Six wins out of seven following victory at Hillsborough

The Sky Blues made it six league wins out of seven with their injury-time winner at Hillsborough last Saturday. Ellis Simms, unlucky not to be on a hat-trick after what looked a perfectly good goal in the first half was disallowed, was on hand to pounce when the Wednesday ‘keeper James Beadle failed to catch a long punt. For the second game in a row the team scored an injury-time winning goal, a feat I can’t find a precedent for. Six wins out of seven is the best run by a City team since the League 1 championship season when the last seven games before lockdown yielded six wins and a draw. Saturday’s victory over the Owls lifted the side into seventh place in the table, their highest placing this season.

The performance at Hillsborough wasn’t brilliant and the team rode their luck a bit in the second half but as a friend said to me ‘It’s a sign of a good side to win when they’re not playing well’. I find some of the criticism of the last two performances strange - I remember City’s 1966-67 Division two promotion season and after Christmas, as Jimmy Hill’s team extended their unbeaten run, there were many close shaves with defeat and at times the football was pretty ugly. Opposition managers and some of the media criticised Hill’s tactics and physical approach but the history books record the club won the title and reached the First Division for the first time in their history.

Today Preston North End are in town and City will need to be at their best to end the dreadful run of 22 league games without a victory over the Lancashire team. The last win was in September 2007 when late goals from Dele Adebola and Michael Doyle gave City a 2-1 win.

Another sad passing to report this week. Former journalist and broadcaster Marshall Stewart died aged 88 last month. Marshall was the author of the first book written about Coventry City, ‘Miracle in Sky Blue’, published in September 1967. A thin, but fascinating book covering the club’s rise from Division Four to Division One. Marshall, a Cov kid who was later made a Freeman of the city, had covered the club’s affairs in the now defunct Coventry Standard from the 1950s and later joined the BBC where he was the editor of the Today programme. He continued as a senior editor in broadcasting with LBC, a further stint at the Beeb and with ITV in the Midlands. I remember purchasing his book outside Highbury where City were playing for the first time in September 1967 and my interest in the club’s history stemmed from that book. I got to meet Marshall some years ago and enjoyed his stories of covering Coventry City. RIP Marshall.

Jim's column 26.1.2013

The fate of Coventry City's season could hinge on the next three games. The three home wins in 10 days have got the Sky Blues' faithful dreaming of a Wembley final and a possible play-off position. Someone asked me when City last won three home games in such a short period and I made a trawl through the records. In 1973, under Gordon Milne, they won three in 11 dayside early September. Then you have to go back to the early 1950s when there was always a glut of fixtures around Easter. In 1955 City won three home games in nine days but the best I could find was in 1954 when they won three Division Three South games in seven days. On Easter Tuesday (20^th April) City beat Southampton 2-1 (goals from Gordon Nutt & Don Dorman), the following Saturday Bristol City were beaten 3-0 (Dorman & Eddie Brown 2) and two days later, in the final game of the season Norwich were beaten 1-0 (Nutt).

The Sky Blues now have two tough away league games followed by the home leg of the JPT (or Football League Trophy) against Crewe Alexandra. Today they travel to play their long standing nemesis, Preston North End at Deepdale, a ground they have never won a league game in 15 visits going back to 1949. They did manage a famous FA Cup win in 1909, as a Southern League side, and a League Cup win in 2000 but have always failed in league games, even in the momentous 1966-67 promotion season when they slipped up 3-2.  Things have also never been easy at home against Proud Preston and City have failed to beat their bogey team in the last four league meetings at the Ricoh with this season's games in League and JPT marred by physical and verbal intimidation from Graham Westley and his team.

Then, on Friday night, the team go to Bramall Lane to face many people's pre-season favourites for promotion. The Blades have slipped up badly in their last two home games, losing to Hartlepool and Yeovil, but have still only lost four league games all season. City's record there is mixed but they have won only once in their last eight visits, two seasons ago when a Gary McSheffrey goal was sufficient to take the points. Nothing less than four points from the two games will be good enough to keep those play-off hopes alive.

Those three home wins have included a rare occurrence for the Sky Blues - injury-time winners. James Bailey's 94th minute effort against Oldham, followed Leon Clarke's 94^th minute winner in the JPT against Preston. In recent seasons City have been vulnerable in the added time - last season they lost in added time at Palace, Blackpool and at home to Burnley and Ipswich. They did however score injury-time winners against Leeds and Barnsley, the first since a Kevin Kyle late goal in a 2-1 win at QPR in 2007. Before that you have to go back to a Lee Hughes 92nd minute winner at home to Norwich in 2002. Suddenly however City have become masters at late goals; in addition to the two recent goals, Cody scored the winner at Oldham as the fourth official prepared the board and McGoldrick's third at Stevenage was in injury-time.

