Jim's column 24.2.2018

The FA Cup run came to an end at Brighton's Amex stadium on Saturday but the Sky Blues' young team did the club proud against their Premiership opponents which included the impressive £14m record signing Jurgen Locadia.

The Amex attendance was reported as 26,966 which I think was quite impressive for a stadium that only holds 30,750 and the modern trend for attendances to be poor when Premiership sides entertain lower division teams.

City's following was reported as 4,529 but I believe there may have been a couple of hundred in the Brighton areas and not included in that figure. The Sky Blue Army's numbers were restricted by the allocation from Brighton and without a cap I think we would have topped the 7,873 that travelled to Milton Keynes for round four.

Since away fan numbers have been officially reported around 11 or 12 years ago, these are the top City away followings (Wembley apart):

11,423 v Man United (League Cup) 2007-08

7,956 v Arsenal (League Cup) 2012-13

7,873 v MK Dons (FA Cup) 2017-18

6,781 v MK Dons 2013-14

5,604 v Birmingham (FA Cup) 2010-11

5,186 v Arsenal (FA Cup) 2013-14

5,021 v Tottenham (FA Cup) 2012-13

4,988 v MK Dons 2012-13

4,846 v Blackburn (FA Cup) 2008-09

4,529 v Brighton (FA Cup) 2017-18

You have to admit they are impressive followings for a lower division club.

Talking about attendances I have to comment on the Accrington crowd figure two weeks ago. The club reported the 'official' attendance as 28,343 but most regulars realised there were nowhere near that number actually in the ground. Most estimates put the actual crowd at more like 21,000. The reason for the higher number being reported is that all EFL clubs (and Premiership clubs) have to include every season ticket holder whether in attendance or not and every ticket issued. The club gave away around 14,000 tickets to local schools for the game and all of these were included in the 'official' attendance when my view is that only about 50% of them were taken up.

In days gone by the official attendance was the number counted at the turnstiles, plus an allowance based on dividing season ticket numbers sold by the number of matches that season, but not (I believe) "complimentaries".  That was because the Football League were entitled to a share of the gate receipts, and therefore were more interested in the money than the number of spectators. In my opinion the league rules are crazy, especially when it comes to historic record-keeping, but the league have a poor record when it comes to recognising history.

Talking to other club historians I discovered that many Premiership clubs have virtually identical attendances for every home game despite there being numbers of empty seats and that the Manchester police reckon that Old Trafford attendances are sometimes 10,000 less than the 'official' attendance reported.

The 28,343 reported gate does set a new record for Tier 4 since the league's reorganisation in 1992 but it's lower than the highest since the 1958 reorganisation (when Division Four was formed) – that record is 37,774 for Crystal Palace v Millwall in 1961. The gate was also lower than City's tier 4 record, 28,429, set in 1958-59 for the Division Four promotion six-pointer with Port Vale.

Next Saturday's Legends Day is promising to be the biggest in terms of former players attending with 53 Fps confirmed as I write this. Several are attending for the first time including Micky Adams, Jim Blyth, Nick Pickering and Andy Marshall, and Mo Konjic is attending for the first time in many years. Seven decades of City players will be represented on a day that is dedicated to Cyrille Regis. Cyrille's widow Julia and a good number of his relatives are also attending as well as several football personalities keen to pay their respects to the big man. To see a full list of former players attending go to www.ccfpa.co.uk

Ken McPherson 1927-2018

It is sad for me to report the passing of former Coventry City player Ken McPherson. Ken, who was 90 years old, was the second oldest former Coventry City player and one of the last links with the 1950s. A big, strong centre-forward in the traditional English mould, Ken made 90 appearances for the club between 1955-58, scoring 40 goals.

Born in West Hartlepool in the North East, Ken played his early football for Horden Colliery Welfare and Siemens FC and did his National Service as a paratrooper. After a brief spell with his local team Hartlepool United as an amateur he signed for Notts County in the summer of 1950 and became the understudy to the legendary Tommy Lawton at Meadow Lane. He made his debut for the Magpies alongside Lawton at Bury in a Second Division game in September 1950 and played a further four games that season. Two games followed in 1951-52 but in December 1952 he was called up to play against Blackburn and netted four goals in a 5-0 win alongside a young Ron Wylie, later to be assistant manager at Coventry. Suddenly Ken was first choice and he grabbed his opportunity with both hands , netting 14 goals in 23 games.

His goals earned him a £15,000 move (big money in those days) to First Division Middlesbrough. Things didn’t work well at Boro and the team were relegated in his first season. In December 1955 after 33 games and 15 goals in 2 ½ seasons Boro agreed to let him leave. He had been vying with a young Brian Clough for the number nine shirt when City came in for him and relished the move to the Midlands.

