fbm
Blue tinted optimist⭐🦐
LONG POST ALERT
This has been in my head for a while and I've had to get it out before tomorrow as hopefully there'll be far better things to focus on. It is a lot, but it will show just what we have had to go through. I found writing it rather therapeutic and I hope it helps those who have been through it plus those who haven't understand what we have had to endure.
Buckle up.
What an unbelievable season we have had; the first under our new custodian’s ownership, and in conducting a review of the 2024/25 campaign, it seems only fair to go back a little further to a more wretched part of our history and establish exactly what had to be contended with and overcome in order for us to be here.
It was over two years ago – 17th March 2023 to be precise - that the previous owner (He Who Shall Not Be Named) made a surprise announcement that the club was being put up for sale. In a hastily organised Press Conference, the people in attendance seemed a bit caught on the hop and were unprepared question wise, much to HWSNBN’s surprise. In fact, when silence was his usual MO, here he was ready to reveal all to whatever he was asked. He even invited more questions than there were. No-one knew what to ask as this had come way out of left field.
Anyhow, that was the start. Over the next few months, after some serious enquiries and a few “tyre kickers”, three interested parties soon reduced to one, who got to be 95% there for some time. Rumours on Shrimperzone were rife, mystic Tweets were frequent (“Wallop!”) and the mental health of the fans was put through the wringer.
There were protests in Benfleet Road as Court hearings came fast and furious, with one on 21st July 2023 when the level of debt was revealed at £2.5m. We were allowed to pay £300k in order to remain in the National League for the 23/24 season, which turned out to be one that made most fans proud. Players had no pre-season and went on strike, keeping themselves fit and had very little by way of friendlies before the curtain raiser against newly relegated Oldham, our play off final opponents tomorrow, and the first ex-Premier league side to drop out of the EFL. With our situation, I believe they felt they only had to turn up to collect the three points. However, they reckoned without the Southend spirit, the “#NeverGiveUp” attitude and the siege mentality generated by our tiny, untrained and potentially unfit squad who gave Oldham a 4-0 pasting to register the biggest opening day victory in Southend’s history.
On 21st August 2023, however, the Blues were handed a 10 point deduction due to non-payment of wages and the Court issued a 42 day deadline for the club to find a buyer or be wound up, and it was this that stopped this incredible squad of players being in the play-offs at the end of the season.
Enter our heroes, Justin Rees and the Consortium (COSU), who agree a deal to buy the club on 3rd October 2023, one day before the winding up petition over a £275k HMRC debt is dismissed. No prizes for guessing who paid that off, and that set the tone for the next few months until contracts were finally exchanged on the sale just before Christmas 2023.
There was some euphoria at this point but also we had had so many false dawns and broken promises, no-one would actually believe it until the sale happened.
The transfer embargo which had been in place for a year was lifted along with everyone’s general mood. COSU held a fantastic open evening at The Cliffs Pavilion called “A Night with the Consortium” on January 21st 2024 and this introduced the clubs’ saviours and set out their five year plan, with a cautionary note being the overriding theme. This was not a quick fix, a five minute job, a “Wrexham” story… this was a concerted plan to get the club on a proper footing, ensure all debts were paid on time and build bridges with suppliers, both locally and nationally, together with other clubs that we had treated badly. Then, and only then, could the footballing side be addressed, but with a solid foundation, good times would return.
However, the club were still not out of the woods; far from it. Unseen and hidden debts surfaced and had to be dealt with, meaning that most of the money earmarked for the immediate club improvements that were so badly needed was used keeping the club on life support. A London law firm lodged an application to wind the club up on 4th April 2024 and on 15th May 2024, the WUP was adjourned for the final time as the sale of the club was expected within 6 weeks.
As the club continued to limp along, with all debts and running costs being met and paid by COSU (who still owned nothing but had spent several million pounds), things took a turn for the worse as it all threatened to collapse. Another transfer embargo was issued and on 24th June 2024 the National League put the boot in, ordering the club to post a £1m bond because of ongoing financial issues, otherwise they would not be able to compete in the league.
This issue was overcome and the WUP was dismissed on 26th June 2024.
