Jim's column 28.3.2020

With football suspended and little current stuff to write about I thought I would take the opportunity to answer some recent readers' queries and questions. If you have a question about Coventry City's history or statistics please get in contact, either by email clarriebourton@gmail.com or on twitter @clarriebourton and I will try and answer you.

First up is Keith Ballantyne, a regular correspondent. In December, after the victory at Ipswich in the FA Cup replay, I wrote about City's poor record in away replays in the competition (it was only the fifth win in 31 replays). Keith wanted to know if there was a similar poor record in League Cup replays.

The format of the League Cup (inaugurated in 1960) has always been different to the FA Cup and there have been no replays since 1996. There have also been less opportunities for replays because until 2000 the First and second rounds were two-legged. I can find only five instances where the Sky Blues had away replays in the competition:-

1965-66 West Brom lost 6-1 (after 1-1 draw)

1968-69 Swindon lost 3-0 (after 2-2 draw)

1973-74 Manchester City lost 4-2 (after 2-2 draw)

1980-81 Cambridge United won 1-0 (after 1-1 draw)

1985-86 West Brom lost 4-3 (after 0-0 draw)

Only one win in five therefore, an unimpressive record. One interesting stat however is that in the first three occurrences the team that knocked City out went on to reach the final with West Brom and Swindon both lifting the trophy. It is disappointing to think that we'll never see another League Cup replay with the rules now ensuring ties are settled at the first time of asking.

The legendary George Hudson celebrated his 83rd birthday last week and Barry Allsopp asked me to settle an argument about the former City centre-forward. Barry thought George was born, or grew-up, in Accrington but his friend thinks he was born in Manchester and that Blackburn was his first professional club.

I'm afraid your friend is correct Barry. George was born in Manchester and his first club was Blackburn Rovers. He joined Rovers as 20 year-old in 1958 and made his debut in a 2-1 win over Manchester City in April 1959. After four appearances and one goal he was released by Rovers and signed for Fourth Division Accrington Stanley. After an inauspicious debut (Stanley lost 9-2 at Crystal Palace) he set the division alight with 35 goals in 44 games and after just 12 games he was sold to Peterborough United for a sizeable fee. He played alongside Terry Bly (the man he would ultimately displace at Coventry) and over the next eighteen months scored 50 goals in 75 games. In April 1963 Jimmy Hill splashed out a club record £21,000 to bring the prolific scorer to Highfield Road. A hat-trick on his Sky Blues debut (the only man ever to do this) made him an instant hero and his 28 goals in 36 games was a major factor in the club's 1963-64 promotion success. It's hard to believe that George was only at the club for three years but managed 75 goals in 129 games. On transfer deadline day in 1966 JH shocked the fans by agreeing to sell 'The Hud', as he was known, to First Division Northampton Town for £30,000. He failed to keep the Cobblers in the top flight and within a year was on the move to Tranmere Rovers where injuries meant he was unable to maintain a regular place in the team. He did come back to haunt the Sky Blues however, in 1968 when he netted in Rovers' shock 2-0 FA Cup win over City.

Finally, Clive Baskerville pointed out that in 1964 the champions of the top three divisions were Liverpool, Leeds United and Coventry City. If we ever see the end of this season it would be a massive coincidence to be looking at the same champions at 56 years ago. Division Four, that season, was won by Gillingham, but as they are in League One the full set can't be replicated.

Jim's column 22.3.2020

The Coronavirus and subsequent suspension of professional football has brought Coventry City's surge to promotion from League One to a shuddering halt. Football pales into insignificance to people's health but Sky Blues' fans will still be concerned about the outcome of the 2019-20 season and whether the campaign will be seen through to a satisfactory conclusion. City's final game before the suspension two weeks ago was another away victory, at Ipswich, and the seventh win on the road in eight since Christmas Day. Portman Road has always been a difficult ground for City and before this season they had only won twice there in 29 league visits stretching back to the early seventies. Now we have won twice there in three months!

The away form since Christmas has been the difference between City being a top six side hoping for a play-off place and being league leaders and promotion favourites with the bookies. To put it into context, Jimmy Hill's 1967 promotion team only won six away games in the whole season.

If and when the season re-commences there are a number of club records that Mark Robins' team may threaten in the final ten games. At the moment the team have lost only three league games all season, one at home (Tranmere) and two away (Rotherham and Shrewsbury). The club record for the lowest number of defeats in a season is six, set in the1963-64 Division Three championship season (46 games) and equalled in the 1966-67 Division Two season (42 games). The fewest home defeats in a season is one, achieved in 1935-36, 1946-47, 1958-59 and 1966-67 (three of those seasons were promotion campaigns). The fewest away defeats in a season is five, again set in 1966-67, and this is one record that the team might threaten.

The other record well within their sights is a record points total. Since three points was introduced for a win in 1981 the highest number of points is 75, set by Robins' team in reaching the play-offs two years ago. With a current total of 67 a new record is well within their sights. If pre-1981 points' totals are recalculated on a three points basis the best ever season was 1958-59 in Division Four when 84 points would have been won from a 46-game season. The next best was 82 in 1963-64 and 1966-67.

One record which won't be broken this season is the incredible unbeaten league run of Jimmy Hill's 1966-67 team. After losing at Huddersfield in November the Sky Blues went 25 games unbeaten until the end of the season. The current run is 14 unbeaten and the team can only reach 24 this campaign. That 1967 run did however include an FA Cup defeat to Newcastle and the club's record run in all competitions is a more modest 22, set in the weather battered 1962-63 season. That campaign, Jimmy Hill's first full season in charge, the Sky Blues lost a League Cup tie at Portsmouth in October and then remained unbeaten in 22 league and FA Cup games before Manchester United lowered City's colours in the FA Cup quarter finals on the last Saturday in March. Robins' team have now gone 18 unbeaten (counting the Blues' Cup loss as a draw) and are only four away from the record.

Mark Robins deservedly won the League One Manager of the Month award for February and became the first Coventry City manager to win three awards. The team's results during the month were nothing short of spectacular with five wins and one draw and the draw coming against the then league leaders. Mark's previous awards with City were in December 2012 and October 2018 and he has also won awards with Rotherham (twice) and Scunthorpe. The only other City manager to win more than one award was Gordon Strachan who won in December 1996 and February 1998.

I have to report the passing two weeks ago of a close friend, Geoff Moore. Geoff, a former pupil of Bablake and Liverpool University who taught Chemistry at Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby, had followed the Sky Blues from the 1960s. He was a proud member of the 92 Club (he achieved that at Cheltenham two years ago) and had watched the Sky Blues play at all current 91 clubs except Macclesfield and Salford. His first away ground was Swindon's County Ground for an FA Cup third round tie in 1966 and since then has seen City play on 118 different English grounds not including both Wembley Stadiums, Sutton United and Motherwell in Scotland where he attended a Texaco Cup game in the 1970s.. Geoff kept a lot of quirky stats about City including a spreadsheet of the average age of every City team that ever played and the number of players of different nationalities that played at the Ricoh. His football friends will hugely miss his company in Coventry hostelries (he always found the right place for a pre-game drink!) and in the stands at the Ricoh and St Andrews. I am sure all who knew Geoff send their condolences to his wife Jackie and sons Andrew and Chris who are both massive City fans. RIP Geoff.