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Key information about Roots Hall

The current, new Roots Hall was built in 1952 and opened in 1955 and is now the home of Southend United. The ground is located in Southend-on-Sea and is the largest stadium in Essex.

Its current capacity stands at 12,392 and has a pitch size of 100m x 68m with no running track nor undersoil heating installed.

The record attendance was set in 1979 when 31,033 supporters gathered to watch the visiting Liverpool in action in the FA Cup.

A history of Roots Hall

Southend United have been truly nomadic since their inception and have called multiple grounds their home over the years. They were settled in the original Roots Hall from 1906 until 1919 and would then move to the Kursaal, the Southend Stadium, New Writtle Street, Chelmsford and then finally, to Roots Hall again from 1955 to the present day.

When the club was founded, they played at the site of Roots Hall but had to move away in 1919, as we mentioned, because of World War I. The area was used for storage so they were forced to vacant the ground and move to the Kursaal.

As we now know, they would spend around three decades moving around until they finally returned home in 1955, three years after the development of Roots Hall was started and once again opened for business. Interestingly enough, it would be the last new stadium in England to open until as late as 1988.

The first game to be played there was between the hosts and their visitors, Norwich, on 20 August 1955 and in the first season after the ground’s grand opening, the stadium was still incomplete with the drainage on the pitch a big problem during the 1955/1956 campaign. So much so that it had to be completely replaced in the off-season.

Some of the first changes were done in the 1960s with the added roof, the extension of the stands and the club installing floodlighting. Soon afterwards, in 1979, they recorded their highest attendance to date when Liverpool came to visit in the FA Cup in front of 31,033 supporters.

New upgrades were recorded in the 1980s and 1990s, even though the club was somewhat struggling financially at that time. In 1994, Roots Hall was converted into an all-seater and part of the south stand got sold off to real estate developers to give Southend United a financial boost.

Some of the final improvements were made in 1995 when the west stand roof was extended with seating also being installed in the north-west corner of the ground. Lately, the club has been looking into the possibility of moving to a brand new stadium, Fossetts Farm, and they received planning permission in January 2007.

Even though it was initially planned to be opened in December 2018, we are still waiting on the final verdict as to when the club can move to their new home.

Tickets to watch Southend United at Roots Hall

All tickets to watch Southend United at Roots Hall can be found on the club’s official website. The price varies depending on multiple factors such as category and age but the adult ticket bought in advance costs £22.

Southend United also offer season and half-season tickets as well as group and student discounts. More information can be found on their official website.

Related links

https://www.southendunited.co.uk/ – Official website of Southend United

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Sun, Manchester United are ready to exercise an option which would see them extend Eric Bailly’s contract by one year.

What’s the word?

The Ivory Coast international has been out of action for the Red Devils since suffering a knee problem against Tottenham back in the summer in pre-season, and his current deal with the club expires at the end of the campaign.

Despite his troubles, The Sun claim United are ready to stop Bailly leaving on a free, and will take up their option of a further year on the 25-year-old in the coming weeks.

The report further claims a source revealed that the club have been “very prudent” in ensuring players don’t run down their contracts, and that “for the next year, at least, we will box him off and see how his playing time fares over the rest of this season.”

Waste of money

At what point do United simply go ‘enough is enough’? Bailly’s injury hell has been hard to watch, particularly for a centre-back who, in the times he has gotten out onto the pitch, has performed reasonably well. As per Whoscored, in his debut campaign at Old Trafford after Jose Mourinho signed him for £30m, he averaged an impressive 2.4 tackles, 2.4 interceptions and five clearances per game in the Premier League.

But that was more than two years ago. Since then, the Ivorian has been beset with injury after injury, and as per Transfermarkt, has already missed a staggering 62 games for the Red Devils. Whilst simply adding one year on to his deal doesn’t seem like much, his reported £80k-a-week contract will continue to be an albatross around United’s finances. The club are effectively paying someone who you wouldn’t bet on playing on a regular basis.

With Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof seemingly Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s established partnership at centre-back, and with academy product Axel Tuanzebe waiting in the wings too, United have an abundance of options in the position. They should really be ruthless and cut their losses on Bailly, and quite simply, move on.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking after his side’s 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester City, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hailed the impact of Manchester United’s summer signings.

What did he say?

The Red Devils have enjoyed one of their finest weeks in recent memory, with a mid-week win over Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, followed up by their derby-day triumph on Saturday.

In an impressive first-half performance, United raced to a 2-0 lead, and were perhaps unlucky not to have been out of sight in terms of the score-line. But having sealed the victory, Solskjaer took a moment to pay tribute to the club’s three summer arrivals: Daniel James, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

He said (as quoted by the club’s official website): “Today is why we have signed these three players. They fit perfectly into the way I want to play football and how the club wants to play. They’re humble lads, hard working, great values. Aaron, he’s playing against Sterling out there, Mahrez out there, De Bruyne out there and they just couldn’t get past him.

