City's most familiar opponents

I had a fascinating email this week from City fan Steve Coyne who has compiled the Sky Blues head to head record in Football League games. He has continued from the table published in the book 'Coventry City the Complete Record' published in 1991, which covered all Coventry City matches to the end of season 1990-91.

Up to 1991, Steve writes, we had faced QPR and Southampton 80 times each, followed by Norwich on 74, and Crystal Palace with 70 matches. It should be pointed out that until the 1958-59 season football was regionalised. Although the City, being a Midland club, had played in both Divisions Three North and South, they played all but one season in the Southern section which accounts for the leaders all being Southern teams. For the same reason until 1967 we played very few of the top Division One clubs from the North and Midlands.

City then went on an unbroken run of 34 seasons in the top flight including being founder members of the Premier League in 1992, meaning 68 matches against clubs like Everton and Arsenal with unbroken membership of the top flight. Since the publication of the record book City have played a further 32 seasons. There have been one or two books, mainly by Jim, recording sections of more recent results but no complete run of the completed seasons to the end of last season, 2023-24. Hence I dug out my own records of CCFC matches since, and by adding my figures to the 1991 records have ended up with what I hope is an up-to –date figure. These are Premier, Football League/EFL matches only and exclude all Cup-ties, friendlies, or our one season in the European Fairs Cup. There were also our two forays into the Play-Offs totalling 4 games, plus two Wembley Play-Off final opponents (2017-18 and 2022-23), but none of the four teams we played feature near the top of our table. 

So now the big reveal. On the 22^nd October 2024 our most recent visit to Loftus Road turns out to be of particular significance being the 113^th time the two teams have faced each other in League matches – a new record. Here are the top ten League opponents to the end of last season. Leeds and Watford will move up to join Leicester on 84 matches by the end of this season in May 2025

1= Queen’s Park Rangers 112

1= Southampton 112

3 Norwich City 104

4 Crystal Palace 98

5 Nottingham Forest 90 

6 West Ham United 88

7 Leicester City 84

8= Leeds United 82

8= Ipswich Town 82

8= Tottenham Hotspur 82

8= Watford 82

Figures include the Covid interrupted season 2019-20 where we played only 34 matches including ten clubs (further down the list) who we played just once.

Thanks Steve.

To add to Steve's excellent research I have identified the 15 clubs who City have only met twice (home and away) in their Football League history i.e. were in the same division for one season.

Six were encountered in the League Two season in 2017-18 (Barnet, Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town, Forest Green Rovers, Morecambe, Newport County (new)). Four were opponents in that one season in Division Three North in 1925-26 (Ashington, Durham City, New Brighton and Wigan Borough). Three were met in Division Four in 1958-59 (Chester City, Darlington and Workington Town). Aberdare Athletic were in Division Three South in 1926-27 whilst Leeds City are a defunct club that City met in 1919. The new Newport County are nothing to do with the club who City met 38 times between 1919-62. 

Ben & Oggy - Kings of the Clean Sheets

Coventry City's deserved 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night ended a poor run of five league games without a win and appears to have quietened the vocal minority urging for the sacking of manager Mark Robins. Bearing in mind the status of previously unbeaten Blackburn, few fans would have predicted a 3-0 home win. The result confirms my theory that bad runs often end with a surprise win and good runs often end with an unexpected defeat. In 2022-23 City were in a brilliant run of nine games without defeat but were brought down to earth with a 4-0 home loss to Stoke City. The previous season City had only one win in eight before going to Craven Cottage and beating the league leaders 3-1. One should never take results for granted in this crazy Championship!

All City fans know of our bogey teams (Preston and Swansea being the main ones) but the Sky Blues are becoming Blackburn's bogey team. Since Rovers won 4-0 at St Andrews in 2020 they have failed to win any of the eight games between the clubs. They have also failed to win a league game at the CBS Arena in five visits.

The Blackburn victory delivered City's first league clean sheet of the season and a personal triumph for Ben Wilson (although he had little to do on the night). Ben has now kept 45 clean sheets in 115 games since arriving at the club in 2019 and has the best clean sheet record of any Coventry City goalkeeper.

Ben is up to sixth place in the club's all-time list of clean sheets and has now remained goalless in 39% of his competitive games for the club. His closest rivals in the percentage table in 1930s 'keeper Bill Morgan with 34% achieved in the Harry Storer era when the team had defensively minded approach. The majority of City 'keepers in the list had a clean sheet percentage in the range of 21-26% with even Sky Blue legend Steve Ogrizovic only reaching 29% (albeit in the top flight).

Most clean sheets (all games)

	Games	Clean sheets	% clean sheets
1. Steve Ogrizovic	601	175	29%
2. Bill Glazier	402	95	24%
3. Alf Wood	246	64	26%
4. Bill Morgan	160	54	34%
5. Jerry Best	236	52	22%
6. Ben Wilson	115	45	39%
7. Les Sealey	180	43	24%
8. Horace Pearson	124	40	32%
9. Arthur Lightening	165	39	24%
10. Lee Burge	160	34	21%
11. Magnus Hedman	151	33	22%
11. Keiren Westwood	138	33	24%

If you enjoy this column and would like to hear more about Coventry City's history you can listen to the Sky Blue History Podcast which is available on Spotify and YouTube. Claudio Cardellino and I talk about all things Sky Blue. Just search for 'Sky Blue History Podcast'

Dennis Churms RIP

I was sad to hear that Dennis Churms, the oldest former Coventry City player, had passed away last weekend. Dennis, who was 93-years-old, had lived in the Folkestone area for many years despite hailing from Rotherham in Yorkshire. As chairman of CCFPA I tried very hard on a number of occasions to persuade him to attend a Legends Day but he was never quite fit enough to make the trip from the south coast. 

Dennis played his early football with Cheshire side Spurley Hey FC before signing for his hometown club in 1950. Having to play in reserve team football for three seasons he finally got a first team opportunity in Rotherham's home Division 2 game with Nottingham Forest (3-0) playing at inside-forward (midfield). He retained his place the following week in a 1-1 away draw with Luton. Rotherham were a leading side in the old Second Division in the mid 1950s and the following season achieved the club's highest ever position in the Football League. They finished third and missed out on promotion on goal difference to Birmingham on the final day of the season with Dennis appearing in ten games. After just two games the following season he joined Coventry in the summer of 1956. 

