The Season So Far

It’s been a somewhat unpredictable start so far for Andy Thorn’s Sky Blue Army. The games they would have expected to lose, they have taken points from and games where they were expected to do well they have struggled. Take the last three games as a prime example. A home tie against high flying Derby County, sandwiched between two away games against Middlesbrough and Ipswich. Out of the three, you would be excused for saying that the Ipswich game was the sides best chance of picking up points. They’ve had a poor start to the season which saw them concede 12 goals in just two games, whereas both Middlesbrough and Derby had started impressively in comparison. An excellent draw at The Riverside was followed by a 2-0 victory live on Sky Sports at The Ricoh Arena. Four points then from two games where they wouldn’t have been expected to pick up anything. Next up was the seemingly easier tie. Sitting in 18th position in the table, Ipswich were just one spot and one point ahead. Ipswich won 3-0 in a very open but ultimately comfortable game for the home side. Coventry did give the hosts a scare or two, threatening to get back into the game a number of times before striker Jason Scotland killed the game with the third and final goal.

After seven games then, my hometown club Coventry City sit roughly where they had been predicted to sit at the beginning of the season, near the bottom. Sitting 21st we are one of five teams on five points before reaching the basement club Doncaster who currently have just the one. This time last season we were in 11th place with a total of 11 points, but a year is a long time in football. Since then we have had a managerial change, flirted with administration and lost a whole host of players including the spine of our side. Goalkeeper Kieren Westwood, centre back Ben Turner, midfielder Aron Gunnarsson and striker Marlon King have all left the club. Replacements have been brought in, but they are simply not good enough to fill the void of the departed players. As for the managerial change, I think most fans would agree that Aidy Boothroyd needed to go. One win in 16 games took us from the top six to the bottom half of the table and the majority of fans have more confidence in current manager Andy Thorn than they did in Boothroyd. And as for the administration threats, you can take a look at my previous posts to see exactly what I think of our current owners and the way that they are running our club.

As a fan of the club, pre season was a little depressing with plenty of outgoing activity and little incoming. As previously mentioned above, we originally lost three of last seasons most important players – Turner’s departure coming later on in the window – with the only purchased replacement coming in the shape of goalkeepers Joe Murphy and Chris Dunn. Murphy was signed as a direct replacement for Westwood, a stopper who had just been relegated with Scunthorpe to replace an Irish international  destined for the Premiership. Not much of a replacement. The rumour mill was going strong as the end of the transfer window drew close. More than anything we desperately needed a striker, so talk of Adam Le Fondre, Cody McDonald and Ryan Lowe all being linked with the club raised the hopes of a city. The thought of Jon Parkin arriving however, didn’t quite get the same reception. A target man was something we already had, what we needed was a goalscorer, on thing that Parkin’s CV didn’t contain. Originally, the Parkin transfer was said to be part of the deal taking Ben Turner to Cardiff. Thankfully it turned out to be a one way deal, with the price thought to be somewhere around £750,000 to £1,000,000. The move was met with mixed reactions from Coventry fans. In the past Turner had been prone to costly mistakes and has often looked clumsy, but last season he was superb, by far our best centre back. Not far into the season though he got injured and hasn’t played since. To get good money for a player that hasn’t played for so long is a good deal in my opinion. And with the money, we signed Cody McDonald from Norwich. On loan last season at Gillingham, McDonald scored 25 goals so he has got an eye for goal although it remains to be seen whether he can do it at a higher level. A certain Andy Morrell springs to mind. As with Turner, the transfer fee for the deal involving McDonald was declared as “an undisclosed fee” thought to be around £500,000 to £750,000. Undisclosed fee really disappoints me. In a world of transparent financial accounts, why do so many transfer fees remain secret? Anyway, if the rumours as to the fee for McDonald are correct, we could have got both Le Fondre and Lowe for the same fee. Wages a problem maybe?

Sisu were strongly criticised for their transfer policies during the pre season, but if the money wasn’t there then they couldn’t have spent it. Remember that three of the four star players that left the club did so on free transfers, with the only income coming from the Ben Turner deal. Would it have been a wise decision to spend money that wasn’t there? Risk administration again? However, they did come out publicly and say that we would have the same transfer budget as we did last season, which we clearly never did. Why lie!

