Jim's column 17.3.2018

Coventry City's defensive record in League Two this season has been very impressive. After the 2-2 draw with Luton on Tuesday night the Sky Blues had conceded 30 goals in 36 games - seven better than Mansfield, the next best in League Two – an average of 0.83 goal per game. Only League One clubs Wigan (23) and Shrewsbury (26) have conceded less in the whole Football League. In addition 14 of City's 36 games have resulted in clean sheets for City.

These spectacular statistics have prompted several questions from readers about the records with regard to goals conceded. The club record for the lowest goals conceded is 38 and was set in 1970-71 under Noel Cantwell. That was a pretty dire season for spectators as the team only scored 37 goals (the second lowest ever). That was a 42-game season and an average of 0.90 per game. The lowest for a 46-game season was 47 (1.02 per game) in 1958-59 when City finished second in the Fourth Division. I would be surprised if the current team didn't break the 46-game record and with a bit of luck they might beat the all-time record as well!

That great season in Division Four 60 years ago also saw a clean sheet count of 18, equalling the record set in 1938-39. Several City teams have gone close in the modern era with Cantwell's 1970-71 keeping 17 with Bill Glazier between the sticks in all but one game. In 2001-02, City's first season outside the Premiership, the team kept 16 clean sheets shared between Magnus Hedman, Tim Flowers and Chris Kirkland. Then, two years ago, under Tony Mowbray, the team kept 16 clean sheets with Reice Charles-Cook (13) and Lee Burge (3) in the 'keeper's jersey.

The 1938-39 team, arguably City's best team until the 1967 promotion team, kept 18 clean sheets in finishing fourth in the old Second Division. In those days the defence was considered to be the goalkeeper, two full-backs and three half-backs. That season four of the six defenders played in virtually every game: Goalkeeper Bill Morgan (41 games), Jack Astley (42), George Mason (42) and Billy Frith (39). Left back Walter Metcalf played 34 games before injury kept him out of the run-in while left-half Harry Boileau played 28 games. It was a tough, uncompromising defence that conceded only 45 goals as City missed out on promotion by four points with Morgan setting the club record for the 'keeper with the most clean sheets in a season (17).

                                                       1938-39 squad

The 1958-59 team, managed by the 1938 player, Billy Frith, also kept 18 clean sheets. Three defenders, captain Roy Kirk an ever-present, George Curtis (43 games) and left-back Lol Harvey (41) played in virtually every league game. Left-half Ron Farmer (26) was an ever present after joining the club in November and right-half Brian Nicholas (26) was the regular right-half until injured in December at which point Mick Kearns (32) and later Frank Austin (14) took over. The goalkeeping situation was fluid that campaign. Veteran Jim Sanders played the first ten games (4 clean sheets) before breaking his leg. Coach Alf Wood came out of retirement to take the jersey and kept five clean sheets in 10 games before Arthur Lightening arrived from Nottingham Forest in November. Arthur was ever-present until the end of the season keeping nine clean sheets in 25 games.

                                                                1958-59 team

The other interesting statistic of this season is that, to date, the club have not conceded more than two goals in any league game. Luton were the eighth side to score twice against the Sky Blues but no team has managed more. City have never gone through a whole season without conceding more than two goals in a game! Another record looming?

Jim's column 10.3.2018

It was a major disappointment last Saturday with the postponement of the Sky Blues home game with Lincoln causing Legends Day to be called off. Many former players were already in the city or well on their way when the game was called off at 10 am. Thankfully Legends Day has be re-arranged for Saturday 5th May, at the home game versus Morecambe, a game which may have a lot at stake for City.

Postponements had become relatively a thing of the past since the club moved to the Ricoh Arena in 2005 and the Lincoln game was the first postponement there since then (although a game v Walsall at Sixfields in 2014 was called off). The last City home game postponed was in 2002 when two home games in the space of five days at Highfield Road were called off. On New Years Day the home game with Rotherham fell foul to an icebound pitch, and the pitch was not fit for play four days later for the FA Cup third round tie with Tottenham. The re-arranged cup-tie went ahead on the 16th January with Spurs winning 2-0 in front of almost 21,000.

Older fans will remember the bad winter of 1976-77 when the Highfield Road pitch suffered serious drainage problems and the team had to play eight consecutive away games between 22 January and 2 April. That season was the worst season in the club's history for postponed games with five call-offs with the Bristol City game postponed twice, on 1st January and 1st March. That season even eclipsed 1947 & 1963, the UK's worst winters of the twentieth century, for home games called off. In 1947 City had three home games called off & because of government restrictions on midweek games they didn't complete their fixtures until the last week in May and the First Division title wasn't decided until June.

                                                 A snowbound Highfield Road in the 1950s

In 1963 football was decimated again by snow and ice and City didn't play a game for two months but although there were 21 postponed away games (including a British record 16 FA Cup ties at Lincoln) there were only two home games called off. That FA Cup game at Lincoln was due to be played on Saturday 5th January but the snow and ice gripped the whole country that week and only three of the 32 ties were played (at Plymouth, Preston & Tranmere). A further twelve ties managed to be completed by the end of January but with no real thaw emerging until the end of February, March commenced with nine of the 32 ties still to be played. The first week of March saw the outstanding games played with City winning 5-1 at Lincoln on Wednesday 6th March (60 days after the original date). Before the kick-off both teams knew their prospective opponents in Round 4 (Portsmouth or Scunthorpe) and Round 5 (Sunderland were already through). The last of the 32 third round ties took place at Bradford City the following evening with Newcastle winning 6-1.

If that delay wasn't bad enough the Sky Blues took three games to dispose of Portsmouth in round 4, needing a second replay victory at White Hart Lane to progress to a bumper home tie with Sunderland in round 5. City's famous victory over the Division Two leaders earned a sixth round tie with Manchester United and the glorious run came to an end with a 3-1 defeat. In 24 days City had played six FA Cup ties!

The weather and subsequent postponements as well as the protracted FA Cup run hit City's Third Division promotion challenge that winter. When the heavy snow first fell on the last Saturday of 1962 Jimmy Hill's team were in fourth place, four points behind leaders Peterborough but with two games in hand. When the Cup run finally ended with the defeat to Manchester United on the last Saturday in March the club were left with nine league games in April and a further seven in May. Despite being still fourth and only five points behind the leaders they failed to take advantage of their four games in hand and won only five of the 16 games to end up fourth, five points behind the promoted clubs, Northampton and Swindon.

Ron Dickinson tribute

It was sad to hear from Ray Dickinson of the death of his brother and former City player Ron Dickinson at the age of 87. Ron was a Cov kid who attended Bablake School before training to be an accountant. Whilst doing his National Service at RAF Oswestry he was spotted by Shrewsbury Town and played 12 games for them in the 1953-54 season. He signed for City in the summer of 1954 on a part-time basis so that he could continue his accounting career and worked for Fox & Co in Walsgrave Road. Ron played for the 'A' team and few games for the reserves but couldn't break into the first team and left the club the following year. He subsequently played in a successful Bedworth Town side for six years and the picture shows him in a Bedworth team picture alongside a number of ex-City men. Ron, a widower, worked for city fuel company Morris James in Quinton Road and lived in Finham for 55 years.

Team picture of Bedworth Town in 1955-56

Back row (left to right): Geoff Palmer, Dick Mason (player-manager), Ron Floyd, Ron Dickinson, Gerry Belcher, Stan Smith, Bob Ward (trainer).

Front row: Roy Dayers, Peter Spacey, Eddie Fowkes, Norman Smith, Herbert Morrow.

The mascot is Peter Spacey, junior.)