Coventry City F.C.: Difference between revisions
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'''Coventry City Football Club''', otherwise known as the ''Sky Blues'' owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are an association football club based in [[Coventry]], central [[England]]. Coventry City were founding members of the [[Premier League]] in [[1992 in football (soccer)|1992]]. |
'''Coventry City Football Club''', otherwise known as the ''Sky Blues'' owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are an association football club based in [[Coventry]], central [[England]]. Coventry City were founding members of the [[Premier League]] in [[1992 in football (soccer)|1992]]. |
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They currently play in the [[Football League Championship]], the second-highest tier of the English league system. Their only major trophy was won in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 to win the [[FA Cup]], a game often cited as |
They currently play in the [[Football League Championship]], the second-highest tier of the English league system. Their only major trophy was won in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 to win the [[FA Cup]], a game often cited as possibly the greatest FA Cup Final of all time.<ref name ="Classic Cup Finals">{{cite web |
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|title = Classic Cup Finals |
|title = Classic Cup Finals |
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|publisher = [[The Football Association]] |
|publisher = [[The Football Association]] |
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Revision as of 20:48, 26 August 2010
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| Full name | Coventry City Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Sky Blues | ||
| Founded | 13 August 1883 (as Singers F.C.)[1] | ||
| Ground | Ricoh Arena, Coventry CV6 6GE | ||
| Capacity | 32,609 | ||
| Chairman | Ray Ranson | ||
| Manager | Aidy Boothroyd | ||
| League | The Championship | ||
| 2009–10 | The Championship, 19th | ||
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Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are an association football club based in Coventry, central England. Coventry City were founding members of the Premier League in 1992.
They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second-highest tier of the English league system. Their only major trophy was won in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 to win the FA Cup, a game often cited as possibly the greatest FA Cup Final of all time.[2] They also reached two League Cup semi-finals in 1981 and 1990.
From 1899 to 2005, Coventry City played at the Highfield Road stadium. During the 1980s it became the first all-seater stadium in English football, but by the end of the following decade the club's directors decided it was time to build a bigger stadium and chose a site in the Foleshill area of the city. The Ricoh Arena was opened in August 2005.
History
A brief history
- 1883 - The club is founded by employees of Singer, the cycle firm, with William Stanley one of the leading lights.
- 1898 - The club's name is changed from Singers F.C. to Coventry City.
- 1899 - The club move to Highfield Road following stints at Dowells Field and Stoke Road.
- 1901 - The club suffer their worst ever defeat with a disappointing 11-2 loss against Worcester-based Berwick Rangers in the qualifying round of the FA Cup.
- 1919 - The club are voted into the Football League, where they have remained ever since.
- 1928 - In the cold of February, and with Coventry struggling near the foot of Division Three South, the club's worst ever attendance is recorded. Only 2,059 turn up for the match against Crystal Palace.
- 1932 - Centre-forward Clarrie Bourton heads the Football League scoring lists with 49 goals. The following season he scored 40 goals.
- 1934 - City record their biggest ever victory a 9-0 league drubbing of Bristol City.
- 1936 - Coventry City win the Third Division South championship after a nail-biting final day 2-1 victory over Torquay United and return to Division Two after eleven years in the lower division.
- 1958 - Goalkeeper Alf Wood becomes the oldest player to start a game for the club, this year founding members of Division Four (now Football League Two). He played against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup aged 43 years and 207 days.
- 1961 - Former Fulham player and PFA chairman Jimmy Hill is appointed manager following an embarrassing FA Cup defeat at home to non-league Kings Lynn.
- 1964 - Jimmy Hill guides Coventry to promotion from Division Three (now Football League One) as champions after a final day 1-0 victory over Colchester United.
- 1967 - Coventry City promoted as Second Division champions to the top flight for the first time in their history. This made manager, and BBC Sport presenter Jimmy Hill a legend at the club. Coventry's record attendance was also set in this year - officially recorded as 51,455, (although many people who where at that game suggest the attendance was alot higher, possibly over 60.000) against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the team which Coventry would only just finish above at the top of the table.
- 1969-70 - Under Noel Cantwell, Coventry finish 6th in the First Division, their highest League placing.
- 1970 - Coventry qualified for the European Fairs Cup but lost 7-3 on aggregate in the 2nd round to Bayern Munich, despite winning the second leg 2-1 at Highfield Road. In that same year, Highfield Road became the first all-seater, floodlit stadium in the country.
- 1978 - The strike partnership of Ian Wallace and Mick Ferguson helped the Sky Blues finish in seventh position in the First Division, their second-highest ever final league placing, but fractionally miss-out on a UEFA Cup place.
- 1981 - The club reaches the League Cup semi-final but are denied their first Wembley appearance by West Ham United after leading in the first leg. Highfield Road becomes the country's first all-seater stadium.
- 1987 - The Sky Blues won the FA Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur in the final. It is their only major trophy to date. They were runners-up to Everton in August in the Charity Shield. Coventry also won the FA Youth Cup in this year.
