List of Southend United F.C. seasons

Southend United Football Club, an English association football club based in Southend, Essex, was founded in 1906. The club's first team won the Southern League Second Division championship in their first season. Southend had to apply for election alongside the two bottom First Division teams who were applying for re-election; they were unsuccessful.[1] Southend won the title again the following year, and this time, with more places available after two clubs had joined the Football League, they were elected.[2] By 1910–11, the Southern League had adopted automatic promotion and relegation, and Southend were relegated. They returned to the top tier as runners-up in 1912–13, and remained at that level until 1920, when the Football League added a Third Division made up almost entirely of the Southern League First Division teams. That same season, Southend reached the third round (last 16) of the FA Cup; they have progressed to the last 16 four times since, but have gone no further.[3]

Southend remained in the Third Division for the next 39 seasons. The closest they came to a change were via two successful application for re-election, in 1921–22, their second season as a Football League club, and then in 1934–35,[4] and two third-place finishes, in 1931–32 and 1949–50, at a time when only the divisional champions were promoted. In 1965–66, they were relegated to the Fourth Division, and spent the next 25 years oscillating between the two.[3] Southend's first trophy in the Football League came in 1980–81, courtesy of a strong defence and a particularly strong home record, as they won the Fourth Division title by a two-point margin.[5] Eight years later, they were again promoted from the fourth tier, this time in third place,[3] and the following season, a final-day defeat deprived Southend of the title but they were still sure of the runners-up spot that gained promotion to the second tier for the first time in the club's history.[6] Southend spent six seasons at the higher level, during which time they lost a penalty shoot-out to Notts County in the semi-final of the 1993–94 Anglo-Italian Cup, before two consecutive relegations took them back whence they came.

In 2006–07, again after consecutive promotions, they played one more season in the Championship – the Football League's divisions had been rebranded two years earlier[7] – and produced their best League Cup performance, eliminating Manchester United in the fourth round before losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-final via an arguably offside goal scored five minutes from the end of extra time.[8] Southend reached the final of the Football League Trophy, a cup competition open to teams in the lower divisions of the Football League, in both 2004 and 2005. Both finals were played at the Millennium Stadium while the new Wembley Stadium was under construction, and both ended in defeat by two goals to nil, to Blackpool in 2004 and Wrexham the following year.[9] They repeated the procedure in 2013, albeit this time at the new Wembley, losing 2–0 to Crewe Alexandra and equalling Brentford's record of three final appearances without winning.[10] In 2019–20, Southend were relegated to League Two.[3]

As of the end of the 2019–20 season, the team have spent 25 seasons in the fourth tier of the English football league system, 61 in the third, and 7 in the second.[3] The table details the team's achievements and the top goalscorer in senior first-team competitions from their debut season in the Southern League in 1906–07 to the end of the most recently completed season.

Key

Key to league record: P – Played W – Games won D – Games drawn L – Games lost F – Goals for A – Goals against Pts – Points Pos – Final position Key to colours and symbols: 1st or W Winners 2nd or F Runners-up Promoted ↓ Relegated ♦ Top league scorer in Southend's division

Key to divisions: South 1 – Southern Football League First Division South 2 – Southern Football League Second Division Div 1 – Football League First Division Div 2 – Football League Second Division Div 3 – Football League Third Division Div 4 – Football League Fourth Division Champ – Football League Championship League 1 – Football League One, EFL League One League 2 – Football League Two, EFL League Two

Key to stages of competitions: Group – Group stage Prelim – Preliminary round QR1 – First qualifying round QR2 – Second qualifying round, etc. R1 – First round R2 – Second round, etc. QF – Quarter-final SF – Semi-final F – Runners-up W – Winners (S) – Southern section of regionalised stage

Details of the abandoned 1939–40 season are shown in italics and appropriately footnoted.

