Jim's column 7.1.2023

Today the Sky Blues entertain National League side Wrexham in the FA Cup and it promises to be a great atmosphere. The North Wales side are in tremendous form and having a ding dong battle with Notts County at the top of the league as they attempt to regain their Football League place they lost fourteen years ago. Now owned and financed by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McIlhenney, the club have had five failed play-off campaigns in the fifth tier. The advent of the new owners has sparked a football revival in the Principality and are regularly attracting full houses of 10,000 at the Racecourse Ground and also have Kyle McFadzean's brother Callum in their squad. I'm sure they will have a large following next week.

The Sky Blues have had few meetings with Wrexham over the years but James Adams, author of the excellent book 'Attached to Coventry City' reminded me of a famous game against Wrexham on Christmas Day 1959.

James writes: It was the last Christmas Day that professional football was played in the UK (only City and Blackburn staged games). The only time it could be played of course, was in the morning as an appetizer for the forthcoming Christmas meal. But in the Main Stand where I was seated, many of us couldn’t wait, with the smell of whiskey-laced coffee and chicken sandwiches in tin-foil, being the distinctive mid-morning snack for many. Even today, whenever I make up a flask of coffee with a tot of whiskey or brandy, it’s Christmas Day 1959 all over again!

It was traditional wintry weather – no wind, but just above freezing with a light covering of snow on the pitch, and icy surrounds - it probably wouldn’t get played today. And an unfortunate Wrexham player, when taking a throw-in, slipped on some ice and fell backwards over the surrounding wall, and into the concrete terrace! But some sympathetic supporters, ‘the magic sponge’ and some sticking plaster saw him back on the pitch before too long.

It was a roller coaster match, with City, then Wrexham hitting the back of the net regularly with an unpredictable outcome for much of the game. However, City’s terrier-like (19-year-old) centre-forward, Ken Satchwell, chased everything down and kept his feet when others were losing theirs and hit four goals in City’s eventual 5-3 victory. Unbelievably, City went to Wrexham on Boxing Day, and completed the double, winning 3-1 – with Satchwell hitting two more!

        Satchwell (left) pictured with Brian Nicholas & Ray Straw (1960)

Wrexham have only visited Coventry three times since that Christmas Day game, the last a League Cup game in 1994 when a Dion Dublin brace and a Roy Wegerle goal gave City a 5-3 aggregate victory in the two-legged tie.

After home league games with Swansea and Cardiff over Christmas City will have entertained three Welsh clubs inside a month. Some readers asked if this had ever happened before - the answer is that City have never played three Welsh clubs in the same season let alone the same month!

Saturday's tie is the 24th occasion that Coventry have played a non-league side in the competition since they achieved league status in 1919. Of the previous 23 ties, seven have ended in defeat for City, three of them in the early 1920s. Since World War Two there have been three defeats at the hands of non-league clubs (Kings Lynn (1961), Sutton United (1989) and Worcester City (2014). The last ties with non-league teams were in 2017-18 when Maidenhead United (2-0) and Boreham Wood (3-0) were defeated in the first and second rounds respectively.

The world has been mourning the great Brazilian star, Pele, this week and many words have been written and spoken about arguably the greatest footballer of all time. I remember his outstanding performances in the 1970 Mexico World Cup in what was perhaps the finest international side ever but also recall the sad sight of him being carried off the Goodison Park pitch four years earlier after Portugal's defenders had constantly fouled him. I've always wondered if England would have won the competition if Pele had remained fit.

Pele did appear against the Sky Blues in 1972 during a post-season tour to the Far East. The tour ended in Bangkok where a friendly was organised with Pele's club side Santos. The game was played in heavy rain and ended in a 2-2 draw in front of 32,000. Alan Green and Quintin Young scored for City with Edu and a Pele penalty netting for Santos. Alan Dugdale, who had yet to make his senior competitive debut at the time, was voted man of the match and asked the great man for his shirt. It was kept at his parent's home in Kirkby on Merseyside for some years and, according to Alan's brother Dave, local fans flocked to the house to have a picture taken with it. At some point, Alan collected it and eventually took it to Hong Kong where it is believed he donated it to the Bulova club where he was playing at the time.

Jim's column 4.4.2020

My request for questions from readers generated loads of questions and it will take me several weeks to answer all of them. So here we go:

David Whitlock: 'Is it true that Coventry City played against the great Brazilian, Pele, in the 1970s.

