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Coldest Southend games

I was at several of the games already mentioned, which probably says something about my match-day selection.

Oldham midweek away in the cup. As a result of living up to my zone username, the zipper on my coat had burst its moorings, and refused to fasten. That evening was a bitter, bitter experience in many days.

Blackpool midweek away. Possibly one of the micky-mouse cups. I was working up there at the time, and took my Geordie boss with me. Which meant we had to go in T-shirts. I can't remember whether it went to ET or not in the end, but I do remember praying for a goal, any goal, in normal time.

Liverpool '79 and Spurs in the League Cup. Weirdly, I have no recollection of being cold at either of these games, even though it clearly was freezing. Suspect I was kept warm by the crowd bodyheat against 'pool, and at Spurs by the burning sense of injustice at their winner.

MK Dons at the Hockey Stadium. This wins it for me, as I suspect I was again under-dressed for the occasion. Coupled with the fact that one of my numbed feet decided to enter a pothole and send me crashing to the frozen pavement. The fall didn't do much for my mood, but it seemed to cheer my brother up no end as I limped back to the car.

I've got a very vague recollection, probably from the very early 70s, of a game against Wrexham where a couple of away fans created a small bonfire to keep warm on a very sparsely populated South Bank. I suspect that this practice may be frowned upon these days, but it seemed a good plan at the time.

100% defeats in all those games, aside from the last one (of which I have no recollection other than the bonfire, and it's possible my brain has simply made it up). As an exile these days, I'm rationing my visits to when it is warm and sunny and play-off friendly. So I am aiming for 2022 2023.
 
Hope my memory serves me well; December 28 1992 played Bristol Rovers groundsharing with Bath FC, we were packed into the open end, snow surrounding the ground, but won 2-0 with Stan making the first, we had a smallish young lad at centre forward, and scoring the second. Stayed in Bath overnight if the right game, but checked the fixture list and for years believed the match was played New Years Day! However, I don't forget how cold it was ?
 
Hope my memory serves me well; December 28 1992 played Bristol Rovers groundsharing with Bath FC, we were packed into the open end, snow surrounding the ground, but won 2-0 with Stan making the first, we had a smallish young lad at centre forward, and scoring the second. Stayed in Bath overnight if the right game, but checked the fixture list and for years believed the match was played New Years Day! However, I don't forget how cold it was ?
Steve Brown was the other goalscorer
 
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Hartlepool away on a tues night in the early 70,s I remember was freezing, and as others have said the hockey stadium at MK was bloody freezing
This post reminded me of the time when I travelled to the North East to watch us play back on Friday Jan. 6th.1967. We had just been held to a 0-0 against Exeter City on the last day of '66 and pre-match we had been informed that the Youth Section would not be running a coach to the match at Hartlepool due to a lack of numbers so we decided to ask our then Manager Alvan Williams if it would be possible to travel up to the match with the team? can you imagine how we felt when he agreed to let us. We had to pay about £10??(I think) which allowed us to travel up from Southend Central to Hartlepool with the team and back this included a match ticket and an overnight stay in a hotel. This was all arranged by Alvan himself who was the previous Hartlepool manager before moving to Roots Hall 17 months earlier.(mind you the hotel was a bit dodgy and the players stayed elsewhere). There was just the four of us Charlie, Clive, Miggs & Nobbler. Also travelling up from London was an older gentleman called Lenny who was a very good friend of Eddie May.
On the way up to the match we were told there was some doubt it would be played as the pitch was covered in a blanket of snow. I never at that time realised how far up north Hartlepool was having only just started travelling to away matches which had led me to the delights of such places like Newport County, Bradford Park Ave. & City, Crewe Alex, Chesterfield, Rochdale & Aldershot. Well when we arrived you can imagine we were delighted to hear the match was on after a pitch inspection, what we did not realise was just how cold it was and after some earlier post's regarding MK Hockey Stadium and also last week's match against Altrincham it was on par with both of them that's for sure. The match itself is a bit of a blur being almost 54 years ago. However what I can remember was that we won the match 2-1 with goals from Tony Bentley and John Baber, Brian Clough was the Hartlepool Manager, the attendance was an unbelievable 9,574. and it was also their first ever match played under lights with a 7.30 kick-off.
It really was a brilliant weekend being in and around the team, a real eye opener for a 17 year old lad a love that continues to this very day, although it has been seriously tested over the last few years.
P.S. To cap it all when we arrived back to Kings Cross Colin Flatt who played in the match treated me to see Leyton Orient v Brentford in the F.A.Cup which finished 0-0.
 