No-one outside those who were directly involved will be able to appreciate just what an understatement that last sentence is. However, for those who remember the mid 1980’s when Vic Jobson saved the club with 30 minutes to spare, I believe that while it wasn’t quite that close, we were within a matter of a few hours of being expelled and having to play next season outside the National League.
it was not until 19th July that the deal went through and COSU finally owned the club. Still under an embargo, this meant that pre-season plans were hijacked AGAIN and all the transfer targets that had been diligently, thoroughly but ultimately pointlessly identified had gone to other clubs.
However, once the embargo lifted, the real work could begin, but not in the way COSU had hoped. The work that had been thought could be done in the close season couldn’t, and despite the fans absolute delight at the news, it wasn’t long before a little frustration that we weren’t a Wrexham story started to show.
An opening day draw at home to York with POTY Gus Scott-Morriss getting the goal preceded a fairly ordinary start and at the end of August, disaster struck as within a matter of days, fans favourite Harry Cardwell had his release clause matched by Forest Green, midfielder Cav Miley was lost to injury, star defender Ollie Kensdale was lost to stupidity and Collin Andeng-Ndi suffered a drastic loss of confidence and form. Over the first 9 games we won 2, lost 3 and drew 4, amassing only 10 points. Just over a point a game (1.11 recurring to be exact) is not anything like play off or promotion form, and if replicated across this season would have seen us relegated in 22nd place.
Things started to get a little worse, certainly at home. A morale sapping 3-1 defeat at home to Sutton came three days before a 2-1 away loss at eventually relegated AFC Fylde, where both their goals came in injury time of each half. The odd decent performance was masked by successive home defeats, 3-1 to Gateshead and a truly awful 2-0 loss to another eventually relegated team, Maidenhead, on October 5th.
The rest of October gave some optimism as Blues didn’t concede a goal, and won away at Eastleigh and Rochdale before getting a 0-0 draw at Aldershot and finishing the month with a 2-0 victory against Tamworth in a rare Saturday 3pm kick off victory at Roots Hall.
November started with an FA Cup thriller against eventual L1 play off winners Charlton, where we perhaps first showed our steely on-field determination, coming back from 2-0 and 3-2 down before being beaten 4-3 in the last minute of extra time.
There then followed two more defeats – 1-0 at home to Yeovil and 2-0 away at Altrincham – before an encouraging 2-2 home draw against high flying Forest Green and November ended with a scoreless draw at Woking and a 2-0 away win at Halifax.
The team however were nearer the bottom than the top, although with the division being so tight, it was evident that a run of 3 or 4 results would see us move either way. December started with an expected win at Brentwood, but questions over why we conceded 3 goals in a game where we were so dominant against such lowly opposition were asked. The two pre-Christmas games resulted in a 0-0 at Hartlepool – our second scoreless game with them this season – and a 3-0 thumping at second placed York which left us 15th in the table, and a long way outside the play offs.
The Boxing Day home game against the division’s punch bag Ebbsfleet gave us a welcome 4-0 victory and the New Years Day 1-0 win at Braintree started to get us up the table a bit. The FA trophy tie v Southport ended in a dour 1-0 victory to take us into the 5th round and a tie against the lowest ranked side left in the competition, Sittingbourne, with fans now dreaming of a Wembley visit in this competition which, at this point, looked much more likely than one via the play offs.
An expected reverse at home to runaway leaders Barnet by 3 goals to nil preceded two 2-0 victories, one at Dagenham and the other at home to Fylde on a Tuesday night and then the 5th round FA Trophy match against Sittingbourne, who brought the whole town out for what they thought would be their cup final. It was a rotten match with Southend missing chance after chance after chance, and a fluke 96th minute winner securing the visitors victory, thereby condemning Southend to defeat against the lowest placed team in their history in a competitive match. This was a new low point.
The following Saturday, 8th February, the Shrimpers had a chance to get back on track but instead suffered a 1-0 defeat at Maidenhead, who had now done the double over us.
For many fans, this was a turning point and the rumblings against the management began. The team carried on though, and a Tuesday night victory at home to Halifax started an unbeaten run of 9 games (4 wins, 5 draws), but without keeping a clean sheet, and three of the draws were 2-2. Southend‘s determination and resilience was now evident, as they had to come back with late goals at home to Rochdale and away at Yeovil to win a point, and aside from the victories against Eastleigh and Altrincham, were behind at some point in every game.
