Read this and weep. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Disorganised1
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another one to read
Coventry's manager, Andy Thorn, right, appeals with his assistant, Steve Harrison, as Peterborough's Darren Ferguson looks on. Photograph: Frances Leader/Action Images
"Sisu out," said the banner. "Andy Thorn," sang the away support at London Road. There was no doubt where Coventry City fans laid the blame for the club's position, now six points adrift at the foot of the Championship after a 1-0 defeat by Peterborough. "If we come out of it, we have swum the Channel with a gas stove on our backs," said Thorn on Friday. In the last 20 minutes they threw the stove at Posh but hit only a post through Gary Gardner and, in added time, Gabriel Zakuani on the line, denying Lukas Jutkiewicz.
"It's frustrating when you know you're good enough to win the game," Thorn said, "but when things are going against you, they really do." His biggest grievance was not getting a penalty just before Posh scored. "The referee admits the ball's hit their lad's hand but said he couldn't give it as the ball's been blasted at him." The blast was a header by Richard Keogh.
Keogh was mighty in defence, twice throwing himself into blocks when a goal seemed certain. When Posh did score, in the 66th minute, Daniel Kearns split their left flank, Paul Taylor forced Joe Murphy to parry and Emile Sinclair rammed in. They then held out for their first clean sheet of the season. In 22 games Coventry, playing here with commendable poise, have scored only 17, of which Jutkiewicz has eight. Yet, despite 13 defeats to two wins, their goal difference is only minus 16. They have not lost by more than a goal in six games. Home matches against Bristol City and Brighton could see them back in touch by the turn of the year. Then they need to hang on to Jutkiewicz in January.
Coventry have become the forgotten men of the Premier League. When they dropped out of it in 2001, they had been in the top tier for 34 years, longer than anyone bar Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool. Yet unlike other clubs – a dozen in the Championship or even League One – they have never been thought of for a return. Their best finish in 10 years is eighth in 2006, the season they were sent from Coventry to the Ricoh. They are on their 10th manager in that time and looking for their sixth chairman. When the fifth, Ken Dulieu, resigned to become head of football operations this month, he turned up crassly in the dugout for the next game.
Coventry are still less in freefall than limbo, which is where Sisu come in – mystery is part of the hedge fund game. Strictly Sisu came in four years ago, saving the club not from mere administration but from extinction with 20 minutes to go. Debt, already down from £60m in 2002, has shrunk further but ownership questions have lately been raised in Parliament. Like Bryan Richardson, ousted as chairman in 2002, Sisu are in danger of going from a seemingly good thing to a bad thing. Gary Hoffman, former director and wealthy fan, is seen as the best hope but a recent takeover bid was thwarted.
The Ricoh was in the pipeline for so long the pipe had corroded by the time the club got there, several miles outside the city. There are no assets for the owners to strip as the ground is owned jointly by the city council and a charitable trust to whom the club pay £1.2m annual rent. It is better placed for the visitors' bus than home fans and the go-ahead for an adjacent station on the Coventry-Nuneaton line may be too late. The acoustic is evidently appreciated more by Coldplay fans than Coventry's, now not half-filling its 32,609 capacity.
Tradition can be comforting in time of trouble and Coventry have reverted to the all sky blue kit of their 1967 ascent under Jimmy Hill to the old First Division, adorned discreetly and ironically by City Link, their shirt sponsors. A statue of Hill was unveiled at the Ricoh in the summer and Thorn, a sleekish defender in Wimbledon's crazy glory, seems to be morphing into John Sillett, City's shiny FA Cup- winning manager in 1987. Perhaps Lady G should now ride naked down the high street to gain freedom from hedge funds. Gaga just about sums them up. The trouble is Sisu will not be around to notice. But Mary Portas might learn something.
