SBA Posted February 1, 2004 Author Share Posted February 1, 2004 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 ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 1, 2004 Author Share Posted February 1, 2004 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 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 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 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 12, 2004 Author Share Posted February 12, 2004 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 12, 2004 Author Share Posted February 12, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Friday 9 January 2004 So we've seen a somewhat mixed first week of 2004 - we certainly intend to have steadied the rocking ship somewhat by the time we get to week 52 of 2004!! I don't really want to mull over our shattering FA Cup exit. This club has a long history of faltering at the hands of lower league opposition and it seems that, no matter who the manager, it is a curse that is as tough as ever to break away from. Suffice to say I learned some valuable lessons from it. In hindsight it was not a great idea to have used up all three substitutions with over twenty minutes of the game to go. Circumstances can sometimes dictate that such a move is necessary - i.e. if you're chasing a game. However in this instance that was not the case and to lose a 1-0 lead within the space of 15 minutes was not acceptable but the fact we were left exposed with just ten fit players means I have to shoulder a large part of the blame. On a far more uplifting note it is great to see us out of the bottom three thanks to an encouraging December. It was important to try and bounce back from the Cup defeat to ensure our much-improved league form was not affected and the response we did see was fantastic. Cardiff would have been very warm favourites to have beaten us on Wednesday night but we were full value for the point we came away with. Mark Goodman will not be a familiar name amongst the media or the rest of the footballing world but he has led the Under 19 side's attack with a highly aggressive and energetic approach which has had all of the coaching staff here sit up and take notice. For him to grab our equaliser, and some equaliser it was too, has had him recalling the move and excellent finish to all who have been willing to listen!! He's certainly full of confidence and looks to be full of goals - needless to say we will be monitoring his progress closely in the weeks ahead to assess whether he is ready for a permanent step up to first team level. We must be careful in the way we nurture the youngsters. Isaac Osbourne made an excellent impression on the first team during his first few games with us but I felt he needed a break at Ninian Park and I will be consulting him before tomorrow's game before naming my team. Tomorrow's game against Crystal Palace sees us go into it as favourites with Palace a few points below us in the table. We'll be looking to get the win, with another home game against Millwall to follow in midweek. By the time I write the column next week I would expect us to be in a position from which we can realistically build towards attaining the mid-table finish which we've now made our aim. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 Friday 9 January 2004 We welcome back Graham Abraham to talk to us for a Sky Blue Fans' Perspective ... CET: Graham, a very warm welcome back - you must be relatively pleased with the way things have gone since you last talked to us. Graham: Yes, thanks. We've picked up now with only one league defeat in the last seven games. I'm trying to focus on that rather than our shocking FA Cup exit. It was another embarrassing one wasn't it. Just a bit. I reckon if we were top of the Premiership we'd still manage to get knocked out of a Cup competition by some lower division club. After the brief flirtation with the relegation zone do you now think we're back on track. We're heading in the right direction at the moment but that could all change tomorrow - if we get beaten by Palace we'll be back in the thick of it again. I'm confident but you can never be over-confident as a City fan. You must have been delighted with the Mark Goodman equaliser the other night. Yes. There weren't many of us who'd made the trip and in fact quite a few fans had already left the ground before we got the equaliser but it was a quality goal - the kid has left himself with plenty to live up to now!! Some of the younger City players have come in and done a job which a lot of the more established professionals at the club would have been pleased with haven't they. That's the way I see it, yes. But hopefully a bit of competition will do them good - the last thing we want is players who think they've got an automatic right to be on the teamsheet every week. I think only Calum Davenport and Andrew Whing have been consistently in the side this season - but even they aren't ever-presents. How do you feel about Matthew Kilgallon coming to the end of his loan spell and going back to Leeds? I'd love him to stay but he's just signed a new deal with Leeds. He's done OK alongside Davenport - hopefully if Mo Konjic is brought back into the side he can raise his game to a level where we won't miss Kilgallon. I do think we need some more cover in the central defensive area though. There's plenty of competition in the midfield and up front but if we get hit with injuries at the back we could be left a bit short. Thanks for joining us again Graham. See you next time. *To Appear Here - Match Report On City's Game Against The Eagles* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 10 January 2004 CITY 0 Crystal Palace 1 Freedman 74 Eagles Claw City Back To Square One The Sky Blues find themselves back in the bottom three of Division One as resolute Crystal Palace took all three points away from Highfield Road on Saturday. After making encouraging strides forward in recent times City took a huge step backwards again as they turned in a disappointing display. To be fair to Palace they were the better side in most departments and will argue that they fully merited the precious victory. SBA was keen to make his attacking intentions known from the outset as the Sky Blues lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Avun Jephcott and, Wednesday night's hero, Mark Goodman, leading the line. Youssef Safri and Graham Barrett were given the responsibility of feeding the front pairing with Craig Pead and Isaac Osbourne inside them. It will be interesting to now see whether SBA will revert back to his preferred 4-5-1 system for the home game in midweek, having previously been questioned for using such a formula for games at Highfield Road. Dangerman Wayne Routledge looked to be the jewel in the Palace pack and was kept in check for most of the game but he was to provide the pinpoint cross which enabled Dougie Freedman to hook home the only goal of the game with a quarter of an hour to go. Scott Shearer was rarely called upon throughout the afternoon but Palace were guilty of spurning several good chances to have gone ahead a lot earlier than they eventually did. After a bright start by the visitors City enjoyed their best spell of the game approaching half time. Calum Davenport saw a header cleared off the line while Craig Pead was left holding his head in his hands after his 20-yard effort was turned away for a corner. Mark Goodman came close to scoring goals in consecutive matches but his nimble shot on the turn just grazed the crossbar with the 'keeper beaten. With Palace in front it was backs to the wall defending for them in the final moments but City's attacks, although frenzied, were rather without direction by that stage. Having set up the possibility of moving five points clear of the relegation zone City now find themselves back in it in 22nd place with Palace having replaced them in 21st. City must take something from Wednesday night's game against Millwall or they risk facing a battle to stay up for the remaining four months of the season. Defeat could mean that SBA is not here to see out those four months. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 6 Crystal Palace 8 Corners Coventry City 11 Crystal Palace 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 13, 2004 Author Share Posted February 13, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Wednesday 14 January 2004 CITY 2 Goodman 1, 38 Millwall 0 Goodman On The Mark Twice As City Tame Lions Mark Goodman is fast becoming a Highfield Road hero. He notched his second and third Sky Blue goals to give SBA the tonic he was looking for following Saturday's setback as City enjoyed the rare luxury of cruising to a comfortable victory over Millwall. Goodman is packing the killer punch the Sky Blues have lacked all season. Tonight he was on hand right from the off to ensure City would have the perfect platform from which to secure their fifth league win of the campaign. SBA continued with the 4-4-2 formation which had failed him against Crystal Palace. The injury-prone Patrick Suffo was recalled from the wilderness and he partnered Goodman up front, laying on both goals for the youngster. Calum Davenport was suffering from a slight knock forcing SBA into an interesting switch at the back. Andrew Whing was moved from his accustomed right back slot to partner Matthew Kilgallon inside full backs Pead (right) and Staunton (left). Stephen Warnock came into midfield alongside Osbourne and they were flanked by Safri and Barrett. City were boosted by a goal inside 35 seconds. Warnock made a telling 50-yard pass from inside his own half which Suffo ran on to before unselfishly squaring for that man GOODMAN who patiently drew the 'keeper before side-footing the ball neatly inside his near post. Following the goal the game was played in fifth gear for the next ten minutes. Osbourne and Staunton were both booked for some over-enthuastic tackling. City were content to hit the visitors on the break and SBA will be delighted to have witnessed such telepathic understanding between his two front men. Suffo had clearly been itching to get back in the first team frame and he provided the perfect foil for Goodman who was constantly darting about looking for space from where he could hurt Millwall. City could have gone two up as Craig Pead supplied an inviting low cross for Barrett who swept the ball towards the far post before a full stretch save from Warner saved the visitors' blushes. Just when it was beginning to look as though City would be glad to get into half time in front they had the added bonus of a second goal. They will not score a more simplistic goal this season as Suffo flicked on a long Shearer clearance. GOODMAN raced onto it and found himself with only the 'keeper to beat in the second instalment of their own individual battle. The outcome was the same as the youngster coolly slid the ball beneath the stopper before racing towards the disbelieving City support. The Sky Blues got through the crucial opening twenty minutes of the second half - Whing and Kilgallon proving to be as solid as anything previously seen from a City defence this season. Shearer was only called upon to make routine stops while City could have increased their advantage at the other end. Suffo was replaced to a standing ovation. His replacement, Adebola, was put clean through in the final stages but fired wide of the target. SBA's relief was obvious at the final whistle, and he made a bee-line for Goodman, the man it seems who is most likely to keep SBA at the club for any considerable amount of time. It will be interesting to see whether the striker can go on to carry such a huge burden on his young shoulders. It looks as though he has no choice in the matter though. Three goals in three games dictate that he will continue to take his place in the City side this weekend. The Sky Blues travel to The Brittania Stadium, Stoke, on Saturday. Stoke are the success story of the Division this season. They are currently second in the table and drew 0-0 at Highfield Road when the sides met first time around. City move back out of the bottom three with this result, into 21st place in Division One. Crystal Palace did not play and so have a game in hand on the Sky Blues. