EVERY time Southend United play at home, father-of-two Tyrone Buckingham has a near-perfect view of the game from his bedroom window.
But rather than enjoying the action unfold at Essex’s biggest football stadium, most match days he can be found watching his beloved Arsenal play on television instead.
Tyrone is such a dedicated Gunners fan that he has painted the walls of his flat red and white.
He moved into a flat overlooking decaying Roots Halls stadium by coincidence seven years ago and says he has become increasingly enraged by his lower league neighbours.
As part of our Life’s a Pitch summer series, we visited the seaside city to see what locals made of life living next to the troubled team, which faces existential problems on and off the pitch.
Tyrone, 35, told The Sun: “They are an absolute nightmare. They keep leaving their alarms on and they go off at all hours.
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“The alarms are regularly keeping me and my children up at night and I am a lorry driver so I have to be up at 4.30am.
“The alarms have been an ongoing problem for years. We complained and it stopped for a while but now it has started again.
“They went off at 2am the other night and kept going for hours. They are totally taking the Mickey.”
To prove his point, Tyrone played us a recording he made of the alarm ringing outside his bedroom window.
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The high-pitched sound filled the speaker of his mobile phone as he showed our reporter the video, which he says was taken at 5.30am on a recent morning.
He added: “My kids are aged three and six and we all need our sleep. The club also test their speakers at 10pm some nights and they had their floodlights on at about the same time last night.
“I guess this would be a great flat for a Southend fan but I’m Arsenal – my bedroom is red and white – so I’ve got no interest in following their team.
“I never, ever watch the games from my window and if the club decides to move to a new stadium that will be absolutely fine with me.”
Tryone’s wish isn’t as fanciful at it might seem.
In recent months, Southend United has been dragged back and forth from the courts over its financial difficulties, with fan group The Shrimpers Trust saying it remained under “existential threat” until owner Ron Martin sells up.
This week, the National League granted the team a licence to start the season after it paid its staff for the first time in three months.
A spokesman told The Sun: “Staff are fully up to date with their salaries.”
The 117-year-old club lost its Football League status in 2021 following back-to-back relegations and Southend West MP Anna Firth recently raised its plight in Parliament.
Martin has been trying to find a buyer for the club since March and earlier this month said he has done “everything in my power to close the deal quickly”.
‘Stuck in time’
While all this goes on the stadium Roots Hall, which has been the Shrimpers’ home since 1955, is falling into a state of disrepair and fans have been gathering outside to protest.
Policeman Paul Burton also lives next to the ground, although his upper-level flat does not boast a view of the pitch.
Paul, 39, said: “The stadium is stuck in time. It’s like living next to a relic – nothing has changed over there for years.
“The owner is not the most popular person in the world, but it’s a historic club and it will be a shame if they go under.
“Last season they had the highest average attendance in the league. They can get 8,000 or 9,000 fans turning up if they are playing one of the big London teams in the cup.
“It doesn’t bother me having them here at all. They only play once every two weeks and if I close my windows I can’t hear the crowd. Also, this is a nice area so I enjoy living here.”
Supermarket worker Hazel Newbold is less keen on the Shrimpers remaining next door to her home, however.
Southend’s chairman bought the club in 1998 with the intention of relocating them to a new stadium at Fossetts Farm, north of the city.
But numerous delays – one caused by the discovery of a Bronze Age burial site – have caused the proposed move to become a painful saga, dragging on for years.
Hazel, 54, said: “We get a lot of litter on match days – that’s my main gripe. The fans put beer bottles on our wall and they fall off and smash, which is dangerous for the children.
“The club doesn’t clear up our street, only the path that leads to the stand next to our house.
“The floodlights are an issue as they fill our bedrooms with light and you get a lot of glare.
“We’ve heard the alarms too but we don’t know where they came from.”
Hazel’s son Brad Newbold, 28, lives next door to her with his partner Nikki Crockett, 36, but they are now planning to move.
Lorry driver Brad said: “I used to go and watch games at Roots Hall when I was younger and it was a decent stadium back then, but they’ve totally let it go.
“The parking situation is a nightmare and will only get worse if the new homes get built as there will be so many more people living here then.”
Receptionist Nikki added: “We’re moving into town where they have parking permits because we’ve had enough. We have both agreed that wherever we go, it’s not going to be near a football stadium.”
‘They’re a great team’
One person that has been happy living next to the 12,000-plus capacity stadium is police officer Mel, 35, who remembers going to watch Southend with her grandfather as a little girl.
Almost three years ago, when they first opened, she didn’t hesitate snapping up a one bedroom flat in the new apartment complex on neighbouring Fairfax Drive.
Mel has asked us not to use her real name because of the sensitive line of work she is involved in.
She said: “I’ve always loved football and you can see almost the entire pitch from the terrace next to my flat.
“I didn’t buy it for that reason. It was just that I could get a mortgage here as a first-time buyer.
“But I’ve loved living here and the only reason I am moving is that I need a bigger place.
“The view is definitely a selling point and I’ve had a few people come round to view it and say, ‘Wow, you can see the football stadium!’
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“I’m going to be sad to leave and I really hope the club has a future as they’re a great team and all the players and staff are fantastic.”
The Sun contacted Southend United for comment, who only confirmed that salaries have been paid.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
