# 2006–07 Southend United F.C. season

During the 2006–07 English football season, Southend United F.C. competed in the Football League Championship.

## Season summary

Southend United started the season reasonably well, beating Stoke City 1–0 on the opening day and defeating Sunderland 3–1 at Roots Hall several games later. After that, Southend did not win a league game for 18 games until 9 December when they beat Southampton 2–1. Southend followed this with a convincing 3–1 win over promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion; on New Year's Day, in defeating Cardiff City 1–0 thanks to Lee Bradbury's 30-yard volley, Southend picked up their first away victory of the season and stretched their unbeaten run to five games. A 3–1 victory away to Birmingham City on 31 January saw the Shrimpers lift themselves from the bottom of the Championship, moving above Leeds United on goal difference. Southend finally pulled themselves out of the relegation zone on 13 March when Richie Foran came off the bench to score his first Southend United goal in the sixth minute of injury time, giving the Shrimpers a 1–0 victory over Burnley.
Regrettably, the form did not last and, after a humiliating 3–0 home defeat to local rivals Colchester United, the Shrimpers were relegated back to League One.
Southend pulled one of the shocks of the season when they defeated eventual champions and reigning cup holders Manchester United (whose starting lineup featured the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney) 1–0 at Roots Hall in the League Cup, Freddy Eastwood netting after 27 minutes to send the Shrimpers through to the quarter-finals, against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Southend defended bravely against Spurs, taking the London club to extra time before Jermain Defoe scored the only goal of the game with five minutes of extra time left, although replays later proved he was offside.
Top scorer Freddy Eastwood was to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £1.5 million in the close season, in a move that struck a huge blow to Southend's hopes of an automatic return to the second tier.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 20 | Barnsley | 46 | 15 | 5 | 26 | 53 | 85 | −32 | 50 | |
| 21 | Hull City | 46 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 51 | 67 | −16 | 49 | |
| 22 | Southend United (R) | 46 | 10 | 12 | 24 | 47 | 80 | −33 | 42 | Relegation to Football League One |
| 23 | Luton Town (R) | 46 | 10 | 10 | 26 | 53 | 81 | −28 | 40 | Relegation to Football League One |
| 24 | Leeds United (R) | 46 | 13 | 7 | 26 | 46 | 72 | −26 | 36 | Relegation to Football League One |
* ↑ Leeds United had 10 points deducted for entering financial administration.

## Results

Southend United's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League Championship

