[retired_russ10120]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sky Blue Tom:
Anyone else disappointed Delorge has gone? I really rated him! [IMG]/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif" alt="frown[/IMG]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I guess the problem was he was a fringe player being paid far too much.

[retired_smitchell78]

The Sky Blues have made another addition to their squad with gritty midfielder Brian Kerr joining the club on a month’s loan from Newcastle.

Kerr made his debut for Newcastle against Coventry in September 2000 after earning a three-year contract aged just 17. He will be available for selection for Saturday’s game against Walsall.

The 21-year-old joins fellow Scot Gary Caldwell at the club and will be hoping to earn a place in the Sky Blues’ fiercely competitive midfield.

Kerr has three Scottish Under 21 caps, the last of which he earned alongside Caldwell in a 2-0 win over Ghana.

He captained the Newcastle youth side and made two appearances for the first team last year, both as a substitute in the FA Cup

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Richie Partridge has had his loan period with Coventry City extended until the end of the season.The 22-year-old has turned in some excellent performances since arriving at the club at the end of September and has tormented defences with his electric pace and trickery.He scored his first goal for the club last night in spectacular style, netting from 30 yards following a mazy run.With the Sky Blues currently trying to keep up with the First Division leaders the news of Richie’s extended stay will be a boost to City’s promotion charge.

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Gary McAllister reverts back to a more conventional 4-4-2 for the visit of Norwich tonight.The Sky Blues will be keen to continue the Canaries' poor form at Highfield Road tonight - Norwich have won only two of the 41 meetings between the two clubs at this ground.David Pipe starts on the bench while Gary McSheffrey comes into the starting line-up to play alongside Lee Mills up front.That is the only change to the starting line-up that took a point from league-leaders Portsmouth on Saturday.

Coventry: Debec; Konjic; Partridge; McAllister; Chippo; Mills; Quinn; Safri; McSheffrey; Caldwell; Davenport.

Subs: Hyldgaard; Shaw; Eustace; Bothroyd; Pipe


Full-time: Coventry 1 Norwich 1
23 Oct 2002 21:53


A goal in the last minute of the game denied the Sky Blues a deserved three points in tonight’s clash with second-placed Norwich. Paul McVeigh’s 90th minute goal cancelled out Richie Partridge’s first half cracker and the Sky Blues will look back on this as two points lost.The opening ten minutes were largely dominated by the visitors. Coventry were getting possession but frequently squandering it as the Norwich midfield pressurised them into mistakes.For all the possession Norwich failed to make any clear-cut chances and the City defence dealt reasonably easy with what was thrown their way. With eight minutes on the clock a deep cross was floated in to Iwan Roberts on the back post but he couldn’t control his header and Caldwell put the ball behind for a corner.For the Sky Blues Gary McSheffrey was his usual lively self and came close to being put through on goal on a number of occasions but the 20-year-old was not involved in City’s first good move on 15 minutes.It came from the right hand side when Mills won the ball thanks to some hard work and played it to Chippo who moved it inside to Macca. The player-manager then dinked it over the defence for Mills who had continued his run down the flank. He pulled a great ball back into the area but Richie Partridge did not connect well and his shot went wide.That was not the case when the on-loan left midfielder opened the scoring on 22 minutes. Partridge picked the ball up on half way and did what he has done many times in his month with the club – run at the defence. He nutmegged the first man and then with no significant attempts at a tackle coming in, cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable 30-yard drive that whistled into the top corner, giving Green no chance.It was a spectacular goal - as well as a welcome one for the Coventry fans - that settled the Sky Blues down. Just three minutes before taking the lead Norwich had gone close with a Roberts header but Debec saved well The game did not really take off after the goal as the Sky Blues slowed things down and Norwich seemed a little shell shocked to find themselves one down. The Canaries looked to build attacks but had little penetration and rarely worried the City defence.Coventry continued to threaten but did not create any further good opportunities. They rallied in stoppage time with Safri working hard to get his shot away but must have been happy to see the half out with a one-goal lead, having not broken into full stride yet.John Eustace entered the fray at the start of the second half for his first action in over a month, coming on for Macca who had had an unusually quiet first period as well as taking a couple of knocks along the way.The first genuine chance of the half came City’s way after 49 minutes when Safri played a good through ball to McSheffrey. He ran at the last man before peeling wide to make the angle for a shot but he fired too close to Green who made a comfortable save.Norwich had not come out all guns blazing and City looked fairly comfortable in the opening exchanges. They also had their attacking intentions firmly in place with Partridge looking extremely lively on the left.After 57 minutes Eustace had a golden opportunity to extend the Sky Blues’ lead. A slick move ended with Chippo putting the club skipper clear ten yards out but he skewed his shot wide. Two minutes later more good work from Chippo gave Eustace another shooting opportunity and on this occasion his shot from the edge of the area was weak and straight down Green’s throat.On 61 minutes it was City’s turn to defend as Roberts tried to turn Konjic to leave himself clear on goal. The Bosnian stood his ground brilliantly and made a great late challenge to cut out the threat.Four minutes later Chippo found himself with an open goal to aim at from 40 yards. The ball came his way from a misguided clearance by Green. As the Norwich shot stopper ran back towards goal Chippo side footed an effort that looked to have gone in, but only hit the side netting.City had certainly had their chances to extend the lead and with 20 minutes remaining Norwich tried to apply more pressure. City were defending stoutly and good battling earned them some useful counter attacks. With 15 minutes to go Eustace had his second great chance of the evening after Chippo had been put clear down the right. With Norwich men struggling to get back the Moroccan squared the ball into the area and when it arrived at Eustace’s feet he placed a better effort on target but Green got down well to make a one-handed save.Norwich’s keeper had been called on regularly to keep his side in it during the second half while Debec had relatively little to do. Green’s best save came with five minutes remaining on the clock. Two of City’s substitutes, Jay Bothroyd and David Pipe broke clear in a counter attack that was typical of the Sky Blues’ second half showing. Bothroyd held onto the ball until the last minute before squaring for Pipe who smashed in a great effort that Green tipped over the bar. With two minutes left on the clock Eustace nearly had another chance but he couldn’t quite reach Partridge’s cross.City had done an excellent job in the second period but in the last minute of normal time they were made to regret those missed chances.McVeigh picked the ball up 25 yards out and chipped a decent effort over Debec. It appeared to take a deflection on the way off Calum Davenport and the young defender’s reaction signalled that this was the case. The City players were understandably crestfallen by this bitter blow that they did not deserve after a good performance.Norwich had made very few clearcut chances in the second period. The Coventry players picked themselves up to play out the three minutes of stoppage time but left the field gutted at not having taken a deserved three points.

