However, this entry makes me feel dirty. Sometimes I flirt within my brain the idea of following another club wondering whether their fans are different, the awaydays are different and the sport seemingly less sold to the greedy devil. Watching as many games as I do, there's clubs I have taken an interest in; Keith Hill's spell at Rochdale, Notts County resolute in crisis pre-Lee Hughes, the well-run ship recently of AFC Wimbledon for example (all three examples have little quirks which make them [ie. the chippy opposite the away end at Spotland, the Wheelbarrow song and the honesty of AFCW]). None of them will replace my team which is more to do with my pride in my birthplace and upbringing more than anything. The nearest I have got to a second side was/is Burton Albion and in particular their first Football League season.
Now on the list of clubs I flirt with, Coventry City would be in the bottom five. I am a student of Coventry University and face the city with it's ill-thought ring road at least once a week. It's not a pretty city to put it lightly. This was further confirmed by a recent visit to the estate of Hillfields as part of an assignment. Every city has one, the area where poverty is high, education levels low and the crime wide. However, what's more interesting was that this assignment is focused on the new flats/townhouses which have replaced Highfield Road.
It was unrecognisable from my two visits as (approx. guess) 12 and 15 year old. The Sky Blue Tavern..infamous, now gone. The new properties aren't even built in a square, so it's more difficult to imagine. The only remaining features were the bridge over Phoenix Way which separates the estates of Stoke & Hillfields and a little square section of land which has been kept free for recreational use, this is apparently where the pitch was.
When the tutor asked did anyone visit whilst it was the football ground, the hands raised totalled five (majority of students are part-time or locally based). I was ready to tell stories of Emile Heskey and Billy McKinlay but I didn't get chance. One lad spoke up to say he was a Cov fan and confessed the following: 'went here a few times, the new stadium's better but I haven't been in a while'. Over my five years studying here, that's a common pattern across the city.
Coventry City and their fans find themselves in footballing purgatory. At Highfield Road, they respectfully floated around the mid-table of the top tier with the occasional battle against relegation. Something which with retrospective we can now say is respectful given the financial implications from the early 90s. Occasional wins over the big teams and a sense of pride over Aston Villa/Leicester City in a fair few seasons too.
However, since a painful relegation sustained at Villa Park, there's been no excitement around the club at all. No promotion bids, no play-offs, no final day relegation six pointers. Only a FA Cup Quarter-Final against Chelsea has sold out the Ricoh. The stadium which has now become a burden.
Now from here is a catalogue of errors made by the club which has killed off enthusiasm in most Sky Blue supporters. It could be used as a guide how not to run a football club. Coventry gambled on the ITV digital windfall upon relegation, that hit the fan and added some debt (often forgotten that they spent £5 million on Lee Hughes). The fans expectations were high and the wage bill was too.
Then a move to the Ricoh Arena, a project which was originally earmarked as the new Wembley. Only for it become a multi-use 32,500 stadium where it's sold out more often for That That than the most regular of occupants the football club. The ownership of the Arena is which really hits Coventry hard. Shared ownership from the City Council and a charity, the Alan Biggs Trust means matchday sales are pretty much the only source of income from the stadium and the ticket prices are agreed between all three parties. This is a football club's constant money source but it's lessened here.
Add to this the poor managerial appointments of Peter Reid, Micky Adams, Ian Dowie, Chris Coleman, Aidy Boothroyd. It's all led to the situation now which couldn't be saved by now owners SISU. SISU, fronted by Ray Ranson promised sustainable football with young players playing with appetitie (required after Reid, Adams and Dowie's reign). Instead they continued the poor appointments to leave a squad now looking very short of quality and most important for the future of the club, sell able assets.
SISU could have avoided this by making a sensible managerial appointment who at least had the contacts to bring in loanees from Premiership reserves/youths or sign some released players from this area instead they gambled on the older hands in Coleman and Boothroyd. At least at that point if relegation does occur, you have a squad full of saleable assets as opposed to 'journeymen'. Thankfully with the introduction of Andy Thorn, a few academy products have came through with real promise but it remains to be seen if such an atmosphere hinders them.
Thorn hasn't done well since August but you have to look what's available to him. His only signing with money this year was Cody McDonald from Norwich whose very short of Championship experience which was directly funded by Ben Turner's departure to Cardiff. He's on a loser to me as an outsider, Thorn cannot win.
So this is why I sympathise. The majority of Coventry supporters who follow them week in, week out must feel helpless. A successful season is avoiding relegation which in turn sees them financially ticking over. Leicester had a spell like this post-administration, no prospects and every fan in the country pretty much lives off the hope of success. If you subtract the spending the season after their relegation at Highfield Road, Coventry's problems seemingly stem from ill decisions as opposed to over-spending. It's a lesson for every club in a similar position.
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