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Current urban dictionary name for the Woodcutters Arms near Belfairs Woods.

Yes I forgot about that place. Wasn't that the local for the people who were involved in the Dean Boshell murder. I was told they were making another Brit gangster type film about it all but haven't seen anything ?
 
The problem disappeared 20 odd years later with the introduction of other coloured referees' shirts, probably the most significant change to referees' kit since blazers were phased out in the 40s.
So the club could go back to the navy blue shirts again .:happy::happy::happy:
 
Another great photo of The Kursaal 1930, with Southend's ground above. Nice and clear this one, with of course Southchurch Avenue at the bottom.

the-kursaal-southend-on-sea-1930.jpg
Many happy Saturday nights spent down there in my youth .
 
Here's my understanding of the Kursaal ground.

Southend United moved to the Kursaal in 1919 when it was little more than a pitch with a fence round.

UNITED’S GROUND PUBLICLY INSPECTED
Southend United’s football ground was thrown open to the public on Saturday and the occasion was favourable with ideal weather. The group of people were entertained by Mr. Meek’s Hippodrome band whose services had been requisitioned to brighten the day. Many hundreds treated both ground and dressing rooms to a critical examination and had the various points for and against explained by the management. Those who knew the old ground at Prittlewell readily saw the advantages the present pitch holds over Roots Hall. Spectators after their look round usually visited the table from which shares were readily being taken up. The Mayor and party arrived at 04.30 p.m. and the crowd were entertained until 8.00 p.m. when the ground was closed.

The ground measuring 115 yards by 75 yards, like the Arsenal’s it is fenced three yards from the touch line. It is capable of accommodating and it is hoped will accommodate, 36,000 people. There remains yet to be considered the terracing round the pitch and a start in that direction has already been made. Directly opposite the dressing room is a terraced enclosure for directors. The turfing of the pitch is complete and the fence round a pitch which is beautifully green and in excellent condition like a carpet. Entrance to the ground are from Burdett Road on the south and Woodgrange Drive on the north. A special appeal goes out for the purchase of a grandstand and it is hoped that this will be up by October at the latest, until then a temporary shelter will be arranged. Contained in the handsome structure on the South side are the directors rooms, baths, dressing rooms, gymnasium and store room. The directors room which opens on to there enclosure, will later be turned into a recreation room and gymnasium for the players. Attached is a smaller room for the referee and linesmen. Below stairs are the teams dressing rooms with separate accommodation for players in their different positions. These open into a room containing a large concrete bath with geyser also a shower bath arrangement. The comfort of the visiting team is similar.
From the Southend Standard 14th August 1919


As the winter months came it became a bleak cold place to watch football and the clubs future at the ground was unsure:

The Ground Question and the Directorate
When the directors of the Southend United football club secured the enclosure at the Kursaal it was believed that the difficulties as to a ground had been satisfactory overcome, but such does not seem to be the case. I am told that the proprietors of the Kursaal will not grant an extended lease, except upon terms which the directors regard as prohibitive. Therefore the directors are forced to look in other directions for a permanent ground. The Kursaal ground has many disadvantages, the most notable of which is the bleakness, when on a windy day the full force of the gale is felt and the play is interfered with. It is also at one end of the town and not central. Still for all that it has some advantages and it is a pity that after all the money that has been spent on it that the ground cannot be developed into a First class one

The article went on to say that because of the uncertainty over the future of the ground it had not been developed, and appealed to the owner of the Kursaal Mr. Morehouse to come to a solution which could extend the lease and thus earn the eternal gratitude of Southend sportsmen and the whole town. The article continued:

In the meantime certain of the Directors are by no means idle, negotiating for grounds and have already two or three possible sites in mind. One would be in a most central position in fact it would be an ideal site. In a short period of time some definite announcement may be expected. Last week one Sunday Journal issued posters that there was a crisis in Southend. There is no such thing, the club is going along well. The suggestion that the Southend club might remove to somewhere in the smoke is fantastic. The next thing we should here of is Mardy (a Welsh Southern League Club) coming to Finchley. “The Southend Club should succeed or fail in the town of it’s birth”
From the Southend Standard 4th March 1920


The Solution was when Mr Morehouse was invited to join the board and the lease was then extended.