Elsewhere, results were going our way too as the relegation threatened teams started to fight for their lives. An incredible Tuesday night set of results saw Altrincham beaten at home by Wealdstone, Halifax beaten at home by Dagenham, Gateshead beaten at home by Braintree and Rochdale also suffering a home reverse against Boston. The final game of our unbeaten sequence was the victory at Eastleigh and we were now - incredibly - within touching distance of the play offs, with Gateshead losing almost every game and dropping like a stone.
However, strugglers Boston truly upset the applecart with a 3-0 win after we had been totally dominant in the first half. Our lack of goalscoring threat was evident.
And so we come to the last seven games of the season, four of which were at home. The teams above were still playing “After you, Claude” as they contrived to drop points. We beat Oldham in a DAZN televised 5:30 ko at the Hall in a match fuelled by the most incredible atmosphere, with the North Bank once more playing host to several hundred noisy home fans as one of COSU’s improvements – to get the North West corner open – paid off.
The following weekend we were leading 1-0 at Sutton, only for a last gasp hammer blow equaliser came out of the blue. Interest in the club went global after fans adopted an American tourist, Evan, who got on the wrong boat on the Thames and instead of going on a river cruise, he ended up becoming an honorary Shrimper. A win would have lifted us into 7th place, but we had two games to come at the Hall which we would have been expected to win; Solihull Moors and Braintree.
With other results still going our way, we failed to capitalise. Evan was the guest of honour in what must be one of the most bizarre moments of his young life, but he failed to be the talisman we needed. Solihull scored early with a freak goal from a cross and we were unable to break them down, so suffered another RH defeat, our 6th of the season. Braintree were still fighting for survival and ground out a 0-0 draw, but we just didn’t look like scoring. How much damage to the confidence had that last minute Sutton equaliser done?
Just three games remained and incredibly, mainly due to the results of other teams, a play off place was in our hands. Gateshead had won a couple of games but then reverted to their second half of the season form and had started losing again, so were catchable by us, as we had them in the last game of the season at their place.
An Easter Monday journey to Ebbsfleet secured the points with our second 4-0 victory over them and we dispatched Wealdstone 3-0 in another televised home game in the penultimate match of the season. This had, for the first time in the season, put us in a play off place… at Gateshead’s expense.
The final match outcome was therefore very straightforward; Winner takes all. We only needed a draw, but our occasionally leaky defence meant that playing for a draw wasn’t really an option. We were well on top in the first half but didn’t break the deadlock, and this season we have occasionally crumbled under pressure in the second half, as we did at York and Boston. But today this was not to be, "The Heed" were restricted to very few opportunities, and a deflected cross from our young player of the season, Keenan Appiah-Forson – who had been an absolute dynamo in the midfield – very nearly nestled in the corner of the net. But the 0-0 draw guaranteed our play off place and consigned Gateshead to another season in the National league.
To the play offs then, and firstly the Eliminator away at Rochdale where we were 1-0 down, then 2-1 and 3-1 down as our season looked to be ending with a whimper. But no-one told the team that, and they ripped up the script. After some crazy substitutions from the Rochdale manager at 3-1, Southend took the initiative. First Tom Hopper got a second, and then Leon Chambers-Parillon nabbed his first goal for the club to equalise and send the tie into extra time. Ben Goodliffe and Charley Kendall combined to put Blues 4-3 up before a tense second period and some sterling defending kept the ball out of the net and put Southend through to the semi final away at Forest Green Rovers.
Having drawn 2-2 on each occasion this season with Forest Green, it was always going to be tight. But Southend started much more positively and were well on top, barely allowing Forest Green a kick throughout the first half. But the lack of goal threat was evident again as we failed to score when we were on top and at half time it was goalless.
Ben Goodliffe put us ahead but then FGR came back and equalised to send the tie to extra time. They brought on Blues ex-favourite Harry Cardwell who should have won the game for them in normal time, but we hung on (perhaps Harry is still a Shrimper after all).
Contrary to the Rochdale game, their substitutions made a difference and FGR went ahead in extra time. Blues looked leggy, FGR had control of the ball, and it was our turn to not get a kick. They were taking the ball into the corner and time wasting with 6 minutes to go, and it looked as though that was the end of our season.
