Swansea hoodoo smashed

The Sky Blues' four match winning run came to a shuddering halt at the CBS Arena on Wednesday evening against top-of-the table Leeds United. Two goals in a first half dominated by the Yorkshire team were enough to take the points and although the Sky Blues improved in the second half they had to rely on goalkeeper Oliver Dovin who made several brilliant saves to keep the score to 2-0.

The winning run was extended to four last Saturday at Swansea, the first victory there since 1950 and the first win over Swansea in 18 games since a Highfield Road win in 1981. It was also a very rare win in Wales where City have often struggled against the four Welsh clubs.

Attendances at the CBS Arena this season have been phenomenal and the current average of 27,086 is the highest since 1969-70, the season that the club finished sixth in Division 1, its highest ever finish. If that trend continues it will be the fifth best season in the whole club’s history.

Wednesday night’s attendance for the Leeds game of 28,008 was the fifth highest home crowd of the season but the largest attendance for a midweek league game since the stadium was opened in 2005. The Sky Blues average is the fifth highest in the Championship, only bettered by Sunderland, Leeds, Derby and Sheffield United. It’s certainly a golden time for Coventry City attendances.

City’s games in the Birmingham Senior Cup get very little publicity and many fans probably don’t realise that the Sky Blues under 21 team reached the final in 2023 and the semi final last season. This season they have cleared the first hurdle in the competition with a 1-0 victory at Stourbridge and face a trip to Dudley in the third round.

Peter Farr, who follows the competition closely, tells me that the last time we played Dudley in the Birmingham Senior Cup was in 1992-93 when the game at Dudley ended 1-1. The replay was also held at Dudley and ended 2-2 and City lost 9-8 on penalties. City struggled to field a team and had 46-year old manager Bobby Gould, assistant manager, 41-year old Phil Neal and coach, 36-year old Harry Roberts in the team. Gould scored one of City’s goals and one of the penalties but Neal missed a penalty in normal time.

There has been a tremendous response to the new history website skybluearchive.co.uk The site gives unprecedented access to in-depth details of every match in the club’s history - not only results and match stats but complete line-ups, highlights, programmes, photographs and reports. There’s also players, managers and staff profiles with their records in a Sky Blue shirt. The aim is to provide a complete historical information resource, offering ongoing updates ensuring every chapter of the club’s history is captured for all time. 

If you enjoy this column and would like to hear more about Coventry City's history you can listen to the Sky Blue History Podcast which is available on Apple, Spotify and YouTube. Claudio Cardellino and I talk about all things Sky Blue. Just search for 'Sky Blue History Podcast'

Jim's column 31.12.22

It's been a mixed bag results-wise for Coventry City since the return from the World Cup break but it's fair to say that the Sky Blues should have won the first three games. Poor finishing let them down at Reading and the home team's only real effort on goal proved to be the winner. Poor defending cost them two points at home to Swansea after taking a 3-0 lead. Victory came against West Brom with the added-time penalty winner.

The Swansea result was the first time City have thrown away a three goal lead and not won since 1980 when Gordon Milne's young side led Brighton 3-0 with 23 minutes left before the South Coast side rallied and Gordon Smith scored a hat-trick to earn them a point. Milne's youngsters had been exciting the fans with their attacking prowess but had shown to be suspect at the back and seven days earlier had been walloped 5-0 by Everton, the club's biggest home defeat since 1919. That nightmare seemed to be behind them against Brighton as Paul Dyson and Garry Thompson gave the Sky Blues a 2-0 half-time lead. When Tommy Hutchison scored a third on 63 minutes it looked curtains for the Seagulls but Smith had other ideas and pulled a goal back on 67 minutes. He pounced twice more in the 82nd and 86th minutes to gain the draw. The game turned out to be Hutchison's final home game for City before his move to Manchester City for whom he made his debut in a victory at Brighton's Goldstone Ground. The run without a win against the Swans was extended to 14 games – a run that goes back to City's victory in the old First Division in October 1981.

                 Tommy Hutchison scores his final goal for the Sky Blues against Brighton

City also threw away a three-goal lead against Arsenal on the final day of the 1973-74 season. Goals from Colin Stein, Brian Alderson and David Cross saw City lead 3-0 early in the second half. The Gunners didn't fold however and Pat Rice and Ray Kennedy pulled goals back before John Radford sealed a point in the 83rd minute. Many fans reminded me that in 1990 City threw away a four-goal lead against Nottingham Forest in a League Cup tie when Forest pulled things level with an eight minute Nigel Clough hat-trick before Steve Livingstone won the game for the Sky Blues.

The victory over West Brom was the first over the Baggies at the CBS Arena and the first home win over them since 2003-04. In five visits to the Arena West Brom have been a thorn in City's side having won four and drawn one game with the nadir being in 2007-08 when Albion won 4-0 in the league and 5-0 in the FA Cup. The Baggies last trip to Highfield Road in 2003 saw Spurs loanee Johnnie Jackson score the 89th minute winning goal two minutes after coming off the bench. It turned out to be Jackson's final appearance of his loan spell and he returned to Tottenham after just five appearances, three of them off the bench.

I'm not one for mid-season statistics but I have to mention Viktor Gyokeres' phenomenal year for scoring. His headed goal at Bramall Lane on Boxing Day was his 21st goal of 2022 (20 league, 1 FA Cup) and the best year for a City goalscorer since Leon Clarke netted 27 (23 league 4 Cup) in 2013. Clarke's year was the best since George Hudson scored 31 in 1963 and the all-time record was recorded by Clarrie Bourton who netted 43 in 1932. Viktor is also the first City player to score 10 or more league goals in consecutive seasons since Clinton Morrison scored 10 in 2008-09 and 11 in 2009-10. Since then the Sky Blues have had a number of prolific scorers – Clarke, Wilson, McNulty, Armstrong, McGoldrick and Godden – but none have managed Clinton's feat. Viktor scored 17 last campaign and has 12 this season.