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 10 Millwall 10 Corners Coventry City 3 Millwall 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 14, 2004 Author Share Posted February 14, 2004 SKY BLUE NEWS Thursday 15 January 2004 Ferguson To Join The Sky Blues In The Summer No, not that Ferguson ... The Sky Blues have agreed terms to bring Wrexham's Darren Ferguson to the club in the summer. It is understood that he will be joining City's coaching team - it is unclear as yet whether the 31-year old will come into SBA's on-field plans. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 14, 2004 Author Share Posted February 14, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories ... Friday 16 January 2004 Yet another week of mixed emotions draws to a close. The players were absolutely shattered with the result against Crystal Palace last weekend. We plugged and plugged away but lacked the cutting edge necessary to break them down. Having not won away from home all season, and with us being in a similar position to Palace, we would do well to look at their Highfield Road performance and take things which we could learn from on our travels. Those involved were absolutely bursting to get out there against Millwall and put things right - it was good for us to have a game so quickly following the defeat. The response was immediate. Much of the pre-game talk and preparation for a game is often obliterated if there is such an early goal in a game - thankfully for us it went in at the right end and we never looked back. I've intentionally gone this far into the column without mentioning man of the moment Mark Goodman. I haven't got anything else to add to the plaudits he has already received following three goals in three games. He is providing something we haven't really had all season - an end product to help turn pressure into goals. He is proving a real bonus for us right now but I don't want it to be left unsaid that Patrick Suffo had an excellent game against Millwall and worked tirelessly to make an impact after such a long spell on the sidelines. We will be giving it everything at second-placed Stoke to try and secure our long awaited first away victory of the season - and given our unpredictable run of results lately, even the shrewdest of pundits surely wouldn't rule it out completely. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 14, 2004 Author Share Posted February 14, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 17 January 2004 Stoke City 4 Marinelli 34 Noel-Williams 45 O'Connor 60 Asaba 62 CITY 0 Stunning Stoke Heap The Pain On The Sky Blues City suffered their worst defeat of the season at The Brittania Stadium this afternoon, going down by four goals to their high flying, John Eustace-inspired, hosts. All four goals were scored in a terminal 28 minute spell either side of half time and sent the Sky Blues slipping back into the bottom three. They were well beaten, with not even Mark Goodman able to raise hopes amongst the City faithful. SBA kept faith in the Goodman-Suffo partnership which had served him so well against Millwall but they were never given anything to feed off with John Eustace turning in a fine performance against his old club. Calum Davenport returned to the heart of the City defence with Andrew Whing reverting back to his preferred right back role. Graham Barrett was given the job of marking perceived dangerman Marinelli but could do nothing as the Stoke man took the chance to put the home side a goal up direct from a free kick. The ball edged just inside Shearer's right hand post and with it went any hope the Sky Blues had of taking anything from the game. On the stroke of half time Gifton Noel-Williams, though looking suspiciously offside, ghosted into space before firing past the hapless Shearer to double Stoke's lead. City skipper Steve Staunton had to leave the fray at half time through injury. He was replaced by Stuart Giddings as SBA encouraged his midfield to get forward to support the front men but in truth Stoke were winning the majority of the tackles and 50-50 balls and it was no surprise when they went on to round off the afternoon's scoring with two goals in three minutes. City must have been fearing a far heavier defeat than the one they ended up with but Stoke appeared to go down a couple of gears as the half wore on. SBA needs to go back to the drawing board after this defeat. It would not have been a game he would have been expected to take something from but with the sides around them picking up form the dark clouds are once again hovering above Highfield Road. City are back into 22nd place in Division One and now have an 11-day break before facing West Ham at Highfield Road. The Hammers find themselves only a couple of places better off than City. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Stoke City 6 Coventry City 1 Corners Stoke City 1 Coventry City 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 14, 2004 Author Share Posted February 14, 2004 SKY BLUE NEWS Monday 19 January 2004 Morrell transfer-listed City striker Andy Morrell is the latest Sky Blues player to be made available for transfer by his manager SBA. City will not necessarily be looking to attract a fee for the striker who, last season, scored more goals than any other player across the four divisions of English football. Morrell's chances have been limited this season and he has found the net on only a couple of occasions. He currently seems to be way down the pecking order of strikers at the club. Financial Frustrations Continue SBA will be looking to use the 11-day break from fixtures to comprehensively search for players to improve his squad. Funds are very limited - especially as the club are having difficulty in attracting interest for several players currently on the transfer list. Richard Shaw, Dean Gordon, Gary McAllister, Barry Quinn & now Morrell have all been available and offered to clubs but as yet City are still faced with a wage bill which is proving a massive hindrance to SBA's hopes of strengthening the City squad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wimb The Barman Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 good story kutgw Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 15, 2004 Author Share Posted February 15, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Wednesday 21 January 2004 So it just proved to be one of those days where nothing went right for us on Saturday. The free kick which put us behind was brilliantly executed - it was a bitter blow because up until that point I thought we had looked fairly untroubled considering we were playing at the home ground of a side challenging for promotion. It was no surprise to me to see John Eustace have such an influential effect on the game. He's not the most technically gifted player in the game but then again if he was he would probably be worth millions. He works tirelessly for the cause no matter which shirt he is wearing and Stoke have been the beneficiaries of his industry this season. It was just a shame that his Sky Blue career was disrupted so much by injury - sometimes a setback like that can hamper a young player's confidence but that has not been the case with Eustace. It was with regret that I had to place another player on the transfer list this week. Andy Morrell is well aware of the financial situation we face ourselves in at this club but also recognises the current fierce competition for places up front in the first team. Had he made such an impact for us as he did at Wrexham last year then I doubt he would be in such a position now but that was always asking a lot when the previous manager brought him here. Unfortunately time is not on our side and cutbacks have to be made sooner rather than later. We have a blank weekend this time around with several key players in our squad away on international duty which lingers on into next week also and will affect their involvement in next Wednesday's crunch game with West Ham. The Hammers will no doubt be affected by the same problems so I'm not going to be banging myself against a brick wall about the international situation. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 15, 2004 Author Share Posted February 15, 2004 SKY BLUE NEWS Monday 26 January 2004 Foley Joins Sky Blues Youth Team Centre Forward David Foley has joined the Sky Blues' set-up from Hartlepool United. It is unclear at this point whether Foley will feature in the manager's first team plans. SBA has stated the extent of the competition for places up front for City so it seems likely that target man Foley will be plying his trade in the youth or reserve side for the time being. He is thought to have a promising future ahead of him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 15, 2004 Author Share Posted February 15, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Wednesday 28 January 2004 CITY 2 Staunton 78 (pen) Singh 90 West Ham United 0 City Claim Points With Late Double Hammer Blow It was a case of home-sweet-home again for the Sky Blues as they returned to winning ways against the struggling London outfit. Although, as was also the case against Walsall recently, they had the referee to thank for giving them the perfect opportunity to nudge in front at just the right time in the game. City seemed the side less affected by the international absentees and saw two goals in the last 12 minutes seal a priceless win in their fight against the Division One drop. SBA reverted back to his seemingly preferred 4-5-1 formation and asked Mark Goodman to do a job as a lone frontman with Patrick Suffo overseas. There was a return for Eddie Stanford on the left of City's midfield with early-season signing Geoff Pitcher also returning to first team action. The Hammers have clearly had to sacrifice some of the neat, free-flowing football for which they had become famous as they try to adapt to life outside of the top flight but they did enjoy much of the early running as City started the game as they had finished at Stoke. Thankfully for the Sky Blues Scott Shearer enjoyed a far steadier game than he had endured at The Brittania Stadium as City held firm. Matthew Kilgallon, playing his last game in a Sky Blue shirt before returning to Leeds, put in his best performance to date with the unsettled Jermain Defoe not given any crumbs to feed off all evening. City had to wait until midway through the half before creating anything of note. Skipper Staunton stood up a cross to the back post where the late arriving Barrett crashed a header back off the crossbar. SBA was prompted to leave his position in the stands to join his staff on the sidelines as he urged his side to build on the near miss. Visiting midfielder Michael Carrick played the majority of his part in the game whilst hampered by injury but was not brought off the field until the second period. City definitely enjoyed the edge in the central areas throughout with Warnock, Osbourne and Pitcher all contributing to another committed City display. Warnock saw a left foot effort fizz just wide of an upright before Ian Pearce clumsily fell into the back of Goodman right under the nose of the referee. The howls of protest were rewarded as City claimed the spot kick. Never one to hide, STAUNTON stepped up to the challenge as he drilled the ball low into the corner to give City the lead. David Connolly broke clean through for the Hammers but their hopes of an equaliser were dashed as he fired high into the stands when in a great position to cancel their arrears. Lee Fowler made a return from injury late on and Vijay Singh, who has been explosive in City's youth side, made his entrance, replacing the tiring Goodman. In injury time Barrett worked some space on the right and, with the West Ham defence non-existent, presented SINGH with a side-foot finish to make the game safe for the Sky Blues. City remain in 22nd place in Division One but are well in touch with many of those above them. They travel to Wigan Athletic on Saturday. The Lancashire side are themselves just four points above City. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 5 West Ham United 4 Corners Coventry City 1 West Ham United 0 [This message was edited by SBA on 16 February 2004 at 0:38.] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 15, 2004 Author Share Posted February 15, 2004 SKY BLUE NEWS Thursday 29 January 2004 It's All Getting Tight At The Foot City currently find themselves in the midst of a relegation fight towards the wrong end of Division One. Last night's victory against West Ham has tightened things up markedly with more than half of the Division's 24 teams by no means safe from the trap door. We take a look at the foot of Division One, starting with Saturday's opponents Wigan Athletic. *********************************** All sides have now played 28 games. There are a group of four teams on 35 points. Wigan 34, Ipswich 34, West Ham 33, Walsall 32, C Palace 31, CITY 30, Bradford 24, Norwich 23. *********************************** City's record of 30 points from 28 games would, under normal circumstances, be enough to see them out of the drop zone but the current look of the table gives further fuel to the argument that there is little difference in quality between the top and bottom of Division One. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 16, 2004 Author Share Posted February 16, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Friday 30 January 2004 The West Ham win meant we picked up a crucial three points in our fight against relegation. It was our sixth victory of the season but all of them have come at Highfield Road. It's not too long ago since the club last went through an entire season without winning a league game away from home - in the 99-00 season - and we even had one Robbie Keane in our ranks that season. If you're in a position similar to ours it is indeed the home form which is going to make the ultimate difference but it's remarkable how far up the table just a couple of successes on the road would have taken us. I am aware of the discontent amongst some of the fans after hearing of the David Foley signing this week. He has cost us a fee in terms of compensation we had to pay to his former club. Couple that with the fact that he may not feature in the first team for a while and it is little wonder that people question the decision. I've bought for the pure raw footballing talent that he has - the club may not benefit from the signing for years after I am long gone but I believe that benefit it surely will. Tomorrow our latest away day sees us go to the JJB Stadium and Wigan Athletic. We believe we 'owe them one' after the events of the first game at Highfield Road. We were well set for a victory until two minutes from time the referee allowed them to take a very quick free kick. Our wall wasn't set properly and the 'keeper was out of position. A win in that game, just the sixth of the season, would have taken us up into the top half of the league. We only took a draw though and went on to only win one more game until mid-December. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 16, 2004 Author Share Posted February 16, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 31 January 2004 Wigan Athletic 1 Silva Vieira 90 CITY 3 Goodman 23 Staunton 30 (pen) De Vos (o.g.) 32 City Rout Produces First Away Win It took them the best part of six months to achieve it but the Sky Blues comprehensively claimed their opening victory of the season on their travels thanks to a manic nine-minute first half spell at the JJB Stadium on Saturday. The travelling City faithful were finally given the opportunity to applaud a victorious City side off at the end of a game in which the points were gained in typically unorthodox fashion. A goal from a player who, this time last month, no-one outside of the club's Ryton Training Ground had heard of, a penalty, and a bizarre own goal were the contributory factors to this timely boost which sees City leap two places up the table. SBA gambled on handing a start to David Pipe, only recently back in training following a long lay-off. The gamble paid dividends though as Pipe looked back to the form he had been in early on in the season. Geoff Pitcher was given another start and he produced a fine display in unison with Warnock and Osbourne who is now starting to attract interest from other clubs. Eddie Stanford was busy on the City left with Goodman again up front on his own. The game burst into life on 23 minutes after a weak back pass was pounced upon by the enthusiastic Pipe. His cross was inch perfect for GOODMAN whose downward header left former City 'keeper Jon Filan with no chance. From there things just kept improving for the Sky Blues. Goodman again created confusion in the home ranks before a desperate lunge prevented him from claiming what would have already been his fifth goal in a Sky Blue shirt. City were rightly awarded their second penalty in as many games with STAUNTON ensuring the same end result to double the advantage. The Sky Blues fans could hardly believe their eyes moments later after a superb 40-yard cross field ball from Pitcher meant that Stanford didn't need to break his stride before he tried a low near post cross. DE VOS stooped to meet the header and diverted it into the far corner with Filan once again helpless. City had never been three goals up all season but they were successful in slowing the pace of the game down whenever they could as the home crowd became increasingly frustrated with their own side. Most of the Wigan efforts came from distance with Shearer rarely troubled while Goodman was enjoying another productive afternoon and seemed to revel in chasing down lost causes and making himself available to take the ball whenever possible. SBA even introduced the out-of-favour Mo Konjic towards the end of the game for a rare run out after Andrew Whing had filled the central defensive position admirably all afternoon. Goodman could have made it four but wasted a gilt-edged opening but I'm sure that far more imposing situations will present themselves as the season goes on. Wigan's consolation goal went barely unnoticed with the City fans jubilantly dancing around in the stands before every one of the players acknowledged and gave back applause at the final whistle. The Sky Blues move into 20th position in Division One with mid-table Preston North End visiting Highfield Road next Saturday - after 3 wins in their last 4 games, the match surely can't come quickly enough for SBA and his players. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Wigan Athletic 6 Coventry City 4 Corners Wigan Athletic 1 Coventry City 3 *JANUARY REVIEW TO FOLLOW ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 17, 2004 Author Share Posted February 17, 2004 SEASON 2003-04 Review of the Season so far: JANUARY January Results (a) Notts County (FAC3) lost 3-1 Pead (a) Cardiff City drew 2-2 Barrett, Goodman (h) Crystal Palace lost 0-1 (h) Millwall won 2-0 Goodman 2 (a) Stoke City lost 4-0 (h) West Ham United won 2-0 Staunton, Singh (a) Wigan Athletic won 1-3 Goodman, Staunton, OG LEAGUE POSITION City are currently 20th in Division One. They have 33 points from their 29 games played, having won 7, drawn 12, and lost 10. They have scored 30 goals and conceded 34. City are 2 points above the relegation zone, 11 points below the play-off places, and 18 points below the automatic promotion places. Leading Goalscorers (All Competitions) Adebola 7 Joachim 7 Staunton 5 Goodman 4 Morrell 2 Suffo 2 Barrett, Davenport, Pead, Pipe, Singh 1 Average Player Ratings Figure on far left indicates number of full appearances, figure in brackets indicates substitute appearances. 1. 30 Andrew Whing 6.93 2. 28 Calum Davenport 6.89 3. 12 Julian Joachim 6.83 4. 24 (5) Steve Staunton 6.79 5. 5 (1) Mark Goodman 6.67 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 17, 2004 Author Share Posted February 17, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Wednesday 4 February 2004 There can't have been any results up and down the land on Saturday that were celebrated with quite as much enthusiasm as our first away win of the campaign was. You can imagine the feeling at seeing three consecutive attacks all result in goals after having spent much of the season playing quite well in away games but without ever looking like we were going to tear teams apart. In no way did we dominate Saturday's game when looking at it as a whole but when you're playing away from home the emphasis is always on the home side to go forward. I could reel off a number of away games this season where we felt we didn't get what we deserved and so maybe the tide is turning. I'm a great believer in the need to win the midfield battle if you're going to win the war. This is particularly the case if you're down at the wrong end of the table. I have confidence in the likes of Fowler, Osbourne, Warnock, Pitcher, Barrett, Safri & Pead that we are better equipped than most to send out personnel who are more than able to do the job in that area of the pitch. It has been pleasing to see Geoff Pitcher come back into the side and make such a positive impact. He showed on Saturday that there is more to his game than just breaking up opponents' play with the fantastic pass which led to our third goal. We've now won three of our last four games and the impact of a few good results is evident. This is the best run of results I've had since becoming manager and suddenly there are players giving me plenty of reasons to pick them but not so many to exclude them. Not that I'm complaining of course - it's a nice conundrum to have to deal with. We now look ahead to two more home games, on Saturday against Preston, and next Wednesday against Wimbledon. It is a chance to pull well and truly clear of the danger zone. The Nationwide Season is a long one and we will still be 15 games shy of the summer holidays after these next two. Hopefully we can pick up more points in the next week and then look to push on for the rest of the season. We might even be able to notch up another away win before May!! SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 17, 2004 Author Share Posted February 17, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 7 February 2004 CITY 2 Goodman 18 Barrett 76 Preston North End 0 City Make It A Hat Trick Of Wins Another three points for the Sky Blues and another goal for the new golden boy of Highfield Road. Those dark November days when City couldn't buy a win suddenly seem so far away. It was difficult to ever imagine uttering these words this season but this really was another routine win for the Sky Blues as they sealed the win with goals in either half. SBA was forced into just one change from the side which recorded the victory at the JJB Stadium the previous week. Craig Pead had suffered a twisted knee in training and was replaced by Calum Davenport with Andrew Whing switching to right back. Mo Konjic completed his second game since returning to the side and gave an accomplished display as he dealt with the threat of Fuller and Asprilla admirably alongside Davenport. The Sky Blues were on the pace right from the off with Warnock twice going close with long range efforts, the second of which was spilled by the keeper but Stanford could only sky the rebound over the bar. Not long afterwards City made the breakthrough