Southend United will today (Wed) learn whether they will enter administration and be deducted 10-points from their League One tally.
Yesterday (3rd), at around 8pm, a bid to take over the club by a consortium of local businesses was turned down by the board of SUFC. The un-named 10-strong party had wanted to buy the club for a nominal fee, rid it of its debts and - according to its spokesman - push the business forward. Click to continue reading...

Southend United lost for the second time in just four days, after two second half penalties handed all three points to Brentford at Griffin Park.
The Blues had taken the lead on 9 minutes in bizarre fashion, when Simon Francis' free kick was mis-handled by the home 'keeper who bundled it over his own line. Click to continue reading...

Southend United slipped to their second league defeat of the season after a 76th minute penalty, for the visitors, settled the game.
The Blues were poor throughout and, after the game, manager Steve Tilson said the Shrimpers deserved to lose.
Pawel Abbott's spot kick, after loanee George Friend was adjudged to have fouled Keigan Parker in the box, was well struck and left Steve Mildenhall no chance. Click to continue reading...

The men running League One strugglers Southend United will come under 'intense' scrutiny at the Blues' Annual General Meeting tonight (Thursday), amidst growing unrest from fans.
On Tuesday the Shrimpers decided to offload two players - Alex Revell (aboved) and Kevin Betsy (below) - on loan deals to Swindon and Wycombe respectively. Click to continue reading...

Southend United slipped to their first league defeat of the season at the County Ground, and saw Jean Francois Christophe sent off in the first half for a second bookable offence.
Swindon took the lead through Scott Cuthbert on 20 minutes after the Blues failed to clear their lines following a free kick. Click to continue reading...

So it all gets underway again for another season on Saturday when Southend United take on Huddersfield in the League One opener at Roots Hall.
For the average Blues fan, the summer has been frustrating to say the least. Just after last season's campaign finished, chairman Ron Martin said the Blues would be aiming to make quicker signings, giving new players the time to bed-in before the 09/10 season started. Click to continue reading...

Stevenage completed their pre-season schedule on a high and go into next week's opener against newly promoted Tamworth brimming with confidence. The double header against Southend and Woking yielded a win and a draw from the two games, but not against the teams that you and I would of expected.

Click to continue reading...

Soccerword's League One Awards for 2008-09

Player of the Year: Matty Fryatt, Leicester City
Manager of the Year: Darren Ferguson, Peterborough

League One Player of the Year
2008-09: Matty Fryatt, Leicester City
2007-08: Jermaine Beckford, Leeds
2006-07: Billy Sharp, Scunthorpe
2005-06: Freddy Eastwood, Southend
2004-05: Stuart Elliott, Hull City

League One Manager of the Year
2008-09: Darren Ferguson, Peterborough
2007-08: Roberto Martinez, Swansea
2006-07: Nigel Adkins, Scunthorpe
2005-06: Steve Tilson, Southend
2004-05: Martin Allen, Brentford

Click to continue reading...

An unique charity event's taking place this Saturday at Southend's 'PlayFootball' Centre in Prittlewell.
For more than 15 hours, hundreds of footballers from across the borough and beyond will take part in a continuous 11-a-side "Sunrise to Sunset" football match. In accordance with the times of daylight - the game will kick off at 5. Click to continue reading...

Southend broke their Orient jinx and exacted revenge for their Johnstone's Paint trophy defeat to their rivals earlier in the month, with a comprehensive victory at Roots Hall tonight.
The Blues went ahead after just 47 seconds when Lee Barnard scored his third goal of the season following a good move. Click to continue reading...

Southend United dropped into the League One relegation zone after their third consecutive league defeat.
The return leg of the 630-mile round trip will seem like a lifetime to the hardy Blues fans who trudged up to Brunton Park in some terrible weather conditions, and will face similiar problems coming back south. Click to continue reading...

Southend United crashed out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy with a humiliating home defeat to one of their biggest rivals.
Orient capitalised on gaps all over the park, especially in the second half, and Blues were made to pay for their lack of man-marking on several occasions.
Steve Tilson has a big job on his hands sealing up the massive space Blues allowed the visitors to enjoy. Click to continue reading...

Southend United slipped to their first league defeat of the season in a game they did not deserve to lose.
Franck Moussa was sent off in the 63rd minute for a challenge in the middle of the park in what seemed to be a 50-50 ball.
The Blues will indeed rue their luck with Alex Revell hitting the post in the first half and Lee Barnard seeing a header cleared off the line with the game at 0-1. Click to continue reading...

The Blues have re-signed Reading midfielder Hal Robson-Kanu on a one-month loan deal.
The 19-year-old spent three months at Roots Hall at the end of last season, scoring three goals in eight starts.
Steve Tilson told the club website: "He did well last season when he was fit and the fact he can play on the wing or upfront is a bonus. Click to continue reading...

On the eve of the new season, longpier takes his annual look at Southend's chances this term and asks whether Steve Tilson's men can mount a serious challenge on League One.
The events of the last 48 hours have been breathtaking for many Blues' fans. With an air of doom and gloom surrounding the lack of signings in the close season, Southend moved with lightning speed and signed three players in twelve hours and even had time to reject a bid for Nicky Bailey from Charlton. Click to continue reading...

Southend United have strengthened their squad by signing Ipswich left back Dan Harding on a 6-month loan and Bristol City winger Kevin Betsy for a nominal fee.
The two players go straight into the squad to face Peterborough on Saturday. Harding - who's 24 - says he's taken the decision to drop down a division to get some first team football and the move is likely to be made permanent in January, if the player performs well. Click to continue reading...