The Sky Blues toured South East Asia in the close season of 1972. They played two games in South Korea against national select Xis, winning 2-0 and 3-2, before moving to Japan where they played three games in seven days. Again they played select elevens, winning two games and losing one. The tour ended in Bangkok where a friendly was organised with legendary Brazilian club side Santos. The game was played in heavy rain and the teams played out a 2-2 draw in front of 32,000. Alan Green and Quintin Young scored for City with Edu and a Pele penalty netting for Santos. I don't have the line-ups for that game but from pictures I know that Roy Barry, Willie Carr, Ernie Hunt and Chris Chilton also played that day. The picture shows City players Alan Dugdale and Hunt holding up Pele's number 10 shirt. 'Duggy', who had yet to make his senior debut at the time, was voted man of the match and asked the great man for his shirt. It was kept at his parent's home in Kirby on Merseyside for some years and, according to Alan's brother Dave, local fans flocked to the house to have a picture taken with it. At some point, Alan collected it and eventually took it to Hong Kong where it is believed he donated it to the Bulova club where he was playing at the time.

                                   

                                                Alan Dugdale (left) and Ernie Hunt with Pele's shirt

Deejay2000: I’ve always been interested in Oggy's long unbroken stint in goal for City. Any interesting facts about that. It would be interesting to know how many keepers have kept goal for City since he last played for us.

After signing from Shrewsbury Town in 1984 and making his debut at Villa Park, Oggy played 246 consecutive games (209 league, 29 Cup, 8 others) before getting injured at Millwall in Sept 1989. Another legendary City goalkeeper, Alf Wood, always pointed out he had made 260 consecutive games between 1945-51. However the 1945-46 season is not counted as an official first class season and his total is actually 218.

During Oggy's time as a player (1984-2000) ten other keepers played in first team: Keith Waugh (2), Clive Baker (1), Steve Sutton (1), Paul Heald (2), Les Sealey (2), Jonathan Gould (26), John Filan (17), Magnus Hedman (87), Rafaele Nuzzo (1), Chris Kirkland (1). Since Oggy retired in 2000, a further 32 goalkeepers have played first class games including two who made only one appearance, Michael Quirke & Danny Ireland.

David Collins: When and where did Dion Dublin score his last goal for Coventry City?

Dion's last goal for the club came in his final game for the Sky Blues at Southampton on 24 October 1998 in a 2-1 defeat. Matt Le Tissier and Egil Ostenstad gave Saints a 2-0 half-time lead and Dion reduced the arrears on 61 minutes. City's line-up was very strong: Hedman: Nilsson (sub Edworthy), Burrows (sub Telfer), Boateng (sub Soltvedt), Breen, Shaw, Whelan, McAllister, Dublin, Huckerby, Froggatt. The attendance was 15,152. Three days later City went to Luton for a League Cup tie and Dion, with a transfer to Villa on the cards, allegedly refused to play. He had to wait over a week for his Villa debut, a 3-2 win over Tottenham, but proved an instant hit by scoring two first half goals as Villa retained top spot in the Premier League.

Mark from Birmingham: Have Coventry ever been top of a division longer than the current run?

Mark has his tongue in his cheek with this one. The club record for number of days at the top of any division is 158 days set in 1963-64 when the Sky Blues were champions of Division Three. City went top on 8th October 1963 with a 2-1 home win over Bristol City and stayed in pole position until Saturday 14th March when Crystal Palace overhauled them the day after City had lost 5-2 at home to Southend United. On 3rd January they had a nine-point lead at the top which was slowly whittled away during an 11-game run without a victory. The Sky Blues regained top spot briefly on 11th April before slipping behind Palace again but on the final day they returned to top spot with a 1-0 home win over Colchester as Palace slipped up by losing at home to Oldham.

JIM'S COLUMN 27.11.10

Since the formation of the Former Players Association in 2007 many ex-Coventry players have been tracked down and brought back to Coventry for a game or a function but a few have been very elusive and virtually impossible to find. Until recently one of those hard to find players was Alan Dugdale. Then, a few weeks ago I received an email from his brother Dave Dugdale who had found the FPA website (www.ccfpa.co.uk) whilst looking for memories of his brother on the internet. It transpired that Alan was making a rare visit from his home in the USA and we managed to get him from his brother’s home on Merseyside for the Leeds game. It was his first visit to Coventry for over 35 years and he was able to meet up with former colleagues Alan Green, Donal Murphy, Jimmy Holmes as well as former Physio Norman Pilgrim who treated Alan when he broke his ankle in 1972.

Whilst Alan was in the country I was able to interview him and I put the following questions to him:

Alan, how did you come to join Coventry City in 1969?

