Jim's column 23.12.23

Gordon Milne is the longest serving Coventry City manager since World War Two having been in charge from 1972 until 1981. During his first two seasons at Highfield Road his title was Team Manager and Joe Mercer was at his elbow as General Manager but there was never any doubt that Gordon was in charge of on-pitch matters. He has recently published his biography 'Shankly, my Dad and Me' and it is an excellent read.

Gordon's Dad was Jimmy Milne who played alongside a young Bill Shankly for Preston North End before the war and appeared together in the 1937 FA Cup final. After the war Jimmy became the trainer at Deepdale, Shankly saw his playing career out with Preston and was a neighbour of the Milnes. Gordon remembers as a child playing in the street with Shanks and after cutting his teeth as a young player with Preston it was no surprise that in 1960 Shankly, by this time managing Liverpool, made Gordon, a talented half-back, one of his first signings. The essence of the book is the influence that his father and Shankly had not only his football career but his life in general.

Gordon tells the story how Shankly transformed not just the team at Anfield but also the club. Unbelivably the Reds had been out of the First Division for eight years but signings such as Ian St John, Ron Yeats and Gordon got them promotion in 1962 and two years later they lifted the League Championship. Over seven seasons Gordon played almost 300 games for Liverpool, picking up two league winner's medals in a golden period for the club that saw European Cup semi finals and a Cup Winners Cup final. The club also lifted the FA Cup in 1965, beating Don Revie's Leeds United but Gordon had to sit it out with a knee injury. Gordon describes the scene at Anfield four days later when Shankly told him and Gerry Byrne (a casualty at Wembley) to parade the Cup around the pitch before the crucial European Cup semi final first leg against Inter Milan. For Gordon the ear-splitting reception they got from the Kop was his greatest memory of his time at Anfield.

In 1963 Alf Ramsey selected him for his first England cap against Brazil and he went on to win 14 caps in all. In 1966 he was in the initial World Cup squad of 28 players which was reduced to the final 22 just before the tournament. He left Liverpool for Blackpool in 1967 and after hanging his boots up he started his managerial career at non-league Wigan before coming to Coventry with Mercer in 1972. The M-men as they were christened by Coventry Telegraph's Derek Henderson excited the fans with a brand of attacking football and apart from the almost disastrous 1976-77 season relegation was rarely mentioned. At the same time he kept the finances on an even keel even if it meant selling some of the club's outstanding homegrown players. In the book Gordon deals with the infamous Bristol City game in 1977 and, contrary to the views of many in Sunderland, confirms that the decision to delay the kick-off was not made by Jimmy Hill or anyone associated with the club.

                    Gordon with Bristol City manager Alan Dicks celebrating the 2-2 draw in 1977

He reveals that during his 10 years at City he was interviewed for two big jobs – in 1974 Liverpool considered him as Shankley's replacement before opting for Bob Paisley and the same year he was shortlisted and interviewed for the England manager's job which ultimately went to Don Revie. The book also describes his time at Leicester City and fascinating times in Turkey with Besiktas and at Newcastle with Bobby Robson.

It's a great read with some wonderful stories from his 60 years in the game and will evoke many memories of the Sky Blues in the 1970s whilst reminding us how Bill Shankly turned Liverpool into a major force in European football. The book is published by Pitch Publishing and is co-written with Steve Younger.

2023 has been a great year to be a Coventry City fan. Mark Robins' team gave us an exciting run to the play-offs and the highest final position since we left the Premiership over 20 years ago. We've had another trip to Wembley where the difference between success and failure came down to a penalty shoot-out. This season we've seen the highest crowds at home games for 50 years creating an electric atmosphere and positive signs that the 'new' team are bedding in and becoming a strong Championship side.

Finally, a Merry Christmas to all my readers and the hope that you and yours, as well as our beloved Sky Blues have a healthy and prosperous 2024.

Jim's column 9.12.23

What a strange game at Ipswich last Saturday! At half-time we were admiring an excellent first half from the Tractor Boys in which they had dominated the Sky Blues and topped it off with a fantastic world-class goal from Wes Burns. At full-time, after a much improved second half display from Coventry, we were left with the feeling that the team could have got a result, a draw at least, and that Ipswich were not as invincible as we had thought 45 minutes earlier. The key moment of that second half was the penalty miss by Matty Godden when City were in the ascendancy.

Godden's failure from the spot at Portman Road was his second successive penalty miss – his other was in the home game with Watford in September – after 11 successful spot kicks since he joined the club in 2019. His last successful penalty was in the League Cup game at AFC Wimbledon in August. He's not alone in consecutive penalty misses Micky Quinn and Paul Cook both missed two in a row back in the 1990s. In a home game in January 1989 Brian Kilcline had his penalty saved by Wimbledon's Hans Segers but followed up to score then, a month later, he missed a penalty against Arsenal at Highfield Road but later in the game scored the winner past David Seaman from the spot! Gary McSheffrey is another who missed two in a row and retained the penalty taking duties. We'll have to wait and see if Matty keeps the duties following his misses.

I thought I would compare Godden's penalty record with City's penalty kings of the past. Matty's eleven successful penalties leaves him well short of the club's all-time record penalty scorer Ronnie Farmer who managed 23 penalties with only one miss between 1962-67. Brian Kilcline scored 19 penalties but managed to miss five. Gary McAllister is third in the list with 18 successful penalties and just one miss. Gary McSheffrey and Mick Coop are also ahead of Godden with 16 successful spot kicks.

                                                   Ronnie Farmer

		Penalties	Misses
1. Ronnie Farmer	1962-67	23	1
2. Brian Kilcline	1985-91	19	5
3. Gary McAllister	1996-2003	18	1
4= Gary McSheffrey	2003-12	16	6
4= Mick Coop	1973-80	16	3
6. Matt Godden	2019-23	11	2

Jim's column 25.11.23

The recent Stoke home game witnessed the third 25,000 plus crowd of the season (25,003) and lifted the average home attendance to 24,310, up 19% from last season's average of 20,369. Obviously there are more season tickets but it's still a remarkable increase especially as the average following from visiting fans is currently down by 8% at 1,864. With home games against local rivals Birmingham City and Leicester City coming up I expect the overall average to further increase.

If the average remains above 24,000 then it will be the club's highest average attendance for over 50 years - since 1972-73 when the average was 24,623. What a roller coaster ride the club's attendances have taken over the years as the chart shows. Before Jimmy Hill arrived in 1961 the average had been under 11,000 but in his first full season in charge, with the Sky Blue Revolution under way, the crowds increased to 17,908 with another massive jump to over 26,000 in 1963-64 as City won promotion to the Second Division. The gates plateaued in Division Two but leapt again in 1967-68 as City reached the First Division for the first time in their history. That debut season in the top flight saw an average of 34,705, the highest in the club's history, with even the smallest home crowds being 28,000! There were three 40,000 crowds with over 47,000 for the visit of Manchester United. 