Wrong. Why Goodliffe, a centre back, was in a right wing back position after an FGR attack I have no idea, but we cleared it, he got the ball down the right and played a delayed one-two with Jack Bridge who slotted home the equaliser with just 4 minutes left.
Substitutions were still to play a part. FGR manager Cotterill unbelievably did not bring on their top scorer Doidge for the penalties, and Blues held their nerve better to win the shoot out 4-2.
Which brings us to where we are, the day before one of the biggest games in our history. It will be a record breaking attendance for a NL play off final and it will also be higher than the L2 play off final attendance between AFC Wimbledon and Walsall.
Just writing this all out has highlighted the adversity this club has had to go through over the last couple of years, and our never say die spirit is evident in all the players and management. They will give their all, of that I’m sure. We will all be proud.
For me, I am strangely calm. Having been a fan since 1969 and having seen all the “big” games and most of the promotion deciding ones, I don’t have the same nervousness or butterflies, the anticipation or the uncertainty that I usually have. In my head, since the takeover was announced, this has been written. I am neither optimistic nor complacent about tomorrow; I just simply cannot see or consider an Oldham victory. I don’t know why, it just feels like we’ve already won, as though this is our destiny; this is meant to be. This is nothing against Oldham, who are a fine club, a “proper” club, and who have had their own problems and issues over the years. But we’ve had it worse. Their time will come, but I believe tomorrow belongs to us.
Regardless of the result however, I will be forever grateful to COSU for rescuing us, the players, staff and management who worked for nothing to keep our club on life support (especially last season), the sponsors for what they do and the fans for doubling down on their supporting efforts. This club has many remarkable individuals whose work in the background or behind the scenes goes unrecognised, but we should all absolutely acknowledge who they are and what they have done. Without them, this club would be gone.
June 1st 2025. Let’s hope this date is written as the day we started our climb back up the leagues, the Never Say Die attitude is in abundance and we are celebrating our return to the EFL.
But if it doesn’t go our way, let’s not be despondent or negative. Things are different now. There’s always next year.
Good times are coming back.
#NEVERGIVE UP
#BLUEARMY
This has been in my head for a while and I've had to get it out before tomorrow as hopefully there'll be far better things to focus on. It is a lot, but it will show just what we have had to go through. I found writing it rather therapeutic and I hope it helps those who have been through it plus those who haven't understand what we have had to endure.
Buckle up.
What an unbelievable season we have had; the first under our new custodian’s ownership, and in conducting a review of the 2024/25 campaign, it seems only fair to go back a little further to a more wretched part of our history and establish exactly what had to be contended with and overcome in order for us to be here.
It was over two years ago – 17th March 2023 to be precise - that the previous owner (He Who Shall Not Be Named) made a surprise announcement that the club was being put up for sale. In a hastily organised Press Conference, the people in attendance seemed a bit caught on the hop and were unprepared question wise, much to HWSNBN’s surprise. In fact, when silence was his usual MO, here he was ready to reveal all to whatever he was asked. He even invited more questions than there were. No-one knew what to ask as this had come way out of left field.
Anyhow, that was the start. Over the next few months, after some serious enquiries and a few “tyre kickers”, three interested parties soon reduced to one, who got to be 95% there for some time. Rumours on Shrimperzone were rife, mystic Tweets were frequent (“Wallop!”) and the mental health of the fans was put through the wringer.
There were protests in Benfleet Road as Court hearings came fast and furious, with one on 21st July 2023 when the level of debt was revealed at £2.5m. We were allowed to pay £300k in order to remain in the National League for the 23/24 season, which turned out to be one that made most fans proud. Players had no pre-season and went on strike, keeping themselves fit and had very little by way of friendlies before the curtain raiser against newly relegated Oldham, our play off final opponents tomorrow, and the first ex-Premier league side to drop out of the EFL. With our situation, I believe they felt they only had to turn up to collect the three points. However, they reckoned without the Southend spirit, the “#NeverGiveUp” attitude and the siege mentality generated by our tiny, untrained and potentially unfit squad who gave Oldham a 4-0 pasting to register the biggest opening day victory in Southend’s history.