He joined a club in turmoil having lost manager Jesse Carver halfway through the previous campaign and staggered through to the end of the season with Carver's number two, George Raynor in charge. Rather than having faith in the coaching ability of Raynor – who would take Sweden to the World cup final in 1958 – the board appointed Harry Warren. Warren had been manager of Southend since the war without ever threatening to get the Shrimpers out of Division Three South. The appointment was disastrous and the club went backwards under Warren – finishing 16^th. Churms atarted the season as first choice inside forward and scored the only goal on his debut against Exeter City. He managed one more goal, in a 5-1 home win over QPR but lost his place after ten starts.

By March 1957 he was playing for Exeter City for whom he 45 appearances, scoring eight goals. In 1958 Exeter finished rock bottom of Division Three South and had to apply for re-election with Dennis released. He joined Southern League Folkestone Town in 1959 and went on to become one of the most revered players in the club's history and he continued to live in the town after his playing retirement in 1967.

This was a period when non league Folkestone attracted players from the Football League in part with the offer of a day job and even in some cases accommodation with it. In 1959-60, Folkestone rejoined the Southern League as Folkestone Town FC and gained promotion to the Premier Division and it started a golden era for the club with some exciting FA Cup runs. In 1965 Dennis was part of the team that reached the third round by beating Third Division Gillingham and Wimbledon before losing to Crewe. Coincidentally, if Folkestone had beaten Crewe they would have faced the Sky Blues in round four.

Dennis spent 34 years working for British Railways as an electrician before taking early retirement in 1993. He remained active regularly playing squash and golf and taking a keen interest in football and horse racing. Richard Murrill the secretary of Folkestone Invicta FC told me that Dennis was an unassuming man who, like many of his generation, maintained his great dignity right until the end.

His funeral will take place on 11^th October at Hawkinge Crematorium, near Folkestone (11.30).

Last week week I wrote about former City players who currently manage home international teams. There are numerous other international bosses with Coventry City connections. In addition to Lee Carsley, former players Sam Allardyce and Stuart Pearce have managed England for one game only and Joe Mercer managed the national team in the summer of 1974 whilst the general manager of the Sky Blues. Joe was asked to take the reins following the sacking of Sir Alf Ramsey and the arrival of Don Revie and lost only one of his seven games at the helm. Pearce was caretaker manager for one game (a 2-3 home loss to Netherlands in 2012). Allardyce took the job in 2016 but only lasted one game, a 1-0 away victory over Slovakia, before being relieved of his duties over a press-led sting.

Gordon Strachan is the only former Coventry player to manage Scotland and was in charge of the national team for 40 games between 2013-17, suceeding Craig Levein and being followed by Malky Mackay.

Craig Bellamy is the fifth former Coventry player to manage Wales. Terry Yorath was in charge for 41 games (1988-93), Bobby Gould for 24 games (1995-99), Chris Coleman for 49 games (2012-17) and Robert Page for 45 games (2020-24) being the others.

Prior to Michael O'Neill the only former Coventry player to manage Northern Ireland was Dave Clements who was appointed player-manager in 1975, succeeding Terry Neil. He was also playing for Everton at the time and managed the national team for 11 games before handing the reins to Danny Blanchflower in 1976 after accepting an offer to play for New York Cosmos.

Former CCFC players managing international teams

How many clubs have had three former players as managers of home international sides at the same time? Three Coventry City former players are currently managing national teams. Lee Carsley is interim boss of England, Craig Bellamy is in charge of Wales and Michael O'Neill is back in charge of Northern Ireland for a second spell.

The three had mixed fortunes as players for the Sky Blues. Birmingham-born Carsley had a stellar career with Derby County and Blackburn Rovers before Gordon Strachan signed him in December 2000 with City struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League. A holding midfielder, Lee played 21 games in that relegation season and another 26 the following season before moving back to the Premiership with Everton. He was a virtual ever present with Everton over the next six years before two seasons at Birmingham City. In 2010 Coventry boss Adie Boothroyd re-signed Lee, now aged 36, and made him captain but a career-ending injury kept his appearances down to 25. He was appointed coach of the under 18 team and after leading them to runners up spot in the Premier Academy League he was promoted to coach of the Development Squad as the first team were relegated to League One. Weeks into the 2012-13 season he and Richard Shaw were appointed caretaker managers after the departure of Andy Thorn. The pair held the fort until Mark Robins was appointed and the following February Lee was sole caretaker manager for five games after Robins left and before Steven Pressley arrived. Carsley moved on soon afterwards and built an impressive career as a coach with Brentford, Sheffield United, Birmingham and the England under 20 and under 21 teams. This culminated in him leading the under 21 national side to the European Championship title last year and earned him the promotion to his current role this summer following Gareth Southgate's departure.

Craig Bellamy was in the same 2000-01 relegation team as Carsley but Sky Blues' fans' memories of the Welsh striker are far less memorable. Signed for £6 million, to replace Robbie Keane, Bellamy scored only eight goals (three of them penalties) in 39 games for the Sky Blues. In his partial defence he was recovering from a cruciate ligament injury and later revealed he never really want to sign for Coventry. Fortunately City were able to sell the volatile striker to Newcastle for £6.5 million. The move suited both parties!

                                                                Craig Bellamy as CCFC player
 

It's hard for most Sky Blue fans to remember Michael O'Neill. Gordon Strachan signed him fron Hibernian in 1996 and he teamed up again with his former Hibs manager Alex Miller, Strachan's number two. A left-winger, O'Neill had had two good seasons at Newcastle in the late 1980s (he scored two goals for the Magpies against City in a 2-2 draw in 1987). Unfortunately he was injured on his Coventry debut and was out for over a year. In March 1998 he went on loan to Aberdeen and Reading after just six appearances for the Sky Blues and that summer moved permanently to Wigan Athletic. A full international with 31 caps, O'Neill ended his playing career with Ayr United in 2004 and after very successful spells managing Brechin City and Shamrock Rovers he was appointed manager of Northern Ireland in 2011 leading his country, against the odds, to the 2016 Euros. He left his position in 2020 a few months after taking the Stoke manager's job but failed to push the Potters above mid-table in three seasons and was sacked in 2022. His previous success at international level convinced Northern Ireland to reappoint him in December 2022 and despite modest resources is doing a fine job.

