Coventry City F.C.

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Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip. They currently play in the Coca-Cola Championship. They are currently managed by Micky Adams, who was appointed on January 21 2005 following the departure of Peter Reid.

Between 1967 and 2001, they were continuously members of the top division although they never finished higher than sixth. Their only major trophy came in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 to win the FA Cup.

Famous players to have worn a Sky Blue shirt include Steve Ogrizovic, Tommy Hutchinson, George Curtis, George Hudson, Willie Humphries, Ian Gibson, Ray Pointer, Colin Stein, Gerry Francis, Bill Glazier, Reg Mathews, Dave Clemments, Brian Kilcline, Dion Dublin, Gary McAllister, David Speedie, Robbie Keane, Craig Bellamy, John Andrews and Peter Ndlovu.

Famous managers to have taken charge of a Coventry side include Ron Atkinson, Gordon Strachan, Gary McAllister, Peter Reid, Phil Neal, Bobby Gould, Terry Butcher, John Sillett (manager of the 1987 F.A Cup winning side), Jimmy Hill and Jesse Carver.

Coventry City FA cup win against Spurs in 1987 and is still regarded as one of the best Cup finals of all time, if not the best Cup Final of all time.During the 2006 Liverpool vs West Ham United Cup Final the commentator mentioned that it was as nearly as good as the 1987 Cup Final.

From 1899 to 2005, Coventry City played at Highfield Road. During the 1980s it became the first all-seater stadium in English football, but by the end of the following decade the club's directors decided it was time to build a bigger stadium and chose on a site in the Foleshill area of the city. Their new home - The Ricoh Arena - was opened in August 2005.

History

Formation

When originally founded in 1883 by the employees of a cycle manufacturer, the club was known by the name of that company, Singers (a local firm). Ten years later, the club turned professional after a very successful season (1891-92) in which three separate cups were won (The Birmingham Cup, The Wednesbury Cup and The Walsall Cup). Local businessman David Cooke (later to become an infamous chairman) produced a 'Three Cups Tobacco' to celebrate the event. In 1898, the club was renamed Coventry City just prior to a move to new playing fields on the site of Highfield Road, the stadium they called home for the next 106 years. The club became a registered Limited Company in 1907 recording a capital of £2,000 in 5-shilling shares.

Coventry City were originally known as 'the Bantams' (a nickname shared with Bradford City before adopting their sky blue identity in the early 1960s. Coventry were first called the Bantams in December 1908 after the local newspaper noted that they were one of the few clubs who did not have a nickname. Being the lightweights of the Southern League, the Bantams was suggested and stuck with the press and supporters. (They remained as the 'Bantams' until the summer of 1962 when Jimmy Hill re-christened them the 'Sky Blues' and the club switched to an all sky blue kit.)

Rising to the top....

The club was elected to Football League Division Two immediately after the first world war. In the first season they found themselves second-from-bottom with only two games to play, both of which were against Bury FC. Coventry narrowly avoided relegation, drawing 2-2 at Bury and winning 2-1 at home, consigning Lincoln FC to relegation from the league. However, three years later in March 1923, an FA investigation concluded that 'an arrangement was made between Bury and Coventry City, allowing the latter to win'. The Coventry City chairman David Cooke, along with ten other officials, received a life ban from football.

In the same season Coventry City went eleven games (equivalent to 997 minutes of football) without scoring a single goal, a feat which is believed to still be a league record. In contrast, in April 1934 Coventry recorded their largest ever league victory, 9-0 against Bristol City FC. This tally included five goals from cult City striker Clarrie Bourton, who still holds the record for the number of goals scored in one season (50).

The introduction of a new continental-style all sky blue kit (making Coventry the first team to play in matching shorts and shirts) and the new nickname the 'Sky Blues' in 1962 was the start of a revolution at Coventry City, aided by investment by chairman Derrick Robins. They had won promotion from the Fourth Division in 1959 and, basking in the success of England's legendary win the 1966 World Cup, finished the 1966-67 season as Division Two Champions, under the management of Jimmy Hill.