with Staunton swinging in a deep cross which Pipe managed to hook his right boot around to send it back into the danger area. The visiting defence hesitated as GOODMAN controlled the ball effortlessly before shooting on the turn and into the net. The atmosphere around Highfield Road was much improved on anything previously experienced this season with over 16,000 witnessing the much improved Sky Blues attempting to climb the table. Preston had a five minute spell just before half time when they could have scored twice. Fuller and then Asprilla were both denied by Shearer. Asprilla expected to see the offside flag go up when he was through on goal and this cost him in a moment of indecision which allowed Shearer to come out from goal and smother the ball. SBA clearly had words with his side at the break as they re-appeared for the second half intent on not allowing their guard to drop again. City were stretching Preston by using the wide men whenever possible and as the visitors tried to push men forward, so the gaps appeared for the Sky Blues to exploit. Steve Staunton and Eddie Stanford have clearly struck up an understanding down the City left in recent weeks with the veteran Irishman continually looking to utilise the youngster's pace with a steady supply of balls over the top and down the channels. Goodman had once again run himself into the ground and was withdrawn to a standing ovation from the appreciative home fans as Patrick Suffo, back from international duty, took up his place in City's attack. David Pipe was also withdrawn as a precaution with Barrett filling the void on the City right. City made sure of the win thanks to a superb strike by Barrett. Whing's corner was headed back to him but rather than centre the ball again he spotted the substitute in space on the right corner of the area where BARRETT took a touch and struck a ferocious shot into the far corner. Mentions must go out to Staunton, Stanford and Warnock who all enjoyed match sponsors' man of the match awards. It is a testiment to how well the team is playing at the moment that Goodman didn't manage an award for himself. City are now up to 18th in the Division One table and face Wimbledon at Highfield Road on Wednesday evening. Another win for City would see them climb above the Dons. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 10 Preston North End 6 Corners Coventry City 8 Preston North End 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David N. Port Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 C'mon sky blues! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 SKY BLUE NEWS Tuesday 10 February 2004 Warnock Wants To Stay With City On-loan midfielder Stephen Warnock has today agreed a deal that will make his stay at Highfield Road a permanent one. Warnock had been loaned out by parent club Liverpool for the duration of the current season. SBA has been very impressed with Warnock's battling displays - particularly in recent weeks as he has been instrumental in the Sky Blues' improved on-field fortunes. The delighted City manager was able to quickly thrash out a deal with Warnock, who had been out of favour at Anfield for some time, which sees him due to stay at Highfield Road until the summer of 2008. Contract Extensions There was more good news for Sky Blues fans as both Lee Fowler and Isaac Osbourne put pen to paper on new contracts with the club. Both have recently attracted attention from elsewhere. Out Of Favour Safri Made Available In response to the good news stated above, which sees SBA safe in the knowledge that three of his effective midfield quota are keen to stay with City, Moroccan midfielder Youssef Safri has been transfer listed. Safri has been with the Sky Blues since the summer of 2001 and has become a crowd favourite. However his chances have been limited since returning from The African Cup Of Nations. Safri is currently on a £5,000 a week contract and has been made available for transfer at £650,000. However with the Sky Blues' financial plight common knowledge amongst footballing circles, they will do well to attract such a fee. Adebola Loaned To The Lions Another player likely to be departing the club in the near future is Dele Adebola. He has been made available for transfer at £300,000. Millwall have already moved to loan out the striker. He has moved to South London in a three month deal with SBA hoping to see Adebola hit the kind of form which will enable him to attract such a fee. SBA's fondness of the 4-5-1 formation, together with the emergence of Mark Goodman, is thought to have sparked the move to release Adebola. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Wednesday 11 February 2004 It's time to speak to Graham Abraham again, and I'm looking forward to seeing him more at ease with the world!! CET: Graham, things are looking up suddenly. Graham: Well, well, well, we meet again, but under rather different circumstances!! The last time we spoke, the Sky Blues were right in the thick of a relegation battle. They then lost at home to Crystal Palace in the next game which you described as 'crucial'. Yes, that's typical of this club isn't it. We lose a game like that to a team we should be beating. Just when you think there's no recovering back we come with 4 wins in the next 5 games - and hey, we've even managed to win away from home as well!! You must have been rubbing your eyes in disbelief at those three goals in nine minutes. Yeah, suddenly we're being given penalties, own goals - it's weird how it can all turn around. We're not doing much differently as far as I can see - but we've been getting the rub of the green lately and it shows. The players' confidence is sky high now and should stay sky high for as long as this run goes on. It could be 4 in a row if we beat Wimbledon later. The club had introduced a scheme to get into the Wimbledon game for a tenner - but that was before City decided to start winning a few games - so hopefully the fans will take advantage of the offer and get to the ground tonight to support the team. Yeah, they should do, but we all know who the real fans are!! Do fickle fans annoy you?? Yes, but every club has got them. Their money is as good as ours as far as the club is concerned but if you're supporting a team you do it wholeheartedly or not at all in my opinion. Graham, enjoy it while it lasts - and I'll see you again soon. Yep, we just need a couple more results to get ourselves completely free from worry but in all honesty I think the team is better than the league position suggests. See you again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Thursday 12 February 2004 Well, the first thing to tell you all is that reports saying that the Wimbledon game was on Wednesday night were incorrect. We face the Dons on Saturday afternoon!! We understand that this excellent run can backfire on us in just as spectacular fashion - we face two very tricky away games - at promotion-chasing Rotherham and Reading, following Saturday's game. Needless to say then that the three points against Wimbledon could prove hugely significant should we get them. We appear to be slowly putting the jigsaw together now with the security of knowing that the likes of Warnock, Fowler and Osbourne have all signed contracts with the club. Stephen Warnock could have easily gone back up to Anfield at the end of the season - he still had another year left on his deal with Liverpool. What he has done is show a willingness to play first team football. He has shown me that he is now an integral part of the set up here and we didn't want to be without him next season. Liverpool will need some fairly major compensation for Warnock and we must make it a priority to raise the necessary capital before the summer. Youssef Safri and Dele Adebola are the latest players to feel the pinch of the financial situation here and we are hoping to get them both sorted with moves as soon as we can. Safri remains in my first team plans while he is still here. Adebola is hoping to impress for the benefit of both parties during his loan spell at Millwall. I was contacted by local radio station BBC Radio WM earlier in the week. They have invited me into the studio to participate in a Friday Night Phone-In show at some point in the next few weeks. They told me that they have the City manager in to take calls and talk to fans twice a season. I questioned why it had taken them so long to get in touch with me - their reluctance to give a straight answer led me to believe that it was probably due to our disappointing league position!! It would make sense that, after acquiring a good run of results, they have now called to invite me in!! I would have been only too happy to have gone into the studio earlier in the season and made sure they were aware of that (although hopefully our fortunes will dictate that they won't be put in such a sensitive position in the future). SBA [This message was edited by SBA on 18 February 2004 at 22:14.] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 21, 2004 Author Share Posted February 21, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 14 February 2004 CITY 1 Goodman 51 Wimbledon 1 Agyemang 62 City Run Halted By Brave Dons Mark Goodman looked to have put the Sky Blues on course for a fourth consecutive victory at Highfield Road today but they were pegged back by visiting Wimbledon in a repeat scoreline of the sides' earlier match this season. SBA will view this as two points dropped. City dominated much of the game but they will not be in danger of the drop if they continue to perform to such a standard for the rest of the campaign. SBA made the one enforced change with Calum Davenport having picked up a knock in training. He was replaced by Craig Pead, with Whing moving back into the centre of defence. Mo Konjic looked to be in serious trouble with the referee early on as he hauled down Patrick Agyemang who looked to be through on goal, but he escaped with just a yellow card. City started slowly with plenty of patient passing but no end product. Warnock and Pead both fired over from long range before Goodman found himself in space on the penalty spot but fired over with only the 'keeper to beat. The Sky Blues had to wait until six minutes into the second half before they broke the deadlock, and Goodman didn't have to wait too long after his earlier miss before being presented with another great chance. Stanford broke down the left wing before picking out David Pipe on the edge of the area. His goalbound effort was blocked - straight into the path of GOODMAN who couldn't miss from six yards out. City then appeared to take their foot off the gas as they sensed a win which would have taken them up towards mid-table. To Wimbledon's credit they showed some of the old battling qualities which they were once renowned for and rocked Highfield Road by drawing level just after the hour mark. Patrick Agyemang still had lots to do as he chased the ball towards the left edge of the penalty area. He did brilliantly to cut back inside both Konjic and Whing before firing past Shearer and inside his near post. The Sky Blues rallied with Goodman again going close before substitute Barrett was denied by a flying stop from Paul Heald. Wimbledon could have stolen the game late on when Adam Nowland burst unattended into the penalty area but his shot rippled the side netting. The 50 or so travelling fans went wild with excitement as they thought it had gone in, much to the amusement of the rest of Highfield Road. So City had to settle for a point when they probably should have had all three. They now face a couple of testing away trips with Rotherham United, currently fifth, first up on Wednesday night. City are up to 17th position in the Division One table. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 9 Wimbledon 2 Corners Coventry City 4 Wimbledon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 21, 2004 Author Share Posted February 21, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Wednesday 18 February 2004 Rotherham United 1 Byfield 5 CITY 0 City Pay For Early Lapse The Sky Blues were hit by a scrappy Darren Byfield goal just five minutes into this evening's game at Millmoor, enough to win a game that rarely got out of second gear. City, chasing the game for the remaining 85 minutes, could not make an impact on the stubborn United back four and find themselves slowly being brought back to the chasing clubs beneath them at the foot of Division One. SBA named an unchanged side with the now familiar 4-5-1 formation again in operation. Rotherham won a throw-in ten yards from the corner flag. It proved as good as a corner and when a group of opposing players jumped for the ball but collectively failed to make any meaningful contact it was left for Byfield to clip the loose ball past Shearer. Warnock nearly brought City level immediately but saw a 20-yard drive tipped over the home crossbar. City failed to make an impression in the rest of the half and lacked urgency in the final third in a performance more akin to those seen in the early part of the season. Rotherham were always a threat with Whing and Konjic kept on their toes by the bustling Byfield. The Sky Blues enjoyed a good spell early in the second half with Stanford raiding down the left flank with increasing regularity but with City still trailing SBA opted to go for a 4-4-2 line-up. Osbourne was replaced by Vijay Singh with Barrett replacing Pipe. City were left a little light in midfield though and Rotherham could have added to their advantage as the game wore on. SBA may look at making changes to his starting eleven for the trip to Reading on Saturday with many of his regular performers tiring badly at the end of the game. City drop a place to 18th in Division One. They visit The Madejski Stadium at the weekend before rounding off the month of February with what could be a vital game at home to struggling Norwich City. Goal Attempts Rotherham United 7 Coventry City 2 Corners Rotherham United 3 Coventry City 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 22, 2004 Author Share Posted February 22, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Thursday 19 February 2004 I'm looking forward to seeing how my players respond to the last few results when we go to Reading this weekend. Success must have seemed so much easier for the lads to come by in recent weeks as we have embarked on an impressive run of results. A lot of them are quite inexperienced in playing at this level and so it will be a good test to see how they react to us taking just the one point from the last six available. We must give credit to Wimbledon for the way they set their stall out on Saturday. We could have jumped above them in the table with a win but they were determined not to let that happen and probably felt their hard work merited a point. Last night's defeat at Rotherham was just a case of a game too far for many of the youngsters in the side. The end of a game within such a busy spell on what was a damp, cold night in South Yorkshire saw the rigours of First Division football catching up with a few of the lads. I will have to look again in training before deciding whether to shake things up for Saturday. The club have received a couple of offers for Michael Doyle this week and I hope to see him fixed up with a new club by early next week. He had a decent run in the side not so long ago and didn't let anybody down. We are having to accept a cut-price offer for him - we realise he is worth far more than the figures we have accepted but again are hindered by our financial situation. We sit on 37 points in the knowledge that a couple of quick wins would see us go well clear of the danger area while a couple of bad results would mean the dreaded 'R' word doing the rounds once again around these parts. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 23, 2004 Author Share Posted February 23, 2004 Friday 20 February 2004 You are listening to Radio WM ... on 103.7FM ... across Coventry & Warwickshire ... THIS IS SPORTS TALK ... with Rob Gurney & Adam Dent ... Rob: A very good evening everyone and welcome to a very special Friday night edition of Sports Talk with me, Rob Gurney, Adam Dent ... and Sky Blues manager SBA ... - It's Friday Night ... it's Sports Talk ... have your say on the Sky Blues ... on Coventry 76 2*1 2*1* - Adam: City travel to The Madejski Stadium to face play-off chasing Reading tomorrow in search of their second away victory of the season. Joining us tonight to reflect on happenings so far and to look forward to the run-in to the end of the season, it's a welcome to Sports Talk to SBA ... SBA: Thanks a lot lads. Well, here I am you see - at the first time of asking ... Rob: Well, with you being new to the management game we chose to respect your privacy in what has been a testing time for the Sky Blues so far this season. But things have definitely started to look up since Christmas ... Adam: Ha Ha, what sort of comment is that?? Rob: Yes, I should just add that it would have been a difficult situation for anyone coming into the City job, no matter how experienced a manager they might have been. SBA: I would have come into the studio no matter what the position of the club - I'm happy to take the fans' questions. They're the heartbeat of the club - and I'm a fan myself of course. Rob: Well, we're glad you could join us. Adam: OK, I think we can go to our first caller ... Rob: Let's go to Phil who's in Binley Woods ... good evening Phil. Phil: Yeah, evening lads. I'd just like to try and understand why suddenly in the press this guy is being hailed as some kind of messiah. We're in a worse league position this season than we have been since coming out of the Premiership. We've been dire for most of the season and most of last season's team have been put out on the scrapheap - it's no wonder they're not attracting offers from other clubs is it?? Adam: OK SBA, well, we never said it was going to be easy!! SBA: No, that's fine. Phil, I'll try and break down what you've said and answer each point separately. It was felt that last season we weren't playing with enough hunger. We were getting beaten not because other teams had more quality but because they were hungrier. Phil: Well that's a matter of opinion. SBA: Those same players were given a good run in the side at the start of this season but we weren't seeing an upturn in results. I think the younger lads I've brought in are full of commitment and desire to do well for themselves and go far in the game, which can only be good for the club as a whole. I take your point about players not being able to put themselves in the shop window if they are not playing. But I don't want to have to sacrifice that if it means risking getting relegated. Adam: ... and some of those players weren't playing well enough to attract attention anyway were they ... Phil: ... I still think people are getting a bit over-excited just because we've picked up a few results lately ... Rob: We went so long without getting wins that it was a natural consequence once the results did start coming in I think ... SBA: Phil I can assure you that we're taking nothing for granted. We realise we still need victories to get clear of danger - hopefully once we are then I can look at peripheral factors like shipping players out. We're always open to offers but I do agree with you that in some instances we're not helping ourselves by leaving certain players out of the first team picture. Phil: OK, I just want to see us back doing well again that's all ... SBA: Not at all, it's great to know there are people out there that care so much. Rob: I think the summer is going to be a crucial time for ensuring the financial stability of the club isn't it ... SBA: Yes. The Chairman will know more about it than me. What I can say though is that the fact that so many of the better paid players at the club are coming towards the end of their contracts is going to have a positive affect on the club. Hopefully next season there will be far more scope to wheel and deal in the transfer market than there has been this season. Adam: Yes, I think it's fair to say that 3-4 years is about normal for an established Premiership club to be able to 'clear the decks' following relegation. Rob: OK, let's go to Sarah who's in Canley, good evening Sarah. Sarah: Hiya guys. Don't worry SBA I won't be as aggressive as the last caller. SBA: I'm still here Sarah so no worries ... Sarah: OK, Mark Goodman. He's been playing up front on his own for most of the time. Do you think that giving him more support will help his game. There might be more to come from him if he was given more support. SBA: In theory that might be true but to be honest he's thriving on it. He's a very confident lad - he'd probably play in goal if we asked him to. We've got confidence in him as well - we've loaned out our two top scorers for the season in Joachim and Adebola so it's very much up to him and Suffo to stake a claim for that place in attack. Adam: You seem to be quite adamant that the lone striker is the way to go ... Rob: City have had their best results with the 4-5-1 in fairness ... SBA: Yeah. I think if you're battling at the wrong end of the division then you need to concentrate on winning that midfield battle first. We're doing that quite well at the moment - and that's another reason for bringing in some of the youngsters in that area of the pitch as well - some of the workrate is excellent. Sarah: Right, well I just want to say well done in the job so far. We know it can't be easy and we'll keep supporting wherever we are. SBA: Much appreciated. Adam: ... and at the back I think Andrew Whing has been excellent, probably my player of the season so far. He's been very consistent and when he's been asked to move inside to central defence he's not let anyone down either. SBA: Yeah, and unfortunately for him he might be asked to play in the middle a lot more until we bring another defender in - we're going to be making that a priority when the funds are available. Rob: Whenever that might be ... SBA: Yeah. It's a shame for him though because he much prefers right back where he can get forward and support the attacks occasionally. Rob: Next on the line is Mike, who's in Stoke. Mike: Evening lads. Thanks for taking my call. SBA how difficult has it been with you replacing Gary McAllister as manager but with him still being at the club as a player. Bearing in mind he's not exactly been a first team regular. Adam: Ooh, good question!! SBA: Well I'm not doing this job completely on my own of course. I get valuable support from the coaching staff and Gary is always about for a word of advice. You can't buy his kind of experience in the game. He appreciates the fact that he can't get about the pitch like he could a few years ago. He's the model professional really. He's going to be retiring at the end of the season and we'll miss his dressing room presence immensely. Adam: ... and presumably he's been encouraging the youngsters as well ... SBA: Yep, Gary's another reason why so many of our youth teamers have made a successful transition into the first team. It's been an all-round team effort. Mike: Good stuff. I was a bit worried that the situation could have been a bit tricky for you both. SBA: Nah, no chance. Rob: Thanks for your call Mike. *Tomorrow afternoon Coventry City go in search of precious league points at Reading. Catch all the action right here on 103.7FM - Radio WM ... across Coventry & Warwickshire ... and your match report, as always, in the Coventry Evening Telegraph* Rob: You're listening to Sports Talk with me, Rob Gurney, the Coventry Evening Telegraph's Adam Dent and City manager SBA, making his first-ever appearance on Sports Talk ... Adam: When exactly are you going down