[Glenn]

Full time: Coventry 0 Nottingham Forest 1

City came into today’s game looking to make amends for Monday’s embarrassing television showing and started positively. With merely seconds gone Macca stole the ball in midfield and set Eustace free. He was allowed time and space to run at the Forest backline but his low 20-yard strike fizzed wide of Ward’s right hand post.

Gary Caldwell, making his first appearance for the Sky Blues, did not take long to settle in central defence and showed he has good passing ability. After five minutes he played a wonderful ball to Bothroyd and his instinctive volley went just over the bar. Seconds later Caldwell spread another cracking ball 50 yards across the field to Chippo but the move came to nothing.

Two minutes afterwards City constructed another good move. The team were clearly trying to utilise the added width given by the two wing backs, Gordon and Chippo, and in the opening exchanges it was Gordon getting all the joy. He was set free by a Gary McSheffrey pass and whipped down the right wing. He curled a good cross in and it was McSheffrey on the end of it but his looping header was easily gathered by Ward.

It had been all Coventry up until the eighth minute when Forest showed the first signs of their passing ability but City remained the more threatening of the two sides. McSheffrey had a good shot from outside the box saved, and moments later another Gordon cross was stabbed clear but only as far as Bothroyd. He didn’t make a clean contact and failed to hit the target. City quickly regained possession and Gordon hit another deep cross to pick out Bothroyd once again but he got no power to his header.

Coventry were made to regret their missed chances on 15 minutes. The referee awarded a free kick 25 yards from goal for a handball by McAllister. Ricardo Scimeca stepped up and curled a great shot into the top left-hand corner. It was cruel luck for City who had been the better side until that point but the goal changed the flow of the game.

Forest looked far more fluid and began passing the ball about well. After 22 minutes David Johnson showed the skills that have got him three goals so far this campaign. He turned inside from the right, beat two defenders and hit a crisp shot just over the bar. Four minutes afterwards Coventry were back on the attack and again it was through Gordon. He shaped to cross but turned inside and hit a powerful strike just wide of the post.

The game had become more even by this point with both sides enjoying decent amounts of possession. Macca volleyed just wide when freed by Eustace on 26 but Forest were looking far more threatening than in the first 20 minutes. Scimeca was having a good half for Forest and when McSheffrey was put clear it was the goalscorer who tracked him and cut out the threat.

Hyldgaard was making some decent saves and he just managed to get his fingertips on a stinging 25 yard from Johnson after 33 minutes and tipped it onto the bar. With just one minute remaining Johnson really should have put Forest two up. Scimeca squared it but Hyldgaard was quick to react and blocked the resulting effort brilliantly. The final chance of the half fell to the Sky Blues. Gordon once again got space on the left and whipped in a dangerous ball to Chippo who looked certain to score from 5 yards. Ward bravely blocked his header and the referee deemed it the last action of the first half.

The start of the second half was a scrappy affair with neither side really stamping their authority but Chippo nearly changed that with a 25 yard thunderbolt on 46 that went just over the bar. He had another shot shortly afterwards but this time his long range effort went well wide. Forest seemed happy to take their time with the ball and created their first opening 10 minutes into the half but Shaw cleared a cross well with two strikers looming behind.

Just afterwards Gary McSheffrey was put clear by a good McAllister throughball. He turned one defender but Hjelde made the important tackle. Forest were looking lively on the counter attack and Harewood toe poked wide from close range after Brennan had escaped up the left and crossed to the near post. It was Coventry’s turn to string a good move together after that. Safri played a lovely long ball to Shaw who threaded it down the line to Bothroyd. His deflected cross bobbled across the face of goal but Eustace was unable to get the decisive touch.

On 65 minutes Coventry were extremely fortunate not to go two behind. Macca had a goalbound shot blocked but when Forest cleared the resulting corner City were caught short at the back. Three Forest attackers had just Shaw between them and the goalkeeper, and when Johnson squared for Andy Reid who had just come on as a substitute he looked certain to score. However, he dinked the ball past Hyldgaard only to see it fall wide of the post.

As the game moved into its latter stages Coventry began to increase the pressure with the central midfielders controlling the play and Gordon still working tirelessly down the left. On 70 minutes McSheffrey again found himself clear, this time towards the right of the penalty box. He chipped it over the keeper but there were enough defenders back to clear the ball away.

Two minutes later City made their first change with Mills coming on for Bothroyd. A crunching tackle from Eustace put Gordon free in the 74th minute and he crossed deep towards Mills who was the latest City player to put a header straight at Ward. He had another free header shortly after but this time his effort was well wide. With ten minutes remaining 18-year-old David Pipe replaced McSheffrey but his introduction was not enough to give Coventry that extra spark.