So, with the majority of our stars leaving the club, and with no money to bring in new stars, Thorn has been forced to turn to youth. And with youth comes naivety, inexperience and inconsistency which explains the up and down start to the season. Cyrus Christie looks excellent at right back and [soon to be] 18 year old Gael Bigirimana has put in some impressive performances in midfield. The elder players who should be showing the youngsters the way though, have not been so impressive. David Bell and Gary McSheffrey have in particular been poor. Maybe it’s down to the fact that both are naturally wide men which doesn’t fit in with Thorn’s new, narrow diamond formation. Despite an excellent finish against Derby, Carl Baker hasn‘t had the best of starts either. Baker I am still not sure on. He has quick feet and can get round his defender, but has no pace to leave him behind, something that is really lacking in his game. Up top Lukas Jutkiewicz has played well but he’s not a goalscorer. Of the three goals he has scored so far, one has been a penalty, one just hit him and went in and the other was a tap in. He’s not going to break the back line and finish a one on one with the goalkeeper, he is a worker, a target man. Hopefully that is where McDonald fits in, providing the predatory instinct to go with Jutkiewicz’s work rate. He got in the right positions against Ipswich but lacked maybe a bit of match practice, fumbling each of his chances before being brought off for another striker I am really not impressed with, Roy O’Donovan.

It’s a long season and we’re only seven games into it so there’s plenty of time for Coventry to turn it around. I am not worried by our start, as long as we don’t fall too far behind the others then I won’t pay a great deal of attention to the league table until Christmas. In the meantime I just hope that we can keep our thin squad fit and score a few goals.

2011
10/03
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Coventry Trivia

Name the four current Premiership strikers who have previously played for the Sky Blues

2011
09/27
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Derby Game Protests

So, Coventry fans plan to protest against the owners of our club live on Sky Sports on Saturday evening before and after the live game against Derby. With the program starting just 10 minutes before the game kicks off, and ending around 15 minutes once it’s finished, are we really going to get the live coverage we are after? Even if we did get on the tv, it won’t be much airtime.

The best way then? During the game. Protest before and after the game and we MIGHT get on television. Protest during, and the Sky cameras can’t possibly avoid us. Start at the first whistle, chants of “we want SISU out” and it will be broadcast on live tv. They won’t be able to avoid us!
2011
09/08
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Bring On The Hoff

During my time as a Coventry City fan, the club have never been far away from disaster. To begin with, it was relegation from the Premier League. One of the longest serving clubs in the English top flight, each season it seemed we would end up in a relegation scrap, a number of times surviving the drop on the final day of the season. After 34 years at the top we finally fell through the trap door in 2001, losing to our fiercest rivals Aston Villa on the final day of the season to see us relegated to Division One. With relegation comes the inevitable financial problems. Premiership parachute payments help but they don’t last forever, and if you don’t get back there quick then you really are going to struggle. Players were brought in for peanuts and sold for millions, but we were still always in trouble. Where were those millions going? To pay off the debts we were told. Our debts it seemed, were endless.

The move from our old stadium into the new, state of the art Ricoh Arena you would have thought would change all that. But with half of the stadium belonging to the Coventry City council and the other half belonging to the Alan Higgs trust, the club weren’t – and still aren’t – making any money whatsoever from the superb site and it’s facilities. With wages to pay and no real source of major income, it was inevitable that the clubs ongoing financial problems would eventually hit rock bottom, and sure enough it did. The club were given a deadline to prove their solvency, with a consortium led by former footballer Ray Ranson coming in just hours before that deadline to save the club from administration late in 2007. Sisu Capital – a privately owned hedge fund sponsor based in London – were the company behind the takeover, coming in with Ranson as the chairman and promising brighter times ahead for the club. All was good it seemed.

Three and a half years later and all is not good. During their reign we have seen a total of four managers, two realistic possibilities of relegation, another administration scare and a highest finish of 17th. But it’s really been over the past 18 months or so which has really seen the Sky Blues faithful turn against the owners of our club. It is clear they aren’t taking the club anywhere and although I am sure they are just trying to run a business, some of their policies reflect badly on themselves, making it seem that they don’t care at all for the club and the only reason they are here is to line their own pockets.