The novelty of Division 1 quickly wore off however and by 1970-71 gates were back to the Division 2 levels of 26,000 and although there was a slight renaissance in the late 1970s when Gordon Milne's team were playing very attractive, attacking football, there was a slow, steady decline of attendances. By 1980-81 the average had dropped to under 17,000, prompting Jimmy Hill to controversially make the stadium all-seater with a capacity of 20,000. Within two years gates were back to the levels last seen before Jimmy's arrival – an average of 10,552 in 1982-83.

The re-opening of the Spion Kop, the FA Cup success in 1987 and the Sillett years saw crowds back up to the 16-17,000 level but as the 1990s arrived we were back to 13-14,000. Big Ron's arrival, the new East Stand and the spending spree of the late 1990s boosted attendances and the stadium was pretty much full for most home games with the average reaching almost 21,000 in the final three years in the Premiership.

Relegation in 2001 dealt a blow to attendances and the final seasons at Highfield Road saw gates down to below 15,000. The move to the Ricoh in 2005 saw an initial boost to over 21,000 (the best average since the late 1970s) but the initial gloss of the new ground slowly wore off, not helped by lack lustre seasons on the pitch. Between 2005 and the club's relegation to the third tier in 2012 crowds fell every season and by 2012 the average was only 15,000. 

Another 5,000 fans deserted the club in the first season in League One but that was nothing compared to what happened with the move to Northampton when the average was under 2,500. Despite 27,000 turning up for the return to the Ricoh in September 2014 the average for the season was under 10,000 and although it crept up to 12,000 the following season as City's attractive football under Tony Mowbray brought the fans back. It was a short-lived increase and in the miserable League One relegation season they were back to under 10,000.

Since Mark Robins' arrival gates have soared again – 12,000 in 2018-19 and 19,000 back at the Ricoh in 2021-22 with a blip in the St Andrews League One championship season (6,653) and a fan-less season due to Covid in 2020-21. Last season saw another rise to 20,369, the highest for 16 years and this season, with 19,000 season ticket holders, a 50-year record will be broken.

In 1972-73 the Highfield Road capacity was around 45,000 and the biggest crowd of the season was 42,911 for the visit of Manchester United in late January. The lowest crowd was 16,391 for the Stoke game with a further four attendances under 20,000, three of them in the period before Joe Mercer and Gordon Milne transformed the team with the purchases of Colin Stein and Tommy Hutchison in the October. The local derbies with Birmingham (35,304) and West Brom (31,541) also attracted over 30,000 and there were over 38,000 for the FA Cup tie with Grimsby albeit with 8,000 away fans. The wide variation between the largest and smallest gates demonstrates how, back then, there were far fewer seats and season tickets, and how the team's performances, the quality of the opposition and the importance of the games had a much greater effect on gates than the modern day. 

Ronnie Rees tribute

Ronnie Rees (4 April 1944 – 29 October 2023)

Coventry City fans who were around in the 1960s will be saddened to hear of the death of the former winger Ronnie Rees. Thrown into the first team at the tender age of 18 by Jimmy Hill, Ronnie was an immediate success and was a key member of the Third Division and Second Division championship sides in 1964 and 1967 respectively. Growing up in an era when wingers were fashionable Ronnie had all the attributes of a top performing wingman. He was incredibly quick, had a mazy dribble, a great cross and a vicious shot. One of the fans' most popular players of the JH era, the Welsh wing wizard played 262 games for the Sky Blues, putting him 25^th in the all-time most appearance table. He also had an eye for goal and netted 52 in his 5 ½ seasons at Highfield Road, 16^th in the club's all-time scorers and the highest scoring winger in the club history.

Ronnie was born and grew up in Ystradgynlais, a small Welsh town 15 miles north of Swansea. Spotted playing for Merthyr Boys, he joined Coventry City straight from school as an apprentice, sweeping the terraces, cleaning the first team's boots and playing for the 'A' or 'B' team on a Saturday. He played in the same youth team as Bobby Gould and Dietmar Bruck but despite the future stars in the team their Youth Cup campaign in 1961-62 came to a juddering halt with a 9-1 defeat to Aston Villa's under 18s with a certain Ralph Brown netting seven goals. By the end of the 1961-62 season he had played 26 reserve games, scoring 3 goals, mainly on the right wing but was not considered to be close to the first team. The close season of 1962 saw recently appointed manager Jimmy Hill sign a completely new forward line: Willie Humphries, Hubert Barr, Terry Bly, Jimmy Whitehouse and Bobby Laverick. Despite being awarded a professional contract, Ronnie's first team chances looked slim at that stage.

Of the five new forwards all except former Everton and Brighton man Laverick started well. After only four games JH dropped Laverick in favour of Roy Dwight but was still unhappy with the left wing slot. On 15 September 1962 Ronnie was called up for first team duty in a home Division Three game with Shrewsbury. In front of 14,000 Ronnie didn't disappoint as Nemo in the Coventry Telegraph reported: 'Rees revealed a refreshing directness that should have acted as a stimulant to his colleagues'. The game ended 0-0.

He kept his place three days later as the Sky Blues beat Bradford Park Avenue 3-1 and his performance impressed Nemo: 'He beats his man often like a veteran, has poise on the ball, and it is a rare occurrence for a pass to go astray. From the start he shows a propensity to shoot on sight'. Rees was here to stay and in his fifth game he scored his first goal, against Second Division Swansea, the club whose net he had slipped through, in a 3-2 League Cup win. Maybe he was out to prove Swansea wrong but he was City's star man and hit a 25-yard 'dipping' shot that crept inside an upright. Nemo described him as 'irrepressible and unlucky not to score a second goal near the end'.

A bout of gastric flu kept him out of the side for a few games but he returned to action on 10 November in a 3-0 victory over Wrexham and was an ever present for the rest of the season. In fact he was not on the losing side until the end of March when City's remarkable FA Cup run came to an end at the hands of Manchester United. Within three months of his City debut he won the fist of seven Wales under 23 caps and in February 1963 he scored twice as the under 23s beat Northern Ireland 5-1.

The fixture backlog due to the Cup exploits and the harsh winter meant City missed out of promotion but twelve months later the team won the division. Ronnie and captain George Curtis were the only ever presents and his 15 goals was only bettered by George Hudson and Ken Hale. The highlight for Ronnie was a hat-trick in the 8-1 hammering of Shrewsbury Town at Highfield Road.

