Jim's column 16.11.2019

It is with great sadness that I report the death this week of former City player Peter Wyer at the age of 82. Born in Coventry in 1937, Pete attended Christ the King school in Coundon and shone with Coventry Schoolboys. He played part-time football with Coventry Amateurs and Atherstone and was doing an apprenticeship when he he impressed City's management in a private trial game in 1955. After some excellent performances for the 'A' team and reserves he was given his debut by manager Jesse Carver as a second half substitute in a friendly against Sheffield United at Highfield Road. He scored City's second goal in the 3-2 defeat and five days later he was given a starting position at Crystal Palace as City had injury problems. They lost 3-0 at Palace and he was back in the reserve team the following week.

                                                                 Peter is his playing days 

He was a skilful inside-forward who could also play wide, but failed to impress and was released in the summer of 1956 without playing another first team game. He joined Derby County where former City boss Harry Storer was manager and made two appearances for the Rams in two seasons, scoring one goal, before Billy Frith re-signed him for Coventry in 1958. Despite his enthusiasm Peter got few opportunities and played only four games in City’s Fourth Division promotion season. In 1959 he joined Nuneaton Borough and later played for Rugby Town. He was a regular visitor at the Ricoh until last year and was also an enthusiastic member of the Former Players Association from the start. His health had declined over the past couple of years, he suffered with dementia, and had to leave last year's Legends Day after being taken ill.

                                                              Peter at 2017 Legends Day

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about City's Winston Churchill Trophy game against Fulham in 1965, played on the same day as the great statesman's funeral. Roger Hillier has reminded me that the trophy was played for again the following season against Northampton Town in a game which doubled as a testimonial game for long serving City stalwarts George Curtis and Mick Kearns. The game took place on Tuesday 10th May 1966, the night after Southampton, by drawing 1-1 at Leyton Orient, clinched promotion and consigned the Sky Blues to third place in Division Two.

The Cobblers had just been relegated from the First Division after their one and only season in the top flight. A crowd of 13,576 raised almost £3,000 for the players' testimonial fund and the game ended 2-2. Peter Denton and Ray Pointer gave City a two-goal lead in the first half but Northampton came back in the second half with goals from Billy Best and Jim Hall. George Hudson, who had signed for Northampton two months previously, played but was hampered by an injury sustained in their final league game. A four-page programme was issued for the game.

City's line up was: Glazier: Kearns, Hill: Bruck, Curtis, Farmer: Denton, Machin, Gould, Pointer, Clements. Dudley Roberts substituted for the injured Denton at half-time.

Kyle Walker's appearance in the goalkeeper's jersey for Manchester City in their Champions League game against Atalanta last week prompted City fans to ask when City last had an outfield player go 'between the sticks'. It was more common in the days before multiple substitutes and there wasn't a goalkeeper on the bench to replace an injured custodian. The last time the Sky Blues had an outfield player in the 'keeper's jersey was in a home game against Stoke in 2005 when Stephen Hughes had to go in goal after Ian Bennett received a red card just after half-time. Manager Micky Adams had a habit of not including a goalie on the bench and it almost backfired on him that day. Hughes however made a number of excellent saves and City got a 0-0 draw.

You have to go back 30 years for the previous occurrence – at Millwall in 1989 – when Steve Ogrizovic was injured and had to go off at half-time with City losing 3-0. There were two subs allowed in those days and City's were outfield players Dougie McGuire and Kevin Macdonald. Macdonald came on and David Speedie went in goal. David Smith pulled a goal back and 'Speedo' kept Millwall at bay until the 89th minute when Ian Dawes beat him with a corker from 25 yards.

I believe there were seven other instances since the war of outfield players going in goal including Bobby McDonald, John Craven, Ronnie Rees, George Lowrie and Roy Kirk (who did it three times!). Older City fans will remember Rees's appearance in goal, at Maine Road in 1965 when Bill Glazier broke his leg. Rees took over with City losing 1-0 but he kept a clean sheet and Ken Hale popped up to score an equaliser.