Take a look at the recent administration scare for example. Sisu had to pump an alleged £8m into the club to keep us from receiving the 10 point penalty, but it later emerged that £5m of that came from the sale of the Ray Ranson founded sports performance analysis company Prozone, whilst they also took out a £1m mortgage on the clubs Ryton training ground so just how much money did they actually invest?

Then there is their transfer policies. Players that really could have seen the club forward were sold for next to nothing, and more importantly replacements weren’t brought in. Danny Fox and Scott Dann were the first two to go, citing a resignation letter from Ray Ranson based on the clubs negative transfer policies. The resignation was rejected although Ranson did eventually leave the club earlier this year. The trio of losses at the end of last season was also a massive disappointment. I can understand only offering Marlon King a one year deal due to the circumstances at the time, but why was Aron Gunnarsson and Kieren Westwood not tied into a new contract early on? Why was it left until after the season had finished before any new deals were offered. That’s three players that we will desperately miss this season, and it could have so easily have been avoided. Another sign of their poor transfer policy emerged in April, when it came out that Coventry were offered the opportunity to buy Jack Cork, Jordan Henderson and none other than Andy Carroll for a combined fee of less than £5m. With all three having recently been transferred, their current worth is more than £55m. Hindsight, lack of an eye for a player or just plain stupidity, I shall let you decide. The final straw for many was the January outward loan deal for one of the clubs biggest prospects, Connor Thomas. An England U17 international, Thomas had made just the one first team start when he was shipped out to Liverpool with a view to a permanent deal at the end of the season. That deal never materialised, but the original loan saw the resignation of one of Coventry’s most respected board members, followed by the chairman Ranson not so long after. The board member that resigned that day is a man called Gary Hoffman, a lifelong Coventry fan who had been a director of the club since March 2008. Not willing to see the club dive any further, Hoffman set about getting a consortium together to take over the club.

So who is Hoffman, and is he right for the club? A Cambridge university graduate, he joined Barclays bank at the age of 22, gradually making his way up the ladder, eventually becoming chief executive of the Barclaycard side of the company. In 2005 the head of Barclay’s banking division Roger Davis stepped down from his role, with Hoffman taking charge of the company, becoming the chairman of the UK’s third biggest banking group. Following a move down to vice-chairman in 2006, Hoffman was offered the daunting task of turning Northern Rock around after it’s spectacular collapse. They needed someone to come in with experience, someone who could make the relevant cuts, turn around the debts and that’s exactly what Hoffman did, eventually overseeing the split of the company into two separate businesses – banking and assets – before leaving the company in November of last year. He was set to receive a “golden goodbye” of £500,000 from the banking group, but waived that after media criticism.

On June 28 2011, Hoffman made an official bid to buy Coventry City. The alleged offer included a £1 fee to take control of the club, with future payments to Sisu Capital based on financial and on-pitch results. The consortium also had plans to buy half of the Ricoh Arena, something that is much needed for the club to go forward. The members of Hoffman’s consortium still remain a mystery however, although it would appear that fellow life-long fan Joe Elliott is among the potential investors. Shortly before the proposed bid was leaked, it emerged that Elliott had been suspended from his life presidency role by the club, due to his involvement in assisting Hoffman with a potential takeover of the club. Making his fortune from his motor stores, Elliott has already invested a large amount of his own cash into the club, and I for one would welcome any consortium that includes him on the panel.

Suited and booted, Hoffman and Elliott mixed with the away fans at St Andrews in the recent league game against Birmingham City. Along with them, were a number of other high profile looking gentlemen. Potential investors? Let’s hope so, although the result of the game would hardly have given them confidence in throwing their money at the club. One thing we have to be careful of, is what interest do these other investors have in owning a share in Coventry City football club. We know Hoffman and Elliott are fans, but what of the rest, are they just looking to line their own pockets or are they genuinely interested in the club?

Something that I quite often say is that players, managers and owners come and go, but the fans of a club will always be there supporting their club through thick and thin. But what happens when you get a club fan in charge of everyday affairs, and another fan in charge of the team? Surely that can only lead to positive results, on and off the pitch. The time has come for SISU to get out of our club, let someone else take charge who actually has a personal interest, someone with a wealth of experience in running a troubled business. We want SISU out, bring in the Hoff.

