Jim's column 17.3.12

I must learn to keep quiet about stats at City’s games. With an hour gone last week against Birmingham City I leaned forward to tell Dave Long that statistics didn’t support the view that former players always scored against the Sky Blues. Ten minutes later, bang, and Marlon King had equalised for the Blues.

A couple of years when Stern John scored for Ipswich against us I made the point that it was his first goal in six appearances against City since he had left in 2007 and that there had been only four other former City players who had scored against us in the last five seasons: Dele Adebola, Jay Bothroyd, Andy Morrell and Calum Davenport. 

The famous football writer Brian Glanville calls it the Immutable Law of the Ex, that is a player scoring against his former club. It is the first such occurrence against City this season but last season three old boys (John Eustace (Watford) and Bothroyd and Craig Bellamy (Cardiff)) somewhat wrecked my theory.

By my reckoning nine ex-City outfield players have not scored against us this season: Matt Mills, John Eustace, Jay Tabb, Zavon Hines, Danny Fox, Jack Cork, Ben Turner, Aron Gunnarrson and Jon Stead, and several of those have played against us twice. However I won’t be betting against Ben and Gunner not finding the net when we travel to Cardiff on Wednesday night.

One statistic I will mention today in the hope that it will end the jinx is the terrible run of away defeats. Defeat today at Watford will be the 11^th in a row and will equal the club’s worst run ever in the Football League. Between January and September 1926 the team recorded the following results:-

Jan	23	1926	a	Doncaster R	L	1-8
Jan	30	1926	h	Wrexham	W	2-0
Feb	6	1926	a	Halifax T	L	0-1
Feb	13	1926	a	Nelson	L	1-4
Feb	27	1926	h	Accrington S	W	2-1
Mar	6	1926	a	Durham C	L	1-4
Mar	13	1926	h	Grimsby T	D	1-1
Mar	17	1926	a	Chesterfield	L	3-4
Mar	20	1926	a	Rotherham U	L	1-2
Mar	27	1926	h	Tranmere R	L	1-2
Apr	2	1926	a	New Brighton	L	1-5
Apr	3	1926	a	Walsall	L	1-4
Apr	5	1926	h	Ashington	W	2-0
Apr	6	1926	h	New Brighton	D	0-0
Apr	10	1926	h	Chesterfield	L	2-4
Apr	17	1926	a	Bradford PA	L	0-3
Apr	24	1926	h	Hartlepools U	W	5-2
May	1	1926	a	Rochdale	L	1-4
Aug	28	1926	h	Northampton	L	0-3
Sep	1	1926	a	Watford	L	0-1

In 1925-26 season the team played in Division Three North and then, in the summer of 1926, switched to Division Three South. By coincidence the 11^th and final game was at Watford where the Sky Blues travel today.

That run ended a few days later with a 1-1 draw at QPR but was then followed by a further seven away defeats! Please don’t let history repeat itself.

At least in 1926 the team scored 10 goals in their eleven defeats. The current run has seen the Sky Blues net only three goals: Gary Gardner at Brighton, Lukas Jutkiewicz at Portsmouth and Conor Thomas at Blackpool. City have scored only seven away goals all season, the worst in all divisions, and are heading to break the club record low of nine, set in 1999-2000, the only other occasion that the team have failed to win a single away game. That season however we only played 19 away games.

Next Saturday is Coventry City Legends Day at The Ricoh Arena and at the time of going to press the Former Players Association have received 50 acceptances from former players. It is the sixth year that the event has been held and the FPA committee hope that the fans will give the club’s legends a great reception when they do their customary half-time parade.

At this year’s event there is a mystery guest. The Association have recently signed their 200^th member and it is one of the club’s top players from the last 50 years who has not been to a City game for many years. His identity will not be unveiled until next Saturday but believe me he is a BIG name.

All of the legends will be in the 1883 restaurant before the game and in the G-Casino after the match, signing autographs and chatting with supporters, with Billy Bell introducing them on stage in Lady Gs. It promises to be a memorable day.