I can't remember when but there was one game in Newcastle where it was freezing. We knew it was freezing because the Newcastle fans were just wearing vests.
 
Brighton away in the FA Cup December 9th 1967. Despite snow falling we thumbed it down to Brighton very early Saturday morning and arrived at the Goldstone Ground at around 10am. Only to discover the game had just been called off. Found a warm and cosy cafe near the railway station. We gratefully scoffed the most enormous breakfast and agreed to get the train back to London Victoria. Onwards to Highbury to watch Arsenal v Sheffield Wednesday in an absolute blizzard. Arsenal were 1-0 up when the game was abandoned shortly after the start of the 2nd half ... frozen to the bone and no refund!
Having had an horrendous weekend, returned to Brighton via the coach the following Wednesday evening and we duly lost 1-0. ☹️
 
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Brighton away in the FA Cup December 9th 1967. Despite snow falling we thumbed it down to Brighton very early Saturday morning and arrived at the Goldstone Ground at around 10am. Only to discover the game had just been called off. Found a warm and cosy cafe near the railway station. We gratefully scoffed the most enormous breakfast and agreed to get the train back to London Victoria. Onwards to Highbury to watch Arsenal v Sheffield Wednesday in an absolute blizzard. Arsenal were 1-0 up when the game was abandoned shortly after the start of the 2nd half ... frozen to the bone and no refund!
Having had an horrendous weekend, returned to Brighton via the coach the following Wednesday evening and we duly lost 1-0. ☹️
I was on a coach for the replay and some moron was quaffing huge quantities of Crabbies Ginger Beer all the way there and all the way back with the inevitable results.

I still shudder when I hear that name (shuddering now).

It didn’t ruin the journey though. The result did that.

Some things never change.
 
easy ---- Sunderland away at Roker Park probably about 25 years ago .... at the back of the open end , overlooking the sea to the right hand side , pitch black , rain + sleet driving into our faces , long drive home with soggy socks. Luckily we often seemed to get great results up there!


Yes, this was the game that sticks in my mind. The wind was coming straight off the North Sea & went straight through you.
 
This post reminded me of the time when I travelled to the North East to watch us play back on Friday Jan. 6th.1967. We had just been held to a 0-0 against Exeter City on the last day of '66 and pre-match we had been informed that the Youth Section would not be running a coach to the match at Hartlepool due to a lack of numbers so we decided to ask our then Manager Alvan Williams if it would be possible to travel up to the match with the team? can you imagine how we felt when he agreed to let us. We had to pay about £10??(I think) which allowed us to travel up from Southend Central to Hartlepool with the team and back this included a match ticket and an overnight stay in a hotel. This was all arranged by Alvan himself who was the previous Hartlepool manager before moving to Roots Hall 17 months earlier.(mind you the hotel was a bit dodgy and the players stayed elsewhere). There was just the four of us Charlie, Clive, Miggs & Nobbler. Also travelling up from London was an older gentleman called Lenny who was a very good friend of Eddie May.
On the way up to the match we were told there was some doubt it would be played as the pitch was covered in a blanket of snow. I never at that time realised how far up north Hartlepool was having only just started travelling to away matches which had led me to the delights of such places like Newport County, Bradford Park Ave. & City, Crewe Alex, Chesterfield, Rochdale & Aldershot. Well when we arrived you can imagine we were delighted to hear the match was on after a pitch inspection, what we did not realise was just how cold it was and after some earlier post's regarding MK Hockey Stadium and also last week's match against Altrincham it was on par with both of them that's for sure. The match itself is a bit of a blur being almost 54 years ago. However what I can remember was that we won the match 2-1 with goals from Tony Bentley and John Baber, Brian Clough was the Hartlepool Manager, the attendance was an unbelievable 9,574. and it was also their first ever match played under lights with a 7.30 kick-off.
It really was a brilliant weekend being in and around the team, a real eye opener for a 17 year old lad a love that continues to this very day, although it has been seriously tested over the last few years.
P.S. To cap it all when we arrived back to Kings Cross Colin Flatt who played in the match treated me to see Leyton Orient v Brentford in the F.A.Cup which finished 0-0.
Fantastic!
And of its time. Can you imagine that now?
BTW, have said elsewhere the coldest I've ever been apart from New York City in December was Hartlepool in February.
The locals must have developed whale blood over the years!
 
