Aidy Boothroyd became the ninth Coventry City manager to be sacked since City lost their Premiership status in 2001. I have some sympathy with Aidy. He was given little money and was hit by injuries to key players. His mistake was not signing a more prolific striker. Platt was never going to score a lot and Jukebox was always a gamble. King has scored goals and looked dangerous but we have only won 4 games out of 18 that he has started and we were 4th when he arrived. Maybe it was his arrival that sparked the slump.
After the success of Coyle and Lambert can't we find a bloody minded Scot.
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
JIM'S COLUMN 12.3.11
A disastrous home defeat to Bristol City last week saw Marlon King receive his second red card of his short stay at the club – City’s fifth red card of the season. This is the club’s worst season for dismissals since 2002-03 when seven players were sent off. Seven in one season is the club’s worst campaign and was also the total in 2001-02. This season’s culprits are:
Carl Baker (Millwall away)
Aron Gunnarsson (Norwich home)
Marlon King (QPR home)
Martin Cranie (Leicester away)
Marlon King (Bristol City home)
Surely it is no coincidence that four of the red cards have been dished out during the current bad run started in December. Conversely no opponent has been sent off this season and if that situation continues until the end of the season it will be the first time since 1996-97 that no opposing player was given a red card. King emulates players like David Thompson, Kevin Kyle and Leon Barnett who received two red cards in one season.
Dean Nelson pointed out that David James, the Bristol ‘keeper on Saturday, played 18 years after his first appearance against the Sky Blues and wondered if it was some kind of record. 40-year old James first played against City for Liverpool in 1993 in a 4-0 defeat for the Sky Blues -almost 18 years ago last Saturday. Dean asked how many times he had played against City in that period and I make it 17 including the two games this season for Bristol City. He has only appeared on the winning side six times in that time and Saturday’s game was only the second winning side he has played in in Coventry. Considering that eleven of the 17 games were for Liverpool it is not that impressive. He was between the sticks at Anfield for all three of City’s great victories there – in 1995, 1997 and 1998.
As far as I know James’ record is topped by two players. When Teddy Sheringham appeared as a substitute (and was sent off) for Colchester at the Ricoh in 2007, aged 41, it was 19 years and 12 days since his first appearance against City, for Millwall in 1988.
The record however is held by Peter Shilton who first played against City for Leicester in December 1967 and played his last match in April 1991, over 23 years later, for Derby at Highfield Road. In total ‘Shilts’ played against City 42 times for five different clubs (Leicester, Stoke, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Derby) and was on the winning side 19 times.
The longest City career (in time) is also held by a goalkeeper Alf Wood. Alf made his debut in February 1937 and although the war intervened, he made his final appearance over 21 years later in December 1958 at the age of 43 years.
City had three different captains during the match with Bristol, which must be some sort of record. Keiron Westwood captained the side from the kick-off but handed the armband to King when he went off at half-time. When King was red-carded he passed the band to Gunnarsson. Then on Tuesday Richard Wood was captain.
Today’s special guest of the Former Players Association at the Hull City game is Peter Bodak. Birmingham-born Peter played a big part in the 1980-81 League Cup run to the semi-final but was unable to attend the recent reunion of that team. He will be best remembered for two stunning goals, the first in the 5-0 quarter final victory over Watford, the second, the following season at Maine Road where his delicious chip clinched a famous FA Cup win and won Match of the Day’s goal of the season.
Fans will be able to meet him in the corporate areas before the game and after the game in the G-Casino.
Finishing touches are now being made for this year’s grand reunion of our former players at Legends Day 2011 (which is less than a month away). This will be held on Saturday 2nd April 2011 at the Sky Blues’ home game against Watford. Over 40 Former Players have already confirmed their appearanceand it is expected that 2011 will be the biggest and best Legends Day so far. We will reveal on the website www.ccfpa.co.uk who is coming nearer the date.
The funeral of former Coventry City defender Eric Dobbs will take place at Canley Crematorium on Monday 14 March at 11.30 am.
Carl Baker (Millwall away)
Aron Gunnarsson (Norwich home)
Marlon King (QPR home)
Martin Cranie (Leicester away)
Marlon King (Bristol City home)
Surely it is no coincidence that four of the red cards have been dished out during the current bad run started in December. Conversely no opponent has been sent off this season and if that situation continues until the end of the season it will be the first time since 1996-97 that no opposing player was given a red card. King emulates players like David Thompson, Kevin Kyle and Leon Barnett who received two red cards in one season.
Dean Nelson pointed out that David James, the Bristol ‘keeper on Saturday, played 18 years after his first appearance against the Sky Blues and wondered if it was some kind of record. 40-year old James first played against City for Liverpool in 1993 in a 4-0 defeat for the Sky Blues -almost 18 years ago last Saturday. Dean asked how many times he had played against City in that period and I make it 17 including the two games this season for Bristol City. He has only appeared on the winning side six times in that time and Saturday’s game was only the second winning side he has played in in Coventry. Considering that eleven of the 17 games were for Liverpool it is not that impressive. He was between the sticks at Anfield for all three of City’s great victories there – in 1995, 1997 and 1998.
As far as I know James’ record is topped by two players. When Teddy Sheringham appeared as a substitute (and was sent off) for Colchester at the Ricoh in 2007, aged 41, it was 19 years and 12 days since his first appearance against City, for Millwall in 1988.