Hill's revolutionary touch saw him introduce special sky blue trains to away matches, pre-game and half-time entertainment (pre-dating Sky Television by almost 30 years), supplied young fans with soft drinks and snacks, and even penned the club's signature anthem "The Sky Blue Song" (sung to the tune of the Eton Boating Song). Jimmy himself, riding a white horse, could often be seen dodging the young men employed to serve hot bovril to the fans from insulated backpacks, around the edge of the pitch. Controversially, Jimmy Hill resigned from the club on the eve of the team's First Division debut to move into a career in television.

.... And staying there

Coventry retained their First Division status at the end of the 1967-68 season and would continue to defy the odds as the seasons passed, finishing between 6th and 19th in the top division and sometimes avoiding relegation on the last day of the season when all hope seemed gone.

In 1970 Coventry scored one of the most famous goals in the history of the game. In their home game against Everton FC, City were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the Toffee's penalty area. Willie Carr proceeded to grip the ball between his ankles before flicking it up into the air behind him for Ernie Hunt to volley it over a bewildered Everton wall and into the top corner. Though the 'Donkey kick' was allowed to stand, the F.A. banned the technique on the grounds that it constituted a 'double-touch' of the ball. Aside from changing the laws of the game, the goal also won the Match of the Day 'Goal of the Season' competition.

Jimmy Hill returned as Managing Director in 1974 and continued to reform the game. In 1975 Derek Robins retired as chairman, emigrating to South Africa, to be replaced by Jimmy Hill. In 1981 he transformed Highfield Road into the country's first all-seater stadium under the slogan "You can't be a hooligan sitting down.". However, the idea backfired when away fans tore the seats out to use them as missiles. The terraces were reinstated and Hill left the club again a few years later. The stadium also gained the first electronic scoreboard, flashing in scores from around the country.

Coventry City have a reputation for 'innovative' kit designs. The club's chocolate brown 'egg timer' away shirt of the late '70's regularly tops polls for the worst kit in football league history, a fact that has since given it cult status in the game. It still stands as the only brown shirt in English football history. The club re-issued replicas of the shirts in 2000 in response to increased interest in vintage shirts.

The 1981-1982 season saw the club banned from wearing their home shirts during televised games. Under advertising regulations, teams were not permitted to display sponsors names on their shirts (this ban was lifted for the 1983-84 season). Coventry had just announced the football league's first club sponsorship deal, and so to work around the ban Jimmy Hill tried to have the club renamed 'Coventry Talbot' to highlight the partnership with the locally-based car manufacturer. When this failed he commissioned a club home shirt onto which the Talbot 'T' symbol was boldly integrated into the design, which was promptly banned for televised games.

FA Cup glory

In 1987 they won the FA Cup, luckily beating an impressive Tottenham Hotspur side 3-2 in the final after extra time, the score having been 2-2 after 90 minutes. It is commonly regarded as one of greatest finals of all time in terms of footballing technique, fair play and sheer excitement. (This also finally made obsolete the famous Monty Python 'World Forum' sketch, in which Coventry City's last FA Cup win is a trick question asked in a game show, as they hadn't won the Cup to that point.) But they were denied their chance to play in the European Cup Winners' Cup (they had played in the European Fairs Cup (later UEFA Cup), notably beating Bayern Munich (a team that included a young Franz Beckenbauer) at home 2-1, but losing on aggregate) because of the ban on English teams following the 1985 Heysel Disaster. Coventry City's youth team also won the FA Youth Cup in 1987 (beating Charlton Athletic 2-1) to secure a remarkable 'double'. Aside from Coventry, only Manchester United and Arsenal have ever won both the FA Cup and FA Youth Cup in the same season.

Key players in Coventry City's FA Cup winning team included goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic, defender and captain Brian Kilcline, midfielders Dave Bennett and Lloyd McGrath, and strikers Cyrille Regis and Keith Houchen, who scored the famous flying header. Their manager at the time was John Sillett. The following season's opening game, the Charity Shield against Everton, saw Sillett introduce his new signing David Speedie with the quote "For too long this club has shopped at Woolworth's, from now on we'll be shopping at Harrods." City lost 1-0. However, in 1988-89, he guided Coventry to the club's second best ever league finish of seventh place in the First Division - ahead of bigger and higher-spending clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Near misses

By 1990-91, Coventry's problems with league form returned and in November 1990 Sillett was sacked after five years in charge. He was replaced by Terry Butcher, the former England defender who was released from his contract with Rangers in a 350,000 deal. Butcher, aged 32, became player-manager and at the time was the youngest manager employed in English league football. However, he was sacked in January 1992 after just over one year in charge. Don Howe took over as interim manager until the end of the season. His replacement was West Bromwich Albion's Bobby Gould, who in 1988 had led Wimbledon to a famous FA Cup final triumph over Liverpool.