Ronnie took to Second Division football with ease and missed only one game in 1964-65, scoring nine goals and winning his first full cap for his country, a 3-2 victory over Scotland in Cardiff. Rubbing shoulders with Welsh legends such as John Charles, Ivor Allchurch and Cliff Jones, Ronnie was impressive, setting up two goals for Ken Leek and kept his place for seven further internationals that season including a trip to Wembley to face England and World Cup qualifiers in Florence and Moscow. City's season was one of consolidation and the team finished 10^th but 1965-66 saw a serious promotion challenge and Ronnie was at the heart of it. Willie Humphries had left and versatile Ronnie was switched to the right wing to accommodate Dave Clements in the number 11 shirt. Once again Ronnie missed only one game and scored nine goals as well as winning a further eight caps for Wales including two games against Brazil in an end of season tour of South America. Brazil were warming up for the 1966 World Cup and Ronnie faced stars such as Garrincha, Gerson and Tostao.

                            The 1967 Promotion team with Ronnie far right on middle row

The Sky Blues missed out on promotion by one point in 1965-66 but strengthened by the signing of Ian Gibson they were one of the favourites for promotion the following season. Ronnie was back on the left wing and although the team stuttered in the autumn by December things were buzzing again in the city and Rees and Gibson were building a great partnership. Arch rivals Wolves were beaten at Molineux 3-1 with Ronnie scoring one of his five goals that season and by March promotion was looking increasingly possible. BBC Match of the Day cameras came to Highfield Road for the first time that month and Ronnie wowed the armchair fans by making City's goal in a 1-1 draw. The goal can be watched on YouTube and shows Ronnie picking the ball up in his own half before starting a mazy run that takes him past several Bolton defenders to the left edge of the penalty area. His pinpoint cross finds Bobby Gould unmarked eight yards out and the centre-forward finsihes with aplomb. Just over a month later the Sky Blues had the rematch with Wolves in what JH dubbed The Midlands Match of the Century. In front of 51,452 fans City came from behind to win 3-1 and Ronnie scored the third goal – a typical Rees goal, a low ground shot with pace that left the Wolves 'keeper clutching at air. Possibly Ronnie's best goal in a Coventry shirt came in a testimonial game against Liverpool at the end of the season when his twenty five yard thunderbolt brought the house down. 

Once again promotion to a higher division posed no problem for the Welsh winger and Ronnie netted seven goals in his first twelve top flight games including braces against West Brom and Tottenham. He terrorised full-backs as he had done for the previous five years and Derek Henderson commented after a 2-2 with Sunderland in October that: 'the elegantly-moving Ron Rees – playing better now than at any time in his career – looked capable of making Sunderland bite the dust'. As City struggled in their debut season in the First Division like many of the team, Ronnie's form began to suffer and in January 1968 new manager Noel Cantwell dropped him for the first time in his career. He was recalled and scored his final City goal in a 1-1 home FA Cup draw with Tranmere. Three weeks later, on transfer deadline day, he was on his way to West Brom in a deal worth £70,000 with the proceeds of his sale funding the purchase of Chris Cattlin and Ernie Hunt. He admitted that he had been unsettled for some time but his comment 'I suppose a change could do me good' suggests that he may not have wanted to leave. Two days later City pulled off a shock 2-0 win over Manchester United and Ronnie was, to many, quickly forgotten as City edged towards safety.

It was in unauspicious debut for Ronnie at the Hawthorns as Everton won 6-2 but the Baggies got their revenge six weeks later by winning the FA Cup final at Wembley. A Cup-tied Rees could only watch as his team-mates celebrated. Ronnie was at the Hawthorns less than a year but managed 12 goals in a free-scoring side, including one in Albion's 4-2 defeat at Highfield Road. The City Ground, Nottingham was next on the list and he appeared 101 times for First Division Forest before dropping down to Division Three with Swansea in 1972 at the age of 27. His 39^th and final Welsh cap came in 1971 (21 came as a Coventry player) but his form sadly tailed off and he was released in 1975 and played non-league football with Merthyr Tydfill, Haverfordwest and Bishopton. After leaving Swansea he continued to live in the area and worked at Ford's Swansea factory and later at Cardiff City as an administrator until he suffered a severe stroke at the age of 51. Although he was a member of the Former Players Association he was never well enough to attend a Legends Day and spent the last few years in a care home. My condolences to his widow, Coventry-born June, and his family.

His funeral will take place on Friday 17^th November at the Morriston Crematorium, Swansea at 2.30pm.

Jim's Column 29.10.23

Sir Bobby Charlton, the finest English footballer of the post-war era, sadly passed away last weekend and his death was honoured at many football grounds this week. His glittering career with Manchester United saw him play 810 games for his only club and win 106 caps for England. He also left his mark on Coventry City appearing on a number of occasions against the Sky Blues and showing his shooting prowess to its full.

Manchester United manager Matt Busby gave Bobby his first team debut as an 18-year-old in October 1956 and the Ashington-born prodigy didn't let Matt down. He scored two goals in a 4-2 victory over Charlton and by the end of that season he'd scored 12 goals in 17 games, won a league championship medal, an FA Cup runners up medal and scored against Real Madrid in a European Cup semi-final. The Busby Babes were the outstanding post-war English club and would surely have won a third successive league title in 1957-58 but for the tragic air crash at Munich in February 1958 and may have given Real Madrid a closer run in the European Cup. At the time of the crash Charlton was in top form and scored nine goals in the previous five games including two in Belgrade the previous day.

Charlton, still strapped in his seat, was thrown clear of the burning wreckage of the plane and dragged to safety by goalkeeper Harry Gregg. Eight of his team-mates (five of whom were current internationals) and 13 other passengers didn't survive. Bobby lost his best friends and his mentors on that snowy day in Munich but was back in action within three weeks and helping a makeshift United team reach the FA Cup final, swept on by a national wave of emotion.

I have three distinctive memories of Bobby Charlton playing against Coventry City. The first was in 1963 and United's post-Munich rebuilding was well under way when they came to Highfield Road for an FA Cup sixth round tie. In his first full season Jimmy Hill had become Cup giant-killers and seen off two Second Division sides Portsmouth and Sunderland, the latter five days before the United tie in a feverish atmosphere that saw City score two late goals in front of over 40,000 at Highfield Road. City were in the last eight of the competition for the first time since 1910.

As a schoolboy Bobby Charlton was one of my heroes in those less partisan days when you could admire players from clubs you didn't necessarily support and I can remember the excited anticipation of seeing Charlton at Highfield Road almost as much as hoping City would win.