The performance was considerably better than the one against Watford but for all Coventry’s possession they lacked a cutting edge up front. The forwards worked hard and the midfield trio seemed to be working well. Gordon got a huge amount of crosses in from the left and on another day the Sky Blues would have registered at least one of their chances but it wasn’t to be today.


Coventry: Hyldgaard; Gordon; Shaw; Eustace; McAllister; Chippo; Quinn; Safri (Pead 84); McSheffrey (Pipe 80); Caldwell; Bothroyd (Mills 72). Unused ubs: Debec; Normann.

Forest: Ward; Louis-Jean; Brennan; Walker; Hjelde; Scimeca; Prutton; Williams; Johnson; Harewood (Reid 64); Jess (Lester 45). Unused subs: Roche; Doig; Bopp

Booked: Prutton

Referee: Mr Eddie Wolstenholme

[Glenn]

Macca issues striker challenge Sep 2 2002




By Andy Turner


Life after Lee Hughes began in earnest at the weekend as Coventry City did everything but score at Highfield Road.


The harsh reality of the Sky Blues’ financial plight hit home as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest, but player boss Gary McAllister remains upbeat about the future.


“With so many chances on goal it begs the question would Hughesy have got some goals today?,” he said after City had dominated much of the play.


“The facts are that he’s gone and now the responsibility falls on some very young shoulders.


“I am talking about Gary McSheffrey, Jay Bothroyd and David Pipe ably supported by Lee Mills. That’s our four mainline strikers at the moment and it is up to them to get up to the pace of this division and score some goals.


“I thought the starting front two played very well.


“Jay maybe died a little bit but we are working very hard with him, as I imagine everyone who has worked with him sees the tremendous ability he’s got and it is just a case of marrying all those things and getting him to perform on a match day at this level.


“Big Millsy did well when he came on and all credit again to the substitutes because I have been asking the guys who sit on the bench to come on and influence the game and they have done, so that is very refreshing.”


McAllister revealed that he is still working on bringing a new face in on loan but reiterated the fact that it will not be a high profile player on high wages.


The Football Association are keeping the transfer window open for Nationwide clubs until they get a decision from FIFA on their application for exemption.


That is expected to come by the end of the week and with FIFA likely to rule that the window must apply to all English clubs, McAllister will have to move fast to bring somebody in.

[Glenn]

Morten’s still confident of success
02 Sep 2002 17:13


Despite suffering two consecutive defeats Coventry City’s new first choice keeper could hardly have been blamed for any of the six goals that whistled past him against Watford or Nottingham Forest. Morten Hyldgaard made his full debut on the opening day of the season against Sheffield United and with the exception of one or two minor glitches has been impressive between the sticks, making some fine saves to keep his team in games.

The Great Dane- as he has been tagged due to his imposing physique- is improving with each performance and looks remarkably assured following three years of injury trouble and reserve team football. Hyldgaard is satisfied with City’s start to the season, with the obvious exception of one game.

“Our start has been a little up and down. We began really well with three wins and a draw but we’ve let ourselves down a bit in the last two matches. Having said that we definitely should have won against Forest because we had so many opportunities. I think we had about 27 attempts at goal but it was just one of those days when things wouldn’t go for us. There are 46 games in the whole season so there’s a long way to go and no need to panic.

“It was frustrating to watch their keeper make as many saves as he did. For the majority of the game it was mainly shots on one goal. I had a few saves to make but wasn’t that busy compared to him. He did really well I think so fair play to him. The most important thing for us to do on Saturday was improve considerably on the previous performance.

“We made Watford look good but luckily we played much better against Forest. If we’d played badly it wouldn’t have gone down well and I’d be quite worried, but we proved we’d put that behind us. Unfortunately the result wasn’t there but we still made a drastic improvement.

“When you go a goal down it can be very hard to come back. Some teams are much harder to play against than others when they are 1-0 up. We were a goal down against Reading and just fought our way back into it. In my eyes the Forest game was exactly the same – we just got the goals in one and not the other. It was one of those days and people have to realise that we have done our best in all the games with the exception of Watford. We were just unlucky on Saturday.”

It is only a week since City were in with a shout of going top of Division One, and they are now currently sitting in eighth some six points behind leaders Portsmouth. Despite the change of fortune Hyldgaard maintains that the team’s aims have not changed in the slightest.

“As we said from the beginning we’re looking for promotion. Realistically it’s going to be difficult to finish first or second- not because of where we are now but just because of how tough the league is. We’re still aiming for at least a play-off spot and I believe we can do that.

“As long as we make sure that the Watford game was a one-off we’ll be alright. It could be good to get that result out the way early on. I’m aiming for the play-offs and we can take it from there.”

Morten has had the additional pressure of the arrival of a new keeper at the club in the past couple of weeks to challenge for his spot. French shot stopper Fabien Debec has joined the Sky Blues on a 12 month contract, played well in the reserves last week and was on the bench against Forest, but Morten is more focussed on his own game and how he hopes to improve it.

