Jim's column 24.11.2018

Coventry City have a history of developing young talent and blooding them in the first team that stretches back to before World War Two. Harry Storer, City's legendary manager in the 1930s gave Second Division debuts to teenagers such as Ted Roberts, Plum Warner, Ellis Lager and George Mason. In the 1960s Jimmy Hill had faith in youngsters like Bobby Gould, Ronnie Rees and Mick Coop before a glut of kids came through under Noel Cantwell - the team that reached the 1970 Youth Cup final spawned eight first teamers, all of them making their debuts as teenagers. It has continued almost non-stop ever since with few barren periods where the club had to rely on the transfer market. Last week Mark Robins put out a first team at Cheltenham in the Football League Trophy that was the youngest starting XI in the club's history. The average age of the team that took the field was 21 years and 33 days, 25 days less than the previous record set at Maine Road in 1980.

The team comprised of: O'Brien (26), Grimmer (24), Mason (21), Eccles (18), Williams (19), Thompson (19), Jones (21), Bayliss (19), Bakayoko (22), Ngandu (17), Shipley (21). When the first substitute Sam McCallum (18) came on the average age dropped to 20 years 301 days and when Jack Burroughs (17) came on for Tom Bayliss it dropped even further, to 20 years 236 days. The final substitution – Jak Hickman (18) for Johnny Ngandu – pushed the average up a shade. Some people will argue that it was a meaningless game in a fairly meaningless competition but it still qualifies as a competitive first team game. Congo-born Ngandu meanwhile became the sixth youngest player to start a first team game. He was only 19 days past his seventeenth birthday and slots into the top ten.

1. Brian Hill (April 1958) 16 years 273 days
2. Isaac Osbourne (April 2003) 16 years 308 days
3. Perry Suckling (August 1982) 16 years 320 days
4. George Curtis (April 1956) 16 years 351 days
5. Dietmar Bruck (April 1961) 17 years 9 days
6. Johnny Ngandu (November 2018) 17 years 19 days
7. Colin Holder (April 1962) 17 years 73 days
8. Conor Thomas (Jan 2011) 17 years 92 days
9. Lol Harvey (Nov 1951)  17 years 101 days
10. Bobby Parker (March 1970) 17 years 137 days

                                                                 Johnny Ngandu 

Going back to 1980, Gordon Milne was reaping the benefit of many years of the club investing in youth and luring some of the country's best talent to Coventry. The young team would go on to reach the League Cup semi final and only lose out on a trip to Wembley by virtue of a late West Ham goal in the semi final second leg. The team that Milne put out at Maine Road was: Les Sealey (23), Steve Jacobs (19), Brian Roberts (25), Andy Blair (20), Paul Dyson (20), Gary Gillespie (20), Peter Bodak (19), Garry Thompson (21), Mark Hateley (19), Danny Thomas (19), Steve Hunt (24). Nine homegrown players plus Gillespie who was signed as a 17-year old.

Many thanks to Geoff Moore for his statistical help.

Keith Ballantyne regularly asks interesting questions and was recently struck by the somewhat unusual occurrence of a player scoring, and then finding himself in goal a couple of minutes later - the game in question being Ipswich v Preston, and the player being Paul Gallagher after the Preston goalkeeper received a red card, all substitutes having been used.

He wanted to know whether this unique honour has ever fallen to a City player. He recalled David Speedie going in goal for Oggy during a 4-1 defeat at Millwall in 1989, but it was David Smith who scored for City on that occasion. With the advent of multiple substitutions and the almost universal inclusion of goalkeeping substitutes it is very uncommon these days to find an outfield player going 'between the sticks'. I was able to tell him that no City player has scored a goal and then donned the goalkeeper's jersey. The nearest incident to this occurred in 1958 in a home game with Aldershot. City goalkeeper Jim Sanders broke his leg and full-back and captain Roy Kirk went into goal for the last half an hour. With six minutes left and City winning 7-1 they were awarded a penalty. Kirk raced from his goal to the other end to take the penalty but blasted it over the bar.

Next week I'll tell you about other outfield players who went in goal for City.

Keith's other question is regarding goalkeepers who have scored for and against City. He remembers, only too well that Oggy scored against Martin Hodge and Sheffield Wednesday in a 2-2 draw at Hillsborough in 1986 as he was at that game but he seems to remember that another keeper did the same to Oggy some years later, and Watford came to his mind as the offending side, but he's not really sure.

