I was made aware today via a link on another thread that by distance I should have grown up supporting Leamington or Warwick as they're closer than Highfield Road was. I started supporting our club because I was taken to matches by my dad and he was keen that I follow in his footsteps and support his team. I didn't start supporting because our club was a First division (let alone premier league) club I did so out of loyalty to my family and enjoyed the highs and despised the lows. There'll be people who are the same, some who just supported because it was their local team and there will be those who went because we were a top team and their children are Sky Blues fans because of this. What made me jump slightly today was the number of teams that are around the southern Midlands and how many that are close to us in terms of both distance and now sadly positions below us (admittedly a lot of them in lower leagues). If the youth of today aren't going to matches then they are unlikely to feel connected with our club in the same way that I did all those years ago. They're more likely to look around for their local team and realise that Leamington or Warwick or whoever are closer or that Man City/United or Chelsea etc. are amazing to watch on the TV and support them instead.
The fact that we're not playing in Coventry is therefore major concern and something that needs to be sorted sooner rather than later. We're in danger of losing the JSB supporters of the future because we're playing in Northampton and they can't watch us because dad won't take them. We need to be back in Coventry and as this is unlikely to be at the Ricoh thanks to the legals that are pending against the council and the Higgs you have to wonder what the plan is for this. Mr Labovitch comes on the radio recently and is asked a fairly simple question "What happens if we don't get planning permission for the new stadium?" and he doesn't answer the question. I'm very concerned that either they don't have a back up plan to return us to Coventry if that happens or are betting it all on the Judicial Review getting them enough financial or otherwise leverage to get control of the Ricoh. As whichever side in the JR loses is likely to appeal the decision this means that we could be playing in Northampton for many years to come. I'd be happy if we were playing at the rugby club or even if it came to it Stoke Green if something could be done to make them compatible with league standards and we
Whatever happens with the courts it probably won't speed our return to Coventry anytime soon and that's the real danger here, there either won't be much of a club left in terms of support or we will have dropped another division before we finally do return either to the new stadium if you believe one will be built or to the Ricoh if Sisu ever get hold of it.
As a friend of mine who supports Chelsea said to me recently (and I'm still his friend :facepalm
if you do ever go back to the Ricoh you'll have the best ground in League 2 of any of them - that's fecking tragic as there is a distinct possibility he might be right.
What the trust are doing is a good idea as without the youth of today who will be left to support our club when we're pushing up daisies?