Three days of almost continuous rain had left the pitch a sticky mess and I stood with my dad on the Kop, soaked to the skin. The rain was forgotten as the Sky Blues started superbly with Terry Bly netted from a Willie Humphries cross after five minutes and for the next fifteen minutes dominated their higher status rivals. Then Bobby, transformed into a left winger but with a roving brief, took over and United found their stature. Albert Quixall crossed, Denis Law flicked it on and Bobby's first-time shot beat Bob Wesson for the equaliser. Maurice Setters, later to play for City, drove United on and but for him and Charlton the Reds would not have won the tie. Four minutes into the second half Charlton burst through the Coventry defence at such speed that his marker, John Sillett, and company just stood and gaped while he let loose a right-foot rocket from 18 yards. United scored a third goal when the muddy surface contrived to give Quixall an easy goal but Jimmy Hill's team were not disgraced by the 3-1 scoreline. 

The second memory was Coventry's next encounter with Bobby in 1967-68, their first season in the top flight. I bunked off school to get to Old Trafford for the night match to see a masterclass 4-0 victory for the Reds. John Aston and George Best scored first half goals and after the break United put the Sky Blues on the rack with continuous, smooth-moving pressure with some thunderbot shooting. Aston headed a third goal before Charlton scored the best of the night. Derek Henderson in the Coventry Telegraph described it thus: 'a Charlton special, City back-pedalling and realising the damger too late as the England man hit a 30-yard shell-like effort which kept the applause going for over two minutes.'

                            Bobby Charlton and Willie Carr tussle for the ball in 1969

Charlton inspired United to European Cup glory that season with two goals in the final against Benfica but a few weeks earlier the great man could do little to stop the Sky Blues beating United 2-0 at Highfield Road to help their relegation battle no end.

The third and final memory is from his penultimate season at United in 1971-72. On Easter Saturday United, league leaders up to Christmas but in a slump that saw them finish eighth, took City apart in the first 45 minutes at Highfield Road. Best and Ian Storey-Moore, with his dashing white boots, scored early goals but Bobby's left foot goal from a free-kick on the edge of the area took the biscuit. 

He did make one last apperance at Coventry, a 1-1 draw the following season in Tommy Docherty's brawling thugs team in which Charlton looked decidedly uncomfortable.

Football has changed so much since Bobby's heyday and it is difficult to know where he stands in the pantheon of the game's great players. Whilst I didn't appreciate his great performances against my team I did recognise his unique talent and I can say that in an England shirt he gave me some of the most pleasurable moments of my football watching life. Since his retirement no English player has yet matched his achievements on the pitch. 

It's also sad to report the death, at the age of 65, of former City player Dave Ellis. At the age of 16 Dave was signed from Bedworth United in 1975 and played for City in the FA Youth Cup in 1975-76 alongside Garry Thompson and Paul Dyson and made six appearances for the reserve teaam. After leaving the club in 1977 he spent two years in Melbourne, Australia and played for Mooroolbark United FC. After returning to the UK he had spells with Northampton and Bristol City without making senior appearances. His son Ryan sent me this lovely picture of Dave (right) signing for the Sky Blues with the club's assistant manager Bob Dennison and his parents.

Jim's column 21.10.2023

A quiz question which might stump many Coventry City fans is 'Which Coventry City forward scored four goals in an England shirt at Highfield Road?' There have been only three City players over the last 50 years who have scored four in a City shirt let alone in an England shirt. Mick Ferguson scored all four goals in a 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town in December 1979 just days after Ipswich manager Bobby Robson had tried to buy the bearded centre-forward. 

Steve Livingstone managed four goals, completely out of the blue, in a 5-0 League Cup win over Sunderland in 1990 and Cyrille Regis went one better in 1985 and managed five goals in the same competition Cup against Chester in 1985 which City won 7-2. Before Ferguson you have to go back to Christmas Day 1959 when Ken Satchwell scored four in a 5-3 win over Wrexham.

Three months after Mick Ferguson's four against Ipswich 18-year-old Mark Hateley scored all four goals for England Youth against Denmark at Highfield Road in a European Youth qualifier. Ed Blackaby asked if I could provide more details of Hateley's feat that night. 

England manager John Cartwright named three Coventry City players in the team, Hateley, fellow striker Tom English and full-back David Barnes. Hateley had made just one start for the Sky Blues first team and two substitute appearances. English was ahead of Hateley in the club's pecking order having made 22 games and scoring 10 goals. Barnes would get his first-team debut a month later.

The England team lined up as follows: Kendall (Tottenham): Bennett (Bolton), Barnes (Coventry): Peake (Leicester), Mabbutt (Bristol Rovers), Pates (Chelsea): Gibson (Tottenham), Allen (West Ham capt), Hateley (Coventry), English (Coventry), Mackenzie (Manchester City). Horn (Crystal Palace) substituted for Kendall and Barham (Norwich) substituted for Gibson.

Several of that team had links with the Sky Blues: Paul Allen and Gary Mabbutt both played against City in the 1987 FA Cup final, whilst Terry Gibson joined the Sky Blues in 1983 and had three very successful seasons with the club.

I don't have the Danish line up but amongst the players in their squad were Jan Molby (later of Liverpool), a 15-year-old Michael Laudrup (later of Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid), John Sivebeak (later of Manchester United) and Kent Nielsen (later of Aston Villa).

Hateley was supported by his fellow Sky Blue striker English, who made the first and third goals with 'electrifying runs' beating two defenders before providing centres for Hateley to score. In between Mark smashed home a left-foot shot from a Gibson corner for his second goal. 

Neville Foulger in the Coventry Telegraph described the fourth goal thus: 'Hateley's fourth goal was the glittering highlight of the night....Steve Mackenzie outpaced Denmark's defence on their right flank and when his waist high cross came over Hateley lashed home a spectacular left foot volley'. After the game his father, Tony, a former City player, snaffled his son's shirt although I'm sure that Mark now has that back in his collection.

The victory ensured England qualified for the European under-18 Championship finals in East Germany in June of that year and John Cartwright's team went on to win the final 2-1 against Poland with Paul Allen and Terry Gibson scoring the goals. For Allen, the nephew of former Spurs striker Les Allen, 1980 was a special year. His season at Second Division West Ham, which saw him play over 40 games for the club, culminated in a place in the Hammers' Wembley team that lifted the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Arsenal. 

Jim's column 14.10.23

Two weeks ago I wrote about Matty Godden's excellent scoring record with Coventry City as he edged towards 50 goals for the club. This week I'll move to the other end of the pitch and consider goalkeeper Ben Wilson's record after he made his 100^th appearance for the Sky Blues last weekend.

