retired_trainer21

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Saturday 20 December 2003

Ipswich Town 1
Bent 90

CITY 0

Wasteful City plough into Tractor Boys but leave empty-handed

City boss SBA saw the footballing gods turn full circle on Saturday as Ipswich stole all three points after the Sky Blues had turned in what was, without any doubt, their best performance of the season to date.

After the euphoria of Wednesday night it seemed absolutely certain that City would register their first away victory of the season. They attacked relentlessly but spurned countless opportunities and found Town 'keeper Kelvin Davis in world class form on the occasions they did hit the target.

SBA named a 5-man midfield reading, from left to right; Doyle, Warnock, Osbourne, Pead & Barrett - average age approximately 20. Their high energy levels proved instrumental in ensuring that City dictated the game throughout. 17-year old Isaac Osbourne seems to have taken to first team football like a duck to water and SBA must be considering his progression as a real bonus for the side.

Dele Adebola, later replaced by Avun Jephcott, played as the lone frontman while young Stuart Giddings was probably the pick of the City players at left back, and produced some excellent through balls for Michael Doyle who tormented the Town backline all afternoon. Unfortunately City were unable to capitalise as they went on to create enough chances to have won three or four games.

Barrett (twice), Adebola (twice), Davenport and Warnock formed the majority of the guilty party.

On 65 minutes Doyle had seemingly placed the opening goal on a plate for Barrett who smashed the ball wide from 12 yards out with Davis seemingly beaten.

Bent's winner, coming as it did with the game entering stoppage time, forced all eleven City players into looks of disbelief with some of them falling to their knees.

City had produced a performance full of desire, energy and quality, the only aspect missing was the ability to find the net.

With two minutes to go substitute Andy Morrell raided down the right flank and played an inviting low centre across the six yard box which saw two on-rushing City players slide to try and divert the ball in. As it was a home defender cleared the ball agonisingly wide of the far post and out for the corner from which Ipswich were to break away and score a highly unlikely winning goal of their own.

Even then it seemed as though super-sub Steve Staunton would come to the rescue once again for the Sky Blues, but this was Davis' day as he produced a flying save to deny the Irishman his third goal from two substitute appearances.

City now look to Boxing Day when they entertain Walsall at Highfield Road but had the bout at Portman Road been a Boxing match it would have been stopped in City's favour long before Ipswich delivered their late knock-out blow.

City remain in 22nd place in Division One.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Ipswich Town 1
Coventry City 13

Corners

Ipswich Town 0
Coventry City 6

retired_trainer21

SBA talks exclusively to CM Stories

Tuesday 23 December 2003

I do not want to dwell on Saturday's result as, given the manor in which we dominated proceedings from start to finish, we would be left questioning for a long while how justice failed to prevail.

The match left me feeling more confident in the potential of this squad than at any other stage this season.

The side that took the field were inexperienced in the extreme with only Dele Adebola the wrong side of 25.

We are becoming ever more anxious to drag ourselves away from the bottom three and have the perfect opportunity to do so on Boxing Day as Walsall come to Highfield Road.

The game, being the 23rd league match, will signal the half way point of the season.

In the New Year we will be looking to climb into a position from where we will be looking forward and not over our shoulders once spring is upon us. The lads have performed admirably during games just recently, and that with the burden of our league position hanging over them. I believe that should we get to a stage where the players can exercise more freedom in their play, then we can be more than a match for anyone in this Division.

With this being our third season down in Division One it is no secret that a number of the higher earners in the squad will be out of contract come June. A huge weight will then be lifted off the club's shoulders and should enable myself to take a far more active role in the transfer market.

Enjoy your Christmas - we'll be doing our upmost to bring you some festive cheer with three points on Boxing Day.

SBA

retired_trainer21

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Friday 26 December 2003

CITY 1
Morrell (pen) 84

Walsall 0

Morrell Spot On To Sink Saddlers

Andy Morrell lifted himself off the substitutes' bench and within five minutes found himself facing a kick which could prove pivotal in the fortunes of Coventry City's season as 2003 draws to a close.

It had looked like it was to be another frustrating afternoon for the encouraging numbers who had turned out to see some evidence of the Sky Blues' recent improved displays. They were not to be disappointed as City outclassed Walsall in every department but could not find a breakthrough until Morrell was handed the perfect opportunity to lift City out of the bottom three in the Division One table.

SBA kept faith with the side that had been so cruelly denied at Portman Road last week as he named an unchanged side.

Isaac Osbourne played the full 90 minutes and received the man of the match champagne from two of the three matchday sponsors in the players' lounge afterwards. It has not gone un-noticed that City's improvement has coincided with the 17-year old's involvement in the first team which has left the likes of Safri and McAllister kicking their heels.