The record however is held by Peter Shilton who first played against City for Leicester in December 1967 and played his last match in April 1991, over 23 years later, for Derby at Highfield Road. In total ‘Shilts’ played against City 42 times for five different clubs (Leicester, Stoke, Nottingham Forest, Southampton and Derby) and was on the winning side 19 times.
The longest City career (in time) is also held by a goalkeeper Alf Wood. Alf made his debut in February 1937 and although the war intervened, he made his final appearance over 21 years later in December 1958 at the age of 43 years.
City had three different captains during the match with Bristol, which must be some sort of record. Keiron Westwood captained the side from the kick-off but handed the armband to King when he went off at half-time. When King was red-carded he passed the band to Gunnarsson. Then on Tuesday Richard Wood was captain.
Today’s special guest of the Former Players Association at the Hull City game is Peter Bodak. Birmingham-born Peter played a big part in the 1980-81 League Cup run to the semi-final but was unable to attend the recent reunion of that team. He will be best remembered for two stunning goals, the first in the 5-0 quarter final victory over Watford, the second, the following season at Maine Road where his delicious chip clinched a famous FA Cup win and won Match of the Day’s goal of the season.
Fans will be able to meet him in the corporate areas before the game and after the game in the G-Casino.
Finishing touches are now being made for this year’s grand reunion of our former players at Legends Day 2011 (which is less than a month away). This will be held on Saturday 2nd April 2011 at the Sky Blues’ home game against Watford. Over 40 Former Players have already confirmed their appearanceand it is expected that 2011 will be the biggest and best Legends Day so far. We will reveal on the website www.ccfpa.co.uk who is coming nearer the date.
The funeral of former Coventry City defender Eric Dobbs will take place at Canley Crematorium on Monday 14 March at 11.30 am.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
JIM'S COLUMN 5.3.11
Saturday’s hard won point at Leicester’s Walkers Stadium was very welcome and ended a run of four away league games (five if you include the Blues cup-tie) stretching back to December when they got a point at Reading. This run was some way short of the worst ever run of 11 away defeats when City were in the Third Division North in 1925-26.
The four-game sequence was however the worst run since they lost seven in a row in 2007-08. Then, after beating West Brom at the Hawthorns in early December 2007 (the week before SISU’s takeover) the team lost at Blackpool, Bristol City, Hull, Preston, Burnley, Scunthorpe and Sheffield United before finally getting a 0-0 draw at Southampton on 22 March, by which time Iain Dowie had been replaced by Chris Coleman. During the disastrous league run Dowie did lead the club to an FA Cup win at Blackburn.
Talking of the FA Cup, Tim Wilding wrote to me after the defeat at St Andrews asking about results and gates at past big away FA Cup ties in the Midlands. Since joining the Football League in 1919 City have played the following games:
1934-35 Birmingham (R3) Lost 1-5 40,349
1945-46 Aston Villa (R3) Lost 0-2 40,000
1951-52 Leicester (R3) Drew 1-1 36,116
1964-65 Aston Villa (R3) Lost 0-3 47,656
1971-72 West Brom (R3) Won 2-1 26,472
1972-73 Wolves (R6) Lost 0-2 50,106
1978-79 West Brom (R3 replay) Lost 0-4 36,262
1981-82 West Brom (R6) Lost 0-2 27,825
1983-84 Wolves (R3 replay) Drew 1-1 19,204
1994-95 West Brom (R3 replay) Won 2-1 23,230
1997-98 Aston Villa (R5) Won 1-0 36,979
1998-99 Leicester (R4) Won 3-0 21,207
2010-11 Birmingham (R4) Lost 2-3 16,669
At the time I didn’t realise that the Blues was the first such game for 12 years and the first time City have lost such a game since 1982. By the way in the two ties that were drawn City triumphed in the replays at Highfield Road. The attendance at St Andrews was the lowest ever for such a ‘big’ game and illustrates the slump in FA Cup crowds in recent years. If the game had been played in any period up to the 1980s it would have attracted 40,000, as was seen in 1935. Older fans will remember the enormous City followings at Villa Park in ’65 and Molineux in ’73 and the massive disappointment on both occasions, more especially in ’73 when Gordon Milne’s exciting team failed to turn up and Derek Dougan and John Richards knocked them out to reach the semi-finals.
Elderly City fan Les Raven was present at St Andrews in 1935 and was featured in these pages at the time. He wanted to know the City XI that played that day and here it is:
Bill Morgan: Vic Brown, Charlie Bisby, Billy Frith, George Mason, Harry Boileau, Bob Birtley, Charlie Wilson, Clarrie Bourton, Les Jones, Fred Liddle. Jones scored City’s goal (a penalty after 4 minutes) and it was 1-1 at half-time before Blues ran riot. Les felt the scoreline flattered Birmingham and put the defeat down to a poor display from full-back Bisby.
Today’s special guest of the Former Players Association is Ian Gibson. ‘Gibbo’ was one of the most popular Sky Blues of the 1960s and played over 100 games between 1966 and 1970. Fans will be able to meet him after the game in the G-Casino.
The funeral of former Coventry City defender Eric Dobbs will take place at Canley Crematorium on Monday 14 March at 11.30 am.
Ian Gibson
The four-game sequence was however the worst run since they lost seven in a row in 2007-08. Then, after beating West Brom at the Hawthorns in early December 2007 (the week before SISU’s takeover) the team lost at Blackpool, Bristol City, Hull, Preston, Burnley, Scunthorpe and Sheffield United before finally getting a 0-0 draw at Southampton on 22 March, by which time Iain Dowie had been replaced by Chris Coleman. During the disastrous league run Dowie did lead the club to an FA Cup win at Blackburn.
