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and Sheffield United before finally getting a 0-0 draw at Southampton on 22 March, by which time Iain Dowie had been replaced by Chris Coleman.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

JIM'S COLUMN 29.1.11

Birmingham City are the Sky Blues opponents in the fourth round of the FA Cup today and the clubs will meet for only the third time in the competition. The last time the teams met was in 1980-81 when City beat the Blues 3-2 at Highfield Road and 29,500 saw two goals from Gerry Daly and one from Andy Blair see City through to a fifth round meeting with Spurs. The first meeting was even further back, in 1934-35 when the teams met at St Andrews in a Third round game with First Division Blues winning 5-1 over Third Division Coventry. City boss Harry Storer dropped a bombshell in the run up to the game by axing centre-half and captain Tommy Davison and goalkeeper Hubert Pearson for a breach of club discipline. In their places he selected youngsters George Mason and Bill Morgan and although they both played well they couldn’t stop a rampant Blues. Despite a third minute penalty from Leslie Jones Blues had equalised through Freddie Harris by half-time and ran City ragged after the break with Harris completing a hat-trick, Dave Mangnall (a penalty) and Bill Guest scoring.who won with. That day a crowd of over 40,000 was present (including around 10,000 from Coventry) which with the reduced capacity now at St Andrews cannot be bettered today. There is a brief Pathe News clip of the game at:
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=82628

Michael Doyle left Coventry City this week to be reunited with his former City boss Micky Adams. Since signing from Celtic in the summer of 2003 ‘Doyler’ has been a great servant to the club and his final game at Loftus Road last Sunday was his 297th first team appearance. Since making his debut against Peterborough in a League Cup tie at Highfield Road in 2003 his record is as follows:-

Starts Subs Goals
League 256 9 20
FA Cup 19 0 1
League Cup 11 2 1

Total 286 11 22

His total puts him 17th in the all-time City appearance table ahead of such luminaries as Cyrille Regis, Brian Hill, Alf Wood and Ronnie Rees. In that time he has played under seven different managers(excluding caretaker managers): Gary McAllister (who signed him), Eric Black, Peter Reid, Micky Adams, Iain Dowie, Chris Coleman and Adie Boothroyd. During his time at the club he has played alongside around 140 different players and only Isaac Osbourne has been at the club longer. If he hadn’t spent last season on loan at Leeds he may have been pushing 350 appearances.

‘Doyler’ was not every one’s cup of tea. Some say he lost his bite 2-3 years ago when the referees got him down as a marked man but he always gave 100% and his athleticism was legendary. I remember someone quoting the statistics of how far he had run during City’s win at Old Trafford four years ago and although I can’t recall the distance it was a phenomenal statistic and far more than any other player on the park. He scored some good goals, showing that when he did push forward and get in the box he was a clinical finisher. His best goal was undoubtedly the winner at home to Preston in 2006-07, a thunderous drive five minutes from time. I also remember the freak goal he scored in a League Cup game with Sheffield Wednesday in 2004 when the goalkeeper was distracted by Stern John and Doyle’s curling free-kick from out near the touchline crept in. He is still under 30 and a new challenge at Bramall Lane may kick-start his career.