Seasons

List of seasons, including league division and statistics, cup results, and top scorer(s)

Season	League[3]									FA Cup[11]	League Cup[3][12][lower-alpha 1]	Other[3][12][14][15]		Top scorer(s)[lower-alpha 2]
	Division[lower-alpha 3]	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos			Competition	Result	Name	Goals
1906–07	South 2	22	14	5	3	58	23	33	1st	—	—	—	—	Not known	—
1907–08	South 2	18	13	3	2	47	16	29	1st	QR4	—	—	—	Not known	—
1908–09	South 1	40	14	10	16	52	54	38	12th	QR5	—	—	—	Not known	—
1909–10	South 1	42	12	9	21	51	90	33	20th	R2	—	—	—	Not known	—
1910–11	South 1 ↓	38	10	9	19	47	64	29	19th	R1	—	—	—	Not known	—
1911–12	South 2	26	16	1	9	73	24	33	4th	QR5	—	—	—	Not known	—
1912–13	South 2	24	14	6	4	43	23	34	2nd	R1	—	—	—	Not known	—
1913–14	South 1	38	10	12	16	41	66	32	16th	R1	—	—	—	Not known	—
1914–15	South 1	38	10	8	20	44	64	28	18th	R2	—	—	—	Not known	—
1915–19	The Southern League and FA Cup were suspended until after the First World War.
1919–20	South 1	42	13	17	12	46	48	43	11th	R1	—	—	—	Not known	—
1920–21	Div 3	42	14	8	20	44	61	36	17th	R3	—	—	—	Albert Fairclough	15
1921–22	Div 3S	42	8	11	23	34	74	27	22nd[lower-alpha 4]	R2	—	—	—	Jimmy Evans[lower-alpha 5]	10
1922–23	Div 3S	42	12	13	17	49	54	37	15th	QR5	—	—	—	Billy Goodwin	22
1923–24	Div 3S	42	12	10	20	53	84	34	19th	QR6	—	—	—	Billy Goodwin	11
1924–25	Div 3S	42	19	5	18	51	61	43	10th	QR5	—	—	—	Jimmy McClelland	21
1925–26	Div 3S	42	19	4	19	78	73	42	11th	R5	—	—	—	William Shaw	21
1926–27	Div 3S	42	14	6	22	64	77	34	19th	R2	—	—	—	Billy Hick	29
1927–28	Div 3S	42	20	6	16	80	64	46	7th	R2	—	—	—	Billy Hick	26
1928–29	Div 3S	42	15	11	16	80	75	41	12th	R1	—	—	—	Jimmy Shankly	35
1929–30	Div 3S	42	15	13	14	69	59	43	11th	R2	—	—	—	Fred Baron	22
1930–31	Div 3S	42	22	5	15	76	60	49	5th	R1	—	—	—	Jimmy Shankly	28
1931–32	Div 3S	42	21	11	10	77	53	53	3rd	R2	—	—	—	Jimmy Shankly	20
1932–33	Div 3S	42	15	11	16	65	82	41	13th	R4	—	—	—	Jack Morfitt	21
1933–34	Div 3S	42	12	10	20	51	74	34	16th	R3	—	Third Division South Cup	R2	Leo Stevens	21
1934–35	Div 3S	42	11	9	22	65	78	31	21st[lower-alpha 4]	R3	—	Third Division South Cup	R1	Harry Johnson	22
1935–36	Div 3S	42	13	10	19	61	62	36	18th	R3	—	Third Division South Cup	QF	Harry Lane	17
1936–37	Div 3S	42	17	11	14	78	67	45	10th	R2	—	Third Division South Cup	R2	Billy Dickinson	19
1937–38	Div 3S	42	15	10	17	70	68	40	12th	R3	—	Third Division South Cup	R1	Tudor Martin	18
1938–39	Div 3S	42	16	9	17	61	64	41	12th	R4	—	Third Division South Cup	R1	Alf Smirk	18
1939–40	Div 3S	3	1	1	1	3	3	3	—[lower-alpha 6]	—	—	—	—	Sam Bell Jack Ormandy and one own goal	1
1939–45	The Football League and FA Cup were suspended until after the First World War.
1945–46	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	R1[lower-alpha 7]	—	—	—	Alf Smirk	1
1946–47	Div 3S	42	17	10	15	71	60	44	8th	R3	—	—	—	Cyril Thompson	27
1947–48	Div 3S	42	15	13	14	51	58	43	9th	R1	—	—	—	Cyril Thompson	14
1948–49	Div 3S	42	9	16	17	41	46	34	18th	R1	—	—	—	Frank Dudley	12