NEWS UPDATE

Southend United chairman Ron Martin will be sending out a statement to fans ahead of Saturday's opening League One game against Peterborough.
Martin told longpier.com that he will outline his thoughts and plans in a lengthy email and club website article in the next 48 hours. Click to continue reading...

It's been a busy period for Southend United and longpier over the past week. Lots of news coming out of Roots Hall - details are below. Also we've been testing the new LONGPIER LIVE Skypecast - a new, easy and FREE interactive discussion show, starting on the first day of the new season. If you haven't seen the details click here and have your say on Southend's season. Click to continue reading...

Southend United misfit Richie Foran could finally be on his way out of Roots Hall. longpier understands Carlisle manager John Ward is set to bid £50,000 for the winger-cum-striker.
Allegations about Foran's private life are said to have hindered his progress at the Blues. Click to continue reading...

With just five weeks to go until the new season, the Blues are stepping up efforts to bring new faces in. The Roots Hall outfit have already started their pre-season warm-ups, with a 2-0 victory away to Great Wakering Rovers, a drab 0-0 draw away to Canvey Island and a comprehensive 4-0 win over Thurrock. Click to continue reading...

A last minute offer put forward by Scunthorpe has secured the services of Southend striker Gary Hooper.
As reported on longpier on Wednesday night, Cheltenham were set to win the race to sign the forward for £140,000. But with Hooper travelling to Gloucestershire to sign the deal, Scunthorpe usurped the Whaddon Road outfit and bid £175,000. Click to continue reading...

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On QPR Italia Blog, QPR's new signing, Emmanuel Jorge Ledesma interviewed speaking about Genoa, Italian football and QPR: Intervista a Ledesma: "Al QPR col Genoa nel cuore" and a Web translation
PFA's Give Me Football/Mark Shail - Q&A WitH Paul Furlong
He may be turning 40 in October, but new Southend signing Paul Furlong says he still has the hunger and desire to be a success at Roots Hall. Click to continue reading...

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Paul Furlong Joins Southend
Southend Official Site - EXPERIENCED STRIKER SIGNS
Veteran striker Paul Furlong has completed a move to Southend United this morning on a free transfer.
Furlong, who will turn 40 in October, has signed a one-year contract at Roots Hall as manager Steve Tilson adds some experience to his squad. Click to continue reading...

Southend's 13-match unbeaten run came to an end at Prenton Park as the Blues lost 1-0 to Tranmere.
The Merseysiders have done the double over the Blues this season, also winning 2-1 at Roots Hall back in October.
Another soft goal undid the Blues - this time from Antony Kay. Click to continue reading...

Southend consolidated their position in the play off places with a fine 3-1 victory at Gresty Road, but Darryl Flahavan was the real hero saving two penalties.
Lee Barnard scored two and James Walker one to keep the Blues in 5th place, now six points between them and seventh place.
Barnard scored in the second minute, before Walker hit the back of the net 17 minutes later. Click to continue reading...

Alex and Hal choose the toilets for their first SUFC picture
I haven't had chance to cast an eye over the Blues' flurry of transfer activity until today. So apologies for the tardiness.
It was certainly a busy week for Steve Tilson and Paul Brush as they looked to strengthen the squad for the final third of this up and down season. Click to continue reading...

Southend's torrid festive period is over - today's game at Roots Hall finishing in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Bristol Rovers.
Things are pretty gloomy down at the Hall for the start of 2008. Not only have the Blues slipped to 11th in the table, but the club is now bereft of striking talent after Leon Clarke went back to Sheffield Wednesday. Click to continue reading...

No festive cheer in the north of England for Southend as three set-pieces undid the visitors.
Charlie MacDonald did score for the Blues to level the game at 1-1 but two more first half goals effectively sealed the game in the opening 45 minutes.
Sadly longpier thinks this result confirms what most Shrimpers fans feared - that the squad isn't good enough to mount a challenge to return to the Championship at the first time of asking. Click to continue reading...

Southend missed out on gaining ground on the league leaders as Swansea comprehensively beat the Blues 3-0 at the Liberty Stadium.
The Shrimpers stay sixth despite the result, but Nicky Bailey will face a suspension for getting sent off.
Here are a number of reports:
BBC Sport
Sunday Mirror
Sportbox Click to continue reading...

Southend completely dominated this second round replay against non-league Oxford and should have won by a far greater margin.
Charlie MacDonald scored two, missed a penalty and wasted a number of glorious opportunities in front of goal. Dean Morgan scored a spot kick but was also guilty of missing gilt-edged chances in front of a freezing 2,740 crowd - the lowest for many years. Click to continue reading...

Missed penalty costs Blues
Matt Harrold missed a first half penalty as Southend went down to League One strugglers Luton Town. The Hatters, who received a 10-point penalty this week for going into administration, made the Shrimpers look a very ordinary side.
That's the second consecutive penalty error for Harrold, and surely another player will be nominated to take the spot kicks from now on. Click to continue reading...

Blues fail to convince, but scrape by
Southend progressed to the second round of the FA Cup but they were far from convincing as they edged past League Two side Rochdale.
The home side had a great start, with Nicky Bailey scoring in the first minute. His header from Steve Hammell's cross beat the visiting 'keeper in just 22 seconds. Click to continue reading...

Jol's cloud moves east

Former Spurs manager Martin Jol was at Roots Hall today. No-one knows why for sure. Jol was sacked, along with his assistant Chris Houghton on Thursday - just before they took charge of their last game against Getafe in the UEFA Cup. Houghton is a good friend of Steve Tilson's. Rumours started to fly around the east stand - from the outlandish "Jol to replace Tilly when he leaves for Norwich", to "Houghton's eyeing up a managerial role here" to "well maybe Jol just fancied watching some real football". Click to continue reading...