In the 1955-56 season City, then playing in Third Division South, were managed by Jesse Carver who was something of a football purist and liked his teams to play football on the ground. His philosophy worked at home, the team were unbeaten in 11 league games, but on the road the team couldn't pick up a victory. Carver was finally persuaded to sign a big, bustling centre-forward in the shape of McPherson. Ken went straight into the side and scored on his debut, a 3-0 home win over Newport. His arrival sparked a run of five straight wins, two of them away, and pushed City into the top five. Carver however resigned after Christmas to return to Italy and City's form stuttered. Ken netted 13 goals in 25 games as City finished eighth, a long way from promotion.

With new boss Harry Warren in charge Ken was top scorer in 1956-57 with 23 goals in a poor City team but the following season the goals dried up and he lost his place to Ray Straw. In the summer of 1958 he moved to Third Division Newport County after 40 goals in 90 games for the Bantams and soon rediscovered his goal touch. This was the most settled spell in Ken's career with 57 goals in 142 games for the South Wales club including a couple of goals against City.

Ken spent the summer of 1961 playing for the New York Hakoah-Americans before joining Swindon at the start of the 1961-62 season. At Swindon he successfully converted to play at centre-half and in 1962-63 he was in the Swindon side that won promotion to Division Two alongside future City player Ernie Hunt. The following season he was voted Swindon's first Player of the Season. He hung his boots up in 1965 and went to work at Morris Engines in Coventry before moving to Nottingham where he was a hospital porter before retiring.

The team picture was taken before the opening game of the 1956-57 season v Exeter.

Back row (L to R): Frank Austin, Jim Regan, Reg Matthews, Roy Kirk, Noel Simpson, George Curtis.

Front row (L to R): Eric Johnson, Dennis Churms, Ken McPherson, Peter Hill, Ray Sambrook.

Jim's column 10.2.2018

I'm back from my sickbed this week and looking forward to two memorable Saturdays. Today the Sky Blues entertain Accrington Stanley and a bumper crowd is expected for Community Day. Then, next Saturday, the team travel to Premiership Brighton for an FA Cup Fifth round tie with another large following hoping to see City reach the sixth round of the FA Cup for the first time since 2009.

Today's attendance is almost certainly going to be over 25,000 and although many schoolchildren are on free tickets, the gate will be a record for a League Two game since the league reorganisation in 2004. The existing record was set by Portsmouth two years ago when 18,746 watched their home game against Northampton. One record that won't be broken today however is the highest attendance for a game in tier 4 of the league. That was set in 1961 by Crystal Palace when 37,774 watched the Glaziers (as Palace were known then) play Millwall on the way to winning promotion. That excludes any play off finals at neutral Wembley or Cardiff. City's highest in their one season in Division 4 (1958-59) was 28,429 for the vital promotion game against Port Vale when a Ray Straw goal earned City the points.

The tie with Brighton is the fourth time City have been drawn against the Seagulls in the competition and each time they have been the away club. The teams first met in 1911 when City, fielding seven of their previous season's giant-killing team, got a 0-0 draw with their fellow Southern League opponents at the Goldstone Ground, and won the replay 2-0. The next meeting, in 1953, saw Brighton reverse the tables with a 5-1 thrashing by the sea in the First Round. The last game was in 2006 when a Gary McSheffrey goal was enough to win a Third Round tie at the Withdean Stadium.

Graham Paine has been in touch regarding Michael Doyle's total appearances for the club and believes he is now in the top twelve appearance-makers for the club. Graham is correct, this season Micky has overtaken Willie Carr, Marcus Hall, Peter Hill, Ronnie Farmer and Frank Austin in the all-time list and now stands twelfth.

1. Steve Ogrizovic 601
2. George Curtis 543
3. Mick Coop 499
4. Brian Borrows 488
5. Bill Glazier 402
6. Mick Kearns 385
7. Richard Shaw 362
8. George Mason 359
9. Tommy Hutchison 355
10. Roy Kirk 349
11. Trevor Peake 334
12. Michael Doyle 332

Doyle, with 35 appearances already this season, is only two behind 1987 FA Cup hero Trevor Peake, and assuming he plays today and on Tuesday night will draw level with Peaky at Colchester. If he stays fit he could reach Roy Kirk's total of 349 by the end of the season.

Finally, the Sky Blues go into today's game on the back of seven consecutive home wins. An eighth win today would be the best since they won the same number in 1954.

1953-54

12 April QPR (h) 3-1

20 April Southampton (h) 2-1

24 April Bristol City (h) 3-0

26 April Norwich City (h) 1-0

1954-55

21 Aug ust Bournemouth (h) 1-0

23 August Reading (h) 2-1

4 September Brighton (h) 2-1

6 September Gillingham (h) 4-1

On 18 September 1954 Bristol City ended the run with a 3-1 win at Highfield Road in front of a 29,000 crowd.

City did win nine league games in a row in 1959-60 season but that run was punctuated by a cup draw with Southampton. Included in that run was a 2-1 victory over today's visitors Accrington, on their last visit to the city.

Several people have asked me how they can make a donation to remember Cyrille Regis. His favourite charity was Wateraid and donations can be made at:

https://cyrille-regis.muchloved.com/