Jim's column 26.9.2020

 Coventry City’s 3-2 victory over QPR in their opening home league match last weekend saw Matty Godden score for the sixth consecutive league game, the first City player to achieve the feat since Mick Quinn in 1992.

Godden’s run started back in February with the second goal in the 2-1 win at Rochdale, continued with the equaliser in the 1-1 home draw with Rotherham and the only goal that defeated Sunderland at St Andrews and sent City top. As the lockdown loomed Matty scored the winner at Ipswich to make it four in a row.

His two goals this season sees him move level with Quinn who had the most incredible start to his Sky Blue career scoring 10 goals in his first six league games.

Quinn’s goal record after joining on loan from Newcastle was:-

Nov 21 Man City (h) lost 2-3 (2 goals)
Nov 28 Sheffield U (a) drew 1-1 (1 goal)
Dec 5 Ipswich (h) drew 2-2 (2 goals)
Dec 12 Southampton (a) drew 2-2 (2 goals)
Dec 19 Liverpool (h) won 5-1 (2 goals)
Dec 26 Aston Villa (h) won 3-0 (2 goals)

Mick failed to net in the next game, a 5-0 defeat at Old Trafford and only scored a further six goals in 20 league games that season.

Matty has a little way to go to set a club record for consecutive scoring league games, 10 set in 1931-32 by the great Clarrie Bourton. Bourton scored in nine in a row the following season and the only other players to score more than Matty are Ray Straw (1958-59) and Terry Bly (1962-63). These records refer only to league games and I should add that Terry Gibson scored in seven consecutive league and cup games in 1985-86 (which included a goal in the now defunct Full Members Cup.

The win over QPR extended City’s unbeaten home record in all competitions to 15 games. Since Tranmere somewhat fortuitously lowered City’s colours in the league game last October, City have failed to lose in 11 league games and four FA Cup ties (I’m following the usual treatment of penalty shoot outs by statisticians and counting it as a drawn game). This is the club’s best run since 1978-79 when Gordon Milne’s exciting team went 15 unbeaten between March 1978 and February 1979. The club record is 19, set in 1925-26 when the club was in Division Three North. The best runs are as follows:-

19- 1925-26 (Div 3N)
17- December 1965-October 1966 (Div 2)
17- 1958-59 (Div 4)
17- 1952-53 (Div 3S)
16- 1962-63 (Div 3)
16- March- December 1950 (Div 2)
15- March 1978-February 1979 (Div 1)
15- 1955-56 (Div 3S)

Colin Heys and Marshall Stewart both had questions over attendances at City games. Colin wanted me to confirm the attendances at City’s Wembley games. These are :

1987 FA Cup final v Tottenham (98,000)
1987 Charity Shield v Everton (88,000)
2017 EFL Trophy final v Oxford (74,434)
2018 League 2 play-off final v Exeter (50,196

Marshall’s question was that given the team are now playing in front of empty stadiums, what are the biggest crowds City have played in from of. Obviously the three Wembley games come out on top but the full top ten are as follows:

1. 98,000 1987 FA Cup final v Tottenham
2. 88,000 1987 Charity Shield v Everton
3. 74,434 2017 EFL Trophy final v Oxford
4. 74,055 2007-08 League Cup v Man United (a)
5. 67,637 2000-01 League v Man United (a)
6. 67,271 1937-38 League v Aston Villa (a)
7. 61,380 1999-2000 League v Man United (a)
8. 60,350 1965-66 FA Cup v Everton (a)
9. 59,451 2013-14 FA Cup v Arsenal (a)
10. 58,351 2012-13 League Cup v Arsenal (a)

The attendances are all the official ones but a few are dubious as in recent years clubs have included season ticket holders whether attending the game or not. The two Arsenal cup games and the Man United League Cup game are examples of this and the official figures are somewhat exaggerated.

Jim's Column 19.9.2020

 Last Saturday’s unlucky defeat to Bristol City ended Coventry City’s fantastic unbeaten run that stretched back to mid-December when City last lost, at Shrewsbury. There are two unbeaten runs worth mentioning, league games and all competitive games. The unbeaten league run ended at 14 games, the club’s fourth best run and bettered only by the 25 game run by Jimmy Hill’s 1967 Division Two champions, the 17 game run in 1937 by Harry Storer’s Second Division team and another Hill run (16 games) in Division Thee in 1962-63.

When runs of all competitive games are compared the 1962-63 team lead the way with 22 unbeaten games which was only ended by an FA Cup quarter final defeat to eventual winners Manchester United. Mark Robins 2020 team were unbeaten in 19 league and cup games (counting the penalty shoot-out defeat against Birmingham as a draw). The great 1967 team had their 25-game league run interrupted by an FA Cup defeat to Newcastle.

