Following the sacking of manager Alan Little, Southend United club have appointed former boss David Webb to take over - his third spell in the hot seat.

Echosport asked Blues fans in Southend High Street their views on the appointment of the man who took the club to their greatest glories in the early 1990s.

Bob Thwaites , of Caple Terrace, Southend, said: "I think Webb is the best man for the job and will definitely be able to get us up into the second division and then take us on from there.

"The club have been going downhill for years and hopefully his appointment will halt this slide and pick us up again."

Martin Gilbert , of Sutton Road, Southend, follows the fortunes of the club through the Echo and says he hasn't been to a match since 1958, but will think about going again if the team starts playing well again and achieving success.

He said: "He certainly can't do any harm because we need someone who is going to come in and give the club a bit of a buzz again.

"I blame Barry Fry for what has happened to United in recent times. Since he went the club has gone from bad to worse - hopefully David Webb will be able to get in some decent players and get us back up the divisions, then maybe I'll start supporting them again from the terraces."

Romeo Malanga , who owns Il Vicolino restaurant in Alexandra Street, said: "A new manager is a good idea because at the moment Southend United are going down the drain."

Janet Clark , of Cranley Avenue, Westcliff, said: "We should have got Webb back years ago, but if he's going to do anything at the club he will need money.

"If he is given the chance to buy some decent players then I don't see why the club can't be successful."

Celebration time - for David Webb's 1990-91 team of heroes who took Blues to successive promotions from the Fourth Division to what would become Division One.

The squad, celebrating their now legendary 1-0 win at Gigg Lane, includes a young Brett Angell, Chris Powell, now of Charlton Athletic, as well as another Premiership star, Manchester City's Spencer Prior - players all picked up for next to nothing by Webb.

Picture: MIKE BELLENIE

Sweet taste of success

Southend United certainly enjoyed the sweet taste of success the last time David Webb was in town.

The 54-year-old is pictured here with the late Vic Jobson - former Blues chairman - raising a glass to victory on the plane home from Bury, where striker Ian Benjamin's goal clinched promotion to the old Second Division.

Jobson and Webb plotted the Shrimpers' rise into football's higher echelons for the first time in 1991 after ending the club's 85-year stay in the lower divisions.

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