Jim's column 27.11.2021

Colin Heys posed an interesting question recently. He remembers the days before substitute goalkeepers were allowed in the English game and has fond memories of outfield players David Speedie and Bobby McDonald donning the 'keeper's jersey after injuries to City custodians. He wondered how many City outfield players have had to step into the goalkeeper's role.

I only have records for the post-war period and since 1945 there have been nine occasions, the most recent being in 2005 when manager Micky Adams failed to name a goalkeeper on the sub's bench against Stoke City at Highfield Road and Stephen Hughes had to go between the posts after Ian Bennett was sent off three minutes into the second half. Hughes pulled off several good saves to earn City a point in a 0-0 draw.

In the 1950s City defender Roy Kirk went in goal three times after injuries to Reg Matthews (twice) and Peter Taylor. At Newport in 1956 Matthews was injured early in the game and Kirk took over and although he saved a penalty City lost 4-2. In 1958 City goalkeeper Jim Sanders broke a leg in the 71st minute with City leading 6-0. Kirk took over and although he let a late goal in City won 7-1.

                              1950s defender and stand-in 'keeper Roy Kirk

Six years later it was the turn of Bill Glazier to suffer a broken leg, at Manchester City's Maine Road. Glazier had been signed for a world record fee for a goalkeeper just six months previously and his form had been so good that he had won three England under 23 caps and was tipped to be in Alf Ramsey's World Cup squad the following year. Bill's broken leg wrecked the chances of being understudy to Gordon Banks. At Maine Road with 41 minutes gone City were 1-0 down and Ronnie Rees pulled on the green jersey. Four minutes later Ken Hale pulled the Sky Blues level and Rees kept the Man City forwards out in a 1-1 draw.

Up to 1965 when substitutes were first allowed all the instances resulted in City playing with 10 men after the removal of the goalies but after that point an injured goalkeeper could be replaced by an outfield player. Maine Road was the venue again in 1975 when City goalie Bryan King was forced to leave the field after 69 minutes with the Sky Blues 3-0 down. Substitute John Craven came on and took the goalie's jersey and although City pulled two goals back Craven let in a 90th minute fourth goal.

The following season City were playing West Ham in a relegation four-pointer at Highfield Road. After 60 minutes, with the score 0-0, Sky Blues keeper Jim Blyth had to leave the field with an injury. Substitute Alan Green came on and left-back Bobby McDonald took over in goal. Fifteen minutes later Mick Ferguson fired City ahead but three minutes from time 'Pop' Robson equalised.

The next occurrence was in 1989 at Millwall when Steve Ogrizovic suffered a shoulder injury in the first minute. Oggy struggled on until the break by which time City, who had gone into the game as First Division leaders, were 3-0 down. Oggy didn't appear after half-time and David Speedie, not the tallest of players, went in goal and kept the home side at bay until the 89th minute when he was beaten by a screamer from Ian Dawes.

The full list of outfield players who have gone into goal is as follows:

Season Opponents Goalkeeper Replacement score

1952-53 Brighton (a) Reg Matthews Roy Kirk 1-1

1952-53 Bristol R (a) Peter Taylor George Lowrie 2-5

1955-56 Newport (a) Reg Matthews Roy Kirk 2-4

1958-59 Aldershot (h) Jim Sanders Roy Kirk 7-1

1964-65 Man City (a) Bill Glazier Ronnie Rees 1-1

1975-76 Man City (a) Bryan King John Craven 2-4

1976-77 West Ham (h) Jim Blyth Bobby McDonald 1-1

1989-90 Millwall (a) Steve Ogrizovic David Speedie 1-4

2004-05 Stoke (h) Ian Bennett Stephen Hughes 0-0

Goalkeeper substitutes were first allowed in 1992 and the need for outfield players to go into goal has virtually diminished since although happened with Stephen Hughes. However in that time there have been nineteen occasions where City have used their substitute 'keeper either through injury or red cards and I'll cover those in more detail next week.

If you have a question about the history or statistics of Coventry City please drop me an email at clarriebourton@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter @clarriebourton

Jim's column 20.11.2021

 I had the pleasure of meeting former Coventry City striker Julian Joachim before the recent Bristol City game. Julian was at the CBS Arena as the special guest of the Former Players Association and to publicise his biography entitled You Must Be Joachim which has just been published.

The book is a fascinating look at Julian's playing career that spanned over 20 years from Leicester City in the early 1990s to a slew of East Midlands non-league teams in the 2010s. 'Jockey' as he was known throughout his career was a prodigious youngster at Filbert Street and as a 17-year-old represented England at under-18 level at the European Championships. England, who boasted a stellar squad including Robbie Fowler, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Sol Campbell, finished third in the championships but Julian was voted player of the tournament and also won goal of the tournament. He also made an immediate impact for the Foxes with a goal that was runner up in the BBC Goal of the Season as well as one at Wembley in the play-off final.

At Leicester he played over 100 games and won two promotions to the Premier League before a big money move to Aston Villa. Along the way Julian had a few issues with some of his managers including Mark McGhee at Leicester and John Gregory at Villa before Gordon Strachan signed him for Coventry in 2001. Injuries hampered his first two seasons at the club and he is less than complimentary about Gary McAllister's management skills but he bounced back from his adversities to shine in his final season, being voted Player of the Season by the London Supporters Club and netting 11 goals.