- 1989 - Coventry defeated by non-league Sutton United in the FA Cup.[3] However, their impressive league form meant they equalled their best ever end of season placing, finishing in the top seven once more.
- 1990 - Coventry reached the League Cup semi-final for the second time, but were defeated by eventual winners Nottingham Forest.
- 1998 - The club reached the FA Cup quarter-final but were denied a semi-final appearance as Sheffield United (a league below them) won the replay at Bramall Lane. They also attained their highest Premier League finish of 11th position.
- 2001 - Coventry relegated from the Premier League after 34 years in the first tier. At the time, only Liverpool, Everton and Arsenal could boast longer tenures in the top flight.
- 2004 - Their football academy, based in southeast Coventry at The Alan Higgs Centre, owned by the Alan Higgs Trust, was opened in September 2004.[4][5]
- 2005 - Coventry relocated to the 32,609 seater Ricoh Arena after 106 years at Highfield Road. The club's last game at Highfield Road stadium results in a scintillating 6-2 win over Midlands rivals Derby County in front of a sell-out 23,000 crowd.
- 2007 - Coventry narrowly avoided administration when Ray Ranson took over the club with twenty minutes to spare.
- 2008 - The club celebrated its 125th anniversary. They avoided relegation to League One despite being beaten 4-1 at Charlton on the final day of the season.
- 2009 - The first ever complete sell-out of Ricoh Arena was announced for the FA Cup quarter-final match against Chelsea on 7 March 2009, which Chelsea won 2-0. The Ricoh became the first cashless stadium in the UK.
- 2010 - On 3 June 2010, it was announced that Coventry's home ground, the Ricoh Arena, will be a host stadium for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Playing kit
Coventry's home shirts are now always sky blue. However this hasn't always been the case. During the 1880s and 1890s, the club used black and red. Sky blue was first used by Coventry in 1898, the sky blue theme was then used until 1922, the colour made its return in 1962 thanks to the then manager, Jimmy Hill. In the 2008-09 season, Coventry used sky blue and white stripes, a design that has been used three times this millennium. This is a contrast to the late-1990s where sky blue and navy stripes were chosen three times. To mark the 125th year of the club, Coventry wore a special brown shirt in the last home game of the 2008-09 season against Watford. The choice of a brown kit is owed to the infamous chocolate brown Admiral away kit that Coventry had worn in the mid-1970s, regularly cited as the worst kit in English football history. For the 2009-10 season the club will revert to a sky blue shirt, rather than stripes.
Fans
Former Players Association
In February 2007 a Former Players Association was launched. Set up by club historian and statistician Jim Brown, former 1980s player Kirk Stephens and a committee of enthusiastic volunteers, its aim was to bring former players of the club together and cherish their memories. To qualify for free membership players have to have made at least one first team competitive appearance for the club or been a manager. Members are entitled to a ticket for any home league game.
Around 50 former stars of the club attended the launch including Coventry City legends George Hudson, Cyrille Regis, Charlie Timmins and Bill Glazier. The association's first newsletter was published in autumn 2007 and a website www.ccfpa.co.uk had been launched. The launch of 2007 was followed by subsequent Legend's Days in 2008 and 2009. The 2009 event, held at the home game against Doncaster Rovers was attended by 43 former players including the first visit to Coventry for many years of Roy Barry and Dave Clements. In March 2009 the association had 142 members. Two former players not mentioned in the all time list of Coventry City players on this site but who made a significant contribution to the teams they played in were Ray Graydon and Bobby McDonald.
Sky Blue anthem
The club song was written in 1962 by manager Jimmy Hill and director John Camkin. It was launched at the home game with Colchester on 22 December 1962 (a match abandoned at half-time because of fog) with the words printed in the programme. It quickly became popular with supporters during the epic FA Cup run in 1963 when the then Third Division team reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup before losing to eventual winners Manchester United. To the tune of the Eton Boating Song;
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Original:
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Current:
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Stadium
Grounds
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- Dowells Field - 1883-1887
- Stoke Road - 1887-1899
- Highfield Road - 1899-2005
- Ricoh Arena - 2005-date
106 years at Highfield Road
Coventry City began playing at the Highfield Road stadium in 1899, although the club did not buy the freehold to the site until 1937. The record crowd at the ground was on 29 April 1967 when 51,455 watched the Second Division title decider against Wolverhampton Wanderers. This was more than 6,000 more than the previous record set against Aston Villa in 1938. The ground has an interesting history. In 1940 it was bombed by Luftwaffe planes. In 1968, the main stand burnt down and new stand to replace it built within four months. In 1981, Highfield Road was converted into England's first ever all-seater stadium with a capacity of around 24,500 [1]. It had been gradually upgraded since then, with the final phase of work being completed in the mid-1990s, including two fully-enclosed corners. The final game played at the stadium was against Derby County on 30 April 2005, with Coventry winning the game with a 6–2 scoreline. On an emotional day, the final goal at Highfield Road was fittingly scored by a homegrown youngster Andrew Whing. Other goals came from Trinidad and Tobago international Stern John, Dele Adebola, and Coventry-born player Gary McSheffrey, who scored two of the goals. One of these was from a penalty given away by the ex-City captain Mo Konjić.