2011
08/19
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Highfield Road – Gone But Not Forgotten

It was dubbed the “end of an era.” An era that had spanned 106 years. An era that started on 9 September 1899 in a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town in front of 3,000 spectators and ended on 30 April 2005 in a 6-2 victory against Midland rivals Derby County in front of 22,728 fans. For 106 years Coventry City had called Highfield Road their home, before moving into the state of the art Ricoh Arena at the start of the 2006/07 season.

Built in a residential area just outside the City Centre on part of what was then the Craven Cricket Club, Coventry’s old home has seen it all, not least the 1940 Coventry blitz in which surprisingly nothing but the pitch was destroyed by the German bombers. Football wise it’s darkest day came in 1952 when the side were relegated into the old Division Three, the lowest level the club have ever played at. Enter Jimmy Hill. Now a legend of the club – a statue of the former manager and chairman is due to be unveiled outside the Ricoh Arena in the coming weeks – the unmistakable figure took charge in 1961, setting about rebuilding the stadium as well as the team. Inside three years, the stadium had a new stand and a new league, gaining promotion to Division Two. Just two years later and Hill had won promotion again, reaching the lofty heights of Division One and setting a new record attendance for Highfield Road in the process when 51,455 turned up to see the local derby against Wolves.

Hill resigned as manager before the next season, so never got to manage the club in the top flight but he did return as a managing director and then as the clubs chairman in 1967. During his reign, Coventry’s Highfield Road became the first all-seater stadium in England in 1981, although the total capacity was reduced by 15,900 seats in the process. Proving an unpopular decision with the fans of the club, it was almost welcomed when – just months after becoming all-seated -  Leeds United fans tore out several hundred seats in an act of hooliganism, turning the Kop into a terrace once more. In 1993 the team played in a three-sided stadium as a new East Stand was built in time for the 1994/95 season, meeting the new laws that all top division clubs in England must have an all-seater stadium.

My first personal experience of the old ground came in the early 90’s, when Coventry replayed their 1987 FA Cup Final triumph against Tottenham in a testimonial for former player and manager John Sillett. I really can’t remember much about the game, least of all the result, being not much older than five or six at the time. The first memorable one came in 1995, when my Father took me to a game against Blackburn Rovers. I was a fan of Blackburn at the time, more than likely for glory reasons – as most young kids tend to be – having seen Alan Shearer and co lift the Premiership title the season previously. Earlier on in the season, Blackburn had beaten the Sky Blues 5-1, so there wasn’t much optimism in the ground on a snowy Saturday afternoon. Surprising everyone, Coventry won 5-0, and that was the day that I started my long, but ultimately disappointing, love affair with my home town club. I also featured on Match Of The Day highlights that day, sitting just to the left of the goal at the East end of the stadium.

My Highfield Road visits were few and far between, never having a season ticket and only getting to see the odd game here and there. Being so young I had to rely on others to take me, but my best memory of the ground will always be that 5-0 drubbing of the champions.

That final game at the end of the 2005 season was an emotional one. I wasn’t at the game personally, but those that were there tell the tales of tears, ripping out seats as souvenirs and invading the pitch to get your own piece of Highfield road turf. 106 years of history, knocked down quicker than you could say “I’m going to miss this place,” and turned into yet another housing estate. The bigger, better Ricoh Arena to take it’s place, but it’s never been quite the same. The old cliché of “they don’t make them like they used to” can definitely be applied to football grounds. The character and atmosphere-generating grounds of old have been replaced by architectural magnificence and corporate facilities. Football grounds no longer cater for the everyday fan, but instead for those who bring the most money to the turnstiles.

2011
08/17
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Striker Problems And Positives

Not the greatest of season starts then for Coventry City. An opening day 1-0 loss to Leicester followed by a humiliating Carling Cup exit away at Bury was not the way Andy Thorn was hoping to start his first full campaign in charge. Two games, two losses and just the one goal scored.

The worst thing is, I just can’t see where any goals are going to come from. Jutkiewicz looks a better player now than when he first joined us at the start of last season, but I personally don’t think he is a number 9, a goal scorer. He seems more of a target man, someone to hold the ball up and to work in and around another striker, but a goal getter? I don’t think so. Then there’s Freddie Eastwood. An excellent footballer at Championship level, it’s his work rate that really lets him down. He scored a number of goals after the Christmas period last season and I really like him as a footballer, his technique, touch and vision is something that most sides in our division crave, but it’s just that lazy mentality that separates him from a decent player to a real quality one. His lack of effort to chase down defenders and lack of movement in and around the box is making me frustrated. Another striker on the books that we can cross of the list for a 20 goals per season striker.