Talking of the FA Cup, Tim Wilding wrote to me after the defeat at St Andrews asking about results and gates at past big away FA Cup ties in the Midlands. Since joining the Football League in 1919 City have played the following games:
1934-35 Birmingham (R3) Lost 1-5 40,349
1945-46 Aston Villa (R3) Lost 0-2 40,000
1951-52 Leicester (R3) Drew 1-1 36,116
1964-65 Aston Villa (R3) Lost 0-3 47,656
1971-72 West Brom (R3) Won 2-1 26,472
1972-73 Wolves (R6) Lost 0-2 50,106
1978-79 West Brom (R3 replay) Lost 0-4 36,262
1981-82 West Brom (R6) Lost 0-2 27,825
1983-84 Wolves (R3 replay) Drew 1-1 19,204
1994-95 West Brom (R3 replay) Won 2-1 23,230
1997-98 Aston Villa (R5) Won 1-0 36,979
1998-99 Leicester (R4) Won 3-0 21,207
2010-11 Birmingham (R4) Lost 2-3 16,669
At the time I didn’t realise that the Blues was the first such game for 12 years and the first time City have lost such a game since 1982. By the way in the two ties that were drawn City triumphed in the replays at Highfield Road. The attendance at St Andrews was the lowest ever for such a ‘big’ game and illustrates the slump in FA Cup crowds in recent years. If the game had been played in any period up to the 1980s it would have attracted 40,000, as was seen in 1935. Older fans will remember the enormous City followings at Villa Park in ’65 and Molineux in ’73 and the massive disappointment on both occasions, more especially in ’73 when Gordon Milne’s exciting team failed to turn up and Derek Dougan and John Richards knocked them out to reach the semi-finals.
Elderly City fan Les Raven was present at St Andrews in 1935 and was featured in these pages at the time. He wanted to know the City XI that played that day and here it is:
Bill Morgan: Vic Brown, Charlie Bisby, Billy Frith, George Mason, Harry Boileau, Bob Birtley, Charlie Wilson, Clarrie Bourton, Les Jones, Fred Liddle. Jones scored City’s goal (a penalty after 4 minutes) and it was 1-1 at half-time before Blues ran riot. Les felt the scoreline flattered Birmingham and put the defeat down to a poor display from full-back Bisby.
Today’s special guest of the Former Players Association is Ian Gibson. ‘Gibbo’ was one of the most popular Sky Blues of the 1960s and played over 100 games between 1966 and 1970. Fans will be able to meet him after the game in the G-Casino.
The funeral of former Coventry City defender Eric Dobbs will take place at Canley Crematorium on Monday 14 March at 11.30 am.
Ian Gibson
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
JIM'S COLUMN 26.2.11
It is sad to report the death earlier this week of former Coventry City player Eric Dobbs who passed away months after his 90th birthday.
Eric, a full-back, played only five first team games just after the Second World War but played a good number of reserve games over three seasons in the days when the club had a professional squad of 30 or so players.
Eric was born in October 1920 in the rural Norfolk village of Hingham – in the Angel Inn pub, which his family ran. In 1926 the Dobbs family left Norfolk to come to Coventry -presumably to work in the booming industrial town. They lived in Aldermans Green but later moved to Bedlam Lane, Foleshill. Eric’s nephew Chris Wilson tells me that their house would have been on the site of the Arena Park shopping centre, adjacent to the Ricoh Arena.
He attended Foleshill Church of England School but left at 14 to work as a painter and decorator with his father. In 1936 he was playing football for the Miners Arms team in Aldermans Green and from 1938 he was in City’s ‘A’ team as an amateur. In 1940 he enlisted with the Coldstream Guards, first as a PT instructor but later he saw action in North Africa and in Italy. In 1944 he was involved in the famous but bloody battle of Monte Cassino and was shot in the thigh.
He joined Coventry City as a professional in 1946, following his demobilisation, and played for the ‘A’ Team and the Reserves, occasionally playing at centre-forward. On Easter Tuesday 1947 he got a surprise call-up to the first team to play Swansea owing to injuries to Charlie Elliott and Billy Frith. Eric had to mark Swansea’s dashing winger Norman Lockhart, who later joined City.
On a wet afternoon City won 3-2 and Nemo commented on Eric’s debut: ‘Dobbs showed up prominently in conditions that did not help him at all’. Eric got another first team game before the season was over, playing in a 2-1 home win over Leicester.
His further three games came the following season and he played right-back in home wins over West Brom (1-0) and Fulham (5-2) and a home defeat to Leeds (1-2). At the end of the season he was released and joined Bristol Rovers. Sadly he failed to break into Rovers’ first team and a year later was back in the Midlands playing briefly for Kettering Town before signing for Lockheed Leamington under his former City team-mate Les Latham. Eric’s arrival at the Windmill Ground in 1949 coincided with the Brakes’ first season in the Birmingham Combination and the team finished last but one in the league. The following season however saw the team improve to ninth and win the Birmingham Senior Cup for the first time and Eric was in the team that beat Hereford United Reserves in the final after a replay. The first game, at Nuneaton, ended 2-2 but Lockheed won the replay at their own Windmill Ground 3-1 in front of a ground record 3,500. Earlier that season Eric scored a rare goal (from the penalty spot) in an 11-2 home win over Atherstone. The team picture, kindly supplied by Chris Wilson, shows the successful Lockheed team of 1950-51 with Eric far left on the back row.