Relocating to Ricoh Arena
For the 2005–06 season, Coventry City moved to the new 33,040 capacity [6] Ricoh Arena after 106 years at Highfield Road. In 1998, the club had decided that it was time to relocate to a new stadium in the Foleshill area of the city, three miles north of the city centre and close to the M6 motorway. The original plan was for a state-of-the-art 45,000-seater, multipurpose stadium with removable pitch and retractable roof. It was due to be ready for the 2001–02 season. However, relegation, financial problems, financier/contractor withdrawals and England's failure to secure the 2006 World Cup competition led to a radical redesign. Despite initiating the project and being the principal attraction there, Coventry City's financial situation means that they no longer own the stadium and must pay rent to use it.
The stadium naming rights were originally sold to Jaguar Cars which has strong links with Coventry. Jaguar pulled out of the project on 16 December 2004 and a new major sponsor was needed. A £10 million deal, which included naming rights, was signed and electronics manufacturer Ricoh became the new chief sponsor for the stadium. The project was funded largely by Coventry City Council & the (Alan Edward) Higgs Charity (of which former CCFC and ACL director the late Sir Derek Higgs was a trustee), and includes shopping facilities, a casino, exhibition halls and a concert venue.
At the beginning of the 2005-06 season, construction delays at the ground forced Coventry City to play their first three games of the season away and postpone their home games. On Saturday 20 August 2005, City hosted Queens Park rangers in the first-ever game at the Ricoh Arena. Coventry won the game 3–0, the first goal at the Ricoh Arena being scored by Claus Bech Jørgensen, with an 11th-minute diving header. Dele Adebola then added two more for the Sky Blues.
Playing staff
First team squad
- As of 14 August 2010.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on Loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Academy squad
- As of 26 July 2010.[7]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Backroom staff and club officials
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Seasons, awards and honours
* Season in progress.
Other club honours (before 1968)
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Notable players
Official Hall of Fame
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Player records
- Highest fee paid: Craig Bellamy, £6,500,000 in 2000 from Norwich City
- Highest fee received: Robbie Keane, £13,000,000 in 2000 to Internazionale
- Last goal at Highfield Road: Andrew Whing
- First goal at Ricoh Arena: Claus Bech Jørgensen
- Most appearances (all competitions): Steve Ogrizovic, 601 (1984 to 2000)
- Most appearances (league): Steve Ogrizovic, 507 (1984 to 2000)
- All-time top scorer (all competitions): Clarrie Bourton, 182 goals (1931–1937)
- All-time top scorer (league): Clarrie Bourton, 173 goals (1931–1937)
- Top-flight era top scorer (all competitions): Dion Dublin, 72 goals (1994–1998)
- Top-flight era top scorer (league): Dion Dublin, 60 goals (1994–1998)
- Most goals by one player in a game: Cyrille Regis, 5 (vs Chester City, 1985), Arthur Bacon, 5 (vs Gillingham, 1933), Clarrie Bourton, (vs Bournemouth, 1931)
- Most goals by one player in a season: Clarrie Bourton, 50 (1931–1932) 49 league, 1 F.A. Cup.
- Most goals by one player in a season in the top flight: Dion Dublin, 23 (1997-1998), Ian Wallace, 23 (1977-1978)
- Oldest player: Alf Wood, 43 years 207 days (vs Plymouth Argyle, 1958)
- Youngest player: Jonson Clarke-Harris, 16 years 20 days (substitute vs Morecambe, 2010)
- Youngest player to start: Brian Hill, 16 years 273 days (vs Gillingham, 1958)
- Most capped player: Magnus Hedman, 38 caps for Sweden
Managers
See also Category:Coventry City F.C. managers
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Local rivals
Coventry's rival clubs include:
- Aston Villa
- Birmingham City
- Leicester City - 'M69 Derby' (Named the 26th fiercest rivalry in English football in an in-depth report by the Football Pools in 2008[9])
- West Bromwich Albion
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
Other information
References
- ^ City face Aldershot on 125th anniversary Coventry City FC, 12 August 2008
- ^ "Classic Cup Finals". The Football Association. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
- ^ "Frozen in time: 7 January 1989 - Sutton upset Coventry in the FA cup". The Guardian. 8 January 2006.
- ^ "The Alan Higgs Centre". Coventry Sports Foundation. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ "The Alan Higgs Centre". RHWL architects. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
- ^ Ricoh Arena
- ^ Academy Profiles 2010/11
- ^ a b c d Hall of Fame Coventry City FC, 29 May 2007
- ^ Football Rivalries Report 2008 The New Football Pools
External links
- Official club website
- Coventry City F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
- Sky Sports Coventry City
- Coventry City Former Players Association
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