Jim's column 1.12.2018

Kenny Hibbitt only spent two seasons at Coventry City towards the end of his playing career and was much more closely linked with Wolves where he made over 500 appearances. He has recently published his autobiography in conjuction with Tim Nash, a Wolverhampton-based journalist. Kenny sent me a copy and although there is only one chapter covering the Highfield Road spell the book makes fascinating reading.

He started his career as an apprentice at Bradford Park Avenue but soon caught the eye of numerous scouts and signed for Wolves as a 18-year-old, spending two years in the reserves before becoming a regular in the first team from 1970 until 1984. He played in two winning League Cup finals and won a solitary England under 23 cap in an era when you had to be outstanding to play in the national team.

Wolves and City, of course, were massive local rivals in the late 60s and 70s and players like Kenny, John Richards and Derek Dougan were thorns in City's sides of that era with honours probably even between the Midland rivals in that period. The most memorable clash came in 1973 in the FA Cup sixth round tie at Molineux. City, rejuvenated by the signings of Tommy Hutchison and Colin Stein, were confident of a result but in front of 53,000 Richards and Dougan exposed the frailties of Bobby Parker and won 2-0. Wolves went on to lose unluckily to Don Revie's Leeds in the semi-final, a result that haunts Hibbitt to this day.

Relegation battles under first Bobby Gould and later Don Mackay, dominated his two seasons at Coventry (1984-86) but he writes fondly of this spell of his career. After hanging up his boots he managed Walsall and Cardiff and in the book highlights the issues of managing in the lower divisions, namely, lack of money, covering a multitude of roles and the 24/7 dedication required. There are lots of funny stories and big name characters who crossed his path in a dazzling career. The book, 'Seasons of My Life' wonderfully describes the golden era of playing in the early 1970s and the depressing side of managing in the lower divisions of the 1980s.

Last week I wrote about two City outfield players who went in goal in emergencies, David Speedie and Roy Kirk and promised to mention a few more this week. The last was Stephen Hughes who took over the goalkeeping jersey in a home game with Stoke City in 2005 after the City goalkeeper Ian Bennett was shown a red card in the 41st minute. Hughes repelled all Stoke's efforts to score and the game ended 0-0. Prior to that you have to go back to 1977 when Jim Blyth was injured in a home game with West Ham. Bobby McDonald went in goal for the last half hour but couldn't prevent 'Pop' Robson from scoring a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw. The previous season, at Maine Road, 'keeper Bryan King was dazed in a challenge early in the game but stoically continued until the hour mark by which time City were 3-0 down. John Craven took over in goal and kept Man City's formidable attack out until the final minute when Dennis Tueart made the final score 4-2.

In the 1960s there was only one incidence of an outfield player going in goal – again at Maine Road, in 1965, when Bill Glazier was stretchered off after 41 minutes with a broken leg following a clash with Glyn Pardoe. With City losing 1-0 and things looking bleak Ronnie Rees went in goal. Three minutes later Ken Hale equalised for City and Rees and City's brave defenders kept the home side out to earn a famous 1-1 draw.

If any readers remember any other City outfield players going in goal please let me know.

Jim's column 24.11.2018

Coventry City have a history of developing young talent and blooding them in the first team that stretches back to before World War Two. Harry Storer, City's legendary manager in the 1930s gave Second Division debuts to teenagers such as Ted Roberts, Plum Warner, Ellis Lager and George Mason. In the 1960s Jimmy Hill had faith in youngsters like Bobby Gould, Ronnie Rees and Mick Coop before a glut of kids came through under Noel Cantwell - the team that reached the 1970 Youth Cup final spawned eight first teamers, all of them making their debuts as teenagers. It has continued almost non-stop ever since with few barren periods where the club had to rely on the transfer market. Last week Mark Robins put out a first team at Cheltenham in the Football League Trophy that was the youngest starting XI in the club's history. The average age of the team that took the field was 21 years and 33 days, 25 days less than the previous record set at Maine Road in 1980.