Coventry narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the 1991-92 season and the club took its place in the inaugural Premier League.

Life in the Premiership

Coventry seemed set for at least a top-10 finish as they entered 1993 following the arrival of high-scoring striker Micky Quinn, who ended the season as one of the Premiership's leading scorers with 17 goals. But a phase in late winter which saw six games pass without a goal counted against Coventry's fortunes and they slipped to 15th in the final table. Still, despite his ill-advised moustache and being more than slightly overweight, Micky 'Ferenc Puskas' Quinn was an idol for millions of football fans all over the world. In England he gave rise to the chant, "He's fat, he's round, he's worth a million pounds, Micky Quinn."

Coventry had a decent start to the 1993-94 season but Gould resigned just before Christmas and his successor Phil Neal secured an 11th place finish. The following February, with Coventry battling relegation for the first time in three years, Neal was sacked. Neal's demise at the club will always be linked to his appearance in the infamous Cutting Edge television documentary "The Impossible Job" (popularly known as "Do I Not Like That?"), which followed the England team's failure to qualify for the USA '94 World Cup. Neale was an assistant to Graham Taylor, the then England manager, and the astonishingly frank and darkly comic documentary cast Taylor, Neal and fellow assistant Lawrie McMenemy in an unattractive light.

Ron Atkinson, who had achieved managerial success with West Bromwich Albion, Manchester United, Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa, was appointed as the new Coventry City manager in February 1995. He brought in Leeds United midfielder Gordon Strachan as his long-term replacement, as well as drafting in Aston Villa midfielder Kevin Richardson as club captain. During the 1995-96 season City's Peter Ndlovu became the first visiting player in 33 years to score a hat-trick at Anfield. Atkinson steered Coventry to Premiership survival in 1995 and 1996 before he became Director of Football in November 1996 and Strachan took over as manager.

After losing their penultimate game of the 1996-97 Premiership campaign, it looked as though Coventry's long spell in the top flight was at an end. But thanks to a win away at Tottenham on the final day of the season, and both Middlesbrough and Sunderland losing, the Sky Blues pulled off probably the most remarkable survival act in the history of the Premiership. Their defeat in the penultimate game of the season would have relegated them had it not been for a 3-point deduction imposed on Middlesbrough for postponing a December fixture against Blackburn Rovers less than 24 hours before kick-off.

Strachan guided Coventry to 11th, 15th and 14th place finishes in the Premiership over the next three seasons. Their luck finally ran out on 5 May 2001 when a 3-2 defeat, ironically at the hands of arch-rivals Aston Villa, ended their 34-year stay in the top flight.

Life outside the Premiership

A boardroom takeover just after the 2001-02 season began resulted in the dismissal of Gordon Strachan as manager by the club's new owners, shortly after a 0-0 draw with local rivals Nottingham Forest F.C. in which the Forest team was reduced to nine men. He was replaced by 38-year-old team regular Roland Nilsson, who took on the role of player-manager. Nilsson was dismissed at the end of the season after failing to get Coventry into the play-offs. This was particularly disappointing for Coventry fans, as the club had been favourites to win the title at the start of the season. He was replaced by 37-year-old Gary McAllister, also a player-manager, who had been on the club's books from 1996 to 2000 before being transferred to Liverpool.

Midway through the 2002-03 season, McAllister's men still stood a good chance of making the Division One play-offs. But they won only one league game after the turn of 2003 and finished 20th in the final table - just two places above the relegation zone. Their form in 2003-04 was slightly better but McAllister left halfway through the season to spend time with his seriously ill wife. Assistant manager Eric Black took temporary charge and kept the club well clear of the drop zone and facilitated some excellent results. Just before the end of the season, he was replaced by former Sunderland manager Peter Reid. This decision proved a very unpopular one with the majority of the club's fans, as Black (who was popular and had been doing a good job with relatively limited resources) had been seen to have been ousted for a 'big name' whose management style was perceived as 'old school' and not fitting with the modern game. As a protest against the decision and gesture of support for Black, thousands of fans arranged to turn up to the final game of the season against Crystal Palace in black clothing. Reid caused further anger when he worked in Portugal for the BBC during the summer of 2004, when many felt he should have been scouting and trying to improve the stretched playing squad.

