Happy New Year to all my readers and let's hope 2022 brings as much enjoyment for Coventry City fans as 2021 did. A good second half of the 2020-21 season plus an impressive first half to 2021-22 saw the team accumulate 66 points from 47 games in the calendar year – good enough to finish in the top half of the Championship. Covid issues have made a mess of the fixtures pre and post Christmas and Mark Robins is probably wishing that the EFL hadn't allowed the Millwall game to go ahead. Recent results have seen the knockers begin to criticise some players and the managers – totally unwarranted in my opinion. If you go back to this week five years ago the Sky Blues were 22nd in League One without a win in nine league games and heading for relegation as well as being out of the FA Cup following a 4-0 thrashing at Cambridge United. Attendances were down to 8,000 and Russell Slade had just become the third manager of the campaign. The critics need to take a reality check.
Sadly I have another former player's death to report. Coventrian John Docker never appeared for the first team but was an outstanding young talent who would surely have made it in another era. John, who passed away on 30th November, was the star of the Coventry Schools team in 1962 and it was seen as a major coup for the club when he signed schoolboy forms for the Sky Blues that year. After leaving Caludon Castle school in 1963 he became an apprentice at the club and first made an impact in the youth team in November of that year when Third Division City lost a thrilling FA Youth Cup tie 4-6 to First Division West Brom. City had several youngsters who would go on to play first team football including Bobby Gould, Pat Morrissey and Dudley Roberts but were no match for the Baggies who boasted a 18-year-old Tony 'Bomber' Brown who was already scoring goals in Division One. City trailed 6-1 at one stage but goals from Alan Thompson, John Chambers and Docker added to the early goal from Peter Denton, gave the scoreline a better look. Docker's corners created all four goals including his own which went directly in.
John, a left-winger who could also play inside-forward, had already made his reserve team debut, away at QPR, a month earlier and although he only played one further reserve game that season he developed well in the 'A' team and many around the club tipped him for success. John's route to the first team was hampered however by the Welsh international Ronnie Rees and his understudy John Mitten not to mention Dave Clements who emerged that season, and their form kept Docker in the 'A' team in 1964-65. The youth team however had a great run in the Youth Cup, knocking out First Division Aston Villa and had the club's longest run in the competition at that time. John starred in the Villa Park win with John Chambers scoring the vital goal. An ankle injury kept Docker out for a good part of the second half of the season but in the summer of 1965 he signed his first professional contract days after he had scored two goals in a 5-1 reserve victory over Leicester at Highfield Road. He made 14 reserve appearances that season, scoring four goals. He was still eligible for the Youth Cup team and played at inside-forward along with Willie Carr and Mick Coop but after defeating First Division Leicester (including Peter Shilton) the team suffered a second round knock-out at home to Stoke.
Sixteen reserve appearances in the reserves with three goals came in 1966-67 but with Rees and Clements in top form it was becoming increasingly clear that John's first team chances were slim especially with team roaring to promotion to the First Division. In August 1967 he went on a month's loan to Torquay United – only the second City player to go out on loan. He played six games and scored two goals in a League Cup win over local rivals Exeter but suffered a knee injury. He returned to Coventry and made 12 reserve appearances (3 goals) but was given a free transfer in June 1968. He toyed briefly with an offer to play in South Africa but joined Waterford in Ireland before returning to play for Rugby Town and Massey Ferguson. An injury sustained in Ireland hampered his performances and he ended up playing in local football where he broke a leg playing for Binley Woods.
He worked at Massey Ferguson and Chrysler before setting up his own business specialising in bearings for the motor industry. He passed away after a long battle with cancer.
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
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