1949–50	Div 3S	42	19	13	10	66	48	51	3rd	R3	—	—	—	Albert Wakefield	28
1950–51	Div 3S	46	21	10	15	92	69	52	7th	R1	—	—	—	Les Stubbs	19
1951–52	Div 3S	46	19	10	17	75	66	48	9th	R5	—	—	—	Albert Wakefield	21
1952–53	Div 3S	46	18	13	15	69	74	49	8th	R1	—	—	—	Cyril Grant	13
1953–54	Div 3S	46	18	7	21	69	71	43	16th	R2	—	—	—	Ken Bainbridge	12
1954–55	Div 3S	46	17	12	17	83	80	46	10th	R3	—	—	—	Roy Hollis	32
1955–56	Div 3S	46	21	11	14	88	80	53	4th	R4	—	—	—	Roy Hollis	26
1956–57	Div 3S	46	18	12	16	73	65	48	7th	R4	—	—	—	Roy Hollis	20
1957–58	Div 3S[lower-alpha 8]	46	21	12	13	90	58	54	7th	R3	—	—	—	Sammy McCrory[lower-alpha 9]	33 ♦
1958–59	Div 3	46	21	8	17	85	80	50	8th	R1	—	—	—	Bud Houghton	20
1959–60	Div 3	46	19	8	19	76	74	46	12th	R2	—	—	—	Dudley Price	29
1960–61	Div 3	46	14	11	21	60	76	39	20th	R2	R2	—	—	Peter Corthine Jim Fryatt	16
1961–62	Div 3	46	13	16	17	57	69	42	16th	R1	R1	—	—	Ken Jones	13
1962–63	Div 3	46	19	12	15	75	77	50	8th	R2	R2	—	—	Ken Jones	19
1963–64	Div 3	46	15	15	16	77	78	45	14th	R1	R3	—	—	Mike Beesley	13
1964–65	Div 3	46	19	8	19	78	71	46	12th	R1	R3	—	—	Bobby Gilfillan	23
1965–66	Div 3 ↓	46	16	4	26	54	83	36	21st	R3	R2	—	—	Eddie Firmani	20
1966–67	Div 4	46	22	9	15	70	49	53	6th	R1	R1	—	—	Ray Smith	19
1967–68	Div 4	46	20	14	12	77	58	54	6th	R1	R2	—	—	Phil Chisnall John McKinven	17
1968–69	Div 4	46	19	13	14	78	61	51	7th	R4	R2	—	—	Billy Best	31
1969–70	Div 4	46	15	10	21	59	85	40	17th	R1	R3	—	—	Billy Best	24
1970–71	Div 4	46	14	15	17	53	66	43	18th	R3	R1	—	—	Billy Best	22
1971–72	Div 4	46	24	12	10	81	55	60	2nd	R2	R1	—	—	Bill Garner	26
1972–73	Div 3	46	17	10	19	61	54	44	14th	R1	R2	—	—	Chris Guthrie	15
1973–74	Div 3	46	16	14	16	62	62	46	12th	R3	R1	—	—	Stuart Brace	20
1974–75	Div 3	46	13	16	17	46	51	42	18th	R3	R2	—	—	Chris Guthrie	17
1975–76	Div 3 ↓	46	12	13	21	65	75	37	23rd	R5	R1	—	—	Peter Silvester	23
1976–77	Div 4	46	15	19	12	52	45	49	10th	R3	R1	—	—	Stuart Parker	16
1977–78	Div 4	46	25	10	11	66	39	60	2nd	R3	R1	—	—	Derrick Parker	23
1978–79	Div 3	46	15	15	16	51	49	45	13th	R3	R1	—	—	Derrick Parker	12
1979–80	Div 3 ↓	46	14	10	22	47	58	38	22nd	R2	R3	—	—	Derrick Parker	10
1980–81	Div 4	46	30	7	9	79	31	67	1st	R1	R1	—	—	Derek Spence	21
1981–82	Div 3	46	18	15	13	63	51	69[lower-alpha 10]	7th	R1	R1	Football League Group Cup	Group	Keith Mercer	13
1982–83	Div 3	46	15	14	17	66	65	59	15th	R3	R1	Football League Group Cup	Group	Steve Phillips	20
1983–84	Div 3 ↓	46	10	14	22	55	76	44	22nd	R1	R1	Associate Members' Cup	QF(S)	Steve Phillips	17
1984–85	Div 4	46	13	11	22	58	83	50	20th	R1	R1	Associate Members' Cup	R1(S)	Steve Phillips	23
1985–86	Div 4	46	18	10	18	69	67	64	9th	R1	R1	Associate Members' Cup	Group	Richard Cadette[18]	25 ♦
1986–87	Div 4	46	25	5	16	68	55	80	3rd	R2	R2	Associate Members' Cup	R1(S)	Richard Cadette	30
1987–88	Div 3	46	14	13	19	65	83	55	17th	R1	R3	Associate Members' Cup	R1(S)	David Crown	17
1988–89	Div 3 ↓	46	13	15	18	56	75	54	21st	R1	R2	Associate Members' Cup	R1(S)	David Crown[lower-alpha 11]	29 ♦