Coventry: Debec; Konjic; Partridge; McAllister (Eustace 46); Chippo; Mills (Bothroyd 70); Quinn; Safri; McSheffrey (Pipe); Caldwell; Davenport.

Subs not used: Hyldgaard; Shaw

Norwich: Green; Kenton; Drury; Mackay; Nielsen; Mulryne; Holt; Roberts; Nedergaard (Emblen 82); Southall (Henderson 73); Heckingbottom (McVeigh 56)
Subs not used: Crichton; Fleming

Booked: Mulryne

Referee: Mr Mike Pike (Cumbria)

[retired_smitchell78]

Laurent Delorge is the latest player to leave Highfield Road as the club attempts to reduce its wage bill.

Coventry City has cancelled the Belgian’s contract by mutual consent, commencing with immediate effect.

Delorge follows in the footsteps of Runar Normann, Ivan Guerrero and Jairo Martinez, who have already left the club.

The 23-year-old midfielder joined the Sky Blues from KAA Gent in 1998 but his first two seasons were dogged by injury troubles after sustaining a broken leg in his opening reserve team match.

When fully fit Delorge showed glimpses of the skills that led Gordon Strachan to sign him and in his 34 first team appearances he netted four times. He started 20 games last season and was hoping to establish himself as a key member of the team this time around.

The former Belgium Under-21 international suffered more misfortune on the opening day of the season when a badly gashed leg against Sheffield United kept him out of action for a month.

Delorge has not featured in a squad since mid-September when he was awarded starts against Colchester and Sheffield Wednesday, with the winger substituted on both occasions.

Coventry City would like to wish Laurent the best of luck for his career in the future.

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Macca today commented for the first time about extending Richie Partridge’s loan for the remainder of the season and the arrival of Brian Kerr for a month from Newcastle.

He has been extremely impressed with Partridge’s performances since arriving at Highfield Road and said last night’s goal was the icing on the cake.

"I think Richie’s been influential since he arrived and that was topped by a great goal last night. He’s enjoying playing in competitive matches rather than the reserves up at Liverpool. It suits both parties – he was very keen to stay and we were very keen to keep him so we’re happy to have sorted it out.

"He’s got a bit of pace, a nice touch and he can pass and in this league that is a rarity. He’s a Liverpool player so he’s been taught properly and you can see it in the way he plays. We’d been chatting with Richie over the last two or three days saying the only thing missing from him was a goal and he certainly served it up very quickly after we told him that. It was certainly a candidate for goal of the season as well."