 

Michael O'Neill as a CCFC player

Next week I will cover some of the previous Home International managers with Coventry City connections. 

League Cup 3rd round for first time in 12 years

The Sky Blues progressed to the third round of the League Cup with a 1-0 victory over Oxford United at the CBS Arena on Tuesday evening – the first time they have reached this stage of the competition since 2012. The competition has been a disaster for City in those twelve years with some of the most embarrassing defeats in the club's history and it was hard to believe that the club were interested in the competition in the intervening years.

Back in 2012 City were newly relegated from the Championship and won their first round tie at Dagenham & Redbridge, 1-0, thanks to a Kevin Kilbane goal. Before the next round manager Andy Thorn had departed after a poor start to the league campaign and Richard Shaw and Lee Carsley were the caretaker managers. A thrilling 3-2 extra-time win over higher status Birmingham City earned a first trip to the Emirates Stadium to face the might of Arsenal. Days before the tie Mark Robins was appointed manager and his first game in charge had seen City lose their fifth successive league game and slide to 23^rd in League One.

Robins brought in two debutant loanees for their trip to Arsenal, Derby's James Bailey and Wolves' Jamie Reckord. The line up was: Joe Murphy: Jordan Clarke, Reckord, Carl Baker, Reece Brown, Richard Wood, Adam Barton, Franck Moussa, Callum Ball, Stephen Elliott, Gary McSheffrey, James Bailey. Arsenal fielded a reserve team which included current Aston Villa 'keeper Emi Martinez, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, French international Olivier Giroud and current Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry. In a mismatched game the Sky Blues managed to keep it to 1-0 at the break and only trailed 3-0 with eighteen minutes remaining. City sub Callum Ball scored a stunning goal in front of the 8,000 Coventry fans but the home side rubbed home their superiority with three more goals to make the final score 6-1 and Joe Murphy saved a Giroud penalty.

Coventry now face their old foe from 1987, Tottenham Hotspur in round three with home advantage. A large crowd can be expected for this tasty-looking tie – Spurs' first trip to the CBS Arena. We may well see the return to Coventry of James Maddison and lets hope he gets a warm welcome from the Sky Blue faithful. There have been some epic games between the two clubs in the past including an epic League Cup tie in 1995 when City trailed 2-0 at half-time but roared back to win 3-2 with second half goals from Peter Ndlovu (penalty), Dave Busst and John Salako. Bussty managed the feat of scoring at both ends.

Someone pointed out this week that City had played Oxford United in all three major competitions in the last eight months and asked if that was a first. The only similar occurrence was in 2013-14 when the Sky Blues played Leyton Orient in the League Cup in August and the EFL Trophy and the league during October. Orient, managed by Russell Slade, won the League cup tie 3-2 and the EFL trophy game on penalties after a 0-0 draw but City turned the tables by beating the Londoners, who were the league leaders, 3-1 at Sixfields with goals from Baker, Moussa and Leon Clarke. I believe Moussa's goal won goal of the season.

In the early 1960s City fans got fed up with playing Portsmouth. Between January 1962 and March 1963 the clubs met six times, two Division Three games, a League Cup tie and an FA Cup tie that went to three games. Honours were even in the league, Pompey won the League Cup game 5-1 but City prevailed at the third attempt in the FA Cup, winning 2-1 at White Hart Lane in the second replay.

If you enjoy this column and would like to hear more about Coventry City's history you can listen to the Sky Blue History Podcast which is available on Spotify and YouTube. Claudio Cardellino and I talk about all things Sky Blue. Just search for 'Sky Blue History Podcast'

A CBS record crowd for the Oxford game

Coventry City started their home campaign last week with an excellent 3-2 victory over newly promoted Oxford United. Des Buckingham's side had lost only one game in their last thirteen and had comprehensively beaten Norwich City in their opening game. The Sky Blues left it late for Haji Wright to score his 96^th minute goal – his second of the night – but it was a well deserved victory.

The attendance was an excellent 28,051 and despite being only the 13^th highest ever crowd at the stadium it is the highest crowd for an evening league game at the CBS Arena since the club moved from Highfield Road in 2005. The previous highest was for the 'return to Coventry' game against Gillingham in 2014 however substantially reduced prices were in force for that game. 

The top attendances for Coventry games at the CBS are as follows:

1. 31,407 Chelsea (FA Cup) 2008-09

2. 31,054 Crewe (EFL Trophy) 2013-14

3. 30,232 Leeds (League) 2023-24

4. 30,175 Birmingham (League) 2022-23

5. 29,914 Leicester (League) 2023-24

6. 29,208 Sheffield W (League) 2023-24

7. 29,102 QPR (League) 2023-24

8. 28,874 Middlesbrough (Play-off) 2022-23

9. 28,529 Cardiff City (League) 2023-24

10. 28,343 Accrington (League) 2017-18

11. 28,184 Leeds (League) 2007-08

12. 28,120 Middlesbrough (FA Cup) 2005-06

13. 28,051 Oxford (League) 2024-25

It is interesting to note that seven of the top nine attendances have been in the last two seasons reflecting the buzz around the city since the club returned to Coventry in 2021 generated by the exciting brand of football played by Mark Robins' team. Who would have thought that the team would be being watched by the biggest crowds since the early 1970s.

Friday's attendance was also the highest Coventry crowd for the opening league game of a season since 1978 when 28,585 were at Highfield Road to watch City lock horns with the league champions Nottingham Forest. I remember it being a warm August evening and that legendary Coventry athlete Dave Moorcroft was on the pitch displaying his gold medal from the Commonwealth Games 1500 metres held earlier that summer. An 18-year-old Gary Gillespie made his home debut and the game ended 0-0, the same scores as when the two teams had met in the final home game of the previous season, the day Forest had clinched the title. 

