Jim's column 8.1.22

Happy New Year to all my readers and let's hope 2022 brings as much enjoyment for Coventry City fans as 2021 did. A good second half of the 2020-21 season plus an impressive first half to 2021-22 saw the team accumulate 66 points from 47 games in the calendar year – good enough to finish in the top half of the Championship. Covid issues have made a mess of the fixtures pre and post Christmas and Mark Robins is probably wishing that the EFL hadn't allowed the Millwall game to go ahead. Recent results have seen the knockers begin to criticise some players and the managers – totally unwarranted in my opinion. If you go back to this week five years ago the Sky Blues were 22nd in League One without a win in nine league games and heading for relegation as well as being out of the FA Cup following a 4-0 thrashing at Cambridge United. Attendances were down to 8,000 and Russell Slade had just become the third manager of the campaign. The critics need to take a reality check.

Sadly I have another former player's death to report. Coventrian John Docker never appeared for the first team but was an outstanding young talent who would surely have made it in another era. John, who passed away on 30th November, was the star of the Coventry Schools team in 1962 and it was seen as a major coup for the club when he signed schoolboy forms for the Sky Blues that year. After leaving Caludon Castle school in 1963 he became an apprentice at the club and first made an impact in the youth team in November of that year when Third Division City lost a thrilling FA Youth Cup tie 4-6 to First Division West Brom. City had several youngsters who would go on to play first team football including Bobby Gould, Pat Morrissey and Dudley Roberts but were no match for the Baggies who boasted a 18-year-old Tony 'Bomber' Brown who was already scoring goals in Division One. City trailed 6-1 at one stage but goals from Alan Thompson, John Chambers and Docker added to the early goal from Peter Denton, gave the scoreline a better look. Docker's corners created all four goals including his own which went directly in.

John, a left-winger who could also play inside-forward, had already made his reserve team debut, away at QPR, a month earlier and although he only played one further reserve game that season he developed well in the 'A' team and many around the club tipped him for success. John's route to the first team was hampered however by the Welsh international Ronnie Rees and his understudy John Mitten not to mention Dave Clements who emerged that season, and their form kept Docker in the 'A' team in 1964-65. The youth team however had a great run in the Youth Cup, knocking out First Division Aston Villa and had the club's longest run in the competition at that time. John starred in the Villa Park win with John Chambers scoring the vital goal. An ankle injury kept Docker out for a good part of the second half of the season but in the summer of 1965 he signed his first professional contract days after he had scored two goals in a 5-1 reserve victory over Leicester at Highfield Road. He made 14 reserve appearances that season, scoring four goals. He was still eligible for the Youth Cup team and played at inside-forward along with Willie Carr and Mick Coop but after defeating First Division Leicester (including Peter Shilton) the team suffered a second round knock-out at home to Stoke.

Sixteen reserve appearances in the reserves with three goals came in 1966-67 but with Rees and Clements in top form it was becoming increasingly clear that John's first team chances were slim especially with team roaring to promotion to the First Division. In August 1967 he went on a month's loan to Torquay United – only the second City player to go out on loan. He played six games and scored two goals in a League Cup win over local rivals Exeter but suffered a knee injury. He returned to Coventry and made 12 reserve appearances (3 goals) but was given a free transfer in June 1968. He toyed briefly with an offer to play in South Africa but joined Waterford in Ireland before returning to play for Rugby Town and Massey Ferguson. An injury sustained in Ireland hampered his performances and he ended up playing in local football where he broke a leg playing for Binley Woods.

He worked at Massey Ferguson and Chrysler before setting up his own business specialising in bearings for the motor industry. He passed away after a long battle with cancer.

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

Jim's column 22.10.2016

The sad news of the passing of Peter Denton and my tribute last week prompted several emails. Long standing fan Kevin Ring remembered Peter as a very quick winger who but for the consistency of Ronnie Rees, Willie Humphries and Dave Clements who have been a regular first team player. Kevin pointed out that if more subs had been allowed in those days he would have probably had more chances of first team football.

Fellow City historian Paul O'Connor was also in touch to tell me that in July 1966 Middlesbrough offered £12,000 for him but he rejected the move and later whilst in the reserves Watford were interested in him. Paul also told me that whilst playing at Margate Peter broke his nose and even though things didn’t go well on the pitch following his move to Luton, he made an impression because he moved into coaching there in November 1969 but Paul was unaware of how long he was there in that capacity.

Alan Ludford remembers being at college with Peter in the 1960s when they were both on an accountancy course and remembers him as a 'very quiet lad who didn’t brag about being  on City’s books, he just got on with his work'.

John Docker, a former colleague of Denton's in the youth and reserve teams also contacted me. John, a Caludon Castle schoolboy, was a highly rated player who scored goals for fun at schoolboy level. He played in the 6-4 Youth Cup defeat to West Brom in 1963 and scored a goal direct from a corner as City came from 6-1 to give a strong Albion side, which included Tony 'Bomber' Brown, a shock. John was only just 16 at the time and went on to have two further seasons in the youth team and reminded me that the 1965-66 team was very strong and included Mick Coop, Pat Morrissey and a very young Willie Carr. John remembers a 3-1 victory over a Leicester City youth team with Peter Shilton in goal, with John netting one of the goals. This was when Jimmy Hill's labours in setting up a strong youth policy began to bear fruit, a policy which has generated so many players for the first team and continues to this day.

                                                     Coventry City youth team 1963-64

            

John signed full professional forms in 1965 and was a regular in the reserves but in 1967 he was loaned out to Torquay where he picked up a knee injury which would ultimately end his career. In 1968 he joined Irish champions Waterford on loan along with other Coventry youngsters Peter Thomas and John Matthews but his knee was a severe handicap. Following his return from Ireland he was released by City and after a brief spell with Rugby Town he began playing for Binley Woods but suffered a broken leg. He has lived & worked in Coventry for all of his life and occasionally goes to City games.

Other former playing colleagues Dudley Roberts and Dennis Oakes also sent their condolences and remembered Peter with fondness.

Regular reader Keith Ballantyne was in touch following last weekend's defeat at Charlton:

The Charlton scoreline replicates that of my first and only visit to the Valley, in October 1964. My father and I were seated in the ground's wooden stand and had taken an old - style 'klaxon' car horn with us. The most vivid recollection of this game I have was the amount of fireworks being let off in and around the ground in the run-up to November 5th. The game itself was nothing to write home about, Charlton scored early as I recall and had Mike Bailey playing for them. The only goal I can remember was scored after Bill Glazier had ended up on his backside and flailed an arm helplessly at the ball as it went in over him.  Please can you tell me the goal times.

The game that Keith refers to was on 31^st October 1964 and Charlton did win 3-0 with goals from Eddie Firmani (12 mins), Roy Matthews (72) and Jack Kennedy (83). Glazier had recently been signed from Crystal Palace for a world record fee for a goalkeeper of £35,000 and England manager Alf Ramsey was at the Valley to watch Mike Bailey and Bill. The goal that Keith remembers was the first, when Firmani's shot struck Ron Farmer's leg and was diverted past the City keeper. Bill went on to make several good saves, averting a heavy defeat and Ramsey selected Glazier for his first Under 23 cap a week later. Looking at the newspapers for that weekend I noticed that league champions Liverpool had lost 0-2 to Manchester United and lay 19^th in Division One. In the modern game I wonder if manager Bill Shankly would have survived that poor start to the 1964-65 season.