On 21st August 2023, however, the Blues were handed a 10 point deduction due to non-payment of wages and the Court issued a 42 day deadline for the club to find a buyer or be wound up, and it was this that stopped this incredible squad of players being in the play-offs at the end of the season.
Enter our heroes, Justin Rees and the Consortium (COSU), who agree a deal to buy the club on 3rd October 2023, one day before the winding up petition over a £275k HMRC debt is dismissed. No prizes for guessing who paid that off, and that set the tone for the next few months until contracts were finally exchanged on the sale just before Christmas 2023.
There was some euphoria at this point but also we had had so many false dawns and broken promises, no-one would actually believe it until the sale happened.
The transfer embargo which had been in place for a year was lifted along with everyone’s general mood. COSU held a fantastic open evening at The Cliffs Pavilion called “A Night with the Consortium” on January 21st 2024 and this introduced the clubs’ saviours and set out their five year plan, with a cautionary note being the overriding theme. This was not a quick fix, a five minute job, a “Wrexham” story… this was a concerted plan to get the club on a proper footing, ensure all debts were paid on time and build bridges with suppliers, both locally and nationally, together with other clubs that we had treated badly. Then, and only then, could the footballing side be addressed, but with a solid foundation, good times would return.
However, the club were still not out of the woods; far from it. Unseen and hidden debts surfaced and had to be dealt with, meaning that most of the money earmarked for the immediate club improvements that were so badly needed was used keeping the club on life support. A London law firm lodged an application to wind the club up on 4th April 2024 and on 15th May 2024, the WUP was adjourned for the final time as the sale of the club was expected within 6 weeks.
As the club continued to limp along, with all debts and running costs being met and paid by COSU (who still owned nothing but had spent several million pounds), things took a turn for the worse as it all threatened to collapse. Another transfer embargo was issued and on 24th June 2024 the National League put the boot in, ordering the club to post a £1m bond because of ongoing financial issues, otherwise they would not be able to compete in the league.
This issue was overcome and the WUP was dismissed on 26th June 2024.
No-one outside those who were directly involved will be able to appreciate just what an understatement that last sentence is. However, for those who remember the mid 1980’s when Vic Jobson saved the club with 30 minutes to spare, I believe that while it wasn’t quite that close, we were within a matter of a few hours of being expelled and having to play next season outside the National League.
it was not until 19th July that the deal went through and COSU finally owned the club. Still under an embargo, this meant that pre-season plans were hijacked AGAIN and all the transfer targets that had been diligently, thoroughly but ultimately pointlessly identified had gone to other clubs.
However, once the embargo lifted, the real work could begin, but not in the way COSU had hoped. The work that had been thought could be done in the close season couldn’t, and despite the fans absolute delight at the news, it wasn’t long before a little frustration that we weren’t a Wrexham story started to show.
An opening day draw at home to York with POTY Gus Scott-Morriss getting the goal preceded a fairly ordinary start and at the end of August, disaster struck as within a matter of days, fans favourite Harry Cardwell had his release clause matched by Forest Green, midfielder Cav Miley was lost to injury, star defender Ollie Kensdale was lost to stupidity and Collin Andeng-Ndi suffered a drastic loss of confidence and form. Over the first 9 games we won 2, lost 3 and drew 4, amassing only 10 points. Just over a point a game (1.11 recurring to be exact) is not anything like play off or promotion form, and if replicated across this season would have seen us relegated in 22nd place.
Things started to get a little worse, certainly at home. A morale sapping 3-1 defeat at home to Sutton came three days before a 2-1 away loss at eventually relegated AFC Fylde, where both their goals came in injury time of each half. The odd decent performance was masked by successive home defeats, 3-1 to Gateshead and a truly awful 2-0 loss to another eventually relegated team, Maidenhead, on October 5th.
The rest of October gave some optimism as Blues didn’t concede a goal, and won away at Eastleigh and Rochdale before getting a 0-0 draw at Aldershot and finishing the month with a 2-0 victory against Tamworth in a rare Saturday 3pm kick off victory at Roots Hall.
November started with an FA Cup thriller against eventual L1 play off winners Charlton, where we perhaps first showed our steely on-field determination, coming back from 2-0 and 3-2 down before being beaten 4-3 in the last minute of extra time.