Wilson, currently in his fifth season with the club, is only the fourth Coventry goalkeeper to reach 100 appearances since the club left the Premier League in 2001. The others are Lee Burge (160), Joe Murphy (156) and Keiren Westwood (138). He's also only the 13^th City keeper to reach a century but he's a long way off reaching Steve Ogrizovic's club record 601 appearances. Before joining the club from Bradford City in July 2019 Ben had made only 35 senior appearances in nine seasons for ten different league clubs and his first season at Coventry saw him play one FA cup tie, two League Cup games and four EFL Trophy games. His first league appearance was as a last minute substitute for Marko Marosi against Cardiff City in November 2020. He kept his place for the remaining 26 games of the season, keeping 10 clean sheets. The arrival of Simon Moore in the summer of 2021 relegated Ben to the bench again and restricted him to five league starts plus two cup games. Moore's poor form at the start of last season gave Ben his chance and he made 46 appearances including the three play-off games, keeping a record 22 clean sheets. Some fans believed Ben was at risk again this summer after the arrival of Brad Collins from Barnsley but Mark Robins has kept faith with Wilson and he has another three clean sheets in the opening 11 games.

Tom Woods asked me to compare Ben's excellent clean sheet record with other goalkeeper's record, especially Oggy's. Comparing goalkeeper's records has to exclude those who made only a handful of games. For instance David Stockdale in 2017-18 played two games on loan and didn't concede a goal and in 1988 Keith Waugh played one game when Oggy was injured and didn't concede. Therefore to have a sensible comparison I have only included 'keepers who have played 20 or more games.

Ben's currently has 40 clean sheets out of 100 games, an impressive 40% and easily the best ratio of all City goalkeepers who have made more than 20 appearances. Oggy's record is less impressive but it should be borne in mind that all his games were in the top flight and for a good number of seasons he was playing in a struggling side. 

Here are the top ten:

                          Games         Clean sheets Ratio of clean sheets

1. Ben Wilson 100 40 40%

2. Ryan Allsop 26 9 34.6%

3. Reice Charles-Cook 59 20 33.9%

4. Bill Morgan 160 54 33.7%

5. Marko Marosi 61 20 32.8%

6. Horace Pearson 124 40 32.2%

7. Bill Morgan 160 54 31.2%

8. Steve Ogrizovic 601 175 29.1%

9. Morten Hyldegaard 31 9 29%

10. Andy Marshall 66 19 28.8%

Last week I wrote about the 104-year record that Coventry City could lose last Saturday when Cheltenham Town went into their home game with Derby County seeking their first goal after eleven league games without one. Then in the 39^thminute Rob Street netted to end the Robins' long drought. The Rams later equalised and the game ended 1-1 but Cheltenham were left with a share in the record of 11 games without a league goal with City and Hartlepool, the latter failing to score in eleven Division 3 games in 1992-93 season.

I was able to check the number of minutes each of the three clubs went without scoring a goal. In 1919 City went 1052 minutes, Hartlepool's drought in 1993 lasted 1072 minutes and Cheltenham's record which included the last two minutes of their final game last season, was 1031 minutes. So Hartlepool hold that particular record. Interestingly in the middle of Hartlepool's dreadful run they defeated Premier League Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Third round and lost only 1-0 at another Premier League Sheffield United in round four. Future City player Dean Emerson was in the 'Pools team during their horrific run and Richard Shaw and Chris Coleman were in the defeated Palace team.

For over 100 years Coventry City have held an unenviable Football League record and this weekend that record may be finally broken. In 1919 the club went 11 league games without scoring a single goal. In 1993 Hartlepool United equalled that record and this week poor old Cheltenham Town made it 11 games without a goal. Today League One Cheltenham face Derby County at home and failure to score will remove City from the record books. The Robins have won just one point and are already seven points from the safety zone with a -19 goal difference. 

 In 1919 City were playing their first ever season in the Football League having been elected to join in the first season after World War 1. They were grossly unprepared for life in the Second Division, evidenced by an opening day 5-0 home loss to Tottenham, and lost their first nine games , scoring four goals and conceding 27. In game eight on October 4th they lost 2-1 at home to Leicester and Tommy Lowes' goal for the Bantams would be their last goal until Christmas Day. In the next eleven games the team did manage to get some points on the board with goalless draws with Fulham, Bristol City, Blackpool, West Ham and Clapton Orient. The 0-0 draw with Clapton on the Saturday before Christmas left City at the foot of the table on five points, five points behind 21st placed Lincoln City. The run of 11 games without scoring ended in surprising circumstances on Christmas Day with top-half side Stoke beaten 3-2. Billy Walker, with a penalty, finally broke the goal drought before Alf Sheldon and Peter Quinn made it 3-0. Stoke rallied with two late goals but City deserved their first ever League victory. Stoke had their revenge twenty four hours later winning the return 6-1 at the Victoria Ground. An interesting footnote is that there was a full league programme on three consecutive days that Christmas!

Things picked up slightly for Coventry after Christmas with a first away win coming at Grimsby on New Year's Day. The signing of Sunderland's reserve centre-forward Dick Parker in January helped results and Parker netted the winning goal against Wolves on his home debut. The club's home form improved dramatically and thanks to Parker scoring seven goals in seven games the last five home games were won. The team only escaped the bottom two after their penultimate game, a 2-2 draw at Bury, and a final day victory over the same team ensured a final placing of 20th with re-election avoided. It later emerged that dirty deeds were afoot at Highfield Road on the final day with Bury players being bribed to ensure Coventry won. Two years later Coventry's chairman David Cooke and captain George Chaplin were banned from football for life following an enquiry.

 Last Saturday the Sky Blues notched their first away win of the season, winning 3-1 at Loftus Road with an impressive second half performance. Poor old QPR, a year ago they were top of the Championship but since then they have won only one home game in 20 and there are few signs that things are going to improve soon. Before April's game City hadn't won at Loftus Road in five visits since 2007 and have now won twice in 2023, one more than QPR have managed themselves!

Jim's column 30.9.2023

This week I thought I would focus on the impressive goalscoring record of Matty Godden since he joined City in August 2019. Godden's goals were a major factor in Coventry City's promotion from League One in 2019-20 when he netted 14 goals in 22 league starts and 4 appearances from the bench. Since then, in the Championship, Godden had netted 26 league goals in 57 starts and 20 sub appearances before this season. After his brace at Cardiff last week he now has five goals in eight starts taking his total league goals to 45 from 87 starts and 24 sub appearances. What a shame that he has suffered injuries in the last three seasons – he has failed to start over half of City's games in the last three years. It's early days but if he can stay fit this season could be Matty's best for the Sky Blues

Season	Starts	Subs	Goals
2019-20	22	4	14
2020-21	18	5	6
2021-22	17	7	12
2022-23	22	8	8
2023-24	8	-	5
Totals	87	24	45

His total of 45 goals takes him to 18^th position in Coventry City's all-time goalscorers list, level with Ernie Hunt and just two behind the legendary Cyrille Regis. This season he has overtaken Terry Gibson, Ronnie Rees and Viktor Gyokeres. Amazingly only 15 players in the club's history have scored 50 or more league goals with just two, Clarrie Bourton (173) and Billy Lake (113), scoring more than 100. Matty is also closing in on some famous Sky Blue strikers including Mick Ferguson (55) and Ian Wallace (58).