Coventry's manager, Andy Thorn, right, appeals with his assistant, Steve Harrison, as Peterborough's Darren Ferguson looks on. Photograph: Frances Leader/Action Images
"Sisu out," said the banner. "Andy Thorn," sang the away support at London Road. There was no doubt where Coventry City fans laid the blame for the club's position, now six points adrift at the foot of the Championship after a 1-0 defeat by Peterborough. "If we come out of it, we have swum the Channel with a gas stove on our backs," said Thorn on Friday. In the last 20 minutes they threw the stove at Posh but hit only a post through Gary Gardner and, in added time, Gabriel Zakuani on the line, denying Lukas Jutkiewicz.
"It's frustrating when you know you're good enough to win the game," Thorn said, "but when things are going against you, they really do." His biggest grievance was not getting a penalty just before Posh scored. "The referee admits the ball's hit their lad's hand but said he couldn't give it as the ball's been blasted at him." The blast was a header by Richard Keogh.
Keogh was mighty in defence, twice throwing himself into blocks when a goal seemed certain. When Posh did score, in the 66th minute, Daniel Kearns split their left flank, Paul Taylor forced Joe Murphy to parry and Emile Sinclair rammed in. They then held out for their first clean sheet of the season. In 22 games Coventry, playing here with commendable poise, have scored only 17, of which Jutkiewicz has eight. Yet, despite 13 defeats to two wins, their goal difference is only minus 16. They have not lost by more than a goal in six games. Home matches against Bristol City and Brighton could see them back in touch by the turn of the year. Then they need to hang on to Jutkiewicz in January.
Coventry have become the forgotten men of the Premier League. When they dropped out of it in 2001, they had been in the top tier for 34 years, longer than anyone bar Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool. Yet unlike other clubs – a dozen in the Championship or even League One – they have never been thought of for a return. Their best finish in 10 years is eighth in 2006, the season they were sent from Coventry to the Ricoh. They are on their 10th manager in that time and looking for their sixth chairman. When the fifth, Ken Dulieu, resigned to become head of football operations this month, he turned up crassly in the dugout for the next game.
Coventry are still less in freefall than limbo, which is where Sisu come in – mystery is part of the hedge fund game. Strictly Sisu came in four years ago, saving the club not from mere administration but from extinction with 20 minutes to go. Debt, already down from £60m in 2002, has shrunk further but ownership questions have lately been raised in Parliament. Like Bryan Richardson, ousted as chairman in 2002, Sisu are in danger of going from a seemingly good thing to a bad thing. Gary Hoffman, former director and wealthy fan, is seen as the best hope but a recent takeover bid was thwarted.
The Ricoh was in the pipeline for so long the pipe had corroded by the time the club got there, several miles outside the city. There are no assets for the owners to strip as the ground is owned jointly by the city council and a charitable trust to whom the club pay £1.2m annual rent. It is better placed for the visitors' bus than home fans and the go-ahead for an adjacent station on the Coventry-Nuneaton line may be too late. The acoustic is evidently appreciated more by Coldplay fans than Coventry's, now not half-filling its 32,609 capacity.
Tradition can be comforting in time of trouble and Coventry have reverted to the all sky blue kit of their 1967 ascent under Jimmy Hill to the old First Division, adorned discreetly and ironically by City Link, their shirt sponsors. A statue of Hill was unveiled at the Ricoh in the summer and Thorn, a sleekish defender in Wimbledon's crazy glory, seems to be morphing into John Sillett, City's shiny FA Cup- winning manager in 1987. Perhaps Lady G should now ride naked down the high street to gain freedom from hedge funds. Gaga just about sums them up. The trouble is Sisu will not be around to notice. But Mary Portas might learn something.
WillieStanley
New Member
Where was that?! Awesome writing!
Sub
Well-Known Member
The Sky falls in: 25 years after Cup glory, what's gone wrong at Coventry?
By Neil Moxley
Last updated at 10:30 PM on 16th December 2011
The local Byatts Brewery are to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Coventry City’s 1987 FA Cup final victory over Tottenham Hotspur with a specially brewed beer.
The Coventry Telegraph reports that The Herbert Museum and Art Gallery is asking for Sky Blues ‘matchday programmes, ticket stubs, photographs, scarves, diaries...and lucky pants’ for an exhibition coming soon.
