Southend after 12 games: how do The Shrimpers compare with the champions?

Saturday’s 3–1 victory over AFC Fylde completed Southend’s opening 12 National League matches of 2026/27. With six home games and six away games played, we have an even split to compare with the start of last season.

The opponents and circumstances differ, but using the same number of completed league matches gives us a useful measure of progress.

The first 12 games compared

The biggest change is in front of goal

Southend have scored in every league game this season and reached three goals or more on six occasions, compared with twice in the opening 12 matches last term.

The 6–1 victory at Gateshead gives the total a sizeable lift, but the improvement stretches beyond that afternoon. Leaving the Gateshead fixture out of each season, The Shrimpers have scored 23 goals in the other 11 matches this time, compared with 14 last season.

There have been 3–1 away wins at Altrincham and Solihull Moors, a 3–2 victory over Yeovil Town and further 3–1 successes against Tamworth and AFC Fylde. That is a regular supply of goals across several fixtures.

An average of 2.42 goals per game has also helped Southend win despite conceding. They have won six matches without keeping a clean sheet; at the same stage last season, that had happened once.

More home wins, but a defensive cost

Last season’s first six league matches at Roots Hall produced two wins, three draws and one defeat. Southend scored seven goals, conceded four and collected nine points.

This season’s six home games have brought four wins and two defeats, with 13 scored, 11 conceded and 12 points earned.

The extra victories are welcome, but the defeats against Kidderminster Harriers and Barrow show how costly defensive problems can become. All seven additional goals conceded in the overall comparison have come at Roots Hall.

An unbeaten start on the road

Southend have taken 12 points from six away matches through three wins and three draws. Last season, three wins, one draw and two defeats brought ten points from the opening six trips.

The number of victories is unchanged, but avoiding defeat has added two points. Away scoring has also risen from ten goals to 16, while goals conceded remain at seven.

There will still be frustration over the late equalisers at Carlisle and Eastleigh, but the improved attacking return has come without an increase in goals conceded on the road.

How Southend compare with the last four champions

Looking at the teams who went on to win the league gives this start another useful context. Each row below covers the first 12 completed league matches, in the order played, with cup fixtures excluded.

Ahead of York, with a bigger challenge to follow

York City reached 22 points after their first 12 league games last season, following a 2–1 win at Hartlepool on 4 October 2025. Southend’s current return is two points higher, with one more victory and five more goals scored.

York’s stronger defensive record gave them a slightly better goal difference, but it was their form over the rest of the campaign that made them champions. They finished on 108 points, collecting 86 from their remaining 34 matches — a little over 2.5 per game.

Southend are ahead of York’s opening pace. Matching the consistency that followed is a much bigger task.

Barnet and Wrexham set a close benchmark

Barnet had 27 points after 12 games in 2024/25, three more than Southend have now. The Shrimpers have lost fewer matches and scored more goals, but Barnet’s nine victories and tighter defence gave them the advantage.

Wrexham’s 26 points in 2022/23 were just two above Southend’s current total. Their 31 goals scored were also close to The Shrimpers’ return, although conceding only ten gave them a much stronger goal difference of +21.

Both comparisons show Southend within a few points of a title-winning start, while also illustrating how much a stronger defensive record can help.

Chesterfield found a different route

Chesterfield were the fastest starters of the four champions, taking 31 points from their opening 12 matches in 2023/24.

They had conceded 20 goals — two more than Southend — and kept only one clean sheet. Their 31 goals scored produced the same +11 goal difference The Shrimpers have now, but ten victories turned that attacking output into a much higher points total.

That is a useful reminder that clean sheets are not the only route to success. Chesterfield frequently played close games, but kept finding the winning goal.