If you enjoy this column and would like to hear more about Coventry City's history you can listen to the Sky Blue History Podcast which is available on Spotify and YouTube. Claudio Cardellino and I talk about all things Sky Blue. Just search for 'Sky Blue History Podcast'

League Cup success at last

Coventry City bounced back from the disappointing defeat at Stoke on the opening day of the season by winning 1-0 at Bristol City in the League Cup First Round tie on Tuesday evening. It was the perfect riposte to the Stoke defeat with a much better defensive performance and an inspiring five-man substitution just after the hour mark. Within two minutes Ellis Simms, on for Haji Wright, slotted home from Kasey Palmer's clever pass. After that City looked the better side for the first time in the match and saw out the game with few tense moments.

The victory ended the dreadful run in the competition which has seen City fail to reach the second round in the past three seasons being knocked out by Northampton (2021), Bristol City (2022) and AFC Wimbledon (2023). The poor form in the competition goes a lot further back with only seven wins in 24 matches since the famous win at Old Trafford in 2007 and they have failed to clear the first hurdle in 11 of the last 15 seasons. Many City fans will have forgotten the embarrassing losses against Hartlepool (2009), Morecambe (2010), Bury (2011) and Rochdale (2015) not to mention Hereford (2006) and Tranmere, when the club were in the Premiership in 1999. In the 34 years since reaching the semi final (and losing to Nottingham Forest) in 1990 the Sky Blues have reached the last eight once (in 1991) and the last sixteen on just five occasions. The League Cup may not have the kudos it once had but it still has a Wembley final and if City were to have home ties in the last sixteen or beyond then a large attendance would be guaranteed. 

At Ashton Gate manager Mark Robins brought all five allowable subs on simultaneously – a first. The use of five subs was introduced in 2020-21 (the Covid season) but the following season it was back to three subs except for FA Cup ties which remained at five. Since 2020 City have used all five subs on 35 occasions and this was the first occasion that all five entered the field at the same time. The club record is four in a home defeat to Burnley in 2022-23 when messrs Doyle, McFadzean, Walker and Palmer were replaced by Eccles, Rose, Godden and Tavares. 

If you enjoy this column and would like to hear more about Coventry City's history you can listen to the Sky Blue History Podcast which is available on Spotify and YouTube. Claudio Cardellino and I talk about all things Sky Blue. The latest podcast features the history of Highfield Road and can be found here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6tQLAR8PJdHXVvgJncnHRh?si=CNLx_igCQuyctEC3D-C2ug

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoMVwjLuo4Q

A new season & home form is crucial

The new football season starts in earnest this weekend and the Sky Blues travel to Stoke for their opening game of the Championship season. Expectations are high both within the fanbase and in the wider football community with the Second Tier Podcast tipping City to finish second behind Luton Town. In the last two seasons the Podcast has successfully predicted Luton and Ipswich to be promoted! 

The squad has been strengthened with some interesting signings and is now one of the strongest in the division outside of the relegated clubs and we have to hope that the new signings bed in quickly to City's style of play. 

My major concern is the home form. Last season Mark Robins' team had a very average home record with nine wins, eight draws and six defeats. I appreciate that three of those losses occurred after the FA Cup semi final when it was clear there were a lot of tired legs in the squad but there has to be improvement if a serious promotion challenge is going to be made. Last season the team were 14th highest for home wins with even lowly Plymouth and relegated Birmingham recording more home victories. The top six teams all won 15 home games or more. Generally successful teams have strong home records and it is certainly the case with Coventry City. In the promotion seasons of 1936, 1959, 1967 and 2020 the team lost only one home game in each season with two defeats in the 1964 Division Three title campaign. In 1936 they won 19 out of 21 home games. In 1959, 18 out of 23. In 1967, 17 out of 21. The facts speak for themselves, good home form leads to success. The incredible atmosphere inside the CBS Arena should also play its part and with 25,000 or so home fans likely to be inside the noisy stadium there is no excuse. 

An opening day trip to Stoke brings back memories of a bad defeat at the Potters' old ground, the Victoria Ground, in 1979. Big summer signings Gary Collier and Dave Jones made their debut in Gordon Milne's team but Garth Crooks (2) and Viv Busby put the skids under the Sky Blues and the home side led 3-0 just 10 minutes into the second half. A Barry Powell brace restored some pride but the newly-promoted Potters were deserved 3-2 winners. Collier, a club record £350,000 signing from Bristol City, was made the scapegoat for the defensive disaster and made only one further appearance for the club before joining Portland Timbers in the NASL the following year. 

If you enjoy this column and would like to hear more about Coventry City's history you can listen to the Sky Blue History Podcast which is available on Spotify and YouTube. Claudio Cardellino and I talk about all things Sky Blue. 

The latest podcast features the history of Highfield Road and can be found here: 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6tQLAR8PJdHXVvgJncnHRh?si=CNLx_igCQuyctEC3D-C2ug 

YouTube: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoMVwjLuo4Q

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

Dudley Roberts (16 October 1945 – 4 July 2024)

Coventry City fans who were around in the 1960s will be saddened to hear of the death of the former player Dudley Roberts. The son of former City player Ted Roberts, a prolific scorer in the post-war years, Dudley had a limited first-team career with the Sky Blues but had a golden period in the autumn of 1965. He flourished after moving to Mansfield Town in 1968, is considered to be one of the Stags greatest players and scored in a famous FA Cup victory over West Ham United.

