Southend United: After the Lord Maher’s Show
Southend United remain the league’s sleeping giant. They finished 6th last season, lost the play-off eliminator at Scunthorpe, then ended the campaign with a trophy by beating Wealdstone on penalties at Wembley. That FA Trophy win gave the season a proper ending, but it did not quieten the bigger question: how quickly can Southend get back into the Football League?
The numbers explain why expectations never really drop at Roots Hall. Southend averaged gates of more than 8,000, making them the best-supported club in the division. They also had the meanest defence outside the top two. That should usually point to a club building carefully around a strong base. Instead, Southend have gone for upheaval.
Kevin Maher left within days of lifting silverware. Gus Scott-Morriss, the wing-back who scored the winning penalty at Wembley and hit 17 goals last season, has gone to Oldham. Captain Nathan Ralph, Joe Gubbins, Noor Husin, Jack Bridge and Keenan Appiah-Forson have also moved on.
Kieron Dyer now walks into one of the biggest jobs in the division, with a fanbase that wants promotion, a squad that has changed sharply, and a club structure that suddenly looks very different.
From the dugout
Southend’s summer turned sharply when Kevin Maher was moved on after the end-of-season review. He had just won the FA Trophy, reached Wembley twice, and delivered back-to-back top-seven finishes. His exit stung because he was woven into the club’s modern story: over 450 appearances, two promotions as captain, then a rescue job through years of turmoil.
The club have now gone all-in on a new structure. Oliver Gage arrives as Director of Football, Jonathan Duckett leads recruitment, and Kieron Dyer takes the dugout. That leaves everyone exposed. Dyer must coach, Gage must prove the model, and COSU must show the Maher call was justified.
Manager Profile
Kieron Dyer brings a huge playing name, but this is his biggest coaching test. He won 33 England caps, played over 250 Premier League games, and later worked at Ipswich and Chesterfield. The Chesterfield spell gives the appointment more substance than fame alone. Dyer was part of a staff that won the National League and settled quickly into League Two. He knows what promotion-level standards look like at this level.
His first message was ambitious: intensity, possession, attacking football, and no fear. Southend supporters will like the sound of that, but the role demands more than soundbites. He has to replace leaders, reshape the dressing room, and prove he can lead from the front. This is not a safe appointment. It is a modern one, with upside, risk, and plenty to prove.
Summer Mood
Southend’s summer has become a test of trust. The club has replaced an established coaching team, allowed much of a play-off squad to leave and committed to a new football structure built around Kieran Dyer and Ollie Gage. The early signings have offered encouragement, particularly in midfield and the wide areas, but the rebuild has moved slowly enough to leave parts of the support questioning whether everything will be ready in time.
The concern is less about one individual signing than the scale of the job still being completed. Southend entered pre-season short of senior numbers, with staffing positions unresolved and important areas of the squad still needing depth. Further departures would increase that pressure and leave a largely new group with little time to develop the understanding required for a promotion challenge. Supporters disagree over whether that represents careful recruitment or poor preparation, but the uncertainty is real.
There is still genuine excitement. The club’s investment in medical, performance and analytical infrastructure suggests this is intended to be more than a cosmetic reshuffle, while several recruits appear suited to the more progressive style Dyer wants to introduce. But Southend have not made these changes to settle for a quiet rebuilding year. Promotion has been discussed openly, the play-offs remain the minimum expectation for many, and patience will disappear quickly if the season begins with the team still looking incomplete.
Squad
Southend’s squad profile points to a sharp summer shift. The retained core is fairly tight, with Austin, Boyes, Goodliffe, Parillon, Coker, Kendall and Taylor giving Dyer a base, but the new arrivals have made the group younger, more athletic and a little more varied. Cardwell’s permanent return keeps a familiar goalscoring reference point in the building, Oldaker and Hartigan add promotion-winning midfield know-how, Popoola and Twamley offer pace and directness, and Duncan gives them a young goalkeeper after Andeng-Ndi’s move.
