Southend United F.C. is an English football club  formed in 1906 in the Essex seaside town of that name to take the place of Southend Athletic, which had just gone out of business. The club played in the Southern League until 1920, when they co-founded the Football League's new Third Division: they finished 17th in their first ever season. In 1921, the Third Division was regionalised with Southend United joining the southern section and here they remained until league re-structure in 1958. Southend came close to promotion twice when they finished 3rd in 1932 and 1950, the club's highest league positions until 1991. Promotion to the Third Division in 1987 was the beginning of a golden era for Southend United. Although relegated  in 1989  two successive promotions in 1990 and 1991 saw Southend United become "full members" of the Football League for the first time in the club's history, and in 1992 Southend United finished 12th in the old Second Division, their highest ever position in the Football League to date. In 1997 Southend were relegated to Division Two and then immediately to the Third Division, the lowest tier of the Football League. A dramatic revival began with promotion in 2005 followed by the League One title in 2006, taking the club back to the second tier, or the Championship as it had become known. They were relegated the following season.  This was followed by relegation to the fourth tier of English football in 2010.  They won promotion again in 2015 but suffered two successive relegations in 2020 and 2021 saw them drop out of the English Football League for the first time in 101 years.