Though Dudley was born in Derby months after the end of the war, he grew up in Coventry and attended Cheylesmore School before in 1961 signing for City where his dad was head coach under Billy Frith. Months later Frith and Ted were sacked to make way for the appointment of Jimmy Hill but although his father was out of work Dudley continued his career with the Sky Blues. At over six foot his great strength, like his father, was in the air and he played at centre-half in the same youth team as Bobby Gould and other future first-teamers John Burckitt and Pat Morrissey. His form earned a reserve team debut in a 1-0 win at Brentford in May 1963. Over the next two seasons he played 30-odd games in defence for the reserves but in March 1965 he was switched to centre-forward and scored two goals in a 4-0 victory at Notts County. That season City's 'stiffs' won promotion from Football Combination Division Two watched by some large crowds including over 12,000 for a crucial game against Queens Park Rangers. In October 1965 after three goals in three games for the reserves Jimmy Hill handed him a first-team debut in a 0-0 draw at Preston where he played alongside the legendary George Hudson. A first-half injury to Ernie Machin meant Dudley had to move to a defensive midfield role but Nemo in the Coventry Telegraph was impressed: '..it was a highly satisfactory debut. His heading was always cool and precise and his groundwork constructive, and only a full-stretch save by Alan Kelly robbed him of what might have proved the winner in the second half.' His father was unable to see his debut but Nemo wrote that Ted would have been highly pleased. Four days later he helped City to a 3-2 League Cup win at Manchester City and had a goal disallowed for offside and he followed up by scoring two goals on his home debut, a 3-1 win over Charlton Athletic. It was a fairy story for Dudley on his 20th birthday although afterwards he said he could remember little about the first goal after he was concussed in a heading clash with his own captain George Curtis. His first goal was a close range finish from Ken Hale's cross and the second a header from a 'beautifully timed leap' from Ronnie Rees' cross. Nemo speculated whether Dudley could solve 'City's long-standing inside-forward problem...for Roberts has performed better even than Jimmy Hill had dared hope'. A week later he scored in a 2-1 win at Plymouth and again in a 3-2 home win over Portsmouth that took the Sky Blues to the top of the Division Two table. He was off-target in a 1-1 League Cup drawn game with West Brom and after being dropped to the bench against Bolton he returned for the West Brom replay. The Sky Blues suffered a heavy 6-1 defeat to the First Division side who would go on to win the trophy. Another headed goal in a 3-1 home win over Ipswich made it five goals in five league games but he damaged an ankle minutes after scoring and was out for a month. In a matter of weeks he seemed to have leapfrogged the golden boy, Bobby Gould, in Jimmy Hill's plans. He returned to first-team action against Huddersfield in early December but in a 0-3 home loss he had little luck against uncompromising defenders and lost his place. Three weeks later Hill signed another striker, Ray Pointer, and Dudley's first-team future looked in doubt. He was called up as an emergency right-back against Preston in January and had three more starts up front after Hudson was controversially sold to Northampton in March and he managed another headed goal against Middlesbrough in the final home game of the season which saw City finish third in Division Two, missing out on promotion by one point. The following campaign, City's promotion season, Dudley was restricted to just one start, a home League Cup tie defeat to Brighton and was soon back to the reserves, sometimes playing at centre-half and often playing as a striker. In five years as a City professional Dudley played 16 first team games, scoring six goals and 99 games for the reserves with 17 goals . In the last days of Jimmy Hill's time at Coventry, in October 1967, Dudley played his one and only First Division game, at centre-forward against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. With both Bobby Gould and John Tudor injured Dudley got a late call-up, sadly the Sky Blues lost 0-4. At Coventry City Dudley met Rose McNulty who worked in the offices and later became Sky Blue Rose, the voice that kept City fans up to date with news on a daily recorded telephone message in the days before mobile phones and text services. After he left City he and Rose got married and had a daughter Claire. After Noel Cantwell arrived at the club Dudley and several other youngsters were put on the transfer list and in March 1968 he joined Third Division Mansfield Town for £6,000, primarily as a defender. In early 1969 he switched to a striking role and became a prolific scorer for the Stags. That season Mansfield had their finest ever FA Cup run, reaching the quarter-finals after a giantkilling victory over West Ham in the fourth round. Dudley scored the first goal in a 3-0 win over the Hammers who boasted their three World Cup winners. The following season Mansfield reached the fifth round and faced the mighty Leeds United at Elland Road. Dudley headed down for Jimmy Goodfellow to score but the referee ruled it out for a foul by Roberts. Leeds went on to win 2-0. In 1970 against Liverpool at Field Mill Dudley scored with a stunning header only for that to be ruled out for a foul. In 1970-71 he was joint leading scorer in Division Three with 22 goals and in total he made 230 appearances for the Stags scoring 67 goals. Mansfield sources describe him as one of the greatest ever players for the club. In 1973 he had a loan spell at Doncaster under his former Coventry teammate Maurice Setters and the following year joined Scunthorpe United making 76 appearances with 17 goals before before a knee injury ended his career. He explained: 'My strength was my heading ability and when my knee went I was unable to put my weight on the knee to get the height in my leaps. I had a few games with Burton Albion but decided to hang up my boots”. He continued to live in Mansfield and worked for many years for East Midlands Electricity Board. In 2002 Dudley was very sanguine about his time at Highfield Road: “There was so much competition for places at Coventry at that time. I was grateful for getting an opportunity to play a few games. At the end of the day though the management obviously didn’t think I had what was needed in Division 1.” Dudley was a member of the Former Players Association and attended several Legends Day with Rose but hasn't been well enough to attend in recent years. He was a kind and charming man whose heart always remained with the Sky Blues. My condolences to his widow Rose and daughter Claire His funeral will take place at 2.30 on Monday 29th July at the Mansfield Crematorium, followed by a gathering at Mansfield Town FC.

Statistical Review 2023-24

Coventry City gave their supporters another memorable season in 2023-24 with their best FA Cup run for 37 years, ending with a heartbreaking VAR decision at the end of extra time in the semi final at Wembley. The Championship season saw the Sky Blues go close to reaching the play-offs again after a roller coaster campaign. They were well in contention until the last few games but missed out on a second successive play-off place and finished ninth.

After reaching the play-offs in 2022-23 expectations were obviously higher amongst the fans but the more realistic felt that the loss of the two star players and the high turnover in the squad would take some time to overcome. The standards in the Championship were as high as they have ever been and were boosted by three relegated clubs with seriously strong squads and several others still in receipt of £45m plus parachute payments.

The busiest transfer summer in the club's recent history saw the departure of Viktor Gyokeres and Gus Hamer in record breaking transfers. There was also the exit of loan players Doyle, Panzo, McNally, Wilson-Esbrand and Norton-Cuffy with other out of contract departees Maguire, Dabo, Rose, Walker and Waghorn. In came just one loanee, Luis Binks from Bologna plus Brad Collins and Liam Kitching, from Barnsley, Bobby Thomas from Burnley, Jay Dasilva, from Bristol City, Joel Latibeaudiere, from Swansea, Milan van Ewijk from Dutch club Heerenveen, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto from Belgian club Oostende, Ellis Simms from Everton and Haji Wright from Turkish side Antalyaspor. In summary ten out and ten in, better quality, lesser dependence on loans and an overall younger squad.