Clive Platt. I don’t think I really need to say anymore. I hope the only reason we kept him at the club for this season is so we aren’t so thin when it comes to injuries because I fail to see exactly what he offers the team. An aerial presence yes, but when you’re playing the ball around on the floor, he is rendered useless. Then there is the mysterious figure of Roy O’Donovan. After scoring a number of goals during pre season, he made the bold statement of insisting he could fill the goal scoring void left by the departure of Marlon King. Too bold! Given 10-15 minutes in the game against Leicester, he was always going to struggle to make an impact, although he did get booked in injury time. He started the midweek game against Bury and put the ball in the net twice – one was ruled out for offside – and although both were from close range, with our lack of striking options at the minute, he must surely have put himself in Thorn’s mind for Saturday’s derby against Birmingham. What we really need though, is someone new in, someone fresh. Adam Le Fondre maybe. We are said to be among a number of clubs interested in the Rotherham United forward, and I think it could be a good move for us. If someone can persuade SISU to part with the £500k asking price, we will be getting someone who can certainly put the ball in the back of the net. 50 goals in 92 appearances is an excellent return in two seasons. Can he make the step up to the Championship? There’s only one way to find out.

Back to the results and the league, being a Coventry City fan I have learned to look at the positives, no matter how small they are. And one we can take from the opening weekend of the season is the fact that we are relegation favourites, and the side we were playing are promotion favourites and we only lost 1-0. We weren’t played off the park, their umpteen new players didn’t look any more special than what we did. We played the ball well and created a few chances ourselves before eventually losing to a set piece goal. If they are tipped to go up and we are tipped to go down, then there really isn’t much difference between the top and the bottom, and we can really take something from that. Roll on Birmingham…

2011
08/11
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A Frustrating Pre Season So Far

Three out of three would have been unimaginable. Two out of three would have been a great achievement. One out of three would have been expected. But the fact that none of the three out of contract stars signed new deals at Coventry is well, disappointing.

I think the majority of fans expected goalkeeper Kieren Westwood to leave, with so many Premiership clubs said to be interested. In the end his destination was Sunderland, signing a deal worth a reported £30,000 per week. You don’t pay that sort of money to a number 2 goalkeeper so good luck to him, he always gave it his all for the club. Marlon King was another that most expected to leave. He was far and away our best player last term and we was always going to struggle to keep him. The way in which he left however, was poor and left a sour taste in the mouth. The third was Aron Gunnarsson. The good midfielder he was, no one really expected him to attract a Premiership club, and after being at the club for three years, I hoped he would reward the club with the same loyalty that we have shown him ever since he joined us from Dutch side AZ. Silly me, forgetting that loyalty no longer exists in football. Nonetheless, I won’t be bitter about it, and I wish him the best of luck in his new job at Cardiff City.

What is worrying is the lack of replacements. Ok, so we’ve replaced Westwood with ex Scunthorpe goalkeeper Joe Murphy which is a huge relief in itself, but aside from that there has been no transfer activity what so ever at the Ricoh Arena this pre season. There hasn’t even been all that much talk with rumours being scarce and limited to the odd player here and there which Thorn and the board have been quick to quell. First of all we had the young Nigerian international Stephen Sunday, a man Andy Thorn went out to Spain to watch play but we’ve heard nothing since so it seems safe to say that he won’t be coming to Coventry. Shame that one, as looking at the You Tube videos of the former Spain youth international, he looked a good player. Solid in the tackle, he rarely gave the ball away. Something which we could really do with now, particularly with the departure of Gunnarsson, although I imagine a You Tube compilation wouldn’t show any of his weaknesses.

Anyway, next up on the speculative list was the out of contract Kevin Phillips. A natural goal scorer, there’s no doubt that he would have brought something to the team. A replacement for Marlon King? Probably not. At 37 years old his game is limited. Sure, give him a few chances in and around the box and he’ll stick one away, but he needs the chances created for him and for that you need some players capable of actually creating things in your ranks. At the current time, Coventry don’t have that so I think it was a good idea to pass on that one. The former England international eventually ended up at Blackpool. Aside from those two – and the two goalkeepers we’ve signed – the only other rumours we’ve heard are about potential loan signings from the Premier League although no names have been mentioned yet. Last season we was the only team in the Championship without a loanee in the squad, so the thought of us getting a couple in this term is encouraging. Getting a quality loanee from the tier above can turn an average season into a good one, although based on past experiences on borrowed players at Coventry, forgive me for being a little pessimistic.