In much the same way as happened in Suffolk, City were well on top in the first half without creating the clear cut opening they craved but stepped on the gas in the second period with Graham Barrett, part of a five-man midfield being operated for the first time in a home game, going close on three occasions. He then turned provider for Adebola who saw his left foot effort cannon off a post with the game in its' last quarter.

Stephen Warnock had to be withdrawn due to injury allowing Avun Jephcott to join Adebola up front with SBA determined not to let another three points slip through his fingers.

Morrell was introduced for Craig Pead who had been booked.

Morrell operated wide right with Barrett moving back inside and when Adebola allowed a Stuart Giddings pass to roll under his foot just inside the area he was tripped by a backtracking Saddlers' defender. The majority of the ground rose as one and were rewarded as the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

MORRELL was the coolest man in the stadium as he was made to wait to take the kick due to some furious Walsall protests. But much to everyone's relief he calmly slid the ball just inside the left hand post to nudge City in front just at the right time.

SBA then replaced Adebola with Staunton and hurled some frantic instructions onto the field to ensure that City did not surrender their precious lead. He needn't have worried however as the Saddlers were unable to launch any kind of attack in the closing stages as City held out for a fully deserved victory.

So a turbulent 2003 finishes in fine fashion for the Sky Blues. There was time for one last collective cheer after the final whistle as results elsewhere dictated that City moved out of the Division One drop zone. On the last two performances few would expect them to return.

City will start 2004 with the FA Cup Third Round tie at Meadow Lane before they embark on a tough looking run of league fixtures in the month of January.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Coventry City 14
Walsall 1

Corners

Coventry City 1
Walsall 2

retired_trainer21

SEASON 2003-04

Review of the Season so far: DECEMBER

December Results

(h) Sunderland drew 1-1 (Adebola)
(h) Sheffield United drew 0-0
(h) Nottingham Forest won 2-1 (Staunton (2))
(a) Ipswich Town lost 1-0
(h) Walsall won 1-0 (Morrell)

LEAGUE POSITION

City are currently 21st in Division One. They have won 4, drawn 11, and lost 8 of their 23 games. They have scored 21 goals and conceded 26.

City are 2 points above the bottom three, 16 points below from the top six, and 17 points away from the top two.

Leading Goalscorers (All Competitions)

Adebola 7
Joachim 7
Staunton 3
Morrell 2
Suffo 2
Davenport 1
Pipe 1

Average Player Ratings

Figure on the immediate left indicates first team starts with the figure in brackets indicating substitute appearances.

1. 5 Stuart Giddings 7.20
2. 23 Andrew Whing 7.17
3. 24 Calum Davenport 7.00
4. 4 Isaac Osbourne 7.00
5. 6 Michael Doyle 6.83

retired_trainer21

HALF TERM REPORT

With the season now at the halfway point, our regular CET Reporter Adam Dent reviews the highs and lows of City's season so far ...

In June SBA entered the hotseat at Highfield Road with his eyes wide open.

There was a mammoth task ahead.

The proud name of Coventry City was now all too regularly being preceeded with the term 'First Division' rather than 'Premiership' in media circles. That hurt. The club had become famous for their successful battles against relegation from the top flight. Many who followed the club were keen to see the club shrug off the tag of the 'great survivors' and become famous for something else.

After two seasons of Division One obscurity they were now famous for nothing. Barely mentioned. Those (often last day) escapes now permanently confined to the long term memory bank.

It is now said that for any promoted side to become an established Premiership club they need to survive their first three seasons in the Premiership.

Coventry City had survived for 34 years. Relegation hit them more than most. They are still feeling the tremmers to this day.

City kicked off Season 03-04 in promising fashion.

Despite going out of the League Cup at the first time of asking they picked up two away draws in the league before picking up a win in their first home game against Cardiff City.

Victory in the home match against Stoke City would have seen them immediately up and challenging in the top 6 but they were unable to break stubborn Stoke down as the game finished goalless.

The first defeat swiftly followed at Upton Park before City appeared to be on the verge of taking 9 points from their opening 6 games as they led going into the final stages against Wigan Athletic at Highfield Road. It was not to be however as they conceded late on from a quickly taken free kick.

The late setback against Wigan appeared to be the catalyst for some poor displays from the Sky Blues as they slid down the table with a defeat at Preston and another home draw against Reading.

They rescued a point at Wimbledon before registering their second win of the campaign against Rotherham. However they nearly contrived to throw away a 3-goal lead before scraping through 3-2.

They failed to win in the two months that followed.