Former City player and director Micky French played with Eric both for City Reserves and later at Lockheed. He remembers Eric fondly and used to get a lift to training in Leamington on the pillion of Eric’s motorcycle. I spoke to Micky this week and he had this to say: ‘Eric and I hit it off at Coventry and played a few reserve team games together. When I finished my National Service in 1950 and went to play for Lockheed he was there and we took up where we left off. He was a popular but quiet man who was very kind and honest. But on the field he was a good footballer with an extremely hard tackle and it was best to avoid him in training. He was a real old-fashioned defender and took no prisoners’.
After he left professional football Eric became a painter and decorator and later joined the machine tool company Skelcher and Rowe where he worked as a maintenance man. He was a keen golfer and played at Cosby Golf Club in Leicestershire. He is survived by his wife Joyce. Eric was one of the early members of the Former Players Association when it was formed in 2007 and attended the first Legends Day. He will be sadly missed by his friends and former team-mates in the Association. Until his death he was the oldest former city player, a mantle now taken up by Colin Collindridge who lives in Nottingham and was 90 last November.
Eric Dobbs
Eric, a full-back, played only five first team games just after the Second World War but played a good number of reserve games over three seasons in the days when the club had a professional squad of 30 or so players.
Eric was born in October 1920 in the rural Norfolk village of Hingham – in the Angel Inn pub, which his family ran. In 1926 the Dobbs family left Norfolk to come to Coventry -presumably to work in the booming industrial town. They lived in Aldermans Green but later moved to Bedlam Lane, Foleshill. Eric’s nephew Chris Wilson tells me that their house would have been on the site of the Arena Park shopping centre, adjacent to the Ricoh Arena.
He attended Foleshill Church of England School but left at 14 to work as a painter and decorator with his father. In 1936 he was playing football for the Miners Arms team in Aldermans Green and from 1938 he was in City’s ‘A’ team as an amateur. In 1940 he enlisted with the Coldstream Guards, first as a PT instructor but later he saw action in North Africa and in Italy. In 1944 he was involved in the famous but bloody battle of Monte Cassino and was shot in the thigh.
He joined Coventry City as a professional in 1946, following his demobilisation, and played for the ‘A’ Team and the Reserves, occasionally playing at centre-forward. On Easter Tuesday 1947 he got a surprise call-up to the first team to play Swansea owing to injuries to Charlie Elliott and Billy Frith. Eric had to mark Swansea’s dashing winger Norman Lockhart, who later joined City.
On a wet afternoon City won 3-2 and Nemo commented on Eric’s debut: ‘Dobbs showed up prominently in conditions that did not help him at all’. Eric got another first team game before the season was over, playing in a 2-1 home win over Leicester.
His further three games came the following season and he played right-back in home wins over West Brom (1-0) and Fulham (5-2) and a home defeat to Leeds (1-2). At the end of the season he was released and joined Bristol Rovers. Sadly he failed to break into Rovers’ first team and a year later was back in the Midlands playing briefly for Kettering Town before signing for Lockheed Leamington under his former City team-mate Les Latham. Eric’s arrival at the Windmill Ground in 1949 coincided with the Brakes’ first season in the Birmingham Combination and the team finished last but one in the league. The following season however saw the team improve to ninth and win the Birmingham Senior Cup for the first time and Eric was in the team that beat Hereford United Reserves in the final after a replay. The first game, at Nuneaton, ended 2-2 but Lockheed won the replay at their own Windmill Ground 3-1 in front of a ground record 3,500. Earlier that season Eric scored a rare goal (from the penalty spot) in an 11-2 home win over Atherstone. The team picture, kindly supplied by Chris Wilson, shows the successful Lockheed team of 1950-51 with Eric far left on the back row.
Former City player and director Micky French played with Eric both for City Reserves and later at Lockheed. He remembers Eric fondly and used to get a lift to training in Leamington on the pillion of Eric’s motorcycle. I spoke to Micky this week and he had this to say: ‘Eric and I hit it off at Coventry and played a few reserve team games together. When I finished my National Service in 1950 and went to play for Lockheed he was there and we took up where we left off. He was a popular but quiet man who was very kind and honest. But on the field he was a good footballer with an extremely hard tackle and it was best to avoid him in training. He was a real old-fashioned defender and took no prisoners’.
After he left professional football Eric became a painter and decorator and later joined the machine tool company Skelcher and Rowe where he worked as a maintenance man. He was a keen golfer and played at Cosby Golf Club in Leicestershire. He is survived by his wife Joyce. Eric was one of the early members of the Former Players Association when it was formed in 2007 and attended the first Legends Day. He will be sadly missed by his friends and former team-mates in the Association. Until his death he was the oldest former city player, a mantle now taken up by Colin Collindridge who lives in Nottingham and was 90 last November.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
JIM'S COLUMN 19.2.11
Coventry City ended their appalling run of 10 winless league games with a hard-won 2-1 victory over struggling Crystal Palace at the Ricoh. Hopefully my extensive coverage of previous bad runs last week had the effect I intended and helped remove the ‘Indian Sign’ from City’s form. The team’s results over the last two months have wrecked their play-off chances and also dramatically affected the mood and confidence of the supporters. The dreadful run has also prompted some strategic reflection at SISU, the club’s owners, and the directorial moves over the last two weeks demonstrate that all is not well in the boardroom. City are now virtually condemned to an 11th season in the second tier of English football and it would appear that our latest owners now realise that there is no quick fix for the club’s financial situation.