People have been comparing Richie to former fans’ favourite David Thompson and Macca understands why but he says they are two completely different players.

"I know where people are coming from when they compare Richie to David Thompson with respect to their height and they both cover the ground pretty quickly. I see them as different players – David’s maybe got a wee bit more of the devil about him."

Macca thinks Brian Kerr will be a useful addition to the squad and though his loan is only for a month initially he says it could possibly be extended if he proves to be a success.

"We’ve brought Brian Kerr in from Newcastle today to hopefully just add that little bit more quality into the set-up. He’s a good player who can play in a number of positions. He can play wide in the midfield or in the front of a diamond or in front of a couple of holding players.

"Gary Caldwell knows him very well. They’ve obviously played together in the Scottish Under 21s and Kerr has been impressing recently playing for them. That’s how we heard he was available and that he wanted to come here and play. He’s another player desperate to get out of reserve team football and play competitive football.

"He’s got something to prove – he’s here for a month initially which will give us a chance to get a closer look at him and for him to see what he thinks of us. He’s another quality player – somebody who’s capable of getting hold of the ball and passing it and he’s a goal threat as well.

With four players gone recently and three in Macca says he is shaking the squad up and thinks getting young loan signings in should be effective.

"The players we’re getting rid of are leaving because they’ve been here a couple of seasons and not managed to get in or influence the club. I’m just trying to freshen things up by getting lads in who feel like they’ve got a point a prove.

"The three lads I’ve got in now are from Premier League clubs and they’ll obviously want to show their managers they’re capable of playing at that level. If they’re doing well here it’s an indication to the managers back at their clubs that they might have a part to play there."

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Coventry City take on the Saddlers at Highfield Road tomorrow afternoon, looking for three points at home following the draw against Norwich on Wednesday night.

The only doubt for the fixture is Gary McAllister who sustained a groin injury after an accidental collision with Calum Davenport on Wednesday night. The City player-manager came off at half time and was waiting to see how he reacted in training this morning before declaring himself fit for tomorrow.

New loan signing Brian Kerr and John Eustace – who replaced Macca at half time on Wednesday – will be available for selection should the City boss rest himself.

Mo Konjic suffered a fracture of his right hand as well against Norwich, although Macca thinks it is unlikely to keep the Bosnian out of action.

"Mo went for an X-ray yesterday morning and he's got a small fracture in his hand but I’m sure Mo will still be able to play. We’ll just stick a mask on it!"

Whether he is on the pitch or not Macca is urging his players to be wary of Walsall, and not take them for granted because of their low placing in the league compared to City’s other recent opponents.

"Walsall is a game we’re expected to win but we’ve got to give them the respect they deserve, work hard and hopefully things will take care of themselves. We’re at a stage of the season where every game is quite high profile and this one has been put to the side a wee bit but it’s vital we start winning at home.

"I think our away record is as good as any in the league but we haven’t managed to get enough points at home so this game is vital for us and we have to go for it against Walsall."

The City coaching staff have been doing their homework on Colin Lee’s men and have highlighted one of their strong points, although Macca wants the team to focus on themselves in order to come away with a win.

"We’ve had Walsall watched. In one of their games recently they were two-nil up and had a player sent off and then I heard they really dug in and battled as a team so there’s a bit of unity there.

"It might be that coming to play one of the top six or seven teams in the league they’ll hold out for a result but we’ll soon find out in the opening stages of the game.

"We’ve taken our time looking at Walsall’s strengths but I’ll be pressing on the players it’s about how they perform."

[retired_smitchell78]

The Academy games are brought a day forward as both sides prepare to face Southampton.

The matches have been rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 2pm with both sides playing The Saints at Sky Blue Lodge.

It’s a top of the table clash for the under 17s as City and Southampton occupy first and second place respectively in their group. Brian Borrows’ team will be looking to make it their fifth win of the season.

The under 19s go into their game with third placed Southampton, still searching for their second win of the campaign. George Mackie’s side will be hoping to build on their positive performance against Charlton in their previous game

[retired_kpr]

That Norwich equaliser was an awful moment.

let's hope we beat walsall tommorrow...

[retired_smitchell78]

Southampton halted any progress in the league for the Academy teams as both sides lost in their FA Premier Academy League games this afternoon at Ryton.

The under 17s, currently top of Group C, were defeated by the second place Saints 3-0.

The Saints also heaped more woe onto the under 19s as they beat George Mackie’s side 4-1. The only goal for City came from striker Avun Jephcott.