Southend United 1 Crewe Alexandra 1

Payne (90+4 pen)    Cooper (86)

Football League Division One

5,444 (Crewe 117)

The final ground in my ‘Doing the 92’ journey was Roots Hall, home of the Shrimpers, Southend United. It had been planned that way as my good friend Andy “The Shrimper” had agreed to book a table in the Blue Lounge for a little celebration on the appointed day although we didn’t know which game it would be until recently of course. The fact it was Crewe was perfect for me as not only are they the closest league club to home but I also travelled with the Crewe supporters to their game at Colchester not long ago.

Mrs W was with me for this trip which also took in a one night stop in Reigate in Surrey to visit our son Adam and then a night in Brighton for the Leeds game at the Amex. From Brighton we drove to Southend for the Crewe game. It was an exhausting trip anyway but wasn’t helped by a very late night in the bar after the Leeds game with 3 lads who’d also be at Southend with me. We’d chanced upon a bloke in the bar who had been proposed to by his girlfriend earlier in the day (it being 29th February of course!) and he was happy to spend a few hours with us celebrating while we drowned our sorrows following an embarrassing 4 – 0 defeat by the Seagulls. Quite what the lad’s girlfriend was doing while his nibs was getting drunk with us, we don’t really know! Anyway, we went to bed around 3am.

Having never been to Southend before, Mrs W and I were looking forward to walking the length of the famous mile long pier before the game but when we