If nothing happens soon then we will be looking at the current squad for replacements with Gary Deegan and Lukas Jutkiewicz the obvious like-for-likes. I’ve not really seen enough of Deegan to say whether he is as good as Gunnarsson as he has suffered badly from injuries since joining us, but from what I have seen he seems more of a central midfield battle dog rather than the attacking point in a midfield diamond which is what Thorn is hoping to get from him. I’m open to a change of mind though. As for Jutkiewicz, I really don’t think he has the same amount of goals in him as King did. In 38 games last season he only managed 9 goals, 3 of which came from the penalty spot. Thorn has said the English – yes, he was born in England – striker can step up and fill the void left by the departed King, but I am rather sceptical.

I am hoping the lack of transfer activity is down to the pending take over bid by the Gary Hoffman consortium, but more on that in a later post.

What we really need is a creative midfielder, a decent winger or two that can cross a ball and a true goal scorer. We will see them come in before the all important opener against Leicester though?

2011
07/15
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Early Season Priorities

For the fans, it couldn’t have got much better. Two fierce local derbies to kick off the new season. Leicester at home in the M69 derby on the opening day followed by Birmingham City away the following weekend. Derby days are always a fantastic occasion. The tense and nervy build up, the deafening atmosphere, the hope of getting one over your local rivals, the gloating power.

For manager Andy Thorn however, it couldn’t really have gotten any worse. Despite what he may have said to the media, the last two teams he wanted to face on the opening two weekends of the season would have been a side that pushed hard for promotion last term, and a side who have just dropped out of the top flight. With three of our best players of last season all leaving the club – one ironically leaving for Birmingham – Thorn would have preferred a more easy start to test his new look squad.

Sandwiched between the two games is a League Cup tie away to Bury. Cup runs always deliver excitement, seeing who is going to come out in the draw next to our name, hoping for an away tie against one of the Premiership big boys, but here, this season, I think we need to give the Bury game a bit of a back seat. We already have a small squad, and expecting our strongest eleven to play three games in the space of eight days is a little too much, particularly after a two month break. Getting off to a strong start in the league must take priority, and if that means elimination from the League Cup at the first hurdle, then so be it.

2011
07/13
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The Marlon King Saga

“Oh Marlon, he said yes,” only to change his mind not so long after. “staggered,” “dismayed,” “betrayed.” Just some of the words used by Coventry manager Andy Thorn to explain the whole sorry situation. “money grabbing [insert word of choice here],” “lying [insert word of choice here],” “greedy [insert word of choice here].” Just some of the phrases used by the fans of the club.

For those that don’t know, let’s just take a look at everything from the start:

Thursday 29 July 2010

After serving an 18 month jail sentence for sexual assault, Marlon King is released from prison. His agent, Tony Finnagan, charged with the task of finding his client a new club. It would be difficult to find the disgraced striker a club willing to take him on, so the first port of call was to contact King’s old mentor at Watford Aidy Boothroyd who, incidentally, had just been appointed manager of Coventry City. Sure enough, Boothroyd took the Jamaican international on trial, and then set about persuading the clubs board to thrash out a permanent deal for a player who was once worth £5m.

A brave decision by Boothroyd, particularly as he had only been in the hotseat for five minutes, and with a number of fans already sceptical regarding his managerial appointment, this decision pushed them over the edge. Many fans of the club – and plenty of non Coventry fans – questioned whether he should get a second chance at the game, after all sexual assault is a serious charge and why should he walk back in to the sport, earning nearly £10,000 a week in the process. Some even went as far as not renewing/not buying a season ticket, refusing to help pay the wages of a sex attacker.

Monday 20 September 2010

There was never any doubts as to how much Boothroyd wanted King in his side leading the front line, all he had to do was persuade the board to get a contract drawn up. This was the man he wanted, a 20 goal a season striker that Coventry desperately needed if they were to make a promotion challenge. Leaving it late, Tony Finnagan issued an ultimatum, “sign my client or we are off elsewhere.” On the Monday it was announced that King was now a Coventry player, signing a one year £9,500 per week deal, making him the clubs highest earner.