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 5 August 2006 | Stoke City | H | 1–0 | 8,971 | Eastwood (pen) |
| 8 August 2006 | Crystal Palace | A | 1–3 | 18,072 | Eastwood |
| 12 August 2006 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–2 | 12,368 | |
| 19 August 2006 | Sunderland | H | 3–1 | 9,848 | Barrett (2), Bradbury |
| 26 August 2006 | Leicester City | A | 0–1 | 19,427 | |
| 9 September 2006 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–0 | 9,639 | |
| 12 September 2006 | Norwich City | H | 3–3 | 11,072 | Eastwood, Hammell, Gower |
| 16 September 2006 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | 19,576 | Harrold |
| 24 September 2006 | Cardiff City | H | 0–3 | 7,901 | |
| 30 September 2006 | Derby County | A | 0–3 | 22,395 | |
| 13 October 2006 | Coventry City | H | 2–3 | 9,821 | Eastwood (2, 1 pen) |
| 17 October 2006 | Burnley | A | 0–0 | 10,461 | |
| 21 October 2006 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–3 | 11,415 | Francis |
| 28 October 2006 | Leeds United | A | 0–2 | 19,528 | |
| 31 October 2006 | Hull City | H | 2–3 | 10,234 | Harrold, Eastwood |
| 4 November 2006 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–3 | 17,904 | Harrold |
| 11 November 2006 | Preston North End | H | 0–0 | 9,263 | |
| 18 November 2006 | Plymouth Argyle | H | 1–1 | 9,469 | Gower |
| 25 November 2006 | Colchester United | A | 0–3 | 5,954 | |
| 28 November 2006 | Barnsley | A | 0–2 | 9,588 | |
| 2 December 2006 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 0–1 | 9,411 | |
| 9 December 2006 | Southampton | H | 2–1 | 10,867 | Eastwood, McCormack |
| 15 December 2006 | Luton Town | A | 0–0 | 7,468 | |
| 23 December 2006 | Birmingham City | H | 0–4 | 9,781 | |
| 26 December 2006 | Norwich City | A | 0–0 | 25,433 | |
| 30 December 2006 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | 16,623 | Gower |
| 1 January 2007 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3–1 | 9,907 | Campbell-Ryce (2), Hunt |
| 13 January 2007 | Cardiff City | A | 1–0 | 13,822 | Bradbury |
| 20 January 2007 | Derby County | H | 0–1 | 10,745 | |
| 30 January 2007 | Birmingham City | A | 3–1 | 19,177 | Maher, Eastwood, Gower |
| 3 February 2007 | Stoke City | A | 1–1 | 23,017 | Eastwood |
| 9 February 2007 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 5–0 | 10,217 | Bradbury, Gower, Sodje, Maher (2) |
| 17 February 2007 | Sunderland | A | 0–4 | 33,576 | |
| 20 February 2007 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–1 | 10,419 | |
| 24 February 2007 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–3 | 24,116 | Hunt, Eastwood |
| 3 March 2007 | Leicester City | H | 2–2 | 10,528 | Eastwood, McCormack |
| 10 March 2007 | Ipswich Town | A | 2–0 | 24,051 | Gower, Clarke |
| 13 March 2007 | Burnley | H | 1–0 | 8,855 | Foran |
| 17 March 2007 | Leeds United | H | 1–1 | 11,274 | Gower |
| 31 March 2007 | Hull City | A | 0–4 | 19,629 | |
| 6 April 2007 | Colchester United | H | 0–3 | 10,552 | |
| 9 April 2007 | Preston North End | A | 3–2 | 13,684 | Maher (2), McCormack |
| 14 April 2007 | Barnsley | H | 1–3 | 10,089 | Gower |
| 21 April 2007 | Plymouth Argyle | A | 1–2 | 11,097 | Clarke |
| 28 April 2007 | Luton Town | H | 1–3 | 10,276 | Bradbury |
| 6 May 2007 | Southampton | A | 1–4 | 32,008 | Barrett |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 2007 | Barnsley | H | 1–1 | 5,485 | Gower |
| R3R | 16 January 2007 | Barnsley | A | 2–0 | 4,944 | Maher, Bradbury |
| R4 | 27 January 2007 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–3 | 33,406 | Eastwood (pen) |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 | 22 August 2006 | Bournemouth | A | 3–1 | 3,764 | Gower, Eastwood (2, 1 pen) |
| R2 | 19 September 2006 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 3–2 | 4,819 | Paynter, Hunt, Eastwood |
| R3 | 24 October 2006 | Leeds United | A | 3–1 | 10,449 | Hammell (pen), Hooper (2) |
| R4 | 7 November 2006 | Manchester United | H | 1–0 | 11,532 | Eastwood |
| R5 | 20 December 2006 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–1(a.e.t.) | 35,811 | |

## Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Darryl Flahavan |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Simon Francis |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Che Wilson |
| 4 | MF | ENG | Lewis Hunt |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Spencer Prior |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Adam Barrett |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Mark Gower |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Kevin Maher |
| 9 | FW | IRL | Richie Foran |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Freddie Eastwood |
| 12 | FW | ENG | Lee Bradbury |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Steve Collis |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Lloyd Sam (on loan from Charlton Athletic) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Peter Clarke |
| 16 | DF | NGA | Efe Sodje |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Jamal Campbell-Ryce |
| 18 | MF | SCO | Steven Hammell |
| 19 | FW | ENG | Billy Paynter |
| 20 | FW | ENG | James Lawson |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Gary Hooper |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Charles Ademeno |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Matt Harrold |
| 25 | MF | BEL | Franck Moussa |
| 26 | MF | IRL | Alan McCormack |
| 28 | MF | ENG | Joel Ledgister |
| 30 | GK | ENG | Joe Welch |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Michael Ricketts (to Preston North End) |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Mitchell Cole (to Stevenage Borough) |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Luke Guttridge (to Leyton Orient) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Jay Smith (to Notts County) |
| 27 | FW | ESP | Arnau Riera (on loan from Sunderland) |