It had been clear during the first season that if the club was to stay at the Kursaal ground then the need for a grandstand was paramount, and in the close season a 1,500 seater stand was built on the eastern side, (Arnold Avenue). For the opening game of the season the stand was still under construction, but that didn’t stop the parts already finished being filled to the rafters. During the season further improvements to the embankments, crash barriers and terracing were undertaken especially because of the Cup run when it was claimed that the ground could hold 23,000 but this was nowhere near tested in this the first season in the League.

In 1928 a stand on the West side was built and this for the "bob" supporter ( Standing supporters):

UNITED’S NEW STAND
Ground Accommodation increased - Consideration for the “Shilling Supporters”
The Directors of Southend United Football Club on Tuesday night decided to proceed with a scheme for the erection of a stand on the western side of the ground, immediately opposite the existing grandstand. The work will be proceeded with immediately and it is hoped it will be completed within a period of two months. The directors of the club are to be congratulated upon their enterprise, for the new stand will meet a long felt need on the Kursaal ground and will provide covered accommodation for an additional 3,500 people. The new stand will be 180 feet long and 40 feet wide with a maximum height of 25feet. It will therefore be almost the same length

as the existing grandstand on the eastern side and twice as deep. At the present time the whole of the west side holds fewer than 500 but the new stand will hold 3,500 who will be able to witness the match under cover. Entrance to the stand will be by four staircases at the back of the stand making it accessible from all parts of the ground
From the Southend Standard 4th October 1928


It was indeed a brave move as the club still had an overdraft and the profit from the previous season would be virtually wiped out by the loss of the rent for greyhound racing. The hope was that better facilities would translate into better crowds, perhaps more ladies would be inclined to attend matches. Their was a small stand on that side of the ground that was the first to be built when the club moved to the Kursaal, but this stand was so small and shallow that it provided little shelter from the weather. When asked if admission prices would increase, the directors admitted that it had been considered, they added that they did not think an increase of two or three pence would be unreasonable, but this was still being considered.

The Kursaal by now was well loved by the fans despite its bleak faults, the one big plus was that you were very close to the pitch, it was said that goalkeeper Billy Moore loved nothing better than to chat to the fans when the ball was down the other end.

This became very apparent in 1934 when the club moved to the Brand new(ish) ground at the Stadium and the fans found themselves watching from the other side of the dog track, and a long long way from the pitch when behind the goals
 
Another one at the Kursaal ground. FA Cup 3rd round v Tottenham Hotspur. Sat 19th Feb 1921. Jimmy Cantrell(White shirt) on the attack for Spurs who win 4-1.

EH_Jan_PC_Southend730.jpg


This would have been the colours of our kit.
southend_united_1919-1922.gif
 
Another one at the Kursaal ground. FA Cup 3rd round v Tottenham Hotspur. Sat 19th Feb 1921. Jimmy Cantrell(White shirt) on the attack for Spurs who win 4-1.

QUOTE]

Here's a match report:

F A Cup Rd 3
Saturday 19th February 1921
SOUTHEND UNITED 1-4 TOTTENHAM

A year ago it was accepted that the Sheffield United game had to be switched as clearly the Kursaal at the time as without a stand, the ground couldn’t have coped with the match. When this game was confirmed as being played at the Kursaal a lot of work was done to improve the ground. The terrace behind the Beresford Road was trebled and crush barriers erected, and an extra entrance built. It was claimed that the ground could hold 23,000 although 20,000 was more realistic. However the London press had published exaggerated reports of the ground and this undoubtedly deterred many. On the day the gates open shortly before 12.30 and a mad rush took place to secure the best viewpoints, many bringing their dinner and liquid refreshments with them. By 2.30 about 10,000 were in the ground, but in the last half hour the misty rain turned the rush into a trickle, and the rain must have put some of the latecomers off, officially the attendance was 11,661. The game started at a hectic pace and Spurs were struggling to hold Southend, and Joe Walters scored what looked like a perfectly good goal but the referee disallowed the goal to the boos of the crowd. On fifteen minutes Nicholls put right that wrong and put the Blues one up. A good shout for a penalty was denied by the referee as Southend dominated, and the First Division outfit resorted to playing the one back game (offside trap). After 39 minutes against the run off play Tottenham headed an equaliser. Southend pressed again and after a blatant push the referee finally had no choice but to give a penalty. Whalley placed the ball but the referee readjusted the ball, Whalley didn’t want the seam of the ball facing him and went to change it again, but the referee refused to allow him. This obviously unsettled Whalley and he put the penalty wide of the right post. From this point onwards the game totally changed and Tottenham took control and ended up 1-4 winners. Team: Capper; Newton and Evans; Wileman, Whalley and Martin; Nicholls, Nuttall, Fairclough, Walters and Dorsett.