There then followed two more defeats – 1-0 at home to Yeovil and 2-0 away at Altrincham – before an encouraging 2-2 home draw against high flying Forest Green and November ended with a scoreless draw at Woking and a 2-0 away win at Halifax.
The team however were nearer the bottom than the top, although with the division being so tight, it was evident that a run of 3 or 4 results would see us move either way. December started with an expected win at Brentwood, but questions over why we conceded 3 goals in a game where we were so dominant against such lowly opposition were asked. The two pre-Christmas games resulted in a 0-0 at Hartlepool – our second scoreless game with them this season – and a 3-0 thumping at second placed York which left us 15th in the table, and a long way outside the play offs.
The Boxing Day home game against the division’s punch bag Ebbsfleet gave us a welcome 4-0 victory and the New Years Day 1-0 win at Braintree started to get us up the table a bit. The FA trophy tie v Southport ended in a dour 1-0 victory to take us into the 5th round and a tie against the lowest ranked side left in the competition, Sittingbourne, with fans now dreaming of a Wembley visit in this competition which, at this point, looked much more likely than one via the play offs.
An expected reverse at home to runaway leaders Barnet by 3 goals to nil preceded two 2-0 victories, one at Dagenham and the other at home to Fylde on a Tuesday night and then the 5th round FA Trophy match against Sittingbourne, who brought the whole town out for what they thought would be their cup final. It was a rotten match with Southend missing chance after chance after chance, and a fluke 96th minute winner securing the visitors victory, thereby condemning Southend to defeat against the lowest placed team in their history in a competitive match. This was a new low point.
The following Saturday, 8th February, the Shrimpers had a chance to get back on track but instead suffered a 1-0 defeat at Maidenhead, who had now done the double over us.
For many fans, this was a turning point and the rumblings against the management began. The team carried on though, and a Tuesday night victory at home to Halifax started an unbeaten run of 9 games (4 wins, 5 draws), but without keeping a clean sheet, and three of the draws were 2-2. Southend‘s determination and resilience was now evident, as they had to come back with late goals at home to Rochdale and away at Yeovil to win a point, and aside from the victories against Eastleigh and Altrincham, were behind at some point in every game.
Elsewhere, results were going our way too as the relegation threatened teams started to fight for their lives. An incredible Tuesday night set of results saw Altrincham beaten at home by Wealdstone, Halifax beaten at home by Dagenham, Gateshead beaten at home by Braintree and Rochdale also suffering a home reverse against Boston. The final game of our unbeaten sequence was the victory at Eastleigh and we were now - incredibly - within touching distance of the play offs, with Gateshead losing almost every game and dropping like a stone.
However, strugglers Boston truly upset the applecart with a 3-0 win after we had been totally dominant in the first half. Our lack of goalscoring threat was evident.
And so we come to the last seven games of the season, four of which were at home. The teams above were still playing “After you, Claude” as they contrived to drop points. We beat Oldham in a DAZN televised 5:30 ko at the Hall in a match fuelled by the most incredible atmosphere, with the North Bank once more playing host to several hundred noisy home fans as one of COSU’s improvements – to get the North West corner open – paid off.
The following weekend we were leading 1-0 at Sutton, only for a last gasp hammer blow equaliser came out of the blue. Interest in the club went global after fans adopted an American tourist, Evan, who got on the wrong boat on the Thames and instead of going on a river cruise, he ended up becoming an honorary Shrimper. A win would have lifted us into 7th place, but we had two games to come at the Hall which we would have been expected to win; Solihull Moors and Braintree.
With other results still going our way, we failed to capitalise. Evan was the guest of honour in what must be one of the most bizarre moments of his young life, but he failed to be the talisman we needed. Solihull scored early with a freak goal from a cross and we were unable to break them down, so suffered another RH defeat, our 6th of the season. Braintree were still fighting for survival and ground out a 0-0 draw, but we just didn’t look like scoring. How much damage to the confidence had that last minute Sutton equaliser done?
Just three games remained and incredibly, mainly due to the results of other teams, a play off place was in our hands. Gateshead had won a couple of games but then reverted to their second half of the season form and had started losing again, so were catchable by us, as we had them in the last game of the season at their place.