Marlon King was on target again, scoring the second goal – his fourth in successive games – and has showed his Premiership pedigree in recent weeks. King has scored in the last three league games and at St Andrews in the FA Cup. No City player has scored in four successive games since 2003 when Andy Morrell scored in five successive league games (but failed to net in a League Cup tie in the run).
Morrell scoring run was:
13 Sep 2003 H Stoke Won 4-2 Suffo, Barrett, Adebola, Morrell
16 Sep 2003 A Preston lost 2-4 Staunton (pen), Morrell
20 Sep 2003 A Reading won 2-1 Adebola, Morrell
27 Sep 2003 H Wigan drew 1-1 Morrell
1 Oct 2003 H Crewe won 2-0 McAllister, Morrell
So King’s run is the best in all games since 1992-93, the first season of the Premiership when Mick Quinn scored in each of his first six league games for the club after arriving on loan from Newcastle United.
Mick scored two on his debut at home to Manchester City, a game which City lost 2-3, then netted singles against Sheffield United (a) (1-1) and Ipswich (h) (2-2). His form really took off then with three successive braces, at Southampton (2-2), at home to Liverpool (5-1) and in a Christmas cracker at home to Aston Villa (3-0). A stunning total of ten goals in six games!
Mick was the only City player in 34 years in the top flight to score in five or more successive league games although Terry Gibson did net in seven successive league and cup games in 1985-86 but this included two League Cup ties with Chester and a meaningless Full Members Cup game against Millwall.
The club record is held by Clarrie Bourton, the famous goalscorer from the 1930s. Bourton netted in 10 successive league games during the 1931-32 season, 11 if you include an FA Cup goal during the run. In that spell he managed 19 league goals including five goals in a 6-1 home win over Bournemouth and a hat-trick in the 4-2 home victory over Clapton Orient. Clarrie went on to score 49 goals that season and was the leading goalscorer in the whole Football League.
Michael Green e-mailed me with a question on behalf of Derek Craig, his 87 year old neighbour. Derek told Michael that his dad who had originated from Durham and played for Coventry City around the time of the First World War. He asked me if I had any information on his father.
Robert Craig was an outside left or left half who was born in Newcastle sometime before 1900. City signed him from North Shields Athletic in 1913 and over the next two seasons he played 25 Southern League games (City did not join the Football League until 1919) and scored one goal (on his debut at Gillingham).
After the Great War he joined Nuneaton Town for one season before joining Hinckley United where he appears to have stayed for five years before retiring in 1925.
If you like to wallow in some Coventry City nostalgia get along to the Coventry Transport Museum this coming Thursday (24 February). Dean Nelson and the Former Players Association are hosting a film night especially dedicated to displaying archive film material covering some past games of the Sky Blues (culled from his extensive archive). Dean will be showing Coventry City highlights from TV and celluloid coverage of old games from across the years. Last Saturday after the Palace game the 1981 players were surprised to see the goals from the famous win over West Ham, albeit very grainy images. The event is timed to last from 7pm – 9pm. Tickets will cost £1 each and can be booked by telephoning Coventry Transport Museum – Tel: 024 7623 4270
Marlon King was on target again, scoring the second goal – his fourth in successive games – and has showed his Premiership pedigree in recent weeks. King has scored in the last three league games and at St Andrews in the FA Cup. No City player has scored in four successive games since 2003 when Andy Morrell scored in five successive league games (but failed to net in a League Cup tie in the run).
Morrell scoring run was:
13 Sep 2003 H Stoke Won 4-2 Suffo, Barrett, Adebola, Morrell
16 Sep 2003 A Preston lost 2-4 Staunton (pen), Morrell
20 Sep 2003 A Reading won 2-1 Adebola, Morrell
27 Sep 2003 H Wigan drew 1-1 Morrell
1 Oct 2003 H Crewe won 2-0 McAllister, Morrell
So King’s run is the best in all games since 1992-93, the first season of the Premiership when Mick Quinn scored in each of his first six league games for the club after arriving on loan from Newcastle United.
Mick scored two on his debut at home to Manchester City, a game which City lost 2-3, then netted singles against Sheffield United (a) (1-1) and Ipswich (h) (2-2). His form really took off then with three successive braces, at Southampton (2-2), at home to Liverpool (5-1) and in a Christmas cracker at home to Aston Villa (3-0). A stunning total of ten goals in six games!
Mick was the only City player in 34 years in the top flight to score in five or more successive league games although Terry Gibson did net in seven successive league and cup games in 1985-86 but this included two League Cup ties with Chester and a meaningless Full Members Cup game against Millwall.
The club record is held by Clarrie Bourton, the famous goalscorer from the 1930s. Bourton netted in 10 successive league games during the 1931-32 season, 11 if you include an FA Cup goal during the run. In that spell he managed 19 league goals including five goals in a 6-1 home win over Bournemouth and a hat-trick in the 4-2 home victory over Clapton Orient. Clarrie went on to score 49 goals that season and was the leading goalscorer in the whole Football League.
Michael Green e-mailed me with a question on behalf of Derek Craig, his 87 year old neighbour. Derek told Michael that his dad who had originated from Durham and played for Coventry City around the time of the First World War. He asked me if I had any information on his father.
Robert Craig was an outside left or left half who was born in Newcastle sometime before 1900. City signed him from North Shields Athletic in 1913 and over the next two seasons he played 25 Southern League games (City did not join the Football League until 1919) and scored one goal (on his debut at Gillingham).
After the Great War he joined Nuneaton Town for one season before joining Hinckley United where he appears to have stayed for five years before retiring in 1925.