Coldest I have ever felt was definitely away against MK Dons at the National Hockey Stadium on Sat 18 Mar 2006 with 7,071 in attendance. The game finished 2-1 to MK Don's after Southend had taken the lead with a Shaun Goater in the 13th minute.

It was not particularly cold day temperature wise with a max of 4.7 Degrees and a min of 0.9 Degrees during the day.

But it was the wind chill from the biting wind blasting over and down the high up open terrace we were all sitting/standing in, with wind gusts of 58kph at around 2.00-3.00 pm.

View attachment 17826
The Weather at the Hockey National Stadium Milton Keyes on 18th Match 2006

View attachment 17827
The Wind swept terrace at The National Hockey Stadium Milton Keyes

The Shrimpers Team that day


View attachment 17828

How did we not win with that team?
We didn’t win because the Franchise equalised—they actually scored a winning goal at our end second half. We didn’t play at all well.They were bottom of the table at the time and duly achieved a deserved relegation.We finished top of course.
 
Yes, we were controlling the game but they equalised with an absolute worldy and we never seemed to recover from that. They scored a winner in the latter stages with Sodje uncharacteristically losing his man from a cross. He actually looked at us and apologised.
 
That Bury game in the cup, I seem to recall a young Dan Bentley was bought on just for the shootout and he saved a couple of pens. I remember getting back to the car and just blasting the heaters for a while before my hands actually had any feeling in them again.

A game vs Chester on a Friday night 2004 near Xmas, snow visibility was getting ridiculous but a very Freddy style goal where he beat their whole defence single-handedly settled it.
 
This was the one I was going to mention. Think it went to extra-time as well...
I could have done without that FA Cup replay at Crawley a couple of years back going to extra time. Fortunately the fact that we scored 4 in extra time masked how cold/unprepared for extra time I was.
 
Dons away Xmas or New Years 2007 or 08 cant quite remember. Ive also been told my first ever Southend game (I was probably no more than a year old so no recollection) it was freezing cold and I wouldnt stop saying I want to go home. Must be cold every game cos I find myself always saying that now.
This is my one. I had some stupid white plimsoles on (student) and literally couldn't feel my feet walking out of the ground.
 
I could have done without that FA Cup replay at Crawley a couple of years back going to extra time. Fortunately the fact that we scored 4 in extra time masked how cold/unprepared for extra time I was.
I’d forgotten that.

That was horribly cold……..but……..for once…..the constant stream of goals we were scoring helped me to keep my mind off it.
 
Bury at home, replay in the F A Cup in the Paul Sturrock era. Never should have been played, temperature continued to drop and by half time the pitch was an ice rink. Players really struggled to keep their feet.

This is the one for me.

It must have been several degrees below freezing by the time the penalty shoot out finished.

The pitch was pure white with a thick frost.
 
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