I am writing this
before Friday's game but if City have beaten Charlton yesterday it
will amazingly be the first time since 2007 that the team have won
four home league games in a row. That was the first four games of the
Dowie era and although there have been numerous three-game runs in
the intervening period the team have never won four. Back in
October/November under Mark Venus the team won three league games
plus a Checkatrade trophy game in a row, and we all thought the team
would pull away from the foot of the table. It wasn't to be and now
relegation is virtually certain – it may have happened yesterday or
on Monday at Rochdale where the Sky Blues have got such a woeful
record.
Long-suffering fan Dave
'Brammy' Bramwell attended the post-match party last Saturday and
asked me a question about City goalkeepers. He wanted to know which
'keeper had made the most penalty saves during a season.
I'm pretty sure the
answer is Joe Murphy who saved five penalty kicks from seven in
2013-14. Messrs Berrett (Carlisle a), Mooney (Leyton O h), O'Connor
(Rotherham a), Lisbie (Leyton O a) & Judge (Brentford a) all had
their spot-kicks saved by the agile Irishman. Information about
penalty saves is patchy before World War 2 but since then several
keepers have saved three in a season including Bill Glazier, Jim
Blyth & Murphy himself in 2011-12. Glazier's saves were in that
exciting but nail-biting 1967-68 season & his saves were all away
from home & from stars of the day Denis Law (Manchester United),
Charlie Cooke (Chelsea) & Francis Lee (Man City). Lee,
especially, was renowned as one of the top penalty takers of that era
& Glazier's efforts were outstanding. Jim Blyth saved three
penalties in 1977-78, another exciting season when the Sky Blues
scored 75 goals & narrowly missed out on a European spot. Jim
saved from Liverpool's Phil Neal in a 1-0 victory at Highfield Road,
from Leicester's Dennis Rofe in a 2-1 win at Filbert Street but his
most crucial save was in the last minute of the 5-4 victory over
Norwich City when he foiled John Ryan's attempt to make it 5-5. In
2011-12 Joe saved from Messrs Hunt (Reading), Martin (Ipswich) &
Danns (Leicester).
On Twitter this week
Celebcelery asked if the Sky Blues had ever gone through a whole
league season without scoring more than two goals in a game. With
four games remaining (before the Charlton game) the team have failed
to net more than two in a game and are closing in on a record they
won't be proud of. The team has scored only 34 goals in 42 games and
only Oldham (29) of the 72 Football League clubs have scored less.
Coventry City's record
low number of goals in a season is 35, set in 1919-20 and equalled in
1991-92, but both campaigns were 42-game seasons. The club's lowest
for a 46-game season is 41 in 2011-12, the Championship relegation
year.
The low total number of
goals is also reflected in the club's leading league scorers.
Currently three players (Tudgay, Agyei and Sordell) are heading the
chart with four goals. But with Agyei and Sordell no longer at the
club and Tudgay's appearances, let alone goals, becoming as rare as
hen's teeth, we have to look to George Thomas (3 goals) to try and
overtake them in the remaining games and avoid another pitiful
record. The lowest number of goals by a Coventry leading scorer is
six. That was achieved in the club's Premiership relegation season
when Hadji, Hartson and Bellamy all managed six. Two seasons ago
Messrs Nouble, O'Brien and Samuel each scored six to top the scoring
charts.
I have to mention the
immutable law of the ex, as the famous football writer Brian
Glanville described it, which struck in last week's 2-0 defeat at
Bramall Lane. Numerous ex-City players have scored against the Sky
Blues but until the trip to Sheffield only three had managed it this
season (Mark Marshall, Chris Maguire and Jacob Murphy). Then within
five minutes Leon Clarke and John Fleck both netted for the Blades
for a unique record – never have two ex's scored in the same game
against the club.
Although John Fleck has
had an outstanding season Leon has been unable to hold down a regular
place and before the City game had netted only one league goal.
Predictably however he came off the bench to score against City to
follow up his two goals for Bury against us last season. Then on
Saturday Clarke and Fleck were at it again, scoring the goals at
Northampton that clinched promotion for the Blades.
It was another great
Legends Day last Saturday at the Peterborough game with over 40
former players watching the Sky Blues notch their third home win in a
row. The crowd, 10,441, was the second largest home crowd of this
miserable season. There were several factors for the high attendance
– cheap tickets, a post-Wembley euphoria and hopefully the draw of
seeing our former players.
Six of the 1966-67
squad were in attendance to celebrate the 50th anniversary
of winning the Second Division title – Bill Glazier, Mick Kearns,
Dietmar Bruck, John Tudor, Ronnie Farmer and Dudley Roberts but Bobby
Gould had to pull out at the last minute after his mother died. The
CCFPA's thoughts are with Bobby, Trevor and the family.
The highlight of a
great day was to receive an award recognising ten years as chairman
of the Former Players Association from one of my heroes Roy Barry. To
be recognised by my fellow committee members and the association's
members was a very special moment for me. Thanks to everyone.
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