“It’s a Man United performance in my mould. I love boys going forward. Of course there were times today where we didn’t keep the ball as well as we could have. But we’re improving all the time and the boys are getting experiences to remember. They’re young boys. Aaron today was again fantastic.”

Encouraging sign

Whilst United came under a lot of criticism for their transfer business in the summer – Paul Scholes infamously branded their decision to sell Romelu Lukaku to Inter a “mistake” – there can be no question that the three players who did arrive at Old Trafford have shown that they can have a long and promising future. James has scored three times and provided five assists, Wan-Bissaka is in the top five for most tackles made in the Premier League, and Maguire produced one of his best performances in a Red Devils shirt on Saturday with a mammoth ten clearances to his name.

A real test for any fan: Can you name all of these obscure Man Utd signings?

It means that perhaps the club can be trusted to buy very well in the transfer market, and with the January window coming up, it could well be very exciting times for United. A few more players who “fit perfectly” into what Solskjaer wants could be the key to them securing Champions League football for next season. They got their signings right in the summer, now it’s their chance to get it spot on again in the winter.

Meanwhile, Manchester United fans have lauded this ace for his immense display against Manchester City.

Santiago Solari didn’t really have the best of times while coaching the Spanish giants that are Real Madrid.

The now 43-year-old manager was at the helm of the Galacticos for two periods, one as a caretaker and then one as the main coach.

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But his spell was not really as successful and he only lasted for 28 games before getting sacked and replaced.

And now, months after his initial departure, Solari seems to be making a grand return to Real Madrid but this time, not as a coach anymore.

According to Cadena SER, he will now assume the role of an ambassador of the club and upon seeing this piece of news, many Madridistas were actually pretty happy about it.

Solari seems to be someone who they still like despite his failed spell at the club all those months ago.

Many of them stated how happy they are to have him back in the family and some even said that he would always be one of them.

You can see some of their reactions and comments down in the collection of tweets below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Sky Sports, Manchester United “will not be pursuing” a move for former star Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the upcoming January transfer window.

What’s the word?

The Swede’s first spell at Old Trafford was a very successful one, with the 38-year-old scoring 29 times and providing a further 10 assists in 53 games across all competitions.

The veteran opened the door to a potential return to the club earlier this season, but according to Sky Sports, it appears that may not turn out to be the case. The report claims that whilst Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are keen to “bolster” their options up front, they will not be targeting a move for Ibrahimovic when the winter window opens up in a couple of months time.

The perfect stop-gap

Whilst it is understandable that the Red Devils are perhaps focused on building for the future, a mid-season swoop for Ibrahimovic makes sense on so many levels. The forward already knows the club inside out from his time at Old Trafford before, and at 38, would surely be content with playing sporadically.

His gravitas and charismatic style would also be a major lift to the United dressing room, whilst his goal-scoring pedigree would be something the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood could really learn from. His incredibly long and successful career has seen him win countless trophies, including league titles in France, Italy and Spain – the kind of knowledge and know-how that would be like stardust to United’s young forward.

Additionally, luring big-money targets in January is always difficult with clubs unwilling to lose them when they may have something to fight for, so a move for Ibrahimovic would allow them to have a bona-fide star for half a season before making an attempt to sign a striker much higher up on their short-list in the summer.

The Red Devils’ reported reluctance to bring the Swede back to Manchester smacks of sheer narrow mindedness.

Tottenham reportedly sent scouts to watch Fenerbahce’s Vedat Muriqi in action for Kosovo on Monday, but they may not be too impressed with what they saw.

Mauricio Pochettino made the decision to allow Fernando Llorente to leave over the summer but failed to replace the Spaniard, leaving Harry Kane as the only natural striker in the squad.

As a result, it is not surprising to see the club linked with a new attacker, and the Kosovo international has been a subject of admiration, with Manchester United also reported to be interested.

The 25-year-old has enjoyed a relatively good start to his international career with five goals in 20 caps for a side ranked 119th in the world, and he continues to score in the Super Lig at a prolific rate.

His three goals in seven games this term – to add to his 17 goals and eight assists for Caykur Rizespor last year – is likely what has drawn the attention of Spurs, but he showed against Montenegro on Monday that there are flaws in his game which make him an unsuitable back-up option to Harry Kane.

He got on the scoresheet in the first half and showed good desire to do so, but he didn’t have the finish to match and instead had to rely on a rebound to put the ball past goalkeeper Daniel Petkovic at the second time of asking.

Aside from that, his stats from SofaScore show there are doubts over whether he will be able to make the step up to the Premier League and have a positive impact on a Spurs side which are currently struggling for form.