An Easter Monday journey to Ebbsfleet secured the points with our second 4-0 victory over them and we dispatched Wealdstone 3-0 in another televised home game in the penultimate match of the season. This had, for the first time in the season, put us in a play off place… at Gateshead’s expense.
The final match outcome was therefore very straightforward; Winner takes all. We only needed a draw, but our occasionally leaky defence meant that playing for a draw wasn’t really an option. We were well on top in the first half but didn’t break the deadlock, and this season we have occasionally crumbled under pressure in the second half, as we did at York and Boston. But today this was not to be, "The Heed" were restricted to very few opportunities, and a deflected cross from our young player of the season, Keenan Appiah-Forson – who had been an absolute dynamo in the midfield – very nearly nestled in the corner of the net. But the 0-0 draw guaranteed our play off place and consigned Gateshead to another season in the National league.
To the play offs then, and firstly the Eliminator away at Rochdale where we were 1-0 down, then 2-1 and 3-1 down as our season looked to be ending with a whimper. But no-one told the team that, and they ripped up the script. After some crazy substitutions from the Rochdale manager at 3-1, Southend took the initiative. First Tom Hopper got a second, and then Leon Chambers-Parillon nabbed his first goal for the club to equalise and send the tie into extra time. Ben Goodliffe and Charley Kendall combined to put Blues 4-3 up before a tense second period and some sterling defending kept the ball out of the net and put Southend through to the semi final away at Forest Green Rovers.
Having drawn 2-2 on each occasion this season with Forest Green, it was always going to be tight. But Southend started much more positively and were well on top, barely allowing Forest Green a kick throughout the first half. But the lack of goal threat was evident again as we failed to score when we were on top and at half time it was goalless.
Ben Goodliffe put us ahead but then FGR came back and equalised to send the tie to extra time. They brought on Blues ex-favourite Harry Cardwell who should have won the game for them in normal time, but we hung on (perhaps Harry is still a Shrimper after all).
Contrary to the Rochdale game, their substitutions made a difference and FGR went ahead in extra time. Blues looked leggy, FGR had control of the ball, and it was our turn to not get a kick. They were taking the ball into the corner and time wasting with 6 minutes to go, and it looked as though that was the end of our season.
Wrong. Why Goodliffe, a centre back, was in a right wing back position after an FGR attack I have no idea, but we cleared it, he got the ball down the right and played a delayed one-two with Jack Bridge who slotted home the equaliser with just 4 minutes left.
Substitutions were still to play a part. FGR manager Cotterill unbelievably did not bring on their top scorer Doidge for the penalties, and Blues held their nerve better to win the shoot out 4-2.
Which brings us to where we are, the day before one of the biggest games in our history. It will be a record breaking attendance for a NL play off final and it will also be higher than the L2 play off final attendance between AFC Wimbledon and Walsall.
Just writing this all out has highlighted the adversity this club has had to go through over the last couple of years, and our never say die spirit is evident in all the players and management. They will give their all, of that I’m sure. We will all be proud.
For me, I am strangely calm. Having been a fan since 1969 and having seen all the “big” games and most of the promotion deciding ones, I don’t have the same nervousness or butterflies, the anticipation or the uncertainty that I usually have. In my head, since the takeover was announced, this has been written. I am neither optimistic nor complacent about tomorrow; I just simply cannot see or consider an Oldham victory. I don’t know why, it just feels like we’ve already won, as though this is our destiny; this is meant to be. This is nothing against Oldham, who are a fine club, a “proper” club, and who have had their own problems and issues over the years. But we’ve had it worse. Their time will come, but I believe tomorrow belongs to us.
Regardless of the result however, I will be forever grateful to COSU for rescuing us, the players, staff and management who worked for nothing to keep our club on life support (especially last season), the sponsors for what they do and the fans for doubling down on their supporting efforts. This club has many remarkable individuals whose work in the background or behind the scenes goes unrecognised, but we should all absolutely acknowledge who they are and what they have done. Without them, this club would be gone.
June 1st 2025. Let’s hope this date is written as the day we started our climb back up the leagues, the Never Say Die attitude is in abundance and we are celebrating our return to the EFL.
But if it doesn’t go our way, let’s not be despondent or negative. Things are different now. There’s always next year.
Good times are coming back.
#NEVERGIVE UP
#BLUEARMY
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