1989–90	Div 4	42	22	9	15	61	48	75	3rd	R1	R2	Associate Members' Cup	QF(S)	David Crown	23
1990–91	Div 3	46	26	7	13	67	51	85	2nd[lower-alpha 12]	R1	R2	Associate Members' Cup	SF(S)	Brett Angell	26
1991–92	Div 2	46	17	11	18	63	63	62	12th	R3	R1	Full Members' Cup	R2(S)	Brett Angell	23
1992–93	Div 1[lower-alpha 13]	46	13	13	20	54	64	52	18th	R5	R1	Anglo-Italian Cup	Prelim	Stan Collymore	18
1993–94	Div 1	46	17	8	21	63	67	59	15th	R3	R2	Anglo-Italian Cup	SF	Ricky Otto	15
1994–95	Div 1	46	18	8	20	54	73	62	13th	R3	R1	—	—	Gary Jones Andy Thomson	11
1995–96	Div 1	46	15	14	17	52	61	59	14th	R3	R2	Anglo-Italian Cup	Group	Dave Regis	9
1996–97	Div 1 ↓	46	8	15	23	42	86	39	24th	R3	R1	—	—	Andy Rammell	10
1997–98	Div 2 ↓	46	11	10	25	47	79	43	24th	R2	R2	Football League Trophy	R1(S)	Jeroen Boere	14
1998–99	Div 3	46	14	12	20	52	58	54	18th	R1	R2	Football League Trophy	R2(S)	Rob Newman	8
1999–2000	Div 3	46	15	11	20	53	61	56	16th	R1	R1	Football League Trophy	R1(S)	Martin Carruthers	19
2000–01	Div 3	46	15	18	13	55	53	63	11th	R3	R1	Football League Trophy	F(S)	Ben Abbey Martin Carruthers David Lee	10
2001–02	Div 3	46	15	13	18	51	54	58	12th	R3	R1	Football League Trophy	R2(S)	Tes Bramble	13
2002–03	Div 3	46	17	3	26	47	59	54	17th	R2	R1	Football League Trophy	R1(S)	Mark Rawle	12
2003–04	Div 3	46	14	12	20	51	63	54	17th	R3	R1	Football League Trophy	F	Leon Constantine	25
2004–05	League 2[lower-alpha 14]	46	22	12	12	65	46	78	4th[lower-alpha 15]	R1	R1	Football League Trophy	F	Freddy Eastwood	24
2005–06	League 1	46	23	13	10	72	43	82	1st	R2	R1	Football League Trophy	R1(S)	Freddy Eastwood	25
2006–07	Champ ↓	46	10	12	24	47	80	42	22nd	R4	QF[lower-alpha 16]	—	—	Freddy Eastwood	16
2007–08	League 1	46	22	10	14	70	55	76	6th[lower-alpha 17]	R4	R3	Football League Trophy	R1(S)	Nicky Bailey	12
2008–09	League 1	46	21	8	17	58	61	71	8th	R3	R1	Football League Trophy	R1(S)	Lee Barnard	11
2009–10	League 1 ↓	46	10	13	23	51	72	43	23rd	R1	R2	Football League Trophy	R2(S)	Lee Barnard	17
2010–11	League 2	46	16	13	17	62	56	61	13th	R1	R2	Football League Trophy	QF(S)	Barry Corr	21
2011–12	League 2	46	25	8	13	77	48	83	4th[lower-alpha 18]	R2	R1	Football League Trophy	SF(S)	Ryan Hall	14
2012–13	League 2	46	16	13	17	61	55	61	11th	R3	R1	Football League Trophy	F	Britt Assombalonga Gavin Tomlin	16
2013–14	League 2	46	19	15	12	56	39	72	5th[lower-alpha 19]	R4	R1	Football League Trophy	R2(S)	Barry Corr	13
2014–15	League 2	46	24	12	10	54	38	84	5th[lower-alpha 20]	R1	R1	Football League Trophy	R1(S)	Barry Corr	16
2015–16	League 1	46	16	11	19	58	64	59	14th	R1	R1	Football League Trophy	QF(S)	Jack Payne	9
2016–17	League 1	46	20	12	14	70	53	72	7th	R1	R1	EFL Trophy	R2(S)	Simon Cox	16
2017–18	League 1	46	17	12	17	58	62	63	10th	R1	R1	EFL Trophy	R2(S)	Simon Cox	10
2018–19	League 1	46	14	8	24	55	68	50	19th	R2	R1	EFL Trophy	R3(S)	Simon Cox	15
2019–20	League 1 ↓	35	4	7	24	39	85	19	22nd[lower-alpha 21]	R1	R2	EFL Trophy	R1(S)	Charlie Kelman	7