The local council this week approved plans for a new railway station at the Ricoh. Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: ‘Sitting at the heart of the Midlands, the City of Coventry Stadium is ideally located for thousands of people to come and watch the London 2012 football competition and be inspired to get involved in sport.’
]
Packed to the rafters: Supporters hang from every vantage point at Highfield Road against Liverpool in August 1987
These must be party days in Coventry, where Olympic football will take place next summer at their Ricoh Arena (the name will be changed to the City of Coventry Stadium for the tournament because of sponsorship requirements). But then you look at the league table where Coventry, you may have noticed, are now bottom of the Championship.
After two decades of over- spending and mismanagement, the City of Peace and Reconciliation will have to reconcile itself to the fact that League One football is a near certainty next year.
It is a story that has been played out at Leeds United, Leicester City and Charlton Athletic, among others. Now it is happening at the club that belongs to England’s ninth largest city.
It brings a tear to your eye,’ said John Sillett, whose dance around the Wembley pitch with the famous silver trophy is one of the clearest images from that day in ’87.
‘When I look back, I remember taking a call from the late Bobby Robson, bless him, and he said, “John, I’m naming my England squad in a few days and four of your players are going to be in it”.
‘Brian Borrows, Dean Emerson, Trevor Peake and Cyrille Regis were in line for a call-up. Goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic should have played for England, too. Because English clubs were banned from Europe after the Heysel disaster, we never got the chance to play in the Cup-Winners’ Cup, either. It was an opportunity lost.’
Crest of a wave: Keith Houchen (left) and Cyrille Regis (right) welcome David Speedie after their FA Cup win
But when Sillett’s reign ended, the team that lifted the pot had all but broken up and Coventry City were about to be caught in the crossfire of the burgeoning wage demands fuelled by the new TV age. They fell horribly into debt.
It was under the guidance of former Warwickshire cricketer Bryan Richardson that the problems began in the mid-90s. The Sky Blues’ plan was to discover the best young talent in the country. Coventry would be their platform. Value would be added to these young gems and the club would become self-financing.
When it paid off — for example, Richardson turned a £7million profit on Robbie Keane within a year — it was spectacular. But for every Keane, there was a Runar Normann or Ysrael Zuniga. Unknowns brought in for hefty fees. Who are they? Exactly.
When Coventry’s 34-year stay in the top flight ended in 2001, it was clear for all to see how badly the gamble had backfired. Debts stood at £59.7m.
A succession of managers have tried and failed to maintain the club’s competitive edge. The team’s base, Highfield Road, had been sold to developers. Richardson cut a deal with Tesco and the council to be sitting tenants at a new stadium. The problem was that Coventry City FC did not own it.
New life: Coventry City are now playing at the state-of-the-art Ricoh Arena
The current owners, brought into the club by Ray Ranson, are hedge fund SISU. If their plan was to turn a quick buck, they succeeded only in turning it into the red. Their commitment now stands in excess of £20m. There are no Russian oil billionaires poised to rush to the rescue.
Peter Ward, chairman of the Sky Blues supporters’ consultation group, said: ‘The problems go back way beyond SISU’s ownership of the club. There has been consistent mismanagement and overspending by former regimes.
Down in the dug-out: ex-chairman Ken Dulieu with Steve Ogrizovic
‘It’s all added up to one continuously painful experience. Let’s face it, apart from that glorious blip in ’87, what have Coventry City supporters had to celebrate? There’s been nothing but pain.’
Current boss Andy Thorn, who takes Coventry to Peterborough today, saved the club last season. His cheeky-chappie, cheery manner has won him plenty of friends — fans chant his name — but the predicament is taking its toll.
If Thorn could take heart from the fact that average gates are still at 14,828 this term, and last season’s mark of 16,310 even topped the 16,060 of the 1986-87 campaign, he has not been helped by the actions of his former chairman Ken Dulieu.
In his new role as director of football operations, Dulieu viewed last Saturday’s defeat by Hull from the dug-out, going into the dressing room before, during and afterwards, crossing one of football’s most precious lines.