City fought back bravely to pick up a 2-2 draw at Carrow Road but surrendered a 2-goal lead themselves against Crewe, who amazingly went on to win the game.

A grim November followed. City went down to a 3-1 defeat at bottom of the table Bradford before another two goal reverse against high-flying Derby.

City were encouraged by their start at The Priestfield but again let a lead slip and ended up with no reward.

Yet another draw followed, this time against Watford before City went down to West Brom for the second time this season.

It was at this point that City seemed to find a renewed appetite for the fight as was aptly displayed in a creditable goalless draw at Turf Moor and home draw in a fiercely fought contest against Sunderland.

City drew another blank against Sheffield United despite playing the majority of the game against ten men but then saw two spectacular efforts from Steve Staunton turn defeat into victory at Highfield Road against Nottingham Forest.

City were denied a first away victory by a stunning goalkeeping performance at Ipswich, a game they went on to lose. However they were now finding more consistency in their performances and a penalty award gave them a timely three points in the Walsall home game to ensure the Sky Blues enter 2004 on the right side of the relegation trap door.

[This message was edited by SBA on 31 January 2004 at 22:42.]

retired_trainer21

SBA talks exclusively to CM Stories

Monday 29 December 2003

It was nice to see our persistence finally reap the reward it deserved in the Walsall game.

Once again our young side played some attractive stuff and I feel that had we scored early in the game we might have gone on to secure our biggest win of the season.

I was delighted to hear of the attendance figure - nearly 16,000 for a club in our position is a testament to your loyalty.

Having been the football league's top scorer last season with Wrexham I can tell you that Andy Morrell has not been happy with his return this season despite the obvious difference in class of opposition.

It was especially pleasing therefore that he was the player to take responsibility for the penalty. You won't see many better penalties considering the extreme pressure he was under.

Playing with a lone striker in a home game can understandably be perceived as a little negative. I hope that the chances we produced against the Saddlers go some way to proving that so long as the midfielders are encouraged to get up to support the frontman, it should not hinder a team's chances of hitting on a winning formula.

I hope that we can take our recent league form into the FA Cup game at Notts County.

This club has been known to wobble against lower league opposition in the past and that is a stigma we hope to shrug off in time. Whilst we will not underestimate the East Midlands side we fully expect our name to be in the draw for the fourth round come Saturday night.

The financial benefits of a decent Cup run are all too crucial to pass up.

Happy New Year from all at the Club.

SBA

retired_trainer21

SKY BLUE NEWS

Wednesday 31 December 2003

Pegguy Released

SBA has released Pegguy Arphexad from his contract which was due to continue on a month-by-month basis.

It is now thought that SBA will draft in a 'keeper from the youth set up as cover for No. 1 stopper Scott Shearer.

Kilgallon Tempted By Improved Leeds Offer

Matthew Kilgallon has become a first team regular, forming a consistent partnership at the heart of City's defence with Calum Davenport during his time with the Sky Blues.

SBA is reported to be interested in signing the promising youngster on a permanent deal but that now looks unlikely as Kilgallon's displays have not gone un-noticed at Elland Road. Leeds, despite having financial traumas of their own, are expected to offer him a much improved contract in the near future.

Safri Forced To Take A Back Seat

The Sky Blues' recent run of improved form has seen SBA name an ever more youthful first team starting line-up.

Battling Morroccan midfielder Youssef Safri has been forced out of the City side. He is in his third season with the club and may request a move in the near future should SBA continue to overlook him.

Safri would command a reasonable fee and is one of the higher earners at the club.

SBA refused to comment on the situation when questioned.

...

To Appear Here ... Match Details of City's FA Cup Third Round Tie at Meadow Lane ...

retired_trainer21

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Saturday 3 January 2004

Notts County 3
Hackworth 75
Stallard 83, 86

CITY 1
Pead 42

City Ousted By Late County Surge

The Sky Blues' 2004 FA Cup dream started and finished at Meadow Lane as a quickfire Mark Stallard double ensured they would be spending the rest of the season trying to keep their First Division status in tact.

Stallard will grab the headlines but in truth it was all going swimmingly to plan for SBA and City until substitute Andy Morrell was forced to come off the field of play with twenty minutes remaining. City had already used their full quota of three substitutions and so were forced to play on with just ten men. County scored all three of their goals during this period.

Stephen Warnock was rested by SBA in favour of Youssef Safri but City were otherwise unchanged from the side which beat Walsall on Boxing Day.

Despite not seeing as much of the ball as they have done in recent weeks City were content to try and hit the home side on the break, again with just Dele Adebola in attack.

The Sky Blues won a corner on the left just before half time and when Stuart Giddings found the forehead of Craig PEAD it seemed as though City were on their way to a first away victory of the season.

