Southend United – 1923–24 Season
Southend United 1923–24
A tough campaign with goals, gaps and hard lessons
A step back after the recovery
After the improvement of 1922–23, this was a reminder that life in the Third Division South was still hard graft. Southend United had goals in the side, but they also had a defence that took too many heavy blows.
The Blues finished 19th of 22, scored 53 league goals, but conceded 84. That tells the story better than anything else: plenty of fight going forward, but too many afternoons where the game ran away from us.
Even so, there were bright moments. Big home wins over Northampton Town, Queens Park Rangers, Watford and Brentford showed what the side could do at The Kursaal. The problem was consistency — and away from home especially, Southend had some very long days.
League Record
| Competition | Football League Third Division South |
|---|---|
| Final Position | 19th of 22 |
| Played | 42 |
| Won | 12 |
| Drawn | 10 |
| Lost | 20 |
| Goals For | 53 |
| Goals Against | 84 |
| Goal Average | 0.631 |
| Points | 34 |
Top Scorer
goals
Goodwin remained Southend’s leading goal threat, but compared with his explosive previous season the goals were more spread out and harder to turn into points.
Home & Away League Record
Home Record
| Won | 11 |
|---|---|
| Drawn | 7 |
| Lost | 3 |
| Goals | 35 for, 19 against |
| Points | 29 |
Away Record
| Won | 1 |
|---|---|
| Drawn | 3 |
| Lost | 17 |
| Goals | 18 for, 65 against |
| Points | 5 |
League Runs & Season Records
The season never quite settled. Southend could put together useful unbeaten spells, but the heavy defeats away from home kept dragging the campaign back down.
v Northampton Town
at Northampton Town
FA Cup
Southend’s FA Cup run came through the qualifying rounds. The Blues beat King’s Lynn at The Kursaal, won away at Clapton, then fell at Llanelly in the Sixth Qualifying Round.
The Kursaal
The Kursaal was still where Southend looked most capable. Nine of the twelve league wins came at home, and the season’s best performances were mostly produced in front of the Southend crowd.
The 5–1 win over Northampton Town was the highlight, while wins over Watford, Queens Park Rangers, Brentford and Norwich showed that there was still plenty of bite in the side on its day.
Attendances
Millwall Athletic away
Swansea Town / Brighton
from available figures
from available figures
Key Figures
Manager
- Ted Birnie
Top Scorer
- Billy Goodwin
Ground
- The Kursaal
Season Story
- Goals going forward, trouble at the back
Why This Season Matters
1923–24 is not one of the famous Southend seasons, but it tells us plenty about the early Football League years. The club had survived the re-election scare, improved the year after, then hit another rough campaign.
The numbers show the problem clearly: Southend scored more than the season before, but conceded thirty more league goals. That imbalance left the Blues too close to the bottom again.
It is a reminder that building a Football League club was not a straight line. There were setbacks, heavy defeats and hard lessons — but Southend were still there, still fighting, and still part of the League story.
Match Results
| Date | Competition | Venue | Match | Attendance | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25/08/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Merthyr Town 3–2 Southend United | 8,000 | L |
| 27/08/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 2–2 Charlton Athletic | 8,000 | D |
| 01/09/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 3–1 Merthyr Town | 8,500 | W |
| 03/09/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Charlton Athletic 4–1 Southend United | 4,000 | L |
| 08/09/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Newport County 5–0 Southend United | 8,000 | L |
| 15/09/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 2–0 Newport County | 8,000 | W |
| 19/09/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 0–1 Portsmouth | 6,000 | L |
| 22/09/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Bristol Rovers 3–1 Southend United | 9,000 | L |
| 29/09/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 1–0 Bristol Rovers | 7,500 | W |
| 06/10/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 0–0 Millwall Athletic | 8,500 | D |
| 13/10/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Millwall Athletic 0–0 Southend United | 20,000 | D |
| 20/10/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 3–1 Brentford | 7,000 | W |
| 27/10/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Brentford 3–1 Southend United | 5,000 | L |
| 03/11/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 1–1 Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 6,200 | D |
| 10/11/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic 0–1 Southend United | 5,000 | W |
| 17/11/1923 | FA Cup | H | Southend United 1–0 King’s Lynn | 6,577 | W |
| 24/11/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Portsmouth 3–0 Southend United | 9,000 | L |
| 01/12/1923 | FA Cup | A | Clapton 1–3 Southend United | — | W |
| 08/12/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 2–1 Reading | 5,000 | W |
| 15/12/1923 | FA Cup | A | Llanelly 2–1 Southend United | 7,276 | L |
| 22/12/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 0–0 Exeter City | 3,000 | D |
| 25/12/1923 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 1–1 Aberdare Athletic | 7,000 | D |
| 26/12/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Aberdare Athletic 5–2 Southend United | 8,000 | L |
| 29/12/1923 | Football League Third Division South | A | Luton Town 4–4 Southend United | — | D |
| 05/01/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 1–1 Luton Town | 7,000 | D |
| 12/01/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Reading 1–0 Southend United | — | L |
| 19/01/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Norwich City 3–1 Southend United | 5,000 | L |
| 26/01/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 3–1 Norwich City | 6,000 | W |
| 09/02/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 0–2 Swindon Town | 4,000 | L |
| 16/02/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Watford 4–1 Southend United | — | L |
| 23/02/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Exeter City 2–0 Southend United | 4,000 | L |
| 01/03/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Swansea Town 2–1 Southend United | 12,000 | L |
| 08/03/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 0–0 Swansea Town | 9,000 | D |
| 15/03/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 5–1 Northampton Town | 7,000 | W |
| 19/03/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 3–0 Watford | — | W |
| 22/03/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Northampton Town 8–0 Southend United | — | L |
| 29/03/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 3–2 Gillingham | 5,000 | W |
| 02/04/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Swindon Town 3–0 Southend United | — | L |
| 05/04/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Gillingham 3–2 Southend United | 6,000 | L |
| 12/04/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 4–2 Queens Park Rangers | — | W |
| 18/04/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Brighton & Hove Albion 2–0 Southend United | 9,000 | L |
| 19/04/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Queens Park Rangers 0–0 Southend United | — | D |
| 21/04/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 1–0 Brighton & Hove Albion | 9,000 | W |
| 26/04/1924 | Football League Third Division South | H | Southend United 0–2 Plymouth Argyle | — | L |
| 03/05/1924 | Football League Third Division South | A | Plymouth Argyle 7–1 Southend United | — | L |