Only one City player, Gary McSheffrey with 61, has scored more league goals this century than Godden. Godden's ratio of goals per game is as good as any Coventry striker – only two players with 45 goals or more has scored them in less than 100 games – Eddie Brown (50 goals in 89) and George Lowrie (56 in 85) – and as the table below shows, no one in the post 1967 era has a better goals per game ratio.

Coventry City leading goalscorers (post 1967)

1. Dion Dublin 61 (168 starts)

2. Gary McSheffrey 61 (230 starts)

3. Ian Wallace 58 (138 starts)

4. Mick Ferguson 55 (141 starts)

5. Cyrille Regis 47 (274 starts)

6. Ernie Hunt 45 (166 starts)

7. Matty Godden 45 (87 starts)

8. Terry Gibson 43 (112 starts)

Of course Matty is a penalty taker and 10 of his 45 goals have come from the penalty spot but Dublin (6 penalties) and McSheffrey (15 penalties) also had their totals boosted by spot kicks. His penalty miss against Watford was his first failure since he joined City.

There is an excellent addition to the library of Coventry City books this autumn. In 'When The Sky Was Blue' City fan Rich Chamberlain has written the inside story of the club's nine years in the Premier League from its inception in 1992 through to their relegation in 2001. Rich has interviewed many of the characters at the club in that era and produced a fascinating story. The period had many ups and downs with three last day escapes from relegation including the dramatic finale at White Hart Lane in 1997. The following season saw a major turnaround with the club reaching the last eight of the FA Cup (they should have reached the final!) and punching above their weight with victories against many of the top clubs. Strachan virtually rebuilt the side following the departure of Dublin and Huckerby and we had the thrilling 1999-2000 season with the Moroccans, Keane and McAllister. Things went wrong the following season and relegation from the Premier League, in the days before parachute payments, left the club severely stretched financially. The big spending of the Richardson/Robinson era came home to roost and the club's finances are only now, 22 years later, getting back to some normality. A salutory tale for those Coventry fans who want their owners to spend big in the search for success. Many of the big characters of those years have been interviewed including Dion Dublin, John Salako, David Burrows, Robert Rosario, Darren Huckerby and the late Cedric Roussel. 

It's published by Pitch Publishing and an excellent read.

Jim's column 16.9.23

Ed Blackaby recently reminded me of an interesting game that took place at Highfield Road in 1956 – a Division Three South v Division Three North match. This was an annual representative match in the 1950s and Coventry City were chosen to host the occasion that season. Ed also sent me an excellent magazine cutting with photos of the two teams.

Club managers were appointed to select a team from the 24 teams in each section of Division Three and in 1956 Coventry's new boss Harry Warren was managing the South side whilst former Coventry manager Harry Storer, then the Derby County boss, took charge of the North team.

A crowd of 14,156, only 2,000 less than the previous City home game, watched under the Highfield Road floodlights on Monday 8^th October 1956. The crowd saw an entertaining game won 2-1 by the South with goals from Stan Newsham (Bournemouth) and Roy Hollis (Southend). The North's consolation came from Ken Johnson (Hartlepools United). Nemo in the Coventry Telegraph was impressed with the standard of play: 'Highfield Road supporters will not see much better football than that provided by the Third Division South... and North in last night's game which deservedly gave the South a 2-1 win'.

Manager Warren selected Coventry's golden boy Reg Matthews who two days earlier had won his fifth and final England cap in a 1-1 draw in Belfast against Northern Ireland. A month later Reg would be on his way to Chelsea with a world record fee for a goalkeeper of £22,000 hanging around his neck.

For the game Coventry produced a special souvenir programme, priced 6 pence (equivalent of 2.5p). The referee was the famous international official Arthur Ellis whose precious appearance at the ground had been in the friendly with San Lorenzo of Argentina which had ended with Ellis abandoning the game after Sanfilippo of the visitors refused to leave the field after being given his marching orders by Ellis.

The full sides were: 

The South: Matthews (Coventry): Jardine (Millwall), Langley (Brighton): Belcher (Crystal Palace), Parker (Southampton), Elsworthy (Ipswich): Gavin (Norwich) Newsham (Bournemouth), Hollis (Southend), Mills (Torquay) Flint (Aldershot). Cook (Watford) replaced Newsham after 82 minutes.

The North: Newlands (Workington): Currie (Bradford City), Brownsword (Scunthorpe): Mays (Derby), Moore (Hartlepools), Sneddon (Accrington): Burrell (Chesterfield), Hewitt (Wrexham), Johnson (Hartlepools) Smith (Chesterfield) Simm (Bradford City).

In addition to Matthews, Brighton's Jim Langley went on to play for England following a move to Fulham, and Wrexham's Ron Hewitt joined Coventry in 1960 after representing Wales at the 1958 World Cup.

Other Coventry players who appeared for the Division Three South side in this fixture were Martin McDonnell who was right back in the game at Reading in March 1955, and Reg Matthews, forward Peter Hill and right half Noel Simpson, all of whom appeared in the match at Accrington in October 1955.

Coventry's last home game against Watford saw the Sky Blues come from behind three times to win a point. I've been scouring the records and can only find three previous instances since World War Two involving City. The last was a 4-4 draw with Preston at Sixfields in that crazy season at Northampton. Preston led 1-0 and 2-1 before Callum Wilson scored two goals to put City in front. In the last five minutes Preston scored twice to go 4-3 ahead before Matthieu Manset levelled the scores in the fifth minute of added time. Leon Clarke scored City's first equaliser

Prior to that there was a Division 1 game with Birmingham City in 1986 which also ended 4-4. Birmingham led 2-0 at the break before Dave Bennett and Brian Kilcline (penalty) levelled the scores. Martin Kuhl put Blues 3-2 ahead, Bennett equalised again before Andy Kennedy, with his second of the game made it 4-3. With two minutes remaining Killer scored his second penalty to square things up.