The concern is the scale of what has gone. Scott-Morriss, Ralph, Bridge, Husin, Gubbins, Miley and others take away huge experience, output and dressing-room weight, so this looks like a talented but heavily reshaped Southend squad with plenty still to replace.
Retained
- Sam Austin | Midfield | Age 29
- Harry Boyes | Defence | Age 24
- Ben Goodliffe | Defence | Age 27
- Leon Parillon | Midfield | Age 24
- Oli Coker | Midfield | Age 23
- Charley Kendall | Forward | Age 25
- Harry Taylor | Defence | Age 29
- Jack Stone | Forward | Age 20
Players in
- Harry Cardwell « Forest Green Rovers | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 29
- Josh Popoola « Maidenhead United | Undisclosed Compensation Fee | Forward | Age 22
- Darren Oldaker « Swindon Town | Undisclosed Fee | Midfield | Age 27
- Anthony Hartigan « Barnet FC | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 26
- Daniel Cox « Derby County | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 20
- Lewis Twamley « Merthyr Town | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 23
- Rayan Oyebade « West Ham United | Season Long Loan | Defence | Age 19
- Vontae Daley-Campbell « Chesterfield | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 25
- Joe Duncan « Bristol City | Season Long Loan | Goalkeeper | Age 19
- NEW: Ryan Colclough | Unattached | Forward | Age 31
- NEW: Tommy Backwell | Cheltenham Town | Midfield | Age 23
- NEW: Sahid Kamara | Braintree Town | Forward | Age 22
Players out
- James Morton | Released | Midfield | Age 27
- Cav Miley » Chelmsford City | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 31
- Josh Walker » Hornchurch FC | Free Transfer | Forward | Age 28
- Tom Hopper | Released | Forward | Age 32
- George Wind » Billericay Town | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 23
- Nathan Ralph » Chelmsford City | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 33
- Joe Gubbins » Yeovil Town | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 24
- Noor Husin » Worthing FC | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 29
- Gus Scott-Morriss » Oldham Athletic | Free Transfer | Defence | Age 29
- Jack Bridge » Chelmsford City | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 30
- Keenan Appiah-Forson » Oldham Athletic | Free Transfer | Midfield | Age 24
- Collin Andeng-Ndi » Peterborough United | Undisclosed Compensation Fee | Goalkeeper | Age 22
- Slavi Spasov » Yeovil Town | Undisclosed Fee | Forward | Age 24
One to Watch
Josh Popoola.
Oldaker and Hartigan bring the safer qualities — control, experience and promotion know-how — but Popoola offers more mystery and possibly more excitement.
He arrives from Maidenhead after a productive season, with more than 20 goal contributions and a reputation for pace, power and skill, which feels important in a Southend side that has lost so much attacking output.
Dyer wants front-foot football, high intensity and players who can carry the ball into dangerous areas, and Popoola looks like the sort of signing who can help make that style click. He will need time, and Roots Hall can be an intense place when expectation rises, but if he starts well, he could quickly become one of the players who helps supporters buy into the new era.
Bookies’ Odds
The bookies will always treat Southend United as the sleeping giant of the division. Oddschecker has them at 8/1 for the National League title, placing them slap bang amongst it. Shrimpers fans will expect to challenge but will caution that the squad is not finished yet.
There is real excitement around the midfield, with Oldaker, Hartigan and Parillon viewed by some as one of the strongest units in the league, while energy comes from the Popoola and Twamley additions. The concern is what still needs adding.
The market already respects the size of the club, the ambition and the early business, but the jigsaw needs completing. Fans are still talking about another goalkeeper, right-back cover, more flair out wide and, most of all, a proven centre-forward who can turn a promising squad into a promotion one.
Prediction — 5th
Southend still feel like a play-off side with a high ceiling, but the squad has changed too much — and still needs a striker and a bit more depth — before they’re viewed as a title pick.
