Red Cards influence the play-off race

Today the Sky Blues aim to win a place in the Championship playoffs by beating Middlesbrough at the CBS arena. A draw may be sufficient depending on the results at Turf Moor and Bramall Lane. Many City fans believe that the team should have secured their place before now but away defeats at relegation threatened Plymouth and Luton have thrown a spanner in the works and left fans sweating on the final day. Let’s hope the team can get it over the line and qualify for the play-offs for the second time in three seasons which, after the position when Frank Lampard took over in November is a not inconsiderable achievement.

Controversial refereeing decisions have seriously affected the two away defeats and made City’s job harder than it should have. Plymouth’s Mustapha Bundu should have been sent off for a vicious challenge on Jamie Allen when the score was 0-0 at Home Park on Easter Monday and the striker went on to score two goals and make another. At Luton Jay Dasilva’s red card for a clip on Millenic Alli’s heels seemed harsh to me and left the Sky Blues in an uphill battle against a desperate Luton team who ironically were kept out until the final minute and when the Hatters were also down to ten men.

Dasilva’s red card was the first City sending off this season and the club almost achieved the record of not having a red card in a single season for the first time since 1986-87 season, almost forty years ago. In 1992-93 Mick Quinn was the only player sent off, for an alleged foul on Manchester United’s Peter Scheichel which was later reversed and Mick didn’t serve a suspension. Saturday’s referee Oliver Langford also showed a red card to Liam Kitching in the home game with Sheffield Wednesday last season and he’s the first ref to send two City players off for a good few years.

Former City loanee Liam Walsh, a key figure in the 2019-20 League One promotion success, was also red carded by Langford, his third expulsion of the season. Walsh, whose red card was reversed this week, is only the third former Coventry player to be red carded against the Sky Blues. The others are Steve Hunt and Gary Deegan. Hunt, who played almost 250 games for Coventry, was sent off playing for West Brom in a 0-3 defeat at Highfield Road in 1985-86. Deegan, who played 43 games for the Sky Blues, mainly in the 2011-12 relegation season, was red carded playing for Southend United in a 3-0 victory over City at Roots Hall in 2016. 

Some fans have highlighted the fact that City have not won an away game in the white away kit this season and compared the results to the disastrous away record in 1999-2000 when City also wore a white away kit. The results in the white kit this season have been no wins, three draws and three defeats. In 1999-2000, the season that Sky referred to as ‘The Entertainers’, based on outstanding away form, we played in white on nine occasions, drawing four and losing five. 

Peter Ramage and Stephen Hunt joined an elite group of Coventry City players recently when they made their Sky Blues' debuts. Peter became the 942^nd City player to appear in a competitive first team game since the club joined the Football League in 1919 but more interestingly the fourth player to have a namesake play for the club. He is the second Peter Ramage, following David Smith, Bill Morgan and Paul Williams into the history books. The first Peter Ramage was an inside forward who came from Scottish club Newtowngrange Star in 1927, played 28 games, scoring six goals before joining Derby County. He played over 250 games for the Rams and was still playing non-league football after the war.

A week later, incredibly, we have another namesake debuting for the Sky Blues with Stephen Hunt making his bow at Southend. Many fans will remember the 'first' Stephen Hunt, better known as Steve. A product of Aston Villa's Youth scheme, Steve made his name in the US playing alongside Pele and Franz Beckenbauer with New York Cosmos. City pulled off a massive coup to sign the Brummie for a bargain £40,000 and in 1980 his early season form was good enough to convince Milne that Tommy Hutchison was superfluous to plans and Steve became the focal point of the team. He developed from a fast, tricky winger with a penchant for long distance shooting into one of the country’s most accomplished midfield play-makers with a cultured left foot capable of unlocking the tightest of defences. Steve played 223 games for the Sky Blues and was very unlucky not to win England caps until after he left in 1984.

At Southend two weeks ago our former player Gary Deegan was sent off for two bookings and several readers asked me when a former City player had seen a red card whilst playing against the Sky Blues. By my reckoning there has only ever been one, the afore-mentioned Steve Hunt. Steve joined West Brom in 1984 and in Septemeber 1985 came to Highfield Road with the Baggies for a league meeting. Hunt was lucky to to receive a red card for a bad foul on Brian Borrows but soon after he lashed out at Dave Bennett and got a straight red. City won 3-0 to make it nine defeats in a row for Albion and manager Johnny Giles resigned after the game. Hunt is one of only two players to have been sent off twice at Highfield Road (he was sent off playing for City against Southampton in 1983), the other being Chris Whyte who 'saw red' for Arsenal and Leeds before his one-match loan for the Sky Blues in 1995. Deegan, who has had a reputation as a hard man ever since he came to England with the Sky Blues, was never sent off in a City shirt.

                                                             Steve Hunt

Next Saturday is Legends Day and the Former Player's Association have been working hard to bring a star-studded cast for what will be an even more special event than normal with a special emphasis on the late Jimmy Hill. Many former players are in town on Friday for the celebration service in Coventry Cathedral and will stay over to be at Saturday's game with Bury. A number of ex-City players will be making their 'debut' at a Legends Day including 1987 skipper Brian Kilcline, 1970s striker Brian Joicey (the man whose goal clinched City's European place in 1970) and more recent stars Dele Adebola, Marcus Hall and Barry Quinn. 93-year old Ray Paul, who played for the club during World War II, will also be making his first appearance. Amongst the other 'stars from the past' are Ian Wallace, Bill Glazier, Bobby Gould, Garry Thompson and Greg Downs. It promises to be another memorable day and fans are encouraged to be at their seats for the half-time parade of the stars.