If he was to join Tottenham he would need to have the level of ruthlessness and clinical finishing that Kane displays year after year, but missing three big chances against Montenegro suggests he will be incapable of doing so, particularly when the stakes are higher and a missed opportunity could mean Spurs miss out on the top four or a trophy, for example.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Perhaps even more concerning is his limited ability on the ball, which means he won’t fit into Mauricio Pochettino’s style of play.

Since taking over the Argentine has looked to implement a passing philosophy and Kane has moulded into the ideal striker for him in that sense, with Muriqi not comparable to the England captain.

His pass accuracy of 68% against Montenegro underlines that fact, and if he can’t offer more than 15 successful passes in a game then he won’t be of much use to Pochettino’s plans.

Unlike Llorente, he doesn’t offer an alternative such as an aerial threat, as his lack of headers shows, nor does he have an ability to open up space by taking on opponents, with only one successful dribble on Monday.

As a result, Tottenham would be better suited looking elsewhere for a back-up striker, as Muriqi has proved he won’t be effective enough.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

The script that played out at Elland Road on Saturday may not have gone exactly according to plan but it’s ending was worthy of any fairytale.

On the club’s centenary it was fitting that a player born in Leeds and one of their own scored what turned out to be the winning goal.

Kalvin Phillips was the man of the moment as he fired home under Lee Camp to present the Whites with just their second win in five matches.

Marcelo Bielsa hailed it an act of God after the game and he may be right. Phillips was the saviour, the man who rolled away the stone from their poor performance against Millwall two weeks ago.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It may not have been convincing but they were able to get the job done as they kept up their pursuit of promotion.

It was appropriate that a legend in the making was the one to score in front of heroes of the past too. Certainly, after rejecting Premier League interest to sign a new deal at Leeds, he’s on the right pathway to being acknowledged alongside some greats.

His display against Birmingham last weekend showed signs of top-flight quality and that largely happened in the final third of the pitch, a role we rarely see Phillips in.

The 23-year-old put in a mesmeric performance for his team in the middle of the park, registering a colossal six tackles.

That part of his game is no secret. After all, he’s won 4.4 of them per game in 2019/20.

But despite being a presence when Birmingham had the ball, he was also a heavy influence going forward, making two key passes.

The heat map above, provided by WhoScored, shows the areas Phillips got into throughout his 90 minutes on the pitch.

Although a large segment comes inside his own half, there is also evidence that he was keen to break into the opposition’s third as well, regularly moving into wider areas.

The fact he was up with play for his goal, however, was the best proof of that. Phillips strode forward and unerringly found the net like a clinical striker.

Throughout the second period he was almost playing in Mateusz Klich’s role, roaming around in midfield.

Above shows the areas Klich got into before he was substituted for Tyler Roberts and it displays that when playing from deep, they got into similar positions.

In fact, Phillips was more willing to get into central areas near the penalty area than his Polish teammate who often drifted towards the flanks.

When Leeds needed someone to stand up and be counted, Phillips was their man and he did it in a way we’ve not really become accustomed to.

No wonder Bielsa was singing his praises.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking on talkSPORT, Trevor Sinclair has revealed Raheem Sterling can be held in the same regard as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

What did he say?

The Manchester City winger enjoyed an impressive campaign last year for Pep Guardiola’s side, racking up 25 goals and 18 assists. His start to the current season has been similarly scintillating, with Sterling netting a hat-trick in the side’s opening Premier League game against West Ham.

Now, Sinclair has heaped praise on the England international, and made a huge claim about the kind of company the 24-year-old is keeping.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “Raheem Sterling is right at the top of the tree, for me. If he’s not worth £200m now, I’d be surprised. He’s the best player playing for England and he’s the first player on the team sheet for Pep Guardiola. The big question now is where do you put him with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo? I would put him right amongst them. He’s there now.

“If he continues in this form he’s showing, people are going to start talking about him being the best player in the world and I think he’s deserved that honour. His end product and decision making and productivity he brings to England and Manchester City is so consistent, he’s got to be regarded as one of the best players in the world.”

Bandwagon

So the conversation behind Sterling being considered one of the best players in the world is gaining traction. First it was Tony Cascarino who suggested the Englishman is better than Neymar, and now Sinclar has weighed in on the argument by going one step further with his level of comparison. Messi and Ronaldo? Seriously? As good as the City forward has been, it’s almost insulting to the Ballon d’Or winning duo to suggest he is in the same boat as them at the moment.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

As always, consistency will be the key. If he can continue to perform at the high standards he has set himself in the past 12-18 months, then he will perhaps be more deserving of being mentioned in the same breath as Ronaldo and Messi. Until then, Sterling simply has to shut out the plaudits and focus on his football.

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خاض الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي خاض مرانه الأول في الكونغو عصر اليوم، الأحد، استعدادًا لمواجهة فيتا كلوب في بطولة إفريقيا.