Reid lasted just eight months before the club's dismal league form led to his departure and left the club looking in real danger of relegation to League One. The club's board replaced Reid with former Leicester City manager Micky Adams. Adams helped the Sky Blues stay clear of the Championship drop zone in their final season at Highfield Road before relocating to a new 32,500-seat stadium at Foleshill (later named the Ricoh Arena as part of a sponsorship deal). As an ex-Coventry player from 1983 to 1986, Adams was a popular choice with fans as he had a genuine fondness for the club and preferred a more technical and Continental approach to playing than his predecessor.

In the 2005-6 season, Coventry City finished a respectable 8th in the Championship (missing out on the Premiership play-offs by only two league places), which represented good progress from the previous season's narrow escape from relegation. The next step for Micky Adams and his men will be a challenge for promotion to the Premiership. Adams has so far achieved three promotions in his management career (one each with Fulham, Brighton and Leicester) and will be looking to achieve the same success with the Sky Blues. Since the inception of Adams as manger, Coventry have been lauded for their attractive and innovative style of play in the Championship, which many pundits believe requires a stronger defence for the club to seriously compete for Premiership status.

During the 2005/06 campaign, as fans grew increasingly discontent at the lack of progress in the club, board members were replaced, and "The Three". These three, Paul Fletcher, Ken Sharp and Mal Brannigan, have contributed to the new sense of enthusiasm felt at the club. They have launched 'Operation Premiership', a 3-year plan to get Coventry back in the top league. To help achieve that they have brought in new investment and created initiatives such as 'True Sky Blue', which gives fans the chance to buy a seat for life. In turn, more money has been invested in the squad, allowing Adams to invest in a staggering 11 players before the start of the season. It has also got rid of the club's reputation as a 'selling club', with City no longer having to sell off their biggest talent in order to survive.

The planned crest update

On January 13 2005, the club touched off a controversy when it announced that the traditional badge would be replaced with an updated, more modern version. Fan reaction was swift and negative, and under pressure from supporters' groups the club cancelled plans to change the crest.

The Sky Blue Song

Original: Lets all sing together:Play up Sky Blues:While we sing together:We will never lose:Proud Posh or Cobblers :United or anyone:They Shan't defeat us :we'll fight til' the game is won!

Present: Lets all sing together:Play up Sky Blues:While we sing together:We will never lose:Tottenham or Chelsea:United or anyone:They Shan't defeat us :we'll fight til' the game is won!:City (clap, clap, clap) :repeat:

Stadium

106 years at Highfield Road

Coventry City began playing at Highfield Road stadium in 1899, although the club didn't buy the freehold to the site until 1937. This ground has an interesting history. In 1940 it was bombed. In 1968, the main stand burnt down. In 1981, Highfield Road was converted into England's first ever all-seater stadium with a capacity of just under 21,000. It has been gradually upgraded since then, with the final phase of work being completed in the mid 1990s. The final game played at the stadium was against Derby County F.C. on April 30 2005, with Coventry winning the game with a scintillating 6-2 scoreline. Fittingly, the final goal at Highfield Road was scored by the locally born youngster Andrew Whing. Other goals came from Trinidad and Tobago international Stern John, Dele Adebola, and another Coventry-born player Gary McSheffrey [1], who scored two of the goals. One of these was from a penalty given away by ex-City player Mo Konjic. This marked what was most certainly an end of an era for the club.

Relocation

For the 2005-06 season, Coventry City moved to the new 32,500 capacity Coventry Arena after 106 years at Highfield Road. In 1998, the club had decided that it was time to relocate to a new stadium in the Foleshill area of the city. The original plan was for a 40,000-seater, multi-purpose stadium with removable pitch and retractable roof. It was due to be ready for the 2001-02 season. However, relegation, financial problems and England's failure to secure the 2006 World Cup competition led to a radical redesign. Despite initiating the project and being the principal attraction there, Coventry City's financial situation means that they no longer own the stadium and must pay rent to use it.