Early season form was good but not reflected in results with only one win in the first eight games but only two defeats. Two good wins over Blackburn and QPR lifted the team to mid-table before a run of four defeats left them just above the relegation zone. The first of those defeats, at Bristol City, was an excellent away performance and only lacked better finishing.The fourth defeat, at Preston, was a poor defensive performance and prompted changes. Collins came in for Wilson and McFadzean was given compassionate leave following the death of his mother. Robins switched to a back four and the results were transformed and the legendary but ageing McFadzean's Coventry career was over. There were other factors in the improvement, Sheaf was back up to speed after an early season injury, O'Hare came back after a long absence and Kitching was finally given his opportunity.

From early November the side lost only two league games in eighteen, at Ipswich and Norwich, and lifted themselves to sixth in the table by mid January. After indifferent beginnings Simms and Wright started to score goals and the new formation allowed Sakamoto to play in his favourite right-wing position, in front of the speedy Van Ewijk with Wright playing on the left side. O'Hare had a golden period, adding goals to his already impressive repetoire. The away form was especially good with strong wins at Sunderland and Middlesbrough and a fine draw at Leeds. The comeback home win over Leicester in January ending the Foxes 11 game unbeaten run was the CBS highlight.

The consistent and exciting form carried over into the FA Cup but as the games came thick and fast there were signs of weariness and with Sheaf again injured Preston gave City a lesson in finishing at the CBS. March saw Sheaf return and four successive wins, including the Molineux Cup victory, made City many pundit's favourites for a play-off place. The quarter final tie will go down in the club's history as one of the greatest games with two goals in added time sealing a rare and thoroughly victory over a Premiership side.

There's no question that the Cup run then affected league form and although Leeds United were put to the sword that turned out to be City's last victory and five defeats in six games meant the play-off hopes slipped away.

The semi final was a special occasion and with few expectations many Sky Blues fans were just happy to be back for the fourth time in seven years. City's timid performance saw United look virtually home and dry at the hour mark but a battling display after some inspired substitutions saw three goals in the last 20 minutes to force extra-time. 36,000 City fans in the stadium plus thousands at home thought Victor Torp, a transfer window addition, had scored a fourth goal before VAR ruled out what would have been the winner. Then, again, hearts were broken in a penalty shoot-out and it is now five successive defeats by this cruel method.

Throughout the season the team continued to play attacking football and winning plaudits from opposition managers for their style. The biggest ever crowds at the CBS Arena generated an amazing atmosphere which I'm sure inspired the team and the travelling Sky Blue Army regularly outsang home supporters.

Off the field there were two significant departures. After seven years as Chief Executive Dave Boddy left the club and first team coach Dennis Lawrence left in March after three years to become assistant manager to US MLS team Minnesota United. Both have played major roles in the club's resurgence. 

As the season came to an end two club stalwarts left. Liam Kelly ended a seven year spell at the club and deserves all the accolades he has received. Simon Moore also left after three seasons. Another busy summer in the transfer market looks likely and the squad was strengthened in January with the signings of Torp and Mason-Clark (who remained on loan at Peterborough). Let's hope Mark Robins, Adi Viveash and the team can hit the ground running far better than in the past two campaigns and have a successful 2024-25.

2023-24 Appearances & goalscorers

PLAYER		LEAGUE			FA CUP		LEAGUE CUP			SEASONS TOTAL
	games	subs	goals	games	subs	goals	games	subs	goals	games	subs	goals
THOMAS, Bobby	42	2	2	3	2					45	4	2
ECCLES, Josh	38	6	1	5	1			1		43	8	1
VAN EWIJK, Milan	34	8	2	4	2		1			39	10	2
WRIGHT, Haji	31	13	16	4	1	3	1			36	14	19
SIMMS, Ellis	30	16	13	5	1	6		1		35	18	19
LATIBEAUDIERE, Josh	28	13	2	6		1	1			35	13	3
SHEAF, Ben	30	1	3	4		1		1		34	2	4
COLLINS, Brad	28			2			1			31	0	0
KITCHING, Liam	25	3	1	4						29	3	1
BIDWELL, Jake	24	9	1	4			1			29	9	1
DASILVA, Jay	25	12		2	3					27	15	0
PALMER, Kasey	21	11	2	5		2		1		26	12	4
GODDEN, Matt	23	12	6	1	4	2	1		1	25	16	9
SAKAMOTO, Takashiro	20	9	7	2			1			23	9	7
WILSON, Ben	18			4						22	0	0
O'HARE, Callum	18	13	6	3	2	4				21	15	10
BINKS, Luis	15	3		3	1		1			19	4	0
McFADZEAN, Kyle	15		1							15	0	1
ALLEN, Jamie	14	8	1		3					14	11	1
KELLY, Liam	11	5		1	1		1			13	6	0
TORP, Victor	8	7		3	2	1				11	9	1
AYARI, Yasin	6	7	1							6	7	1
TAVARES, Fabio	1	4	1	1	4	2				2	8	3
HAMER, Gustavo	1						1			2	0	0
HOWLEY, Ryan							1			1	0	0
ANDREWS, Kai		2								0	2	0
DAUSCH, Aidan		2								0	2	0
own goals			4							0	0	4

Games: Coventry City played 53 competitive games, 46 league, 6 FA Cup and 1 League Cup. This is two more than last season.

Points: From 46 league games the Sky Blues gathered 64 points, six less than the previous season and the same number as 2021-22. 

Home Form: 9 wins, 8 draws, 6 defeats. The team gathered 35 home points, only the tenth best in the division and surprisingly one less than relegated Birmingham.There were not enough victories and promoted Ipswich won 54 home points. The team scored 36 home goals, the fourth highest since we left the Premiership in 2001.

Away Form: 8 wins, 5 draws, 10 losses. 29 away points, the seventh best in the division. Eight wins equalled the best ever at Championship level, set in 2003-04 and the best since we returned to the division in 2020. The team scored 34 away goals, the third most in the last 60 years.

Biggest win: The biggest league win of the season was the 5-0 home win over Rotherham. City also beat Maidstone 5-0 and Oxford United 6-2 in the FA Cup. The latter being the first time the team had scored six at the CBS Arena since a 6-0 win over Bury in 2017.