If you like to wallow in some Coventry City nostalgia get along to the Coventry Transport Museum this coming Thursday (24 February). Dean Nelson and the Former Players Association are hosting a film night especially dedicated to displaying archive film material covering some past games of the Sky Blues (culled from his extensive archive). Dean will be showing Coventry City highlights from TV and celluloid coverage of old games from across the years. Last Saturday after the Palace game the 1981 players were surprised to see the goals from the famous win over West Ham, albeit very grainy images. The event is timed to last from 7pm – 9pm. Tickets will cost £1 each and can be booked by telephoning Coventry Transport Museum – Tel: 024 7623 4270
Sunday, 13 February 2011
JIM'S COLUMN 12.2.11
Some readers criticise me for ‘putting the mockers’ on good form when Coventry City are in a good run, rare though it may be. Last December I wrote about City’s strong run and their successive clean sheets, but that day they lost for the first time in a long time and haven’t won a league game since. Last March, I seem to remember, I waxed lyrically about City’s four straight wins under Chris Coleman that pushed City into the top eight and speculated about their play-off chances, only for the Sky Blues to collapse with a run of 11 games without a victory.
So today I thought I would write about the dreadful run without a win that Aidy Boothroyd’s are having right now, put it into a historical context and hopefully help end the run!
After 10 games without a win we are getting close to the club’s worst run for eight years. The worst league sequences since City fell out of the Premier League are:
2003 16 games over two seasons under Gary McAllister.
2009-10 11 games at the end of the season under Chris Coleman.
2010-11 10 games under Aidy Bothroyd.
2009-10 10 games in mid-season under Coleman.
2004-05 9 games in early season 2004-05 under Peter Reid.
2008-09 8 games at the end of the season under Coleman.
2003-04 8 games pre-Christmas under McAllister (incl 7 draws).
2002-03 8 games in Jan & Feb 2003 under McAllister.
2006-07 7 games prior to Micky Adams’ departure.
2001-02 7 games at the end of the season under Nilsson which cost a play-off place.
The club’ worst ever series of results was back in 1919 when, after joining the Football League they failed to win any of their first 19 games and finally broke their duck with a 3-2 win over Stoke City on Christmas Day. The current sequence is beginning to look similar to the dreadful times in Division 1 in 1983 and 1984 when in both seasons City collapsed after Christmas after being in top six positions early in the New Year. In February 1983 Dave Sexton’s young team were fifth in the league after beating Manchester City 4-0. Garry Thompson was sold over the head of Sexton and the team’s form imploded. They went 13 games without a win and only a face-saving 3-0 win at Stoke pulled City out of their seemingly suicidal plummet towards Division Two. The following season, under Bobby Gould’s inexperienced management, another 13-game slump saw City fall from sixth to sixteenth before Gould pulled them out of their freefall and avoid relegation on the last day of the season.
The above list is a terrible indictment on the Sky Blues recent history and it is no surprise that we are the only club (apart from seemingly doomed Preston) of being in this division consistently for the last ten years. At least Preston have reached the play-offs three times and before this season had an enviable home record stretching back a number of years. City regrettably have never beaten Preston at Deepdale in that time.
Another bogey side Crystal Palace are in town today, supported by a large following which may help their team to continue their amazing five-game unbeaten league run at the Ricoh but will at least boost City’s depleted coffers by £100,000 or more. Let us hope that the recent FA Cup victory over Palace has banished this particular bogey.
Manchester City fans paid tribute to the late Neil Young last week. Young, who died after a long fight against cancer, was one of the classiest players I ever saw at Highfield Road and had a remarkable record against the Sky Blues. Between 1964 (when City came up from Division Three) and 1971 (when Young was prematurely losing his touch following the sudden death of his younger brother) he played 10 games for the Manchester Blues against City, was never on the losing side, consistently tormented Mick Kearns and other City defenders with his classy left foot and scored six goals. The only time he was on the losing side was in a League Cup game at Maine Road in 1965 which Coventry won 3-2. Young was somewhat overshadowed by the bigger names in Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison’s team of the time, namely Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell and Francis Lee, but the record books show he was the top scorer in both the Second Division (1966) and First Division (1968) Championship sides as well as scoring the winning goal in the 1969 FA Cup final and in the Cup Winners Cup final a year later – not bad for a player considered to be a midfield player. When you look at the mediocre players selected for England in the modern era it is a travesty that Neil Young never played for his country.
Make a note in your diaries for Thursday 24 February. That night the Coventry Transport Museum, supported by Dean Nelson and the Former Players Association are hosting a film night especially dedicated to displaying archive film material covering some past games of the Sky Blues (culled from his extensive archive). Dean will be showing Coventry City highlights from TV and celluloid coverage of old games from across the years. The event is timed to last from 7pm – 9pm. Tickets will cost £1 each and can be booked by telephoning Coventry Transport Museum – Tel: 024 7623 4270
Neil Young
So today I thought I would write about the dreadful run without a win that Aidy Boothroyd’s are having right now, put it into a historical context and hopefully help end the run!
After 10 games without a win we are getting close to the club’s worst run for eight years. The worst league sequences since City fell out of the Premier League are:
2003 16 games over two seasons under Gary McAllister.
2009-10 11 games at the end of the season under Chris Coleman.
2010-11 10 games under Aidy Bothroyd.
2009-10 10 games in mid-season under Coleman.
2004-05 9 games in early season 2004-05 under Peter Reid.
2008-09 8 games at the end of the season under Coleman.
2003-04 8 games pre-Christmas under McAllister (incl 7 draws).