City got the shock of their lives at Bristol as Coventry fan Jamie Paterson scored the opening goal in 20 seconds. This was the fastest goal conceded by the Sky Blues since 1995 when Dwight Yorke, then of Aston Villa, headed home in 13 seconds at Highfield Road. Villa went on to win 3-0 that night with Milosevic scoring two late goals. Fast goal times are fairly easy to record in the present day when there are television cameras at every game but in the ‘old days’ it’s hard to be accurate with the times of goals with newspaper reporters usually being the source. In contemporary newspaper reports quick goals are often described as ‘scored in the first minute’. Not very helpful for the football historian.

The only other goal conceded by City in less than 25 seconds was another Villa goal, scored by Cyrille Regis at Villa Park in 1992. That was timed at 21 seconds and for a good part of the game looked to have sealed City’s relegation. Then, well into the second half Notts County, already doomed, came from behind to send Luton Town down instead.

Dave Evans is a Coventry City fan who lives and works in Moscow. He asked a question via the SBI (Sky Blue International), the organisation for overseas City fans. He wanted to know if City’s second kit in 1963 was the green and black stripes.

City had the same 'change' kit from 1962 through to 1969 which was red shirts, shorts and socks. The newspaper colour picture taken at Cardiff in 1967 illustrates the kit. The all red kit was replaced in 1969-70 by the green and black striped shirts with black shorts and socks.

I have to feel sorry for Colin Heys, The founder of the Coventry City London Supporters Club. He informed me last week that the game at MK Dons was the first City League Cup tie he had missed since 1977 when he couldn’t get to Huddersfield for City’s tie at the old Leeds Road ground. I make that 121 consecutive games that Colin saw in the competition and included midweek trips from his Kent home to far flung places such as Morecambe, Scarborough, Chester, Tranmere & Rochdale. 

Jim's column 12.9.2020

 

The 2020-21 football league season starts today with Coventry City playing their first game in the Championship after eight years in the lower leagues. Most fans agree it’s going to be hard for the team to compete against clubs who have enormous budgets and Premiership parachute money however we must have faith in Mark Robins’ management and recruitment to believe that the Sky Blues will make a good fist of their first season back.

The fans of any club winning promotion need to be patient and Marks achievements  in winning a double promotion for Coventry City must be borne in mind. Personally, I would be happy to finish above the relegation three this season and consolidate a position in the higher league.

Today the Sky Blues are at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate for a game which will evoke bad memories of the 2011-12 relegation season for City fans. It was on a miserably wet Easter Monday that City’s relegation was all but confirmed with a defeat to the only side they could realistically catch. Bristol were relegated the following season and we had that famous 5-4 victory over them at Sixfields.

The competitive season kicked off last Saturday with a 1-0 League Cup win at MK Dons thanks to a goal from debutant Tyler Walker who came off the bench to clinch the tie. Debutant scorers off the bench are not that common (Conor Chaplin was the last at Oxford two years ago) and extremely rare in the League Cup with Walker only the second City player to achieve the feat. Robbie Simpson was the first in a home win over Notts County in 2007. Gervane Kastaneer scored on his league debut as a substitute against Bristol Rovers last season but he had already appeared in a League Cup game.

The win at Milton Keynes was the club's first away win in the competition since 2012 when a late penalty from kevin Kilbane saw off Dagenham and Redbridge 1-0. Before Saturday City had played six away games in the competition without progressing:

2012-13 Arsenal (Premier) lost 1-6

2013-14 Leyton Orient (League 1) lost 2-3

2015-16 Rochdale (League 1) drew 1-1 (lost on penalties)

2016-17 Norwich (Championship) lost 1-6

2018-19 Oxford (League 1) lost 0-2

2019-20 Watford (Premier) lost 0-3

Before the Dagenham victory you have to go back to 2007 and that memorable win at Old Trafford for the previous away win.

Declan Drysdale, making only his second senior start, fell foul of the referee last week and was, unluckily in my opinion, given his marching orders. Declan was the eleventh City player to see red in the competition and the first since Carl Baker at Leyton orient in 2013. He joins some famous City players to have been sent off in the competition including Steve Ogrizovic, Davis Speedie, Roy Wegerle, Terry Gibson and Jimmy Holmes.

Thanks to Paul O'Connor for pointing out that it was the first time that City had won a game after having a man sent off when the scores were level since 2004. Then, at Cardiff City, Peter Clarke got his marching orders after just 24 seconds of the game (the fastest red card in the club's history). City's ten men won the game thanks to a Gary McSheffrey penalty in the second half to record a fourth successive away win under Eric Black.