The third instance was a Texaco Cup game at home to Motherwell in 1972. After a goal-less first half the visitors took the lead three times through Lawson (2) and Martin but each time the Sky Blues responded through Billy Rafferty (2) and Denis Mortimer to tie the game at 3-3. Sadly Motherwell won the second leg in Scotland 1-0 to win the tie on aggregate

Jim's column 2.9.23

Coventry City have had many fine youth teams over the years and have a great reputation for developing young players. The club's under 18 team has a great record in the FA Youth Cup (the under 18s equivalent of the FA Cup) with five appearances in the final and lifting the trophy in 1987.

             John Sillett with the 1986 youth team between Hathaway (left) and Sedgley (right)

The 1986 team was pretty good too and reached the semi finals before losing to Manchester United. That team included the nucleus of the side that would win the competition twelve months later including Tony Dobson, Steve Livingstone and Howard Clark as well as the older David Smith and the prodigious Steve Sedgley, who although eligible in 1987 was part of the first team squad and spared youth games in 1987. All five went on to play for the first team and three of them won caps for England at under 21 level.

In 1986, under the coaching and motivational skills of John Sillett, the team beat Wolves, Newcastle, Watford and Tottenham to reach the last four before losing the two legged semi final to the Reds.

One member of the Sky Blues babes who didn't make it to the first team was striker John Hathaway despite scoring five goals in the run to the final. I had a sad email recently from John's daughter in law Rebecca Hathaway in which she told me that John died after a cardiac arrest in 2009 at the age of 40. His eight-year-old grandson, Freddie John, is loving football and wanted to know more about his grandad.

Swindon-born John was on a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) with Wolves in 1985 when their new manager, the legendary Tommy Docherty, decided to 'clear the decks' and released numerous young players. Also released by Wolves was coach Frank Upton who joined City as assistant manager to Don Mackay. Upton raided Wolves to sign centre-half Graham Rodger and youth players Martyn Bayley and John Hathaway, the latter on YTS terms. Rodger went on to make 43 appearances for the Sky Blues including being a substitute at Wembley in 1987 and England under 21 caps before enjoying a good career at Luton and Grimsby Town.

There's a lovely photo of Graham and John arriving at Highfield Road pictured alongside first team players Terry Gibson and Brian Kilcline. John, who has a physical similarity to Gibson, is described as being 5 foot 1 inch tall. His size didn't stop his goalscoring exploits and in the team's first tie in the Youth Cup he netted twice in a 7-1 victory over his former club Wolves, the other goals coming from Livingstone (3), Sedgley (a penalty) and Paul Dandridge. The next round saw an impressive 4-1 win at Newcastle (the holders of the trophy) with Livingstone (2), Sedgley and Mike Cook on target before a Hathaway goal put Watford to the sword.

In the quarter finals City and Tottenham fought out a 0-0 draw at Highfield Road and in the replay at White Hart Lane John equalised a Paul Moran goal to take the game to extra-time before Sedgley netted the winner in the 93^rd minute. Manchester United proved too strong for Sillett's babes in the semi final, winning the first leg 2-0 at Highfield Road before a drawn second leg. United lost the final to their noisy neighbours who had a star-studded team including David White, Paul Lake and Andy Hinchcliffe.

Hathaway and Sillett's careers went in opposite directions that summer. Sillett was promoted to first team coach and led the Sky Blues to their first Wembley final nine months later whilst John Hathaway was released. He went to play for Fairford Town in Gloucestershire and owned his own roofing business in the town before his sad, premature death in 2009.

Jim's column 26.8.23

Ken Brown (18.10.1933-12.8.2023)

                                    Ken pictured at 2015 Legends Day

Ken Brown, who passed away on 12^th August after a short illness, was not only a former Coventry City player but also involved with local football at many levels for most of his life. Although he never played a first team game for the club he was a regular 'number 12' in the 1955-56 season in the days before substitutes when clubs would have an extra man on matchday duty in case of an injury or illness in the pre-match warm up.

Ken, a Cov kid, was a regular at City and was Sky Blue through and through and will be sadly missed by his large family and many friends inside and outside of football.

Born in Coventry in 1933 Ken was a part-time professional at Highfield Road in the days when the club had 40 or more professionals. He was a regular for the A team for a couple of seasons before he broke into the reserve team early in the 1955-56 season. He made a scoring debut in a 3-0 win at Norwich in the Football Combination playing on the left wing. His team-mates included Peter Wyer, who stayed a close friend for life, Charlie Dutton and Bill Patrick and a young George Curtis joined the club that season and also became a good friend. His performance at Carrow Road earned him a regular place and on Boxing Day 1955 he netted both goals in a 2-1 home win over Birmingham City reserves. A few trips as 12^th man gave him the taste of first team football but as one of four left wingers at the club he had limited opportunities and in February 1956 he went on loan to Corby Town for three months. 

At the end of the season he was granted a free transfer by Coventry and joined Hinckley Athletic, then a Birmingham Combination side. Some dazzling performances soon attracted league scouts and in November 1956 he signed for Nottingham Forest for 'a four figure sum'. Ken scored on his Forest reserve debut at Grimsby and was a regular in the team without getting a first-team chance. One of his team-mates was future Coventry legend Ron Farmer and Ken and Ron started a beautiful friendship which lasted until Ron's death last year. After less than a year at Forest he was on the move to Third Division Bournemouth who had been FA Cup giant-killers the previous season, defeating Tottenham and Wolves in a famous run. Within a month Ken got his first-team debut and scored in a 4-0 win at Shrewsbury but after six starts he was back in the reserves.

After one year at Bournemouth he moved further along the south coast, signing for Fourth Division Torquay United, scoring one goal in nine appearances and at the end of the season he was released and moved back to Hinckley. In a dazzling return debut Ken scored two goals in a 8-1 thrashing of Ashford Town but within months he was on the move again, to Lockheed Leamington. Brakes manager Syd Ottewell converted Ken to a striker and he scored prolifically for the exciting Lockheed team over the next 18 months playing with other former City youngsters Mick Lane and Ernie Ward. Southern League Burton Albion is believed to be his last club and by this time he was working at the Standard car factory in the City as well as rearing a young family with his wife Jean.

Football-mad Ken was soon running and coaching the Triumph Athletic works team in the Coventry leagues and worked at the Standard until the factory closed in 1980 as well as helping Jean run a general store in Dunchurch. After the Standard he became a postman in the Tile Hill area before retiring in 1998. In 2007 he was one of the early members of the newly formed Former Players Association and loved meeting up with other City ex-players. He never missed a Legends Day and was a regular at Golf Days as well as lunching regularly with other club veterans. Ken remained sprightly, cheerful and active supporting Sky Blues In the Community's Walking Football initiative and forging a close friendship with Dave Busst.