The team comprised of: O'Brien (26), Grimmer (24), Mason (21), Eccles (18), Williams (19), Thompson (19), Jones (21), Bayliss (19), Bakayoko (22), Ngandu (17), Shipley (21). When the first substitute Sam McCallum (18) came on the average age dropped to 20 years 301 days and when Jack Burroughs (17) came on for Tom Bayliss it dropped even further, to 20 years 236 days. The final substitution – Jak Hickman (18) for Johnny Ngandu – pushed the average up a shade. Some people will argue that it was a meaningless game in a fairly meaningless competition but it still qualifies as a competitive first team game. Congo-born Ngandu meanwhile became the sixth youngest player to start a first team game. He was only 19 days past his seventeenth birthday and slots into the top ten.

1. Brian Hill (April 1958) 16 years 273 days
2. Isaac Osbourne (April 2003) 16 years 308 days
3. Perry Suckling (August 1982) 16 years 320 days
4. George Curtis (April 1956) 16 years 351 days
5. Dietmar Bruck (April 1961) 17 years 9 days
6. Johnny Ngandu (November 2018) 17 years 19 days
7. Colin Holder (April 1962) 17 years 73 days
8. Conor Thomas (Jan 2011) 17 years 92 days
9. Lol Harvey (Nov 1951)  17 years 101 days
10. Bobby Parker (March 1970) 17 years 137 days

                                                                 Johnny Ngandu 

Going back to 1980, Gordon Milne was reaping the benefit of many years of the club investing in youth and luring some of the country's best talent to Coventry. The young team would go on to reach the League Cup semi final and only lose out on a trip to Wembley by virtue of a late West Ham goal in the semi final second leg. The team that Milne put out at Maine Road was: Les Sealey (23), Steve Jacobs (19), Brian Roberts (25), Andy Blair (20), Paul Dyson (20), Gary Gillespie (20), Peter Bodak (19), Garry Thompson (21), Mark Hateley (19), Danny Thomas (19), Steve Hunt (24). Nine homegrown players plus Gillespie who was signed as a 17-year old.

Many thanks to Geoff Moore for his statistical help.

Keith Ballantyne regularly asks interesting questions and was recently struck by the somewhat unusual occurrence of a player scoring, and then finding himself in goal a couple of minutes later - the game in question being Ipswich v Preston, and the player being Paul Gallagher after the Preston goalkeeper received a red card, all substitutes having been used.

He wanted to know whether this unique honour has ever fallen to a City player. He recalled David Speedie going in goal for Oggy during a 4-1 defeat at Millwall in 1989, but it was David Smith who scored for City on that occasion. With the advent of multiple substitutions and the almost universal inclusion of goalkeeping substitutes it is very uncommon these days to find an outfield player going 'between the sticks'. I was able to tell him that no City player has scored a goal and then donned the goalkeeper's jersey. The nearest incident to this occurred in 1958 in a home game with Aldershot. City goalkeeper Jim Sanders broke his leg and full-back and captain Roy Kirk went into goal for the last half an hour. With six minutes left and City winning 7-1 they were awarded a penalty. Kirk raced from his goal to the other end to take the penalty but blasted it over the bar.

Next week I'll tell you about other outfield players who went in goal for City.

Keith's other question is regarding goalkeepers who have scored for and against City. He remembers, only too well that Oggy scored against Martin Hodge and Sheffield Wednesday in a 2-2 draw at Hillsborough in 1986 as he was at that game but he seems to remember that another keeper did the same to Oggy some years later, and Watford came to his mind as the offending side, but he's not really sure.

It was Watford Keith and a goalkeeper called Steve Sherwood. In January 1984 City entertained the Hornets, then managed by Graham Taylor. It was a very windy day at Highfield Road and Sherwood's long punt bounced on the edge of the City penalty area. City's goalkeeper, Raddy Avramovic and Watford's Nigel Callaghan challenged for the ball but the Yugoslav 'keeper missed his punch and the ball ended up in the City net. Watford went on to win 2-1. I'm not aware of any other goals scored by goalkeepers in City games.