“Fabien’s arrival has brought more competition but I’ve had to fight for my place all along because of Gary Montgomery. Obviously there is even more competition now with three of us and sometimes you have to push yourself more, but I think you should be able to do that anyway, regardless of whether somebody else is challenging you or not.

“Thankfully I am able to do that but I’m well aware he’s right at my back. It’s hard to judge anybody from training alone but I’m sure he’s a decent keeper. I haven’t seen anything bad of him yet anyway. I know that I can still improve in all areas as a keeper. I’ve got a long way to go and things to put right like catching instead of punching.

“The way I look at it if you come out and catch crosses and distribute the ball well you don’t have to make as many saves on the line and I’m certain it’s easier to catch a cross than to make a great save. I think that’s what makes a good keeper. Obviously you have to make saves sometimes but preferably as few as possible.”

www.ccfc.co.uk

[Glenn]

Player-boss Gary McAllister hailed the "excellent" display by debutant Gary Caldwell in Coventry's 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The defender, who is with City for the season after agreeing a loan move from Newcastle, looked solid in defence in his first outing for the club and set up several attacks with long-range passes.
And, afterwards McAllister said: "Gary had an excellent first game, bearing in mind his last game was for Scotland which was back in May.
"He has played for our reserves since then but that is nothing like a first-team match and I thought he did very well."

[Glenn]

Coventry City centre-back Gary Caldwell is hoping to bring his match fitness up to speed by cramming in 180 minutes of international football this week.


The on-loan defender, who made an impressive Sky Blues debut against Nottingham Forest, has joined the Scotland under-21 squad for their games against Israel and Northern Ireland on Wednesday and Friday.


After being sidelined for the summer with a knee injury, Saturday’s Nationwide League match at Highfield Road was the 20-year-old’s first senior game since he represented his country in a tour of the Far East in May.


“I felt good in the game and I am just short of match fitness now,” said the player who is also looking to get back into the senior Scotland squad.


“I had a word with the gaffer about playing the two under-21 games in a short space of time and he agreed that it is just what I need at the moment while the other players maybe need a bit of rest.


“I picked up four senior caps for my country earlier in the year and I am disappointed to drop back down to the under-21s but the decision points to the fact that I have been out injured and not playing, so hopeful-ly I can get my place back this week by playing well in the two games.


“All being well I will be back and ready to play against Colchester in the Worthington Cup next week and be a lot sharper and stronger. My knee is certainly fine now so I hope that is the back of that problem.”


Caldwell was impressed with his Coventry teammates at the weekend and says the performance has given him renewed confidence that the club can do well this season.


“I thought we played well but sometimes you need the ball to drop in the right areas for you and that didn’t happen against Forest,” he said.


“The fact that we didn’t score was not just down to the front two because we all take responsibility as a team. I think Jay Bothroyd and Gary McSheffrey have got a lot of potential to strike up a good partner-ship but that might take time.


“But we have also got Lee Mills who did well when he came on and Julian Joachim when he is fit again, so we have four good strikers competing for places.


“I enjoyed playing the 3-5-2 formation which I prefer personally because I feel it gives the team a better balance, and going on the performance I think Coventry are still capable of finishing in the top six and either getting promotion via the playoffs or going straight up.”

[Glenn]

Coventry City’s winger Laurent Delorge resumed full training with the Sky Blues squad at Ryton yesterday morning.

The 23-year-old Belgian, who has been unlucky with injuries since his arrival at the club in 1998, has sat out City’s past five games after gashing his shin in the season opener against Sheffield United.

Delorge was able to train lightly last week but was not fit in time for the Nottingham Forest clash. With the squad training all this week, Delorge will have time to work on his match fitness, with the next game not until next Wednesday when the Sky Blues entertain Colchester in the Worthington Cup, followed by the visit of Grimsby in the league on Saturday September 14.

The news will be a welcome relief to Gary McAllister with Coventry facing a build-up of fixtures later this month. The Bradford game was rearranged from this Saturday to Tuesday September 24, leaving City with five games in a fortnight.

[Glenn]

Southampton have agreed terms with left-back Marcus Hall on a deal until the end of the season.
The fullback is out of contract and has been on a pay-as-you-play deal with Nottingham Forest since turning down a contract at Coventry at the end of last season.

Saints chairman Rupert Lowe told the Southampton official website: "It does not mean we are about to sell Wayne Bridge but we have been a bit short of cover down that flank so this is a good deal for us. Gordon knows him well and he will be a useful addition for us."

New Blackburn Rovers signing David Thompson says its great to be back in the Premiership.
The former Liverpool midfielder signed for Rovers yesterday in a £1.5 million deal from Coventry.

He told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, "It's great to be back in the Premier League and I can't wait to get started again now.