To put the game in perspective Tottenham had only just been promoted from the second division as Champions but were having a successful season in the first division. By beating Southend in round 3 they had reached the Quarter Final and 52,000 at White Hart Lane saw Spurs beat Villa 1-0. In the Semi Final they played Preston North End at Hillsborough. In front of 49,668 spectators saw Spurs win 2-1 and into the final.

Before the war Cup Finals had been held at Crystal Palace but during the war this ground had been requisitioned for use as an arms dump. Following the war the ground was never restored and it never hosted a football match again. The Football Association instead chose to play the final at Stamford Bridge as it had the largest capacity of any ground in London at that time. Spurs were playing Second Division Wolverhampton Wanderers. The gates opened at 10:30 am (The Final was not all ticket until 1924) and the heavens opened about then as well. The Stamford Bridge pitch was a quagmire and the sun only came out for about five minutes just before the kick off. The two teams slogged out an
eminently unwatchable game – indeed it would seem no photographers watched it as only one photo is known to exist of the winning goal and that was taken from the terraces. Spurs hung on in the grim weather and again became the only Southern professional club to lift the FA Cup twenty years after achieving that feat for the first time. Incidentally Wolves had three ex-Southend players in G. Marshall, M. Woodward and F. Burrill who had all been transferred for substantial fees
 
An annual supporters club F.C. vs SUFC match I believe

That's correct, I played in this. It was a "meet the blues" type evening where we got to play 20 mins each way against the 1st team. About a thousand turned up and was the biggest crowd most of us would ever play in front of. We lost 2-0 and put up a decent display. The pitch was like playing on your living room carpet. Westley, Ling, Crown and Brush where amongst the Blues eleven. Great memories.
 
That's correct, I played in this. It was a "meet the blues" type evening where we got to play 20 mins each way against the 1st team. About a thousand turned up and was the biggest crowd most of us would ever play in front of. We lost 2-0 and put up a decent display. The pitch was like playing on your living room carpet. Westley, Ling, Crown and Brush where amongst the Blues eleven. Great memories.


I recall Paul Clark coming into our dressing room and saying "Don't forget to take it easy lads, it's our first run out of the season etc etc". Blow me, in the opening minute, Stalky sent Shane Westley flying with probably the worst tackle he ever made. Oh how we grimaced (and feared for his safety).
 
A rare official Newport teamsheet v Southend 1985. One name is obvious to all. But the stand out player was probably Leighton James. In his prime he scored an amazing 27 goals in 88 appearances....as a winger....for Swansea, helping them from the third division to the first.

s-l1600.jpg
 
A rare official Newport teamsheet v Southend 1985. One name is obvious to all. But the stand out player was probably Leighton James. In his prime he scored an amazing 27 goals in 88 appearances....as a winger....for Swansea, helping them from the third division to the first.

s-l1600.jpg

That was the FA cup 1st round game at home to Newport when Roy McDonough was sent off very early on. Another FA cup 1st round exit:sad:
 
A rare official Newport teamsheet v Southend 1985. One name is obvious to all. But the stand out player was probably Leighton James. In his prime he scored an amazing 27 goals in 88 appearances....as a winger....for Swansea, helping them from the third division to the first.

s-l1600.jpg

I love it that in 1985 socks were still officially referred to as stockings!
 
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