My appeal on behalf of Jot Shirley for a copy of the original Sky Blue Song was successful and Jot received an mp3 version of Ted Heath’s version from David Whitlock. Jot asked me to thank all those who responded. He also tells me he thinks he may have found a copy on CD as well. It appears on an album 'Decca Singles and Rarities volume 4'. Track 10 is 'Eaton Boating Song'. The title is mis-spelt but after listening to a 30-second sample on the Internet he thinks this is the track. He thinks the 'B' side on the original vinyl single was called 'Telegoon Toon' which also appears on the CD.

Jim's column 19.1.2013

Two excellent home wins in a week have ensured that the Sky Blues continue to compete on two fronts.  Last week's exciting Johnstone's Paint Trophy (or Football League Trophy) Northern Semi final win over Preston ensured the club reached the last four of a Cup competition for the first time since 1990 (I'm not counting the Birmingham Senior Cup or the FA Youth Cup). In 1990 John Sillett's team reached the semi final of the League Cup only to lose a two legged tie to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest. The tie was settled in a thrilling first leg at the City Ground where a controversial penalty and a disputed second goal gave Forest a 2-1 victory, Steve Livingstone scoring for the City. A dour 0-0 at Highfield Road ensured Forest reached Wembley final for the second season running where they beat Oldham Athletic 1-0.

Two years earlier the Sky Blues had reached the semi final of the Simod Trophy and were the bookmaker's favourites to reach Wembley for the second season running as they faced lowly second division side Reading. The game, at Reading's old ground, Elm Park, ended 1-1 after 120 minutes and the Royals triumphed in a penalty shoot-out.

Several people asked me when City last scored two goals in injury time. The only occurrence I can recall in the modern era is an FA Cup tie at Leicester's Filbert Street in 1999. At 90 minutes the Sky Blues were hanging on to a 1-0 lead but injury time goals from Paul Telfer and Steve Froggatt gave a final 3-0 score line. I don't think City have ever scored twice in injury time to turn a losing game to a winning one before last week.

Now City are just a two-legged tie with Crewe Alexandra away from a trip to Wembley. Crewe's record in Coventry is poor - they have won only once in 10 visits and have lost eight of those games. Conversely City have a poor record in visits to the railway town. Their only victory was a 6-1 win in 2001-02 when Lee Hughes netted what was City's last away hat trick and they have lost their last four games at Gresty Road.

Six days after progressing in the JPT the Sky Blues returned to the Ricoh to put up arguably their best home performance of the season to defeat Tranmere, the league leaders. The Sky Blues' home form has been poor this season and a place in the play-offs will only be achieved if the majority of the remaining home games yield three points. I scoured the records for previous instances of the Sky Blues beating the league leaders and I believe the last time was in February 2009 when Wolves came to the Ricoh at the top of the Championship. Goals from Michael Doyle and Leon McKenzie gave City a 2-1 win with Sam Vokes replying for the visitors. Over 21,000 watched the game and saw Keiron Westwood save an injury time penalty from Ebanks-Blake. In 1997 City beat Premiership leaders Manchester United 3-2 at Highfield Road and in 1983 Bobby Gould's Sky Blues beat First Division leaders Liverrpool in a game remembered for a Terry Gibson hat trick.

George Ling wanted to know the club's record gate for a reserve game and the highest position the reserve team achieved.  The all-time record crowd for a home reserve game is 12,132 v QPR for a Football Combination game in 1964-65. The 1-0 win virtually assured City's reserves of promotion to Division 1 of the Combination, a reserve league for Southern clubs.  That attendance beat the previous record of 11,700 set in 1936 v Arsenal. This was the first home game of the season and the new 'promotion' stand (the old main stand which burned down in 1968) was seen for the first time but not used.

The highest average gate for reserve games was, I believe, set in 1965-66 when the average attendance was 6,342. In 1968 City joined the Central League (for Northern club's reserve teams) and in their second home game there was a crowd of 10,302 for the visit of Manchester United. I think this is the third highest reserve crowd of all time.

On the question of highest positions, the reserves were runners up in the Birmingham & District League in 1912-13, third two seasons running in the London Combination (1937-38 & 1938-39), 2nd in the Football Combination Division 2 in 1953-54 and again in 1964-65, and 2nd in the Central League in 1973-74 and 1979-80. On the basis that the Central League was always considered to be a stronger league than the Football Combination then the two second places in the 1970s are probably the highest achievements in reserve team history.