"The last 12 months have been tough because there's only one place to be and that's the Premier League.

"So it's not nice being out of it, especially last year when you couldn't even get coverage of the Division One games.

"The Nationwide League has become a bit of a graveyard but people only have themselves to blame for the way it has been run.

"Thankfully, Blackburn Rovers appear to be in good hands and they don't seem to spend money willy-nilly like chairman at other clubs have done.

"So I'm looking forward to the next few years.

"There's some great players here and we've got the potential to be a very good side.

"The manager is trying to build for the future and he's got a good mix of young and experienced players so there's plenty to be excited about."

[Glenn]

Coventry centre-back Mo Konjic is backing 19-year-old Calum Davenport to be a regular in the Sky Blues' starting line-up for years to come.
Davenport and Konjic had been central defensive partners during the first four matches of the season, but injury to the big Bosnian and suspension for the teenager meant both missed out in the 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest.
But Konjic has seen enough of the youngster to predict a bright future.
He said: "I've been really impressed by the young players we have here. I play alongside Calum and he has the makings of an excellent footballer.
"He is big and strong, but he is also skilful and can pass the ball. I'm sure he will do really well for Coventry City in years to come."
The 32-year-old believes the blend of experience and youth could prove to be the key to any success for The Sky Blues this season.
He added: "I look at the squad here and I know that we are good enough to get promoted back to the Premier League.
"We have a good blend of players - senior players and young boys coming through."

[Glenn]

FIFA are set to dash the Football League's hopes of obtaining a permanent exemption from the transfer window system.

The League have sent FIFA new proposals which would allow a limited quota of transfers between clubs in Divisions One, Two and Three in periods outside the two transfer windows.

FIFA today said they would make a decision next week but a spokesman for football's world governing body insisted if any dispensation was given, it would be for a limited period only.

FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren told the Press Association: ``The principle of transfer windows cannot be removed, it is one of the cornerstones of our agreement with the European Commission.

``If there is any dispensation it would just be for a transitional period to soften the impact.

``We had a first proposal from the Football League which was too drastic, and our legal department are now looking at a second proposal. A decision is not likely to come until next week.''

The Premier League have reluctantly accepted the transfer window system, and no transfers will be allowed involving top-flight clubs after midnight on Saturday until the next window opens around Christmas.

Meanwhile, the Football Association will allow the League to carry on with transfers until they have heard back from FIFA.

League spokesman John Nagle said if the Nationwide clubs are granted a dispensation for one or two seasons, they would view it as a trial period and would seek a permanent exemption at the end of it.

The League claim transfer windows could spell financial disaster for cash-strapped clubs who sometimes need to raise transfer revenue at short notice to keep afloat.

Nagle said: ``We want a permanent dispensation because the the objections we have to the system are not going to go away, it's going to be just the same in two years.

``If we get some sort of agreement for a limited period we will regard it as a trial period for both sides rather than a transitional period, review it at the end and reserve our rights to reassess the situation.''

He added: ``It is very frustrating. We are just days away from an artificial transfer deadline that we have opposed for the best part of a year, yet still don't know if FIFA are going to recognise our objections.''

The League's ultimate weapon could be to launch some sort of legal action claiming restraint of trade, though such a course of action is way down the line.

Such a move would also cause the whole transfer agreement hammered out between FIFA, UEFA and the European Commission to be re-examined in minute detail.

FIFA defend the transfer windows as a measure, agreed by all parties during the transfer rules negotiations, designed to increase the stability of players' contracts.

They also point to the fact the system has worked for many years in countries such as Spain, Italy and France.

The FA's head of communications Paul Newman confirmed Football League clubs will be able to carry on with transfers beyond Saturday's deadline until they have heard back from FIFA.

He told the FA's website, www.thefa.com: ``The Football Association would like to make it clear that there is no dispute between FIFA and the FA on the issue of a transfer window.

``We are working with our colleagues at the Football League to reach a compromise.

``The Football League is opposed to the principle of transfer windows, as is The FA.

``We have sought to negotiate flexibility in order to allow clubs which have already suffered financially after the collapse of ITV Digital to retain the ability to trade between themselves when the transfer window is closed.

``We had a fruitful discussion with FIFA when we met on July 23.

``Since then we have been talking regularly and the FIFA players' status committee is considering our joint request for flexibility.

``While we await FIFA's decision, we will continue to allow transfers within the Football League beyond Saturday's deadline.''

[Loza]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sky Blue Tom:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Glenn:
Man City's Shaun Goater coming on loan ?

Rumour banding about<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmmm....no thanks. Get us Colin Healy back!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hasn't Healy been transfer listed now? Or was that on CM...I cant remember...

Nice to see Coventry with such a big thread, even if it is mostly one person posting! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="big grin[/IMG]