يستعد الأهلي لخوض مباراته أمام فيتا كلوب الكونغولي، المقرر إقامتها في الثالثة من عصر بعد غد الثلاثاء، ضمن منافسات الجولة الرابعة من دور المجموعات ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

اقرأ ايضًا.. تأجيل اجتماع مجلس إدارة الأهلي بسبب وفاة والد جوهر نبيل

عقد بيتسو موسيماني، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، محاضرة فنية مع اللاعبين قبل انطلاق مران اليوم الأحد  بالعاصمة الكونغولية كينشاسا.

وحرص موسيماني خلال المحاضرة التي عقدها بفندق الإقامة على الحديث في بعض الأمور الفنية الخاصة بمباراة فيتا كلوب الكونغولي، وشرح نقاط القوة والضعف في المنافس، قبل المواجهة المقرر لها بعد غد الثلاثاء.

وتدرب الفريق على ملعب الشهداء بالعاصمة الكونغولية كينشاسا، وبدأ المران بمحاضرة سريعة عقدها بيتسو موسيماني المدير الفني، مع لاعبي الفريق في أرض الملعب، تحدث خلالها في عدة أمور خاصة بالمباراة المقبلة.

ويتدرب الأهلي اليوم وغدًا على ملعب المباراة حسب لوائح الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم، التي تمنح الفريق الضيف الحق في التدريب مرتين على ملعب المباراة إذا كانت أرضيته نجيلًا صناعيًّا.

فيما أدى طاهر محمد طاهر جناح الأهلي، تدريبات منفردة عصر اليوم علي هامش المران الجماعي،في العاصمة الكونغولية كينشاسا.

يأتي ذلك في ظل معاناة اللاعب من الإصابة في العضلة الخلفية والتي كانت قد لحقت به في الأيام الماضية.

كما شارك أيمن أشرف، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، شارك في مران الأهلي اليوم، الأحد، على ملعب الشهداء في العاصمة الكونغولية كينشاسا.

وجاءت مشاركة أيمن أشرف بعد تعافيه من حالة الإجهاد التي كان يشكو منها قبل سفر بعثة الأهلي من القاهرة للكونغو، التي أبعدته عن مباراة الإسماعيلي الأخيرة في الدوري.

وخاض الأهلي مرانه الأول اليوم، في الكونغو على ملعب الشهداء الذي يستضيف مواجهة فيتا كلوب، ومن المقرر أن يخوض مرانه الرئيسي غدًا الإثنين، على نفس الملعب وفقًا للوائح الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم كاف، التي تمنح الفريق الضيف الحق، في التدريب مرتين على ملعب المباراة إذا كانت أرضيته من النجيل الصناعي.

ويتطلع المارد الأحمر لتحقيق الفوز والعودة للقاهرة بالنقاط الثلاث خاصة مع تأزم موقفه الحالى بتواجده في المركز الثالث في ترتيب المجموعة الأولي خلف ناديي سيمبا التنزاني وفيتا كلوب.

وكان الأهلي قد أجرى مسحة طبية صباح اليوم؛ استعدادا لمواجهة فيتا كلوب، قبل المحاضرة الفنية التي عقدها موسيماني، وبعدها يخوض الفريق تدريبه الأول على ملعب الشهداء الذي يستضيف المباراة.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Daily Mirror, Manchester United are considering Edwin van der Sar to be the club’s director of football.

What’s the word?

Reports in recent weeks and months have suggested the Red Devils are on the look-out for former players to join the club’s hierarchy as they bid to shake things up behind the scenes.

Names like Rio Ferdinand and Darren Fletcher had been mentioned, and now The Daily Mirror claim Van der Sar is “high up on United’s list”.

The ex-Netherlands goalkeeper is currently chief executive at Ajax and has helped the Dutch side to incredible success in recent seasons, most notably their run to the Champions League semi-final last year.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The report adds however that health issues with his wife have stopped him from moving abroad in the past, and could potentially scupper a move this time too.

Proven experience

Whilst Ferdinand and Fletcher have an established reputation at Old Trafford following their playing careers, neither have the same kind of experience Van der Sar has when it comes to the actual skills for the director of football role.

The Dutchman’s time at Ajax has been an unprecedented success, and he has played a key part in the Dutch side’s revival. The team’s emphasis on youth and attacking football was much-lauded last season, and is exactly the kind of template United are looking to build.

Someone like Ferdinand may be the more romantic choice. After all, he speaks his mind and certainly connects with the Red Devils’ fan-base. But other than sitting on a chair in a TV studio, what has he actually done to stake a claim for a role of such high importance? The logical option would be to turn to Van der Sar, and if Ed Woodward can convince him to return to the club, then it will be a major coup.

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