The former policeman-turned-security expert watched Coventry’s pre-season in Portugal sporting personalised kit. The club’s stock was low anyway — now they are a laughing stock.
‘The reaction of football as a whole to what happened is pretty much that,’ said Thorn in reference to Dulieu’s actions. ‘It’s been a nightmare. Everyone knows how difficult this job is.
‘We don’t have a full-time scout, no fitness coach. We are using kids on work experience to do proper jobs. Basically, one is doing the job of three. I felt at the end of last season we were two, three or four additions away from having a right good go. But the club released nine. It went the other way.
‘I don’t expect any positive news either in the short term, unless something changes. You don’t have to be a genius to see the situation isn’t great. If we come out of this we have swum the Channel with a gas stove on our backs.’
Ward fears they are drowning.
‘I could almost take going into administration, dropping into League One then living within our means and building again with a vibrant team — if that was the plan.
‘At the moment, we are a rudderless ship. No-one knows who is in charge, who is steering the boat or where we are going. And it bloody hurts.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Cup-glory-whats-gone-wrong.html#ixzz1gyQL3eN9
By Neil Moxley
Last updated at 10:30 PM on 16th December 2011
The local Byatts Brewery are to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Coventry City’s 1987 FA Cup final victory over Tottenham Hotspur with a specially brewed beer.
The Coventry Telegraph reports that The Herbert Museum and Art Gallery is asking for Sky Blues ‘matchday programmes, ticket stubs, photographs, scarves, diaries...and lucky pants’ for an exhibition coming soon.
The local council this week approved plans for a new railway station at the Ricoh. Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: ‘Sitting at the heart of the Midlands, the City of Coventry Stadium is ideally located for thousands of people to come and watch the London 2012 football competition and be inspired to get involved in sport.’
]
These must be party days in Coventry, where Olympic football will take place next summer at their Ricoh Arena (the name will be changed to the City of Coventry Stadium for the tournament because of sponsorship requirements). But then you look at the league table where Coventry, you may have noticed, are now bottom of the Championship.
After two decades of over- spending and mismanagement, the City of Peace and Reconciliation will have to reconcile itself to the fact that League One football is a near certainty next year.
It is a story that has been played out at Leeds United, Leicester City and Charlton Athletic, among others. Now it is happening at the club that belongs to England’s ninth largest city.
It brings a tear to your eye,’ said John Sillett, whose dance around the Wembley pitch with the famous silver trophy is one of the clearest images from that day in ’87.
‘When I look back, I remember taking a call from the late Bobby Robson, bless him, and he said, “John, I’m naming my England squad in a few days and four of your players are going to be in it”.
‘Brian Borrows, Dean Emerson, Trevor Peake and Cyrille Regis were in line for a call-up. Goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic should have played for England, too. Because English clubs were banned from Europe after the Heysel disaster, we never got the chance to play in the Cup-Winners’ Cup, either. It was an opportunity lost.’
But when Sillett’s reign ended, the team that lifted the pot had all but broken up and Coventry City were about to be caught in the crossfire of the burgeoning wage demands fuelled by the new TV age. They fell horribly into debt.
It was under the guidance of former Warwickshire cricketer Bryan Richardson that the problems began in the mid-90s. The Sky Blues’ plan was to discover the best young talent in the country. Coventry would be their platform. Value would be added to these young gems and the club would become self-financing.
When it paid off — for example, Richardson turned a £7million profit on Robbie Keane within a year — it was spectacular. But for every Keane, there was a Runar Normann or Ysrael Zuniga. Unknowns brought in for hefty fees. Who are they? Exactly.
When Coventry’s 34-year stay in the top flight ended in 2001, it was clear for all to see how badly the gamble had backfired. Debts stood at £59.7m.
A succession of managers have tried and failed to maintain the club’s competitive edge. The team’s base, Highfield Road, had been sold to developers. Richardson cut a deal with Tesco and the council to be sitting tenants at a new stadium. The problem was that Coventry City FC did not own it.
The current owners, brought into the club by Ray Ranson, are hedge fund SISU. If their plan was to turn a quick buck, they succeeded only in turning it into the red. Their commitment now stands in excess of £20m. There are no Russian oil billionaires poised to rush to the rescue.
