I thought I would catch up with some of
the outstanding questions I have had from readers in recent months.
First, Andy Webster, a keen collector
of Coventry City programmes, wanted to know what type of programme
the club issued in 1985-86 season for the Full Members Cup game
against Millwall. The game was virtually a dead rubber after the
earlier games in the three-team group had seen Stoke City beat the
Sky Blues 3-0 and draw 2-2 with Millwall. This meant that City
couldn't top the group and Millwall had to win by four clear goals to
overhaul Stoke and go through to the Southern semi-finals. A low
crowd was expected and the club decided to do what they did for
reserve games in those days and produce an A4 photocopied sheet. The
game ended 1-1 with Terry Gibson setting a post-war record by scoring
in seven consecutive games but Nicky Chatterton equalised five
minutes from time. The attendance was 1,086 with policeman
outnumbering Millwall fans in the visitor's enclosure.
I wrote a few weeks ago that City's
recent record on live television was excellent with no defeats in the
last nine games televised following the 1-1 draw at Luton. The last
defeat was in December 2016 when a last minute goal by Billy Sharp
gave Sheffield United the points at the Ricoh. John Baker recalls
City having a long period without an away win on television a few
years ago and asked me for the details. City won 1-0
at St Andrews in November 2008, courtesy of a Clinton Morrison goal.
Then they failed to win in the next eight televised away games before
ending the run with a 2-1 win at Burton in September 2015 with goals
from Marcus Tudgay and Roman Vincelot. Almost seven years without an
away win 'on the box'.
The
games were as follows:
2008-09 Reading lost 1-3
2009-19 Derby lost 1-2
2009-10 Scunthorpe lost 0-1
2009-10 Leicester drew 2-2
2010-11 QPR lost 1-2
2011-12 Ipswich lost 0-3
2011-12 Southampton lost 0-4
2013-14 Bradford C drew 3-3
In the same seven-year period City's
home form on television was much better with seven wins and four
defeats in eleven appearances.
Several readers have asked me about
City's away following this season and how it compares with other
years. 1,853 City fans travelled to Barnsley two weeks ago, the
fourth highest of the season, bringing the average for the season
(league games only) to 1,247. Today's following at Sunderland is
expected to be over 2,000 and will take the average over last
season's final average of 1,268.
Away followings have only been
accurately recorded since 2006 and the best season was in 2013-14
when an average of 1,603 followed City in the season they played home
games at Northampton. One of the most interesting aspects of the
figures are that in the six seasons spent in the Championship
(2006-12), the average was never over 1,000 but since relegation in
2012 the numbers have only once dipped below 1,000 – in the League
One relegation campaign in 2016-17. If the followings for the three
final league games are over 2,000 (and there is a good chance of
that) then the final average for this season will be the second
highest since records were kept.
The averages for the last 12 seasons
are as follows:
2006-07 935
2007-08 958
2008-09 852
2009-10 805
2010-11 786
2011-12 918
2012-13 1,150
2013-14 1,603
2014-15 1,002
2015-16 1,339
2016-17 806
2017-18 1,268
Anyone who thinks our away followings
are somehow special should reflect on the fact that the average away
followings of teams visiting the Ricoh is 1,231, just 16 short of
City's average. That average includes some pitifully small number of
fans by clubs such as Fleetwood (62), Rochdale (302) and Accrington
(303). Sunderland brought almost 5,000 fans and three clubs brought
over 2,000 (Luton, Oxford and Bristol Rovers).
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