Sponsorship

The stadium naming rights were originally sold to Jaguar Cars which has strong links with Coventry. Jaguar Cars pulled out of the project on December 16 2004 and a new major sponsor was needed. A £10 million deal, which included naming rights, was signed and electronics manufacturer Ricoh became the new chief sponsor for the stadium. The project was funded largely by Coventry City council & the Alan Edward Higgs Charity, and includes shopping facilities, a casino, exhibition halls and a concert venue.

Opening game

At the beginning of the 2005-06 season, construction delays at the ground forced Coventry City to play their first three games of the season away and postpone their home games. On Saturday 20th August 2005, City hosted Queens Park Rangers F.C. in the first-ever game at the Ricoh Arena. Coventry won the game 3-0, the very first goal at the Ricoh Arena being scored by Claus Jorgensen, with an 11th-minute diving header. Dele Adebola then added two more for the Sky Blues to cap an impressive victory.

The new stadium's records

The Ricoh Arena's highest attendance at this current time is 28,120 for the game against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on 28 January 2006 which ended in a 1-1 draw, Stern John scoring for Coventry to cancel out Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's opener for the visitors. The highest league attendance is 26,851 for the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 2 2006 in the Coca-Cola Championship which was won 2-0 thanks to goals from James Scowcroft and an own goal from Joleon Lescott. The highest score at the Ricoh Arena was against Derby County on 21 January 2006, a 6-1 victory for Coventry.

End of the new stadium's first term

The final game of the season was against Cardiff City. Despite a good first half from the Bluebirds the 3-1 result capped a successful season at the new Ricoh Arena. Over the season Coventry won 12, drew seven and lost only four games at their new stadium. However, there has been a set back for the Ricoh Arena with a request to build a super-casino being rejected. A smaller casino will still be built, to be located underneath the pitch.

Current squad

(on loan from Celtic)

Club Honours

*FA Cup Winners (1986-87)
*FA Youth Cup Winners (1986-87)
*Second Division Champions (1966-67)
*Third Division Champions (1963-64)
*Third Division (S) Champions (1935-36)
*Fourth Division Runners-up (1958-59)

Competition best-placings

*UEFA Cup (European Fairs Cup) : Second round (1970-1971) lost 7-3 on aggregate to Bayern Munich
*League Cup : Semi-finalists (1981,1990)
*Charity Shield : Runners-up (1987)

Famous players

See also List of Coventry City F.C. players
*Micky Adams (current manager)
*John Aloisi - current Australia player
*Stern John - Trinidad and Tobago international
*David Busst - victim of compound fracture against Manchester United
*Dion Dublin - former Celtic F.C. player
*Mustapha Hadji
*John Hartson - Celtic F.C. and Wales
*Magnus Hedman - former Swedish international
*Keith Houchen
*Darren Huckerby - Norwich City striker
*Stephen Hughes
*Steve Hunt
*Tommy Hutchinson
*Don Hutchison
*Cobi Jones
*Robbie Keane - Tottenham Hotspur and Republic of Ireland striker
*Chris Kirkland - former Liverpool F.C. goalkeeper
*Muhamed Konjic - Bosnia and Herzegovina international
*Gary McAllister - Scotland international
*Lloyd McGrath
*Roland Nilsson
*Peter Ndlovu - African striker
*Steve Ogrizovic
*Stuart Pearce - Manchester City manager and former England defender.
*Micky Quinn
*Cyrille Regis
*Kevin Richardson
*David Speedie
*Steve Staunton - Republic of Ireland manager.
*Gordon Strachan - Celtic F.C. manager
*Ian St. John
*David Thompson
*Ian Wallace
*Dennis Wise - Swindon Town manager and four times FA Cup finalist.
*Terry Yorath

Famous Fans

*Richard Keys - Sky Sports News Presenter
*Eddie Jordan - F1 Boss

Trivia

*Highfield Road's conversion to the first English all seater stadium caused attendances to drop by 8,000.
*In the Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch "Communist Quiz", Coventry City is part of the question "When did Coventry City last win the FA Cup?". Answer is that they've never won it.

References

# Announcement of the club's new badge from icCoventry.co.uk# Fan reaction to the proposed new badge (icCoventry.co.uk)

Coventry City F.C.: Encyclopedia BETA

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