It wasn’t the greatest of starts for the “20 goal a season striker,” with his first strike not coming until early December when he scored from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win against Middlesbrough. Ironically, after that game the club went on a poor run of just two league wins in 20 games, taking the side from the top 6 to the bottom half of the table and culminated in the sacking of manager Aidy Boothroyd In mid March. The poor form of the team didn’t stop King however, as he found his scoring boots in the new year, netting 5 goals in 7 games making him Coventry’s main hitman. This was followed by a further 6 inside the space of two weeks and 4 games in April, firmly establishing himself as the clubs number one striker and goalscorer of the season.

Thursday 28 April 2011

Shortly after King’s rich vein of goalscoring form – coupled with some impressive performances and results on the pitch – caretaker manager Andy Thorn was appointed as the new permanent manager of the club. His first action, to offer the three [soon to be] out of contract stars new deals. With it, he also set a deadline for their answer.

Friday 3 June 2011

After weeks of speculation, Marlon King rings Andy Thorn and tells him that he will be signing a new deal with the club, as soon as he gets back off holiday. The club then announced the news to the tune of many happy fans, glad to see a natural goalscorer in a sky blue shirt for the following season. Not long after the announcement, Mr Finnagan issued a statement, denying that his client has made such a promise.

Saturday 4 June 2011

The Coventry board, along with Thorn, sought clarification, and supposedly got it. It was announced that King had been contacted and had given the club the assurance that he would be signing the new deal.

Friday 10 June 2011

Marlon King signs a three year deal with Birmingham City.

It has come out since, that Andy Thorn heard King was talking to Birmingham City just 24 hours after making the original promise that he would be staying at Coventry. Marlon King’s side says that Coventry’s offer was never put in writing, that he verbally agreed the deal but asked for the club to send it through to Finnagan so that he could get it signed. Allegedly the contract never turned up, so with just the one official deal (Birmingham’s offer) on the table, he made the decision to sign it while he could, and not wait around for the Coventry offer to materialise. He says that he wish it could have been Coventry’s offer that he signed, but as it wasn’t actually there, he signed the one from their close rivals. Poor show if you ask me.

I think if you asked the majority of Coventry fans at the end of the season, they would have said that they expected King to be off once his contract was up, I really don’t think many expected him to stay. But when it came out that he said he was staying, it was a relief, and it raised hopes for the new season. That is why it was such a blow and so upsetting when he eventually joined the blues from up the road. If it was never announced that he was sticking around in the first place, then I don’t think many would have been massively bothered about the move, and I expect he would still have got a good reception from the fans upon returning. Now however, I don’t think the fans will be so accepting of him back at the Ricoh.

Am I upset that he left? A little. Do I blame him for leaving? No, at the end of the day he took the opportunity of joining a club with better prospects than Coventry, and he will be earning more money in the process. Am I upset the way that he left? Most definitely. A poor showing from the player going back on his word. Will I boo him when he returns? No, I see no point.

2011
06/19
CATEGORY
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Decision Time For Coventry Trio

There’s a fair bit to catch up on with my beloved Coventry City since my last post. From financial troubles to transfer embargoes to yet another managerial change. For now though, let’s take a look at our three best players, all of which are out of contract in June. Caretaker manager Andy Thorn was recently given the job full time and made it his first job to personally offer all three players new contracts.

Kieren Westwood
Goalkeeper. A lot of pundits are in agreeance that our number 1 is the best goalkeeper outside the Premiership (in English football of course). At one point this season, we were sitting 7 points above the relegation zone, 7 points that Westwood had undoubtedly saved the side with his performances between the posts. An excellent shot stopper, with superb reflexes have recently caught the eye of Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trampattoni, making him national number two behind Shay Given. In recent seasons his kicking has been a little suspect, often going wayward or straight to the opposing forwards, but he seems to have worked on it well and has improved greatly this season.

A lot has been reported over the contract offer. I have to ask though, why leave it until the very last minute to tie down one of the best goalkeepers in the league? Well, if you believe the club, they never did. They told us a while back that they offered Westwood a new deal before a ball was kicked this season, with the player telling the club he would not be signing. Although the goalkeepers side tells a different story. Westwood insists that there was no offer on the table, despite asking the club for an extension to his current deal. So who to believe then?

