Coventry City's remarkable 15-game unbeaten home record came to a shuddering halt at St Andrews last Friday night as newly-relegated Bournemouth took home the points with a 3-1 win. The Cherries became the first team to lower City's flag since Tranmere flukily took the points with a late goal almost a year ago. The expensive Bournemouth side did look a notch above City but the Sky Blues didn't help themselves with several players below par and Gus Hamer's red card ending any hope of a comeback.
The 15-game run was in all games and included the FA Cup replay with Birmingham which statisticians usually count as a draw, and was the club's best run since the late seventies. Then, arguably City's best ever team went 16 games unbeaten from March 1978 (a 2-3 home defeat to Villa) until Tottenham won 3-1 at Highfield Road the following February. The club record stands at 19, set in the Division Three North season in 1925-26 and equalled in 1962-63.
Last week I discovered that former Coventry City player Tony Pounder died in 2019. Tony, a right winger, only made six first team appearances for the club, in 1957, after signing from Luton Town, and by December the same year he was transferred to Crewe Alexandra.
Born in Sheffield in 1935 Tony was playing for Sheffield side Atlas FC and attracting the interest of both Sheffield clubs but it was Luton, then a First Division side, who nipped in to sign him in December 1955. He made 19 appearances for the Hatters reserve team that season and scored five goals. He made his First Division debut in an end of season win over Portsmouth. In 1956-57 he again was a regular for the reserves, playing 27 games and scoring eight goals and got two more first team games near the end of the season.
When he was surprisingly given a free transfer in the close season of 1957 City boss Harry Warren signed him for City. At the time he was described as 'lacking a little in experience but a fast go-ahead winger, who likes the ball in front of him'.
He made his bow at Highfield Road in the club's public trial annually held on the Saturday before the league season started. He played for the Reds (the reserves) and was described as 'the best forward on the pitch', scoring the Reds goal in the 40th minute. Nemo wrote, 'his speed, ball control and pin point crossing of a ball looked good, and there were times when he had the first team defenders in a sorry tangle'.
A week later and with regular right-winger Peter Hill injured Tony got his chance in the first team against Reading at home. City won 1-0 but Nemo reported that Pounder missed an easy chance and 'is not quite ready for Third Division football'. Five days later at Newport Tony scored 'with a cool finish' in a 2-2 draw and halfway through the second half scored what looked to be the winning goal with a 'glorious shot' but City centre-forward Ken McPherson was adjudged to have been offside. Unfortunately this was to prove the high point of Tony's career at the club.
The following Saturday Tony was in the City team beaten 4-0 at Northampton and lost his place. He was recalled a week later for a 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth and a 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace which left City bottom but one in the table. Before September was over manager Warren was sacked and Billy Frith stepped up from youth coach to take over as the boss, for the second time having previously managed between 1947-49. Frith only selected Tony once for the first team – in a 0-0 home draw with Southampton in early October and before Christmas he was transferred to Crewe for a 'small fee'.
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