In fairness to the Second Division side they were threatening to draw level before Morrell, on for the tiring Graham Barrett, suffered his match-ending injury.

Central defender Matthew Kilgallon did not seem his usual assured self after being booked very early on and he certainly had his hands full with Stallard going close in quick succession midway through the second half.

For City Andrew Whing floated a free kick just over and Avun Jephcott, on for Adebola, saw his looping header tipped over the bar.

SBA may well need to learn a harsh lesson from the match turning incident.

He elected to bring Barrett off in favour of Morrell meaning that he had used all three available substitutions. City were then going to be left vulnerable to injuries and only five minutes after coming on, Morrell was unfortunately forced back off the pitch.

City were definitely affected but Notts County will take the plaudits for their never-say-die approach and they were ultimately rewarded with a place in the fourth round after Hackworth and then Stallard (twice) unhinged the City rearguard leaving County relishing the prospect of a big payday next time out.

City need to put this result behind them. They have shown significant improvement over the last month or so and mustn't let fifteen minutes of madness affect them as they attempt to push up the Division One table.

Thankfully there are only four days until they are in action again as Cardiff City await at Ninnian Park on Wednesday night.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Notts County 13
Coventry City 9

Corners

Notts County 0
Coventry City 4

retired_trainer21

MATCH REPORT from the CET

Wednesday 7 January 2004

Cardiff City 2
Langley (pen) 35
Thorne 71

CITY 2
Barrett 69
Goodman 90

City Debutant Nicks A Point At Ninian

When manager SBA named prolific (at Under-19 Level) goalscorer Mark Goodman amongst his substitutes he could not have dreamt of the impact the youngster would go on to have on this game, another of those which looked to be fading away from the battling Sky Blues.

City had to twice come from behind on a bitterly cold January evening in South Wales. But their bravery and persistence could not be questioned as first Graham Barrett, and then Goodman, scored their first senior goals for the Sky Blues to aid them in their quest to banish memories of their FA Cup surrender on Saturday.

SBA once again went with the 4-5-1 formation, the only change being Steve Staunton coming in for Stephen Warnock and City looked to exploit the hosts' vulnerability down the flanks as they deployed a narrow 3-5-2 line-up.

The first half was a scrappy affair with Dele Adebola going closest for City before Cardiff were awarded a controversial penalty following a scuffle from a corner. Stuart Giddings was ajudged to have pushed one of a ruck of Bluebirds players in a typically crowded penalty area. The penalty was comfortably converted to send City into the interval 1-0 down.

Giddings was replaced by Michael Doyle with Isaac Osbourne, perhaps feeling the effects of such a sustained run in the first team, giving way to Goodman who joined Adebola up front.

City looked to up the pressure before Peter Thorne wasted a great opportunity to double Cardiff's advantage, finding himself unmarked in the City area before firing straight at Shearer.

The Sky Blues were again finding themselves in encouraging advanced positions without managing to carve out the clear cut openings to make an impact on the scoreline.

It looked as though City would be denied again as Adebola swung his left boot at Staunton's left wing cross but despite the 'keepers' save the ball found its' way to the on-rushing BARRETT who lashed the ball into the gaping net from ten yards out.

Less than 90 seconds City were left with it all to do once again as Peter Thorne nipped in front of his marker at the near post to glance home a delightful cross from the left.

Craig Pead and Youssef Safri, along with Barrett and Doyle, were then given every licence to push on and join the waves of City attacks as mid-table Cardiff seemed happy to try and close out the game.

Then, with the game entering stoppage time, came Goodman's champagne moment.

He picked up the ball on the half way line on the City right before knocking the ball inside for Adebola who released the galloping GOODMAN once again. It seemed as though he would choose to square the ball as he entered the penalty area but, with all the confidence of a marksman many years his senior, buried the ball into the far corner of Cardiff's net from the most acute of angles.

So the result was City's twelfth draw of the season, it keeps them in 21st position in the Division One table. This weekend they welcome Crystal Palace to Highfield Road. The Eagles are one place below City in the table and so it presents the Sky Blues with an opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and the bottom three.

MATCH STATS

Goal Attempts

Cardiff City 7
Coventry City 11

Corners

Cardiff City 3
Coventry City 5

retired_trainer21

SKY BLUE NEWS

Thursday 8 January 2004

City Pair Seal New Deals

Two players who appear to have made the successful transition from the youth set up into the first team, Calum Davenport & Avun Jephcott, have both secured new contract deals with the Sky Blues.

Despite the club's troublesome financial plight this is clearly a sign that City recognise the need to stand by the likes of Davenport and Jephcott - two players who can play a significant role in shaping the club's on-field future.