Notes

1. The League Cup competition started in the 1960–61 season.[13]
2. Includes goals scored in all nationally organised competitions, i.e. the Football League, including play-offs, FA Cup, Football League Cup, Third Division South Cup, Football League Group Cup, Associate Members' Cup / Football League Trophy / EFL Trophy, Full Members' Cup and Anglo-Italian Cup. For seasons from 1920–21 to 2009–10, sourced to the English National Football Archive;[16] from 2001–02 onwards sourced to Soccerbase.[17]
3. From the 1920–21 Football League season onwards, divisions are sorted according to their level within the English football league system, and separately from the pre-Football League divisions.
4. Successfully applied for re-election to the Football League.[4]
5. All of Evans' goals were penalty kicks.
6. The 1939–40 Football League season was abandoned with three matches played when the Second World War began.[3]
7. Although the Football League did not resume until the 1946–47 season, the FA Cup was contested in 1945–46. From the first round proper to the sixth round (quarter-final), results were determined on aggregate score over two legs.[11][3]
8. Southend's top-half finish meant they were placed in the Football League Third Division when the regional sections were amalgamated into national Third and Fourth Divisions for the 1958–59 season.[13]
9. Scored 31 goals in the Third Division South.[18]
10. The 1981–82 season saw the introduction of three points for a win instead of two.[13]
11. Scored 26 goals in the Third Division.[18]
12. Promoted to the second tier for the first time.
13. The newly formed FA Premier League split from the Football League, and the remaining divisions of the Football League were renumbered upwards.[13]
14. From the 2004–05 season, the Football League divisions were rebranded: Division One was renamed the Football League Championship, and Divisions Two and Three became Football League One and Football League Two respectively.[7]
15. Promoted to League One via the play-offs, beating Northampton Town 1–0 on aggregate in the semi-final and Lincoln City 2–0 after extra time in the final.[3][19]
16. Southend's best performance in the League Cup. They eliminated Manchester United in the fourth round before losing narrowly to Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-final.[8]
17. Lost 5–1 on aggregate to Doncaster Rovers in the play-off semi-final.[20]
18. Lost 3–2 on aggregate to Crewe Alexandra in the play-off semi-final.[21]
19. Lost 3–2 on aggregate to Burton Albion in the play-off semi-final.[22]
20. Promoted to League One via the play-offs, beating Stevenage 4–2 on aggregate in the semi-final[23] and Wycombe Wanderers on penalties in the final.[24]
21. The 2019–20 football season was disrupted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The EFL was suspended in March 2020 and in June, the League One clubs voted to end the regular season programme early. Teams had not all played the same number of matches, so it was agreed to construct final league tables on a points-per-game basis. Southend United's 23.89 points per game placed them 22nd.[25][26]