It was Watford Keith and a goalkeeper called Steve Sherwood. In January 1984 City entertained the Hornets, then managed by Graham Taylor. It was a very windy day at Highfield Road and Sherwood's long punt bounced on the edge of the City penalty area. City's goalkeeper, Raddy Avramovic and Watford's Nigel Callaghan challenged for the ball but the Yugoslav 'keeper missed his punch and the ball ended up in the City net. Watford went on to win 2-1. I'm not aware of any other goals scored by goalkeepers in City games.

Jim's column 13.4.13

Young Ryan Haynes made a steady debut for the Sky Blues last Saturday in the 1-1 draw with Brentford. Born on 25 September 1995, the Northampton-born full-back was 17 years & 191 days old & many fans wondered where he comes in the list of youngest City debutants. He doesn't make the all-time top ten youngest but is the third youngest to make a full debut (i.e. starting a game) since we left the Premiership in 2001. Numerous younger players have made their debuts as substitutes in that time including Ben Mackey, Jordan Willis & Jonson Clark-Harris, the latter being the youngest ever at 16 years & 20 days, but only Isaac Osbourne & Conor Thomas were younger than Ryan when they made their full debut.

Isaac Osbourne was 16 years & 308 days old when he started his first game in a 0-0 draw against Gillingham in April 2003. He went on to make over 120 appearances in an injury interrupted career for the club. He has been at Aberdeen for the last two years but has suffered more injuries restricting his appearances for the Dons to 42 in that time but he did net his first ever goal in senior football this season.

Conor Thomas was 17 years & 92 days old when he started his first game for the Sky Blues, an FA Cup tie at St Andrews in January 2011. Earlier that month Conor had been a substitute in an earlier cup-tie against Crystal Palace. Days after making his first start he went on loan to Liverpool with a view to a permanent move. Things didn't work out however and Thomas moved back to Coventry later that season.

Going back to Ryan Haynes, he is the youngest full-back to don a City shirt since the great George Curtis made his first start in April 1956 as a left-back at Newport County. George, who switched to centre-half in 1958,  was 16 years & 351 days, and went on to make x appearances for the club.

The top ten youngest full debutants is:

1. Brian Hill (April 1958) 16 years 273 days

2. Isaac Osbourne (April 2003) 16 years 308 days

3. Perry Suckling (August 1982) 16 years 320 days

4. George Curtis (April 1956) 16 years 351 days

5. Dietmar Bruck (April 1961) 17 years 9 days

6. Colin Holder (April 1962) 17 years 73 days

7. Conor Thomas (Jan 2011) 17 years 92 days

8. Lol Harvey (Nov 1951)  17 years 101 days

9. Bobby Parker (March 1970) 17 years 137 days

10. Bobby Gould (October 1963) 17 years 140 days

Coincidentally Colin Holder was at the Brentford game, his first visit to the Ricoh & the first City game he had been to for many years.

In the programme for the recent Bury away game a local writer did an interesting article about Dan, Dan, the Rhyming Man, a poet who featured in the City programmes in the late 1950s & early 1960s. I had completely forgotten about the witty poems of Dan & thought I would dig out a few for this week's column. 

The first poem of Dan's I can find was in the home programme versus Southend United on 26 October 1957 soon after Billy Frith had returned to the club as manager following the departure of Harry Warren. Tucked away near the back of the 12-page programme is a two line poem with a clever reference to the club's nickname at the time (the Bantams) and new boss Frith. I believe it was Dan's first appearance in a match programme:

My opening rhyme is short and pithy.

Up the Bants, and well done Frithy.

For the next league game Dan had expanded to four lines & made reference to a floodlit friendly victory against Partick Thistle:

The floodlight game with Partick Thistle

Stopped every pessimistic whistle,

Repeat the dose, let the League heads roll,

And make a one-way route to goal.

From 1957 to 1961 Dan graced the pages of the City programme. I had a theory that Billy Frith and Dan were one and the same. Beyond the fun there was something rather school masterly about the poems, with references to history, geography & literature, and in the years between his two spells as City manager, between 1948 & 1957, Billy had been a schoolteacher and risen to the post of head of a local school. I contacted Billy's son John who was adamant that Dan wasn't a nom de plume of his father.

By 1960 Dan's poems had further expanded to six and sometimes eight lines and the Bury programme featured a classic from the City v Bury programme 1960:

In Bell Green and Barnsley, Binley and Brighton

Some call our guests 'Burry' though 'Berry's' the right'un

But why should we bother if diction's in doubt

Provided the Bantams can cancel them out.

So let's silence the grumblers, the old belly-achers

By extracting two points from this team called the 'Shakers'

If anyone can shed any light as to the identity of Dan please contact me as I would love to know.