Peter Ward, chairman of the Sky Blues supporters’ consultation group, said: ‘The problems go back way beyond SISU’s ownership of the club. There has been consistent mismanagement and overspending by former regimes.
‘It’s all added up to one continuously painful experience. Let’s face it, apart from that glorious blip in ’87, what have Coventry City supporters had to celebrate? There’s been nothing but pain.’
Current boss Andy Thorn, who takes Coventry to Peterborough today, saved the club last season. His cheeky-chappie, cheery manner has won him plenty of friends — fans chant his name — but the predicament is taking its toll.
If Thorn could take heart from the fact that average gates are still at 14,828 this term, and last season’s mark of 16,310 even topped the 16,060 of the 1986-87 campaign, he has not been helped by the actions of his former chairman Ken Dulieu.
In his new role as director of football operations, Dulieu viewed last Saturday’s defeat by Hull from the dug-out, going into the dressing room before, during and afterwards, crossing one of football’s most precious lines.
The former policeman-turned-security expert watched Coventry’s pre-season in Portugal sporting personalised kit. The club’s stock was low anyway — now they are a laughing stock.
‘The reaction of football as a whole to what happened is pretty much that,’ said Thorn in reference to Dulieu’s actions. ‘It’s been a nightmare. Everyone knows how difficult this job is.
‘We don’t have a full-time scout, no fitness coach. We are using kids on work experience to do proper jobs. Basically, one is doing the job of three. I felt at the end of last season we were two, three or four additions away from having a right good go. But the club released nine. It went the other way.
‘I don’t expect any positive news either in the short term, unless something changes. You don’t have to be a genius to see the situation isn’t great. If we come out of this we have swum the Channel with a gas stove on our backs.’
Ward fears they are drowning.
‘I could almost take going into administration, dropping into League One then living within our means and building again with a vibrant team — if that was the plan.
‘At the moment, we are a rudderless ship. No-one knows who is in charge, who is steering the boat or where we are going. And it bloody hurts.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...Cup-glory-whats-gone-wrong.html#ixzz1gyQL3eN9
Last edited:
TheParsonsHose
Member
This is where its all going now, convinced of this.
My best guess at the future? Looking logically, if SISU wanted out they could sell what few remaining playing assets there are in the transfer window, grab that money and call it quits. Otherwise, the losses will accumulate and the situation will worsen.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...der-The-fall-Coventry-City.html#ixzz1gyNjlwUF
My best guess at the future? Looking logically, if SISU wanted out they could sell what few remaining playing assets there are in the transfer window, grab that money and call it quits. Otherwise, the losses will accumulate and the situation will worsen.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...der-The-fall-Coventry-City.html#ixzz1gyNjlwUF
WillieStanley
New Member
Well, I take it as a positive that people are noticing. Given our history of being overlooked by the press, I feared that we would sink quietly into the abyss unnoticed.
WillieStanley
New Member
Also... Its rare I agree with anything written in the daily mail... I need to have a bath now.
kg82
Well-Known Member
I was thinking exactly the same! And like you say, although it's only a small mention, it's still a mention nonetheless about the boycott in a national paper. That can only be good for it. Still, thoroughly, thoroughly depressing reading!
Disorganised1
New Member
I know - when you see it all listed like that . <wah>
Covstu
Well-Known Member
Yes nice it is not going unnoticed particurly the boycott and the statement 'this is the last thing the club needs!'. The biggest frustration is that there is no statement from the club even responding to any of this, every other club wqould have put something to defend their position but NOOOOOOOO! SISU seem to lap it up, either that or they totally agree with it all!!! Communicate with us for fucks sake!!!!!
joemercersaces
Well-Known Member
It would be a bit churlish to point out that the picture showing fans crammed in like sardines and hanging from the fences was of the away section at Highfield Road, so they were Liverpool fans.
Andy Thorne's quotes show him being far more open and frank about the situation than he usually is.
Andy Thorne's quotes show him being far more open and frank about the situation than he usually is.