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SOUTHEND
UNITED F.C. |
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During the summer of 2003, Steve Wignall had assembled a squad which appeared to have the drive and determination to bring success back to Roots Hall. Few could argue after they tore apart Cheltenham Town on the opening day of the season in a display that simply oozed confidence. But the 2-0 win proved to be one of only four wins in the next 17 games, a run that dragged the club into the bottom two spots of the Third Division, the lowest position ever in the club's history. A fourth successive home defeat proved to be the final straw for the board of directors and Steve Wignall left the club at the beginning of November, with co-owner Ron Martin claiming that he could no longer see the desire for success in the manager's eyes. Former manager David Webb offered his services to the club on a short-term basis and he guided the club past neighbours Canvey Island in the FA Cup before handing over the reins to Steve Tilson, who accepted the role as first-team manager on a caretaker basis. The dark days of winter saw the Shrimpers continue to fight for survival at the bottom of the table until an away win at Cambridge United began a run in which Southend lost only once in eleven games and hauled themselves away from the relegation zone and into the relative safety of mid-table. Tilson, aided by his assistant Paul Brush, had instilled the sense of drive and determination into the side that we had seen very briefly at the beginning of the season. It was this drive which saw Southend United reach their first ever major final in the club's history when they defeated arch-rivals C********* U***** to book their place in the LDV Vans Trophy Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Along the way they had claimed the scalps other Second Division sides Luton Town (3-0) and Queens Park Rangers (4-0) before meeting Blackpool in the final. Over 20,000 fans travelled to Wales, outnumbering their counterparts from Lancashire, but the Shrimpers met their match, losing 2-0. Under the Tilson / Brush partnership, the side flourished and assured their place in the Football League for another season just a couple of months after it looked certain that the club would slide into non-league. The lack of wins in the last five games saw the Shrimpers slide down into seventeenth position, the same finish as the 2002-03 season, but it was a position that most would have taken when the side was battling with Darlington and Carlisle United at the bottom of the table during the middle of the season. SEASON STATISTICS Pos : 17th Played : 46 Won : 13 Drew : 12 Lost : 20 Goals For : 51 Against : 63 Points : 54 Home Attendances Average : 4,534 Highest : 8,894 v Torquay United Lowest : 2,463 v Boston United Away Attendances Average : 4,950 Highest : 12,545 v Hull City Lowest : 1,670 v Bury Top Goalscorer Leon Constantine : 25 Supporters' Player-of-the-Year Mark Gower |
It
all started with the sound of revolution but ended with
the familiarity of disappointment. A trip to the
impressive Millennium Stadium for the club's first
ever major final brought brief light to an otherwise
dull campaign, but a squad that promised so much ultimately
failed to deliver the goods and indeed could have taken
the club out of the Football League and into an uncertain
future in the Conference.