Julian has had his dark times too and the book deals with the bullying he endured and the issues that footballers have after retiring. Although Julian never hit the heights of his early career at Coventry his story is a fascinating read for all football fans.

Last week I wrote about instances of City coming from behind to win games with ten men and Keith Ballantyne has a different take on the question. He asks: 'Have City ever failed to beat a team with nine men? I seem to remember a game against Forest at Highfield Road'

There are eight instances of City's opponents being reduced to nine men, all since 1991 in the era when red cards became far more common. Six instances came between 2001 and 2008 and the last time was in 2012 when Middlesbrough had two men sent off at the Ricoh as City recorded a rare win that season. Of the eight games, six were victories and two drawn. The game that Keith refers to was an early season night game just after the club were relegated in 2001 and Forest held out for a 0-0 draw after Stern John was sent off just before half-time followed by Matthieu Louis-Jean in the 67th minute.

City, on the other hand have been reduced to nine men with red cards on six occasions. The first time was in the club's inaugural season in the Football League, 1919-20, in a 1-0 win at Hull, with Billy Walker and Jock Blair sent off together with a Hull player. It was 74 years before the next instance of two red cards – Paul Williams and Richard Shaw ordered off in that famous 3-3 home draw with Wimbledon. The most recent incident was at Portsmouth in 2019 when Dabo and Kastaneer were sent off before City recovered to gain another 3-3 draw.

If you have a question about the history or statistics of Coventry City please drop me an email at clarriebourton@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter @clarriebourton

Jim's column 16.11.2021

What an incredible game against Bristol City last Saturday at the CBS Arena! Many fans were calling it the most exciting game since we were relegated from the Premier League twenty years ago and it's hard to think of many better. For the fourth time this season at the stadium the Sky Blues came from behind to win and the third occasion with a winner in added time. It's a testament to the team's never say die attitude, the level of fitness and the game management of Mark Robins. Bristol City, a team that had won on five of their seven visits to the stadium before Saturday, followed Nottingham Forest, Reading and Fulham in being turned over by a gutsy home performance.

One extra twist on Saturday was the fact that they did it with ten men, following the dismissal of Ian Maatsen on the stroke of half-time for a foul inside the penalty area which resulted in a spot-kick for the visitors. It's only the fourth time in the club's history that a ten-men City team have come from behind to win and the first since 1999 when Charlton Athletic succumbed 2-1 at Highfield Road after City's John Aloisi was shown a red card for lashing out at a far from innocent Danny Mills with the score 1-0 to the visitors. Goals from Noel Whelan and substitute Trond Soltvedt saw the Sky Blues home.

The other two occurrences were in away FA Cup games in the 1990s. In 1995, in a Third Round replay at the Hawthorns, City's Paul Cook was sent off early in the game before Albion took the lead just after half-time through Paul Raven. Minutes later the Baggies were also reduced to ten men when Darren Bradley saw red. Roared on by a large Sky Blue Army, City left it late but won the game through Dion Dublin and a brilliant solo effort from Peter Ndlovu. Perhaps as both teams finished with ten men it doesn't count.

The following season Ron Atkinson's team travelled to Plymouth for a Third Round tie. After eighteen minutes Dave Busst was ordered off for a foul on the edge of the penalty area. From the resulting free-kick Argyle took the lead through Ian Baird. Early in the second half ten-men City came to life and scored three goals in six minutes to clinch a 3-1 victory and a place in Round Four. The scorers were Ally Pickering, his only goal for the club in 75 appearances, John Salako and Paul Telfer.

Several readers have asked me if Coventry City's rise through the leagues has been matched or bettered by anyone in the same period. The low point, position-wise, for City was in February 2018 at Mansfield when a late controversial penalty by Jonson Clarke-Harris grabbed a point. After that game City were ninth in League Two (or 77th in the 92) and six points outside the play-off positions. Now they lie fourth in the Championship (24th in the 92) – an improvement of 53 places in just over three and a half years and the most spectacular rise in the club's history and even better than Jimmy Hill's on-field improvement.

Looking at the league tables back in February 2018 the only other club to jump two divisions in the intervening period are Luton Town, who led League Two on the date (69th in the 92). Luton currently stand 11th (31st in the 92)in the Championship, an improvement of 38 places. The next best club is Blackpool with a rise of 30 places to their current 10th place in the Championship. When one looks at teams currently in League One it is fascinating to see the big clubs that City have leapfrogged over in that time. Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland were all in the Championship that season whilst Wigan, Portsmouth and Bradford City were all in the top half of League One.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 45th anniversary of Coventry City London Supporters Club's formation. Held in London, 70 City fans from the capital and the South East enjoyed a great evening and were joined by a large contingent from the football club including Joy Seppala, Tim Fisher, Mark Robins and Dave Boddy. It was great to catch up with many old friends who came out to celebrate a great milestone in CCLSC's history.

As one of the original eleven members I was asked to pay a tribute to the founder Colin Heys who was in attendance. Colin placed an advert in the Tottenham programme for City's game there in October 1976 and the following month organised the first get together. Colin, who has lived in Kent for all that time, was a leading light in CCLSC for many years but travelled all over the country watching the Sky Blues. He has now watched over 2200 matches and that includes a staggering run of 684 consecutive first team games over 13 ½ years.

If you have a question about the history or statistics of Coventry City please drop me an email at clarriebourton@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter @clarriebourton