I was playing for Kirkby Schoolboys on Merseyside and Coventry’s Lancashire scout Alf Walton encouraged me to come down for a trial. I played at centre-half and they offered me apprentice terms with another Kirkby lad called Dennis Hogg, but Dennis never made the grade. I think Alf was responsible for finding Dennis Mortimer, Mick McGuire and Ivan Crossley, we all came from his patch (Jim: he also discovered Ernie Machin).

You were a member of arguably City’s finest youth team in 1970. What are your memories of the team?

It was a great bunch of lads who lived and played together. I remember the Youth Cup final with Spurs. They had a strong team which was quite physical with Graeme Souness , Steve Perryman and a good ‘keeper in Barry Daines. We drew over two legs and we drew a replay at Highfield Road before Spurs won the fourth game at Tottenham. I remember big crowds at Highfield Road and the matches were all hard-fought and there was little between the sides.

The following year you were in the England side that won the Little World Cup. What was that like?

There were three Coventry players, myself, Bobby Parker and Mick McGuire in the England team. I played out of position at right-back and the tournament was in Czechoslovakia. There was so much talent in the England squad with Trevor Francis, Peter Eastoe, Steve Daley and Martyn Busby. Most of the team were already regulars in their club’s first team. We beat Portugal in the final, 3-0 I think and Eastoe got a couple of goals. I think the former Wolves player Bill Shorthouse was the coach.

You made your first team debut against Chelsea at Highfield Road in 1972. Who was in the team at the time?

Joe Mercer and Gordon Milne had not long been there and I got picked at left back but I got carried off when Bill Glazier landed on my left ankle and it broke! Willie Carr, Dennis, Chris Cattlin, Mick Coop, Ernie Hunt were all at the club and Colin Stein and Tommy Hutchison arrived soon after and they brought a real buzz to the club. I was out injured for a few months but didn’t get a regular place until about a year later.

You were a regular first team player until 1977. Which City players did you really rate?

Tommy Hutch was the most skilful, Mick Ferguson was a great target man who could hold the ball up well and Barry Powell and Dennis were very skilful midfielders. The best defender, and I played alongside a lot in my time there, was John Craven. He and I just clicked when he arrived in 1973. My best friend was Alan Green – we used to room together on away trips.

In that time you played against all of the top British strikers. Who did you rate?

Malcom Macdonald and Trevor Francis were very hard to play against. Supermac was so strong and you couldn’t give him an inch, else he would unleash one. Franny Lee of Man City was difficult to play but the best was undoubtedly Kevin Keegan – he was so quick and you could never relax against him.

What happened after you left Coventry City?

I joined Charlton in 1977 but wish I had stayed to fight for my place at Coventry. Everything went wrong at Charlton. I didn’t get on with the manager Andy Nelson and I broke my leg playing for the reserves. I only played 30-odd games before I had a loan spell with Barnsley. In 1980 I went to play in USA with Tulsa Roughnecks. We had a good team with Alan Woodward (ex-Sheff United), Billy Caskey (ex-Derby) and Steve Earle (ex-Fulham). It was funny because one of my worst tackles (and there were a few!) was against Woodward at Highfield Road. My brother found it on youtube and we couldn’t believe I wasn’t sent off. We had some great times. After I finished playing I worked as a salesman for Pepsi Cola and Budweiser and have lived in the Tulsa area ever since. These days I live with my American wife in a mall town called Peggs about 50 miles from Tulsa. We have nine acres and we keep horse, they have become my passion in life. My health isn’t great but I love the outdoor life and cannot see myself returning to England.


The passing of City’s oldest former player Norman Smith was covered earlier in the week. Norman was the last living player to play for the club before the Second World War (he made three appearances in the 1938-39 season). His death means that the oldest living player is now 90-year old Eric Dobbs who made is first appearance in April 1947.

Norman’s funeral takes place at Holy Trinity church on December the 8th at 12.30pm followed by a short cremation service at Canley crematorium at 1.30pm. It will be family flowers only and any donations if desired, will be going to the Help for Heroes charity via the funeral directors which are Grimmett and Timms, 118 Albany Rd, Coventry.

Geoff Moore tells me that Jack Cork’s appearance for Burnley at the Ricoh Arena last week means he has appeared for five different clubs at the stadium, all on loan. It’s a pretty amazing feat considering he is only just 21-years old. In addition to Coventry and Burnley he has played for Southampton, Watford and Scunthorpe. Several players have played for four different clubs including Chris Iwelumo, Wayne Brown and Jon Stead.