Biggest defeat: The biggest defeats were 0-3, at home to Preston and away to Birmingham. The defeat at St Andrews was the biggest away loss since the same scoreline at Norwich in September 2022.

Goals for: The total of 70 league goals twelve more than 2022-23 the seventh best in the division. This total has only been bettered twice in 57 years, in 1977-78 (75) and 2013-14 (74). In total they failed to score nine times in 46 games.

Goals against: City conceded 59 goals, thirteen more than 2022-23 and the eighth best in the division and better than both Southampton and Norwich.

Clean sheets: The team kept 12 clean sheets, eight less than 2022-23. Ben Wilson kept four and Brad Collins eight including six in his first nine games. 

Final position: The final position of 9th was pretty good considering they were 20^th in mid-November after 17 games. Then, a run of 11 games with only one defeat took them to sixth place in January. The team never got higher than sixth place.

Leading scorers: In his first season in England Haji Wright topped the league scores list with 16 goals. In fifteen seasons of tier 2 football only Viktor Gyokeres has scored more in a season than Wright. Runner up was Ellis Simms whose 13 would have made him top scorer in 10 of those seasons! Seventeen different City players were on the score-sheet in league games. Simms' six FA Cup goals equalled the post-war record set by Jimmy Whitehouse in 1962-63 and as it stands is joint top scorer in this season's competition with Blackburn's Szmodics however Haaland is on five and may overhaul the two Championship players. Wright's 19 goals is the best by a US player in the English game since Clint Dempsey in 2011-12.

Doubles: City achieved three doubles - over Middlesbrough, Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday. It was the first double over Middlesbrough since the first season in the Premier League, 1992-93. It was the first over Wednesday since 2008-09. FFour teams did the double over City – Cardiff, Preston, Ipswich and West Brom.

Appearances: No player started all 46 league games but Ellis Simms with 30 starts and 16 sub appearances was involved in every league game. Bobby Thomas made the most starts (42 plus 2 subs) and Josh Eccles also appeared in 44 games (38 starts plus 6 subs). Simms is only the fourth outfield player to appear in all 46 league games since City left the Premiership – Richard Keogh (46) in 2011-12, Callum O'Hare (40+6) in 2020-21 and Gyokeres (44+2) in 2022-23 are the others. 

Players used: 26 players were used in league games (two less than 2022-23) - and one, Ryan Howley, appeared in one League Cup game. Of the 27 players, fourteen made their debuts during the season – two of them loanees. On the opening day, at Leicester, seven players made their debut. In addition to the 27 players used, six more: Evan Eghosa, Luke Bell, Callum Perry, Dermi Lusala, Marco Rus and Bradley Stretton sat on the bench as substitutes but were not used. 

Substitutes: Ellis Simms made the most substitute appearances (16 league, 2 Cup) with Matty Godden second with 16. Kasey Palmer was the most substituted player (17 times in league, 5 Cup). Eight goals were scored by substitutes: Wright (Blackburn h), Palmer (Sunderland a), Simms (Swansea h), Wright (WBA a), Tavares (Rotherham (h), Allen (QPR h) and Godden 2 (Oxford FAC). Wright became only the seventh substitute to score a penalty for the club. Godden is the first City sub to score two goals in an FA Cup match. Ben Wilson was the most unused substitute, staying on the bench 27 times and Luis Binks was unused in 26 games. In the home game with Birmingham Mark Robins didn't use any substitutes, only the fourth time in seven seasons that he has kept all his subs on the bench.

Won from behind: (5) After failing to come from behind to win during 2022-23 the Sky Blues managed the feat five times. Middlesbrough (a), Leicester (h), Millwall (h), Watford (a) and of course Wolves in the FA Cup. They did achieve draws after falling behind six times, at home to Watford, Norwich, Swansea and Bristol City and in away games at Leeds and Plymouth. Against Watford they came from behind three times to share the points.They also came from 3-0 to draw with Manchester United at Wembley. One surprising stat is that eighteen points were won from losing positions compared to seven points in 2022-23. 

Lost from in front: (4) City lost four league games from being ahead (at Leicester, Preston and Norwich and at home to Cardiff). The Cardiff loss was only the second time that the team had lost a game at the CBS Arena after taking the lead since August 2018 when Scunthorpe won 2-1. On seven occasions City took the lead only to be pegged back for draws – Huddersfield, Southampton,Swansea and Bristol City at home, Swansea, Hull and Sheffield Wednesday (FAC) away. 23 points were lost from leading positions.

Best run: The Sky Blues best unbeaten run was ten, from the Ipswich loss in early December until the defeat at Norwich at the start of February. If Cup games are included the run was 12 unbeaten. 

Worst run: There were three runs of six league games without a win, the last being the last six games when only one point was picked up. The run in October was arguably worse, with five goal-less games after which Wilson and McFadzean were left out and the manager reverted to a back four. 

Hat-tricks: (2) Ellis Simms scored two hat-tricks (Rotherham and Maidstone FAC) in successive home games – the first City player to achieve this feat since Darren Huckerby in 1999. His FA Cup hat-trick was only the fourth by a City player since World War Two. His league hat-trick was the first by a City player since Matty Godden at Tranmere in 2020. Both hat-tricks were scored in the first half – the first since Jacob Murphy v Gillingham in 2015. Seven players scored braces with Wright, Simms and O'Hare each managing the feat three times. 

Opposing hat-tricks: (0) No opposing player managed to score a hat-trick against the Sky Blues. Three, Leicester's Dewsbury-Hall, Watford's Rajovic and Southampton's Che Adams, scored braces, as Liam Kitching in his own net. 

Former Players: No former City players scored against the Sky Blues.

Own goals: For City: (4) Darragh Lenihan (Middlesbrough), Wesley Hoedt (Watford), Ben Gibson (Norwich) and Brandon Williams (Ipswich) all scored in their own net.

Own goals: By City: (4) Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching both scored two own goals during the season. Kitching managed two in the cardiff home game – only the third City player to score two in a game (Fankaty Dabo and Roy Kirk are the others). Thomas was the culprit v Preston (h) and Birmingham (a).

Penalties: For City: (6) Nine awarded, six scored. Four scored by Wright, one by Godden and one by O'Hare. Godden missed two Watford (h) and Ipswich (a), Wright missed at Southampton.