2002-03 8 games in Jan & Feb 2003 under McAllister.
2006-07 7 games prior to Micky Adams’ departure.
2001-02 7 games at the end of the season under Nilsson which cost a play-off place.
The club’ worst ever series of results was back in 1919 when, after joining the Football League they failed to win any of their first 19 games and finally broke their duck with a 3-2 win over Stoke City on Christmas Day. The current sequence is beginning to look similar to the dreadful times in Division 1 in 1983 and 1984 when in both seasons City collapsed after Christmas after being in top six positions early in the New Year. In February 1983 Dave Sexton’s young team were fifth in the league after beating Manchester City 4-0. Garry Thompson was sold over the head of Sexton and the team’s form imploded. They went 13 games without a win and only a face-saving 3-0 win at Stoke pulled City out of their seemingly suicidal plummet towards Division Two. The following season, under Bobby Gould’s inexperienced management, another 13-game slump saw City fall from sixth to sixteenth before Gould pulled them out of their freefall and avoid relegation on the last day of the season.
The above list is a terrible indictment on the Sky Blues recent history and it is no surprise that we are the only club (apart from seemingly doomed Preston) of being in this division consistently for the last ten years. At least Preston have reached the play-offs three times and before this season had an enviable home record stretching back a number of years. City regrettably have never beaten Preston at Deepdale in that time.
Another bogey side Crystal Palace are in town today, supported by a large following which may help their team to continue their amazing five-game unbeaten league run at the Ricoh but will at least boost City’s depleted coffers by £100,000 or more. Let us hope that the recent FA Cup victory over Palace has banished this particular bogey.
Manchester City fans paid tribute to the late Neil Young last week. Young, who died after a long fight against cancer, was one of the classiest players I ever saw at Highfield Road and had a remarkable record against the Sky Blues. Between 1964 (when City came up from Division Three) and 1971 (when Young was prematurely losing his touch following the sudden death of his younger brother) he played 10 games for the Manchester Blues against City, was never on the losing side, consistently tormented Mick Kearns and other City defenders with his classy left foot and scored six goals. The only time he was on the losing side was in a League Cup game at Maine Road in 1965 which Coventry won 3-2. Young was somewhat overshadowed by the bigger names in Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison’s team of the time, namely Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell and Francis Lee, but the record books show he was the top scorer in both the Second Division (1966) and First Division (1968) Championship sides as well as scoring the winning goal in the 1969 FA Cup final and in the Cup Winners Cup final a year later – not bad for a player considered to be a midfield player. When you look at the mediocre players selected for England in the modern era it is a travesty that Neil Young never played for his country.
Make a note in your diaries for Thursday 24 February. That night the Coventry Transport Museum, supported by Dean Nelson and the Former Players Association are hosting a film night especially dedicated to displaying archive film material covering some past games of the Sky Blues (culled from his extensive archive). Dean will be showing Coventry City highlights from TV and celluloid coverage of old games from across the years. The event is timed to last from 7pm – 9pm. Tickets will cost £1 each and can be booked by telephoning Coventry Transport Museum – Tel: 024 7623 4270
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
JIM'S COLUMN 5.2.11
What a miserable ten days in Coventry City’s history. Before their trip to Loftus Road two weeks ago only Nottingham Forest in the earlier game at the City Ground, had come from behind to beat Aidy Boothroyd’s side. Then, like London buses, we get three in a row, culminating in Tuesday night’s capitulation against an average Forest side who didn’t look anything like as good as last year’s team that reached the play-offs.
At St Andrews I felt we were lucky to go two goals ahead (Blues had two great chances in the first ten minutes) and we know from recent Cup experiences (Man United and Blackburn (twice)) that for City to get a result against top flight opponents they need to be on top of their game for ninety minutes and the opposition need to be ‘off’ their game. There was evidence of neither on Saturday with City having a good 20 minutes in the first half but under the cosh to a strong-looking Birmingham for the majority of the game. David Bentley and Aleksandr Hleb are international-class players and proved a handful for City and although Conor Thomas battled manfully to keep a grip on Hleb the Belarussian was the most influential player on the park. Bentley, of course, was in the Blackburn side trounced 4-1 by City in 2008 and repeated his stunning goal that day with an unstoppable shot for Blues’ first goal.
Many fans asked me when we last lost after being two goals up and the facts are we have only done it twice in the last ten years. Two seasons ago Watford came from 0-2 to win 3-2 at the Ricoh Arena and in 2002-03 Ipswich came from 0-2 to win 4-2 against a very young and inexperienced City team that included players like Ben Mackey, Andy Whing, Gary Montgomery, Tom Bates and Craig Pead. City led 2-0 at the break but where overwhelmed with four goals in 17 second-half minutes with Marcus Bent and our nemesis Pablo Counago each getting a brace.
Prior to that City last lost from 2-0 away from home at Villa Park on that fateful day that saw us relegated from the Premiership in 2001. City, unfortunately don’t have a great record for coming from two down, although they got a draw at Watford this season and at home to Middlesbrough last season after being two down. The last time City won after being 0-2 was in a League Cup tie against Tottenham in 1995-96. City trailed to goals from Chris Armstrong and a David Busst own goal but bounced back to win with goals from Peter Ndlovu, Busst and John Salako. Before that you have to go back to 1986 to find a 0-2 scoreline turned into a win. On that occasion Southampton led 2-0 at half time but goals from Dave Bennett, Nick Pickering and Alan Brazil gave City a 3-2 win. I think there are only two other instances of City coming back from two down to win since they won promotion to the top flight in 1967. The famous League Cup semi final first leg against West Ham when City scored three second half goals to win 3-2 and the 4-3 win at Derby in September 1970 when the Sky Blues were two down after 13 minutes and won 4-3.