Dave told me: Ken was a great charcter who always had a smile and loved talking about his journey. He was one of the original walking footballers and at 81 he was still demanding the ball. Off the pitch he was happy to share his experiences with all the other players and he became a close friend personally and to all the staff at SBITC.

Ken is survived by three children, son Ken and daughters Lynn and Lorraine, six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

The funeral is to be held at Canley Crematorium at 2.30 pm Wednesday 30^th August and afterwards at the Standard Triumph Club, Herald Avenue.

Jim's column 19.8.23

A major shock in the summer was the death, at the age of 45, of former Coventry striker Cedric Roussel in his homeland Belgium. Cedric was one of numerous European players scouted by Ray Clarke in the 1990s and joined on a seasons long from KAA Gent in 1999. After substitute appearances against Newcastle (home) and Sheffield Wednesday (away) he was given his first start by Gordon Strachan in a home game with Watford and made a good impression in a 4-0 victory, playing alongside Robbie Keane. In his second start, at home to Aston Villa, he achieved legenndary status by heading a goal after eight minutes and having a hand in Keane's winner. A tall, solid striker who was good in the air, Cedric was a popular player at the club in a golden season that earned the team the sobriquet 'The Entertainers' for their dazzling displays on Sky TV that campaign. In January 2000 Coventry signed Cedric on a permanent deal, paying Gent a reported £1.2 million.

Cedric went on to score nine league and cup goals in 25 appearances including braces on successive Saturdays against Charlton and at Old Trafford against Manchester United. The following season with Keane, and McAllister having moved on was a struggle for both Roussel and the team. He was hampered by injuries and managed only two goals in 18 games and at one stage Coventry were trying to move him on to Wimbledon as a makeweight in a deal to bring John Hartson to Highfield Road. That deal never materialized, although City did later sign Hartson, and in February 2001 he was transferred to Division 1 club Wolves for £2 million. His time at Molineux, under manager Dave Jones, was not productive and after 28 games and just two goals he returned to Belgium, on loan to RAEC Mons where he rediscovered his scoring boots. A permanent move to KRC Genk followed and his form earned him three full caps for Belgium. Although his professional playing career continued for another 11 years he rarely stayed long at one club. There were short spells in Russia (Rubin Kazam), Italy (Brescia) and Cyprus (AEK Larnaca) as well as numerous Belgian clubs and he finished at RRC Waterloo in 2015 at the age of 37.

Following his playing career he became an estate agent in Belgium and visited Coventry for a match in 2015 when I had the pleasure of welcoming into the Former Players Association. In June he suffered a cardiac arrest at a cafe in his hometown of Mons and paramedics were unable to revive him.

                                     Cedric Rouse receiving his CCFPA tie in 2015

The Sky Blues suffered another embarrassing League Cup exit at AFC Wimbledon last week in what was their first visit to the Cherry Red Records stadium in Plough Lane just yards from Wimbledon's original ramshackle ground. For the third season running and the ninth time in 12 seasons Coventry have fallen at the first hurdle in the competition. Some fans are understandably disappointed that the record in the cup is so poor as progress in the competition often gives supporters opportunities to see their team face big clubs as we have seen in the last 20 years with ties against Arsenal. Manchester United and West Ham. Big ties like those can also generate large revenues for the club.

It's sad to report the death last Saturday of former Coventry City player Ken Brown at the age of 89. Ken was a popular man in local football circles and will be missed by his family and friends. I will be writing a tribute to him next week.

Jim's column 12.8.23

The new season started with a cracking game at the King Power Stadium. The Sky Blues took the lead and missed good chances to put the game to bed before the home side grabbed two late goals to send City home pointless. Yet again the Sky Blues travelled back from the King Power having failed to win – the ninth occasion since the stadium opened in 2002. City's goal came from captain and centre-half Kyle McFadzean who became the seventh oldest Coventry player to score a competitive goal. Kyle is 36 years and 167 days and his latest goal (his first since March) takes him above 1940s captain George Mason and Steve Staunton in the all-time table.

	Player	Last goal		Age
1	Dennis Wise	30/4/2006		39 years 135 days
2	Gary McAllister	8/12/2003		38 years 348 days
3	Michael Doyle	3/11/2018		37 years 119 days
4	Danny Shea	15/11/1924		37 years 9 days
5	Dick Lindley	24/9/1921		36 years 285 days
6	Danny Shone	5/1/1929		36 years 253 days
7	Kyle McFadzean	6/8/2023		36 years 167 days
8	George Mason	27/12/1949		36 years 113 days
9	Steve Staunton	2/4/2005		36 years 73 days
10	Joey Jones	25/12/1922		35 years 359 days
11	Alex McClure	10/12/1927		35 years 250 days
12	Richard Shaw	1/5/2004		35 years 231 days

Sunday's defeat was the first away loss since 3^rd February when West Brom defeated the Sky Blues 1-0, a run of nine away league games without defeat, just three short of the club record of 12 set in 1967 by Jimmy Hill's promotion team. McFadzean's record in away games is even more impressive. If you remember he was out injured for ten games in the middle of the season and so it was his first away defeat in 16 games since September last year. 

Fellow historian Lionel Bird has asked me to point out that this weekend Coventry City celebrate two anniversaries. Its 140 years since the formation of Singers FC by a group of factory workers in the Singers cycle factory in the city. On 13 August 1883 Willie Stanley and a group of friends met at the Lord Aylesford Inn in Hillfields and set up the football club. Singers FC were essentially a junior team with no regular fixtures and their matches would be the equivalent of friendly games in the modern era. Lionel's research indicates that the very first match played could have been against Coventry Association, who won 9-0. 

The other date to celebrate is the 125^th anniversary of the change of name from Singers FC to Coventry City FC in 1898. In June 1898 the club, then playing in the Birmingham and District League applied to the Birmingham League for permission to take the city's title. There had been some resistance from Coventry Rugby Club who believed the two club's names would be too similar and relations between the two clubs were strained for some years. On the 12^th August a letter arrived from the Frederick Wall, secretary of the Football Association giving consent to the name change. The first game as Coventry City took place away to Wellington Town on Saturday 3^rd September and ended in a 5-0 defeat. Results were poor in the early days under the new name with the first home game ending in a 3-0 loss to Berwick Rangers (a Worcester team not the Northumberland club) but things improved in the second half of the season and the team finished in seventh place. The following season the club moved to Highfield Road. The picture is the first team shot of Coventry City and the players are in their new kit, believed to be black (or dark blue) and light blue halves. The team's nickname, previously the Vocalists, became the Citizens. It would be another 20 years before Coventry City joined the Football League.