Penalties: Against City: (3) Leicester's Dewsbury-Hall, Preston's Alan Browne and Hull's Fabio Carvalho scored penalties against the Sky Blues.No penalties were missed.

Penalty Shoot-outs: The Sky Blues lost a penalty shoot-out at Wembley for the second season running and have now lost their last five shoot-outs in all competitions. Since 1988 when they lost their first at Reading in the FMC (Simod) Cup the Sky Blues have won seven and lost 10.

Fastest Goal scored: Kasey Palmer scored in the second minute in the FA Cup replay with Sheffield Wednesday. Simms' fifth minute goal v Rotherham was the fastest league goal. 

Fastest Goal conceded: Preston's Emil Riis Jacobsen scored in the first minute in the game at the CBS.

Late goals: Once again the team excelled in late goalscoring with 23 goals after the 80^th minute and nine after 90 minutes with Haji Wright's 100^th minute winner at Molineux the latest. The Sky Blues conceded 14 after the 80^th minute.

Red cards: Coventry: (3): Liam Kitching set a new club record by receiving three red cards in a season. He saw red v Sheffield Wednesday (h), Norwich (a) and Blackburn (a).

Red cards: Opponents: (1) The only red card for an opposition player was Leicester's Abdul Fatawu in the game at the CBS.

FA Cup: A memorable FA Cup run saw the Sky Blues reach the semi final for the first time since 1987 and the quarter finals for the first time since 2009. The goals flowed from the third round tie with Oxford with a 6-2 win, the biggest in the competition since the 7-0 v Macclesfield in 1999. In total the team scored 22 goals in six matches – the most in a season since the club were in non-league. The Wembley comeback from 0-3 to 3-3 was only the second time the Sky Blues have come from three down(the other was in 1932!).

League Cup: The Sky Blues again fell at the first hurdle suffering defeat to League Two side AFC Wimbledon at the new Plough Lane, the third successive season they have 

Bookings: Josh Eccles topped the yellow cards chart with 12 including six in the last eight games. Kasey Palmer picked up 11 but both him and Eccles managed to avoid suspension. Kasey wasn't so lucky in the FA Cup and received a yellow card for running on the pitch after being subbed at Molineux. That was hius second in the competition and resulted in a suspension that ruled him out of Wembley.

Home Attendances: The average home attendance increased again. Boosted by a record 19,500 season tickets the average was 25,468, up 25% from 2022-23. That is the highest since 1970-71 when the Sky Blues finished tenth in the old First Division and were in Europe. It was the ninth highest in the Championship. An average of 1,993 away fans attended City's games at the CBS.

Away Attendances: An average of 23,591 watched City's away games, an increase of 20% – the fourth highest in the Championship. 

Highest home attendance: The Leeds game attracted 30,232, the highest league attendance at a home game at the Arena. You have to go back to January 1980 for the club's previous highest when 31,644 watched a 1-0 win over Liverpool. The Maidstone FA Cup tie attracted 26,857, the second highest FA Cup attendance at the Arena.

Lowest home attendance: 22,092 v Rotherham on a Tuesday night in March. For the first time since 1970 the club had no league gates under 20,000. The FA Cup tie with Oxford attracted 18,211.

Highest away attendance: The Wembley semi final obviously was the highest attendance of the season with 83,672 watching the game – the fourth highest crowd ever to watch City after the 1987 Cup final and Charity Shield and last season's play-off final. The highest league crowd was 41,216 v Sunderland which was the highest league crowd to watch a City game since they left the Premiership in 2001. 

Lowest away attendance: The lowest league attendance was 10,553 at Rotherham. There were 4,781 at Wimbledon for the League Cup tie.

Away followings: An average of 2,375 City fans followed the team away up 15% from 2,054, and but for many restricted capacities would have been considerably higher. This figure is the highest since accurate figures were recorded from 2006 and probably since the Jimmy Hill era in the 1960s for which there are no accurate records. There were 36,000 at the semi final and largest away following, apart from Wembley, was to Wolves when 4,812 City fans were there with the smallest 950 for the game at Middlesbrough. There were some very large away followings at the CBS with the highest being Maidstone who brought 4,800 and Leicester with 4,500. The club reduced the maximum away followings towards the end of the season to enable more home fans to attend, a trend likely to continue next season. The smallest following at the CBS was 247 for Rotherham's midweek visit.

Television: There were nine live televised league games for the club, all on Sky. Seven were home games (Middlesbrough, Huddersfield, WBA, Birmingham, Leicester, Millwall and Ipswich) plus the Leicester and WBA away games. In addition the FA Cup games with Maidstone, Wolves and Manchester United were all featured on ITV. 

Captains: City had six different starting captains during the season, probably a record. Liam Kelly, who was club captain, Kyle McFadzean, Matty Godden, Ben Sheaf, Joel Latibeaudiere and Jamie Allen all wore the armband during the season. Jake Bidwell, Callum O'Hare and Josh Eccles also took the armband following substitutions.

Kits: City wore three different kits during the season. The Sky Blue kit was worn in 26 home games and 14 away games (5 wins, 3 draws, 6 defeats) . The red and blue kit was used in four away games (1 win, 2 draws, 1 defeat). The green and black third kit was worn in nine away games (3 wins, 2 draws, 4 defeats).

Bogeys: City failed to end their dreadful record at Preston's Deepdale. They have never won a league game in 22 visits to the ground. City drew both games with Swansea but have now gone 16 league games since their last victory back in the old First Division in 1981. Norwich are becoming a bogey side for City – in eleven meetings since 2009 City have failed to beat the Canaries. 

Player of the Season: Ben Sheaf picked up most of the Player of the Season awards. I record my personal 1-2-3 man of the match for every game and although it is very subjective my overall 1-2-3 were: 1 Sheaf 2 Sakamoto 3 Van Ewijk 

Game of the season: Another remarkable season saw so many highlights. For me the best game was the victory at Molineux in the FA Cup with two goals in added time.

Goal of the season: Haji Wright's goal at Molineux won the club's Goal of the Season but for me it was Kasey Palmer's thunderous shot against Oxford United.

With many thanks to Paul O'Connor.