Talking of that famous semi final game in 1981 it is thirty years ago this month that City and West Ham battled for a Wembley place in what was Coventry’s first ever major semi-final. To celebrate the anniversary the Former Players Association are hosting a reunion at next Saturday’s home game with Crystal Palace. A number of the players who appeared for Gordon Milne’s dazzling young team, including Garry Thompson (the hero and villain of the first leg), Danny Thomas and Andy Blair, will be presented to the fans at half-time and mixing with the fans at the G-Casino after the game. The picture was taken in the dressing room after the 5-0
quarter-final replay win over Watford.
Congratulations to John Clarke on his appointment this week to the Coventry City board of directors. John’s elevation is well deserved after many years hard work for the club as an Associate Director and I am sure the appointment will mean stronger links between the football club and the people and businesses of Coventry. John was a director before of course. Back in 1992-93, with City in dire financial straits (when were they not!) he came up with the £250,000 required to sign Mick Quinn. Quinn’s prolific goal scoring (17 goals in 26 games) pushed City briefly into the top six in that first-ever Premiership season. In the summer of 1993 John briefly became chairman and was on the verge of becoming the major shareholder when ‘dark forces’ were unleashed and he was forced to resign and Bryan Richardson took over. John was chairman for nine days and in his own words: ‘he has taken 18 years to get back on the board’. John has been an avid City fan for years and was the Founder Patron and a great supporter of the Former Players Association. He understands the importance of the club’s history and heritage to the fans and we can never have too many of his type in the boardroom.
At St Andrews I felt we were lucky to go two goals ahead (Blues had two great chances in the first ten minutes) and we know from recent Cup experiences (Man United and Blackburn (twice)) that for City to get a result against top flight opponents they need to be on top of their game for ninety minutes and the opposition need to be ‘off’ their game. There was evidence of neither on Saturday with City having a good 20 minutes in the first half but under the cosh to a strong-looking Birmingham for the majority of the game. David Bentley and Aleksandr Hleb are international-class players and proved a handful for City and although Conor Thomas battled manfully to keep a grip on Hleb the Belarussian was the most influential player on the park. Bentley, of course, was in the Blackburn side trounced 4-1 by City in 2008 and repeated his stunning goal that day with an unstoppable shot for Blues’ first goal.
Many fans asked me when we last lost after being two goals up and the facts are we have only done it twice in the last ten years. Two seasons ago Watford came from 0-2 to win 3-2 at the Ricoh Arena and in 2002-03 Ipswich came from 0-2 to win 4-2 against a very young and inexperienced City team that included players like Ben Mackey, Andy Whing, Gary Montgomery, Tom Bates and Craig Pead. City led 2-0 at the break but where overwhelmed with four goals in 17 second-half minutes with Marcus Bent and our nemesis Pablo Counago each getting a brace.
Prior to that City last lost from 2-0 away from home at Villa Park on that fateful day that saw us relegated from the Premiership in 2001. City, unfortunately don’t have a great record for coming from two down, although they got a draw at Watford this season and at home to Middlesbrough last season after being two down. The last time City won after being 0-2 was in a League Cup tie against Tottenham in 1995-96. City trailed to goals from Chris Armstrong and a David Busst own goal but bounced back to win with goals from Peter Ndlovu, Busst and John Salako. Before that you have to go back to 1986 to find a 0-2 scoreline turned into a win. On that occasion Southampton led 2-0 at half time but goals from Dave Bennett, Nick Pickering and Alan Brazil gave City a 3-2 win. I think there are only two other instances of City coming back from two down to win since they won promotion to the top flight in 1967. The famous League Cup semi final first leg against West Ham when City scored three second half goals to win 3-2 and the 4-3 win at Derby in September 1970 when the Sky Blues were two down after 13 minutes and won 4-3.
Talking of that famous semi final game in 1981 it is thirty years ago this month that City and West Ham battled for a Wembley place in what was Coventry’s first ever major semi-final. To celebrate the anniversary the Former Players Association are hosting a reunion at next Saturday’s home game with Crystal Palace. A number of the players who appeared for Gordon Milne’s dazzling young team, including Garry Thompson (the hero and villain of the first leg), Danny Thomas and Andy Blair, will be presented to the fans at half-time and mixing with the fans at the G-Casino after the game. The picture was taken in the dressing room after the 5-0
quarter-final replay win over Watford.
Congratulations to John Clarke on his appointment this week to the Coventry City board of directors. John’s elevation is well deserved after many years hard work for the club as an Associate Director and I am sure the appointment will mean stronger links between the football club and the people and businesses of Coventry. John was a director before of course. Back in 1992-93, with City in dire financial straits (when were they not!) he came up with the £250,000 required to sign Mick Quinn. Quinn’s prolific goal scoring (17 goals in 26 games) pushed City briefly into the top six in that first-ever Premiership season. In the summer of 1993 John briefly became chairman and was on the verge of becoming the major shareholder when ‘dark forces’ were unleashed and he was forced to resign and Bryan Richardson took over. John was chairman for nine days and in his own words: ‘he has taken 18 years to get back on the board’. John has been an avid City fan for years and was the Founder Patron and a great supporter of the Former Players Association. He understands the importance of the club’s history and heritage to the fans and we can never have too many of his type in the boardroom.
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