1. The Quakers (or the Society of Friends) are banned from worshipping in Southend following a riot in 1679 in which 57 people died
2. South End is so named not as commonly thought of as the Southern end of Prittlewell but as the last sounding point in the Thames Estuary. So it should be called Sound End but the locals didn't like that.
3. Roots Hall was the newest ground in England from 1955 until 1982 when Scunthorpe moved to Gladford Park
4. For a period in the 1990s Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt were banned from signing players from any club other than Southend leading to rubbish like Keith Jones, Chris Powell and Ricky Otto turning up at the Valley.
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They also have a 'seafood in a bun' equivalent in Clifftown Road called a Shrimpy.
For one game around that time ( I think it was Southend away to wolves but I don't have the programs to hand) the first four names on the Southend team sheet were
1. Simon Royce
2. Gary Poole
3. Chris Powel
4. Kieth Jones
the number 5 I think was a guy called Edwards who we never got around to signing. (I think the squad that day also included Otto and Jason Lee).
13 The official but rarely used name for Southend is Jimmy Seed end.
Jobson was quoted as saying that if he was going to pay for two great big tits up front then he was going to make sure he got some enjoyment out of it.
Roots Hall takes its it’s name from the local Australian community who like to sneak into the ground when the pubs have shut to root any Sheilas they’ve picked up. The poor playing surface is attributable to the number of ugly Bruces who are reduced to making glory holes on the pitch.
Southend only developed to town status with the invention of the steam locomotive in 1933. Its original name was Terminus.
Southend’s original football club was Southend Athletic. The club folded when their captain, manager and three major benefactors were killed in suspicious circumstances. Nobody was charged, but it was later revealed that the police’s main suspect was Charlton chairman Albert Gliksten whose ambitious plan for Charlton was to ensure the clubs place as the “number one team in the country called Athletic”. Luckily for Dave Whelan, Gliksten passed away soon after the war.
Albert Gliksten was also Chairman of Southend United and once sponsored at Gorilla a Bristol Zoo. This masterstroke of marketing genius helped ensure that for thirty years Southend’s crowds never rose above Conference levels.
Counter to the history and traditions of “10½ Things” one of these stories is actually true. To find out which one, click here: http://tinyurl.com/ybotojy
I, an 8 year old boy at the time, was pushed over by a Southend fan after the game.