Southend United: Fans fear future without football club

Landlady Michelle Gargate said the club and her pub shared a history stretching back to the founding of Southend United

The landlady of the pub at which Southend United was founded said her business would "suffer greatly" if the club was to fold.

The club owes £1.4m to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, which has lodged a winding-up petition asking the High Court to have it closed down.

Michelle Gargate, who runs the Blue Boar, said the club was "incredibly important".

Shrimpers chairman Ron Martin said raising funds was his "primary focus".

The winding-up hearing is expected to be heard on 1 March. Mr Martin is understood to be seeking bridging funding of about £5m to cover the club's debt.

Central to Southend United's future is the chairman's long-standing ambition to develop Roots Hall - a project expected to yield a multimillion-pound return.

The current Roots Hall ground would be turned into 502 new homes for rent once the football club has relocated to a new stadium at Fossetts Farm.

• What does a winding-up hearing mean for Southend?

Going back 116 years, the foundations of Southend United began at the Blue Boar pub.

Ms Gargate, its landlady, said: "The pub is very close to the ground and people come to the pub before and after the games on match day - it is part of the experience, it is part of their day.

"We do have a regular weekday trade, but that won't pay the bills. Our revenue is mainly from match days.

"We would suffer greatly if Southend United was to fold. With Covid, then the rising costs, this would be another nail in the coffin.

"It is really sad and it makes me very angry the way the club is being run.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he [Mr Martin] found the money, but when would we be back in court?

"It just seems like kicking the can down the road."

Season ticket holder Kizzy Fast said she was fearful for the future of the club

Season ticket holder Kizzy Fast said she was finding the club's struggles "heart-breaking".

"For 90 minutes every two weeks you just escape everything," she said.

"You are sitting there watching a team you love and have loved and you get to know the players, and come to the local pub and see the same people. It is a great buzz."

Asked what the future holds for the club, Ms Fast said: "I'm unsure - but even if he [Mr Martin] does pull something off, I don't know how he's going to pay the loan after that."

Southend United was founded at the Blue Boar pub 116 years ago

In an email sent to the BBC, Mr Martin said: "We will not let the club be wound-up.

"And there are reasonable prospects in train to meet the club's cash needs in time, but it will be close.

"Raising the funds is my primary focus. We are advanced but not there yet.

"Times are tough but I'm not a magician. However, if we get past this current trauma, the future for the club is bright."

He said talks with the council over the move to Fossetts Farm were "advanced", though "perhaps a little slower than both the club and council would wish".

"With a fair wind and continued support from the council, we could be on site [at Fossetts Farm] in the close season, now that the new training ground works are completed," he said.