References

1. "Southern League Annual Meeting". Daily Mirror. London. 31 May 1907. p. 14. The retiring clubs, last on the tournament list—Crystal Palace and Northampton Town—both appealed for re-election, and Southend United (the head of the Second Division) and Croydon Town were also applicants for positions in the League. On a vote being taken, Crystal Palace (thirty-three votes) and Northampton (thirty) were re-elected, Croydon receiving two votes and Southend one.
2. "'Spurs and Rangers left on the rocks". Daily Mirror. London. 30 May 1908. p. 14.
3. "Southend United". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
4. "Southend United". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
5. Miles, Peter (19 May 2016). "Blues history: the eighties". Southend United F.C. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
6. Miles, Peter (19 May 2016). "Blues history: the nineties". Southend United F.C. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
7. "League gets revamp". BBC Sport. 10 June 2004. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
8. Moore, Glenn (8 November 2006). "Southend United 1 Manchester United 0: Eastwood inspires humbling of United". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
   Leach, Conrad (21 December 2006). "Tottenham Hotspur 1 Southend United 0 (After Extra Time): Defoe strikes in extra time to break Southend". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
   Burnton, Simon (21 December 2006). "Defoe strikes in extra-time to finish Southend". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
9. "Blackpool 2–0 Southend". BBC Sport. 21 March 2004. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
   Lloyd, Grahame (11 April 2005). "Wrexham see silver lining in first prize". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
10. Osborne, Chris (7 April 2013). "Johnstone's Paint Trophy final: Crewe 2–0 Southend". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
    "Football League Trophy". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
11. "Past Results". The Football Association. Retrieved 29 September 2020. Individual seasons accessed via dropdown menu.
12. "Southend United football club complete match record". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
13. "History of the Football League". The Football League. 22 September 2010. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011.
14. For Football League Group Cup: "Football League Group Cup". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
15. For Third Division South Cup: "South Cup Summary – Contents". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
16. "Clubs". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 3 March 2020. Select season required via dropdown menu, and "Season players" tab for goals.
17. "Southend: Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 September 2020. Select season required via dropdown menu.
18. Ross, James M. (25 June 2015). "English League Leading Goalscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Retrieved 29 May 2016. Covers up to 2006–07 season.
19. Leach, Conrad (28 May 2005). "League Two play-off final: Freddy turns the dream into reality". The Independent. London. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
20. Sanghera, Mandeep (16 May 2008). "Doncaster 5–1 Southend (Agg 5–1)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
21. "Crewe reach League Two play-off final after draw at Southend". The Guardian. London. Press Association. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
22. "Southend 2–2 Burton Albion (agg 2–3)". BBC Sport. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
23. Garry, Tom (14 May 2015). "Southend United 3–1 Stevenage (agg 4–2)". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
24. "Southend 1–1 Wycombe (Southend win 7–6 on pens): Daniel Bentley stars in win". Sky Sports. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
25. "League One & League Two clubs vote to end seasons early". BBC Sport. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
26. "Sky Bet League One". English Football League. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.

External links

• Southend United F.C. official website