fan acclaim across the league and receiving a haul of honours amongst which the League 2 Player of the year award.
This was met by the arrival of two new men upfront, Wayne Gray from Wimbledon and slightly later on in the season a young, unknown forward from non-league Grays Athletic, the goal scoring phenomenon that is Freddy Eastwood. The two formed a lethal combination scoring 32 league goals between them that fired Southend into their highest place finish for some time, a playoff position which granted them access to League 1. Some could put down the finding of Freddy Eastwood as a fluke or a stroke of long awaited luck for the club, However it has become clear that Tilson not only has an obvious talent as a manager, but also possesses a knack for unearthing gems from non-league, proven by the arrival of Mitchell Cole during the summer. The blend of youthful talent and experience Tilson has provided the squad during his time in the driving seat turned Southend United into what managers such as Gary Johnson of promoted Yeovil and Colin Calderwood of Northampton recognised as one of the strongest teams in League 2, with Roots Hall becoming something of a fortress, winning 13, drawing 5 and losing only 5 home games all season, scoring 31 goals and conceding 14 equalling an impressive +17 Home goal difference.
All this aside, one of the most important factors of Southend’s Success, which many teams can take inspiration from, is the competition for places Tilson implemented into the squad. Many players and managers brand competition as healthy for a club, forcing players to play for there place, and substitutes pulling special performances out of nothing to stake a claim for a regular place. This can be seen throughout the Southend squad, from between the sticks to those shooting through them. Darryl Flahavan produced some extraordinary performances after Bart Griemink suffered an injury, with Peter Beagrie acknowledging one of his saves as “The save of the season if in the Premier$hite” live on SoccerAM. Lewis Hunt performing well at the beginning of the season to keep his place ahead of Duncan Jupp was also one of the Highlights before his injury. More recently this has taken place in the form of Southend’s front two, with the summer arrival of experienced Shaun Goater issuing warning to both Wayne Gray and Freddy Eastwood that they could to lose their place, with Wayne Gray disproving his critics with three excellent opening appearances this season, topped with a stunning goal-of-the-week-winning scissor kick against Port Vale.
The club is in a far more secure position than it was 24 months ago. Financially the club have benefited from the highest average attendance for the club in recent memory, the extensive cash payouts from 2 successive LDV Vans Final appearances and a Play-off final victory and the deals for Television rights for certain games this season, namely Vs. Southampton in the League Cup and Vs. Nottingham Forest in the league. In some respects, Southend have been extremely lucky as of late, with cup draws becoming an advantage and the undeniable success in the transfer market, despite what some may think. However, this is not to take any credit from the marvellous job Steve Tilson, Paul Brush and the squad have done in achieving what many deemed impossible those 24 months ago, as this proves that a club is not successful due to one factor alone, it takes many strengths in individual factors for a club to be truly successful, and Southend have proven to be an example of this.