One thing is certain in my mind, Kieren Westwood will not be a Coventry City player next season. At the end of the last home game of the season against Reading, the players did their annual routine of completing a “lap of appreciation.” Once that had finished, Westwood went round again, this time on his own, waving to the fans. In my eyes, that was his final goodbye. I say good luck to him though, not once has his commitment to the club dropped in this final season, and if it means improving the standard of football he will be playing and at a higher level, I wish him the best of luck.

Teams said to be interested – Leicester, Ipswich, Norwich, Sunderland, Celtic, Everton

Aron Gunnarsson
Midfield general. Signed from AZ Alkmaar in 2008, the [now] Icelandic international is a real fans favourite at the Ricoh Arena. A stunning first season in English football saw Premiership sides such as Blackburn sniffing around, with reports of a £3m bid having been rejected. In that first season, he won the club’s Player of the Season award. His second season wasn’t so good, rarely finding the form that impressed the Championship the previous year. However, glimpses of a return to that form this season has seen Andy Thorn’s intention to keep him. Never prolific, he has only scored 7 goals in his 3 years as a Coventry City player, but it’s his determination and tireless work rate that has seen him win over the fans and coaching staff alike. A dog in midfield, he also has the ability to turn creator, taking up the position of the point in Thorn’s recent midfield diamond. A perfect box-to-box midfielder that the club needs to keep if we are to move forward.

Nothing has been made of any contract offers throughout the season, at least publicly. The first the fans have known anything about the situation was recently, when Thorn announced that he had offered the 22 year old a new deal. Listening to a recent interview, he comes across as if his time at Coventry has come to an end: “I have obviously enjoyed my time here. It has been three years and I am used to it and if we don’t get anything sorted then I will have to take it as a learning experience.” But then in another sentence, he hints at his desire to stay: “I am still young with a long time to go in my career so I don’t see any harm in staying here because I am still learning and I feel I can learn a lot of things under Andy Thorn.” Make your own mind up there.

Out of the three, I would say that Gunnarsson is the one we have the biggest chance of keeping, although I’m still not sure he will agree to the new deal. As with Westwood, I would wish him the best of luck should he decide to move on, however I believe it would be more to do with the money if he did.

Teams said to be interested – none as yet

Marlon King
Everyone knows who Marlon King is. The Joey Barton of the Championship, everybody hates him aside from the fans of the club he plays for. All season he has been getting stick from opposing fans, and I have to admit that if I was on the other side I would be doing the same. Should a player who has been to jail get another chance at playing football? That’s a debate for another day, the fact being that then manager Aidy Boothroyd gave him his chance with a one season contract shortly after the August kick off.

Starting off slowly, King finally started to show what he could do in the second half of the season, finishing the campaign top goal scorer with 13 in all competitions. Such a good player, you could tell he was a class above everyone else in a City shirt this term. His control of the ball is instant, and his finishing ability is there for everyone to see, it doesn’t take long to find out why Wigan paid £5m for his services not that many years ago. The one aspect of his game that has really impressed me this season though, is his determination to never give up. Chasing the ball across the opposing back four, putting them under pressure and often drawing  mistakes from the inexperienced or tired legs. King has undoubtedly given nothing less than 100% for the club and it will be a sad day should he decide to move on.

Out of the three, King is the one that I would most like to keep. A goalkeeper, a dogged midfielder, positions that you can replace, but an out and out goal scorer is hard to find, especially at Championship level. He himself has admitted that it’s a question of whether he should listen to his heart or his head, his heart wishing to stay at the Ricoh, to repay the faith we have shown in him and the open arms that the fans have welcomed him with. His head however, asks if he will get another chance at the big time, the Premiership. Now 31, his playing days are numbered, with another season at Coventry only decreasing his chances of that higher calling. I, along with Coventry fans everywhere, will be hoping he goes with his heart.

Teams said to be interested – Leicester

The deadline that Andy Thorn set the players for making a decision on their new deals was up over a week ago now, although the players officially have until their current deals run out to decide. Either way, Thorn needs to know sooner rather than later so he can plan who he needs to bring in before next season kicks off.

2011
05/27
CATEGORY
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