to Reading?? SBA: I know, that's one of the major reasons I want to get back to the Premiership asap - I hate getting up early in the morning!! Rob: So the club's budget won't stretch to an overnight stay in Reading then?? SBA: I think when we play at Sunderland we're getting to go up the night before but I don't think there are any others ... Adam: That's incredible ... SBA: Yeah, I'm not blaming that for the fact that we've only won once away from home though ... Rob: Ha Ha, oh, we're getting more sympathetic by the minute ... Adam: Well, let's wait and see ... if they get thumped 5-0 up at Sunderland then you might want to retract that comment ... Rob: Yeah, very true ha ha ... well SBA, thanks for coming in - you'll no doubt be wanting to get back home for an early night ... SBA: Ha Ha ... no ... I can't sleep much before the night of a game - especially if I know we're away from home. It's very much out of my hands by this stage on a Friday night - the players know what's expected of them ... just a few words ahead of the game and that's about as much as I can do ... Rob: Well, all the very best for the rest of the season ... and we hope to be able to meet up again - perhaps when City are safe ... SBA: Yeah, no problem at all ... *You're listening to Radio WM* Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 24, 2004 Author Share Posted February 24, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 21 February 2004 Reading 2 Hughes 6 Goater 19 CITY 3 Goodman 39, 49, 90 17-Year Old Superkid Brings City Back From The Dead City have come from behind to win on each of their two previous visits to The Madejski Stadium. This, their third, turned out to be no different. But the magnitude of this latest turnaround eclipsed the previous couple of 2-1 successes. On this occasion the Sky Blues battled back from an early two goal deficit to snatch the points with the last kick of the game thanks to a hat-trick from Mark Goodman. There had looked to be absolutely no hope for City as Reading started like a house on fire but with someone as willing as Goodman leading the line, SBA will never allow his troops to say never. SBA drafted Davenport back into the side to replace Konjic as he sought to combat the pace threat that Forster and Co. presented. Youssef Safri replaced Geoff Pitcher who was rested following his recent run of games after a long absence from the first team. Reading could have gone a goal up even before they did and even then it was as early as the sixth minute. David Pipe then latched on to an Eddie Stanford cross but blasted straight at the home 'keeper with the goal at his mercy. Reading then went straight up the other end with Shaun Goater's predatory instincts punishing City to make it 2-0 and seemingly game over even with less than 20 minutes played. City worked a way back into the game as they looked to release the ever-improving Stanford at every opportunity. The left winger was encouraged to get chalk on his boots by manager SBA who constantly beckoned him to stay wide and not get dragged infield. Stanford it was who produced a perfect cross on 39 minutes for GOODMAN to give the first signal of what was to come as he placed his header into the bottom corner to give the City fans hope of a revival. That goal proved to be the turning point of the match. City re-appeared for the second half desperate to prove they could mix it with a Reading side who are a sound bet to make the play-offs come May. David Pipe shrugged off the attentions of two defenders as he swung over a high ball from near the corner flag early in the second period. Goodman leapt highest but saw his header parried on this occasion but it was GOODMAN who was first to react to the rebound as he smacked a volley into the roof of the net before dashing over to his adoring fans behind the goal. At 2-2 the game was marvellously poised with chances at either end. Scott Shearer had to be withdrawn midway through the half due to injury. This allowed young stopper Jonathan Tuffey to grab his first chance at this level and he did well to tip a Hughes rocket over the bar in the closing stages. Goodman could have completed his hat-trick as he burst through the home defence with five minutes left before firing high into the stand. However he was not to be denied in the third and final minute of stoppage time. The ever-alert Steve Staunton took a quick throw down the City left for Stanford to run onto. He played an intelligent low pass into the area for the awaiting GOODMAN who took a touch to bring the ball under control before slotting the ball home. It may have taken a slight deflection but no matter to the youngster who could not contain his delight at completing a hat-trick of such quality, not to mention significance. In true Roy Of The Rovers fashion the final whistle blew before Reading even had a chance to re-start play leaving SBA free to run onto the playing area and celebrate with his jubilant side. City are up to 15th in the Division One table. Their next opponents are bottom of the table Norwich City at Highfield Road next Saturday. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Reading 11 Coventry City 12 Corners Reading 3 Coventry City 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 24, 2004 Author Share Posted February 24, 2004 SKY BLUE NEWS Tuesday 24 February 2004 Doyle Moved On Through No Fawlt Of His Own Michael Doyle has today completed his move south to Torquay United in a cut-price £26,000 deal. The move sees a further slice come off the Sky Blues' crippling wage bill. Eddie Stanford's emergence on the City left flank meant that Doyle would have had to wait for another chance in the City first team. SBA Moves To Bring Youngsters In 16-year old forward Jamie Donnelly has agreed to join the Sky Blues - but won't be moving from his current base at Chesterfield until this December. The City boss is said to be very excited at the prospect of having another talented addition made to his youth side. City will regularly have Donnelly watched at Chesterfield before his move to Highfield Road. There is no fee involved. Meanwhile Portmore United's Jamaican attacking midfielder, Omar Daley, currently on loan at Preston North End, is said to be the next target for SBA in his bargain-hunting. Daley has impressed during his time with Preston North End (obviously a massive step up from Portmore) and it would be a major coup if City could be the club to secure his signature. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyalwolvesfan Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 This is a thoroughly enjoyable read, KUTGW! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 25, 2004 Author Share Posted February 25, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Wednesday 25 February 2004 I'm quite glad that we are not scheduled to play this midweek. Many more games like Saturday's episode and they'll be carrying me down the tunnel on a stretcher!! Mark Goodman was understandably full of the joys of spring as he appeared for training on Monday morning. Without wishing him to get too carried away with the newspaper headlines I swiftly told him that he could have had six on Saturday and that he needs to work on his shooting - much to the amusement of the rest of the squad!! He gained a full '10' mark rating in many newspaper reports but we mustn't forget the rest of the team who worked their way back into a game when, at 2-0 down away from home, there only looked to be one winner. The manner of the victory was a great reward to those fans who have travelled the length and breadth of the country to follow us this season. We hope to produce the kind of results in the remainder of the season that will help to eradicate some painful memories during the first few months of the campaign. The trips to Preston and Bradford are two that immediately spring to mind. Eddie Stanford was getting so far forward that he was practically up playing alongside Goodman, albeit from far out on the left hand side. We still await his first Sky Blue goal, but he has been instrumental in providing many of the chances for Goodman. I'm hoping to see the goals spread around in future matches. The midfield are doing well in getting forward to support the attack but I think they just need that extra encouragement to go and shoot for goal on occasions. It was worrying however to see us concede so early for the second successive game. The early loss of concentration cost us the game at Rotherham and Reading will doubtless feel we should have been subject to a similar fate on Saturday. The Reading game showed that we can be more than a match for all of the teams challenging at the top of the table. But we also know how tight a division this is. The dividing line between success and failure is very thin. So we certainly need to be on our guard when basement club Norwich City come visiting on Saturday. It is a great chance for us to take another step towards the mid-table safety zone but Norwich will be fired up as the matches are running out for them to get out of trouble. I've already asked the players to be patient if we don't take the initiative as quickly as we would like to. I would echo those sentiments to the fans as well. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted February 25, 2004 Author Share Posted February 25, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 28 February 2004 CITY 2 Staunton 37 (pen) Safri 90 Norwich City 0 City Leave Little Shef With Plenty On His Plate When the Sky Blues released Gary McSheffrey to Norwich City earlier this season he went with the club's very best wishes for a successful future. The 'Little Shef' made his return to Highfield Road on Saturday but may need to move clubs again in the near future if he wants to return to his hometown club any time soon. McSheffrey looked the most likely to deny City another three points with Norwich looking like a side already destined for the Second Division next season. They can however take hope from the way the Sky Blues have lifted themselves from a similarly perilous position to now sit comfortably in mid-table. City took the points on Saturday, no surprise there. However on this occasion they did it without the prolific Mark Goodman finding the net. Stephen Warnock was suspended for the game so SBA recalled Geoff Pitcher who played alongside Safri and Osbourne in the centre of midfield. Osbourne soon found himself needing treatment after a meaty challenge and was replaced after 15 minutes by Pipe, who himself had initially made way for Barrett on the right. City were very slow to get going as an attacking force. Indeed it was McSheffrey who twice blasted over the crossbar when a goal on his former home ground seemed imminent. The Coventry kid looked a frustrated figure on many occasions as the likes of McVeigh (who is leaving the club in the summer) seemed to lack McSheffrey's hunger to spring a shock result. Referee George Cain spotted an infringment on Geoff Pitcher amongst a crowded penalty area just as it looked as though the teams would go into half time goalless. STAUNTON struck home his sixth goal of the season from the spot-kick to give City a rather flattering lead. The Sky Blues were much more like their recent selves in the second half although Goodman went through the entire game without a single chance to notch his tenth goal in a Sky Blue shirt. He was withdrawn in the latter stages with Suffo asked to lead the line. With McSheffrey shaving the bar at one end it was not long before City made the game safe at the other. Suffo held the ball up well on the edge of the area. He spotted SAFRI making a dart from midfield and the transfer-listed Moroccan blasted the ball first time into the roof of the net. This was by no means City's best performance of the season but they produced the result which virtually guarantees their safety. They will also know how Norwich feel as the visitors left Highfield Road without reward despite a display more akin to a side much further up the Division One ladder. City remain in 15th position in Division One. They are without a game this midweek and travel to Gresty Road, Crewe (7th), next Saturday. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 4 Norwich City 3 Corners Coventry City 4 Norwich City 0 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 1, 2004 Author Share Posted March 1, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Wednesday 3 March 2004 It was nice to be able to follow up our heroics at Reading with a far more routine victory against Norwich City on Saturday. Had that game been played early on in the season it is very unlikely that we would have emerged as winners. Norwich saw enough of the ball to have punished us. Had Gary McSheffrey brought his shooting boots with him then I'm sure they would have done. I hope his re-discovers his eye for goal in the weeks ahead. Despite this we never panicked and stayed patient believing we would get the opportunities to take the game ourselves. Norwich came to Highfield Road bottom of the table and desperate for points with games running out in which to save their Division One lives. I'm just thankful that we managed to reverse our worrying plight when we did. The win takes us up to 43 points and we go into the month of March knowing that should we be able to sustain our 2004 run of league results then we could even become involved in the play-off shake up during the run-in. Anyone speaking with such optimism during January would probably have been instructed to seek medical advice!! Such is the condensed nature of the division that the play-offs are not out of our reach but we mustn't forget that it was not so long ago that I'd set a target of mid-table safety - and we would still be delighted with that. This Saturday we travel to Gresty Road, Crewe. We managed to secure our third successive success at The Madejski Stadium ten days ago. Crewe has also been a happy hunting ground for the club since dropping into Division One. In our only other visit there we trounced the home side 6-1. To expect a repeat of that scoreline really would be a case of unrealistic expectation!! We are hoping to see plenty of City fans in the stands as we run out for the game and I can confirm that they really have enjoyed rewarding your loyalty in recent times. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 1, 2004 Author Share Posted March 1, 2004 SEASON 2003-04 Review of the Season so far: FEBRUARY February Results (h) Preston North End won 2-0 Goodman, Barrett (h) Wimbledon drew 1-1 Goodman (a) Rotherham United lost 1-0 (a) Reading won 2-3 Goodman (3) (h) Norwich City won 2-0 Staunton (pen), Safri LEAGUE POSITION City are currently 15th in Division One. They have 43 points having won 10, drawn 13, and lost 11 of their 34 games played. They have scored 38 goals and conceded 38 goals. City are 7 points above the relegation zone, 7 points below the play-off places and 13 points below the automatic promotion places. Leading Goalscorers (All Competitions) Goodman 9 Adebola 7 Joachim 7 Staunton 6 Barrett, Morrell, Suffo 2 Davenport, Pead, Pipe, Safri, Singh 1 Average Player Ratings Figure on far left indicates full appearances. Figure in brackets indicates substitute appearances. 1. 10 (1) Mark Goodman 7.09 2. 11 Eddie Stanford 6.91 3. 35 Andrew Whing 6.89 4. 29 (5) Steve Staunton 6.88 5. 31 Calum Davenport 6.81 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 3, 2004 Author Share Posted March 3, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 6 March 2004 Crewe Alexandra 2 Bell 58 Smart 65 CITY 2 Goodman 16, 67 City Make Their Point Against Alex Youngsters The Sky Blues saw a half time lead reversed before fighting back and, in the end, clinging on to a useful away point at Gresty Road this afternoon. Although a double from the prolific Mark Goodman will again make the headlines SBA will be under no illusion that his defenders and goalkeeper played an equally as important part in securing this result. Whing and Davenport again formed the central defensive pairing with Konjic missing out meaning that Craig Pead was deployed at right back. It is unlikely that Pead would hold down a regular place in his preferred midfield slot - with those being the most hotly contested positions at the club. Pitcher, Safri and Warnock were given the nod this time. Scott Shearer was kept busy all afternoon - and his first call of duty brought a fantastic finger-tip save - arguably his most impressive of the game. City were soon ahead with Eddie Stanford once again providing the ammunition as he found GOODMAN in space in the penalty area. He made no mistake in firing past the home side's rookie 16-year old goalkeeper. Crewe fielded a very young side but what they lacked in experience they certainly made up for in appetite which has seen them climb to a play-off threatening position in Division One. City were never given a minute to settle on the ball with Ashton and Smart's pace up front always a cause for concern. At the other end Stanford missed two excellent opportunities to finally open his Sky Blue account but blasted over on both occasions. Steve Staunton picked up a knock early on in the second half with SBA forced into dragging Warnock back to replace him on the left with Graham Barrett taking the field. City were rocked by two goals in the space of seven minutes, the first of them a real goal of the month contender as Shearer was beaten from all of 30 yards. The second saw City breached by a route one long ball as the back line failed, in what had been previously successful, attempts to catch Crewe offside. SBA has instilled a never-say-die ethos into his players and that has been borne out by City scoring several late goals to dig out results in recent times. On this occasion they were required to show mental toughness at the other end of the pitch after that man Goodman had again given his team-mates something to fight for. City were only behind for 90 seconds with Safri winning the ball and releasing Goodman who exchanged passes with Pipe. Pipe's return ball had looked to have maybe run too far for the striker but it didn't matter as GOODMAN stretched at the far post to turn the ball in. Crewe then rallied with City reduced to the odd break-away. Goodman could have repeated his hat-trick at Reading a few weeks ago before being surprisingly replaced by Patrick Suffo with ten minutes remaining. City's defensive rearguard held firm despite Crewe's best efforts to snatch a winner. It was certainly a point gained for SBA who was quick to acknowledge how impressed he was with the home side. The Sky Blues face lowly Bradford City in midweek at Highfield Road before travelling to Pride Park to take on top-of-the-table Derby County next Saturday. City remain in 15th position in Division One. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Crewe Alexandra 15 Coventry City 6 Corners Crewe Alexandra 4 Coventry City 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 3, 2004 Author Share Posted March 3, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Wednesday 10 March 2004 CITY 2 Whing 23, 44 Bradford City 1 Muirhead 52 (pen) Bantams Have Their Whings Clipped Virtual ever-present Andrew Whing scored his first goal for the Sky Blues to set them on their way to this latest triumph. Having clearly acquired the taste for it, he promptly added a second to give City the decisive edge against struggling Bradford City at Highfield Road this evening. Whing's goals were similar in that he twice pounced on rebounds after Mark Goodman had seen his own efforts denied by, first the goalkeeper, and then the post. City are now into the top half of the First Division, lofty heights indeed after being confined to the basement area for much of the season. SBA made two changes from Saturday's side as Craig Pead missed out while Mo Konjic was recalled, allowing Whing to move across to right back from where he was able to deliver the knockout blows. There was a recall for Isaac Osbourne in favour of Safri. City went in front midway through the first half after spending most of the game chasing Bradford who seemed to be making a mockery of their lowly league position. They were unable to make use of their territorial advantage and, once behind, never looked like going back up north with anything other than another defeat. Yet again Eddie Stanford produced a cross from which Goodman forced a good save from the visiting 'keeper. The ball ran kindly for WHING who slotted the ball into an empty net from an acute angle. City grew in stature from then on despite the blow of having Geoff Pitcher sidelined with an ankle injury. Lee Fowler was his replacement and slotted into midfield alongside the consistent Warnock and Osbourne. Things got even better before the break with Goodman unfortunate not to add to his impressive goalscoring record as his effort came back off a post following a set piece. WHING again found himself perfectly positioned to blast City 2-0 in front. Bradford won a penalty early in the second period with Davenport adjudged to have brought Cadamarteri down. Ben Muirhead converted the kick but City seemed to be stirred into action and had numerous chances to regain their two goal lead before the end. Suffo, on for Goodman, was twice denied and Warnock, along with Stanford, should really have put the game well and truly to bed. SBA will have been pleased to see that his side can win without the goalscoring contribution of Goodman but will be hoping that a goal is not too far around the corner for Stanford. If anyone at the club deserves a goal it his him but, despite clocking up an impressive number of 'assists', is yet to open his goalscoring account. City are up to 12th position with this win. A seven point gap separates them from the play-off positions. They have ten games in which to make up the ground. Saturday sees them go to Derby who don't need too many more victories themselves before they can book a Premiership place for next season. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 13 Bradford City 2 Corners Coventry City 5 Bradford City 3 [This message was edited by SBA on 03 March 2004 at 23:20.] Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 5, 2004 Author Share Posted March 5, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Thursday 11 March 2004 I had no problem motivating the players for last night's game against Bradford City. It brought back painful memories of the fixture at Valley Parade in November. We were turned over 3-1 with the Bantams at the very foot of Division One at the time. It could have been argued that Bradford's need was the greater last night but at the same time we felt we 'owed' them one. Andrew Whing was probably the last player I would have expected to come up with the goal that set us on our way but once we got the breakthrough I think we were full value for the result. Going back to Saturday I thought the game at Gresty Road provided excellent entertainment for those present. It was nice, even as manager, to be able to appreciate a game of that nature and both sides' contribution to it with the four goals shared. That would not have been possible earlier in the season when the pressure was at its highest. We now go to Pride Park on Saturday with The Rams looking set for a Premiership return. Hopefully we can catch Derby off their guard and produce a result that could catapolt us up to a position from where we could challenge the play-off positions during the run-in. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 5, 2004 Author Share Posted March 5, 2004 Friday 12 March 2004 Time for a chat with Sky Blue Fanzine contributor, Graham Abraham ... CET: Welcome back Graham. I guess you're becoming increasingly impressed with the impact the new manager is having at Highfield Road ... Graham: We'll never be completely happy until we're back in the top flight where we belong but the improvement in results as we've gone through the season has been excellent. We're now looking like emerging as dark horses for the play-off places. How do you rate City's chances of making the top 6? Well, we've got ten games left and we'll probably need to win eight of them to even have a chance. Definitely next season we'll be looking to get in there. We just need more consistency next season. The performances haven't been too bad all year but it's only been recently that we've been seeing the results come in. Who do you see as the key players who are making the difference at the moment? You can't ignore Mark Goodman. He's provided that missing ingredient from earlier in the season - goals. Elsewhere Whingy has been our most consistent player and Davenport has continued his improvement from the last few years. Scott Shearer has made some great saves recently - hopefully there's a lot more to come from him. The midfield has been strengthened by the manager bringing Pitcher in, and hopefully we can hold on to Warnock for next season because he's always full of energy. Stanford and Pipe have been real bonuses in laying on the chances. We'll look forward to seeing you next time Graham, which will be the last time for the season. Yeah, I'd like to see us preparing for next season even as early as now. A good run from now until May could leave us full of optimism looking ahead to August. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 5, 2004 Author Share Posted March 5, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 13 March 2004 Derby County 1 Junior 3 CITY 1 Suffo 56 Suffo Maintains Sky Blue Pride Substitute Patrick Suffo emerged from the shadows of Mark Goodman to save a point for the Sky Blues at Pride Park this afternoon, a result which means that City have lost just one game in their last ten outings. Suffo struck early in the second half to give City a deserved share of the spoils as Division One leaders Derby failed to break down a City backline for a second time. SBA named an unchanged side from midweek with the effective 'little and large' combination of Morris and Junior up front causing early problems for City. Unfortunately the Sky Blues were again guilty of losing concentration early in the game as Konjic was attracted out to the left hand side trying to win the ball. He'd have been better off staying with his man Junior who ran on to beat Shearer from the resultant through ball. As has happened often in recent times, the early setback seemed to spur City on and Goodman, after seeing his initial shot parried, really should have done better with the rebound. David Pipe found himself bearing down on goal not long afterwards but lifted his shot over the crossbar. Derby were looking for a second goal but were mostly limited to long range efforts with Shearer rarely called into action. At half time SBA took the step of moving to a 4-4-2 formation as Suffo entered the scene at the expense of Osbourne. Suffo and Goodman have rarely been given the opportunity to play alongside each other in attack and, on this evidence, might just tempt SBA to switch from his preferred starting line-up of 4-5-1 in future weeks. Shearer did well to palm away a header following a corner and ten minutes into the second period City stunned the home side with the leveller. Andrew Whing knocked the ball down the channel for Pipe to run on to and he steered the ball into the edge of the six yard box. SUFFO muscled his man out of the way before prodding the ball home much to the delight of the impressive numbers of travelling supporters. Although there was to be no more goal action it was in fact City who looked the more likely side to grab a winner although over the ninety minutes the draw was the fair result. Stanford had to be withdrawn midway through the half with Safri replacing him and also Warnock looked uncharacteristically jaded towards the end and gave way to Fowler. This game provided further evidence of the giant strides forward the Sky Blues have taken during this ten game run. Although the solitary point meant that their flickering play-off hopes faded somewhat, the performance should again leave them full of Sky Blue pride. City drop a place to 13th in Division One. Next Saturday's visitors to Highfield Road are Gillingham, who are currently going well and fourth in the league. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Derby County 11 Coventry City 6 Corners Derby County 2 Coventry City 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 6, 2004 Author Share Posted March 6, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Tuesday 16 March 2004 The run-in to the end of the season is now under way with just nine games remaining of what has been an interesting (to say the least) first season in charge of Coventry City. We now find ourselves with enough points (48) to be assured of First Division football next season. As the season has progressed I have often touched upon the season's aim of, first ensuring safety, and then putting the club on a more stable financial footing from which to launch a genuine promotion push next season. The first of those aims has been achieved with time to spare and so we now have five months to achieve the second. We will be helped by contracts running out during the summer to ease the strain on the club's weekly outgoings but I will also being seeking to trim other unnecessary edges off the squad during the months ahead. We need to be confident that best use is being made of the expense we accrue. I was pleased with the way we fought for the result on Saturday. Once again, having shot ourselves in the foot early on I saw a collective team effort to turn things around. The players who really do want to play for this club now have nine games in which to stake their claim for a place in next season's squad. Those involved in Saturday's draw, at a side on top of the table, certainly did themselves no harm. Now that we have dug ourselves away from the danger area I may be inclined to experiment with other formations. I was pleased to see an attacking 4-4-2 pay dividends in the second half on Saturday. Patrick Suffo has done nothing wrong but the emergence of Mark Goodman has seen him left on the subs' bench more often than not. I will now be looking to start games with the both of them up front to see if they can convince me that a 4-4-2 might work long term. This weekend sees another game against a side riding high in the Division with fourth placed Gillingham the visitors to Highfield Road. Having gone in front at The Priestfield, we considered ourselves very unfortunate to come away with nothing during a game where we had more than enough chances to win. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Saturday 20 March 2004 CITY 2 Goodman 5, 40 Gillingham 0 Goodman Guns Down Gills After going a couple of games without a goal, Mark Goodman helped himself to his 12th and 13th Sky Blue goals as City comfortably overcame promotion-chasing Gillingham at Highfield Road this afternoon. The Sky Blues have now recorded three straight home victories. The points were in the bag by half time as Gillingham were brushed aside by a City side full of confidence. SBA kept to his word and started with both Suffo and Goodman up front with Isaac Osbourne the man to miss out, leaving City a man short in midfield. However the tenacious Warnock and passing ability of Pitcher, who had an excellent game, meant that City still held the upper hand in that department. Mid-table City made the perfect start with Staunton hurling a long throw into the feet of Suffo who unselfishly squared the ball to GOODMAN who, after seeing his first shot saved, snapped up the rebound to give his side the lead. Having come away from the home of the league leaders with a point the previous week City were never going to be intimidated in facing a side in fourth place at the start of play. David Pipe and Stephen Warnock both stung the palms of the Gills' 'keeper while Paul Shaw and Marlon King posed little threat at the other end. After Staunton picked up a yellow card City doubled their lead not long before the break. Pipe lifted the ball beyond the last defender as Gillingham stepped out attempting to play off-side. GOODMAN read the situation brilliantly as he delayed his run before running into lots of space in behind. He got to the ball a fraction of a second before the 'keeper and watched as the ball crept just inside the left hand post. Shearer was not forced into a save of note all afternoon with the Sky Blues defence growing in confidence despite the recent loss of loan man Matthew Kilgallon. Calum Davenport was forced off the field with an injury in the second half with SBA bringing on Craig Pead with Whing moving back alongside Konjic. The second half was a very low key affair. City were always comfortable although the crowd would have liked them to go on and add to their tally. Suffo was withdrawn towards the end, giving Lee Fowler some valuable pitch time as SBA reverted back to the 4-5-1 formation. Pipe squandered City's best chance to make it three before Staunton sent what would have been another one of his collector's items just the wrong side of the post. City left the field to the refreshing sight of a standing ovation from the majority. It is very unlikely that they will be able to break into the play-off picture. They are still eight points short of sixth place. But refreshing it is to be concentrating our thoughts on the top half of the Division rather than the bottom half. City are now 12th in Division One. They now have a break between fixtures and are next in action on the last day of the month at Vicarage Road, Watford. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 10 Gillingham 2 Corners Coventry City 1 Gillingham 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 8, 2004 Author Share Posted March 8, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Wednesday 24 March 2004 Another week has passed with things going according to plan on the field. I was offered a cigar during the second half on Saturday but didn't take it!! I must pay tribute to Geoff Pitcher who has really adapted like a duck to water since joining the club. He has been our only signing of note all season (in terms of being given regular first team football) and if he can continue to develop as he is doing, may prove to be a key figure next season. He has taken on the mantle of being our most creative central midfield player whilst also contributing fully in defensive areas. It was perhaps too much to expect to thrust him straight into the side when he first arrived here. He did well in the first few matches but then struggled a little bit. It is clear however that a spell in the reserves has done wonders and he has returned to the first team a more confident player. Although a couple of our recent wins have owed as much to our change in fortune as our improved performances, I did feel that we were full value for the three points on Saturday. Mark Goodman now looks well set to end the season as our top goalscorer. I can assure people that if the offers do come flooding in during the summer, we will be doing what we can to keep him at the club. It was only a few short months ago that he was a regular in the Under-19s side and it is important that we all remember that. I am also pleased to see that Mo Konjic has reacted in the right manner to being left out of the side for such a long period. He never complained during that time and got on with training in the same way as he did before. He is now reaping the benefits and I thought his performance on Saturday was his best of the season. So it's a weekend off for us but I plan on holding some light training sessions on Saturday and Sunday before we concentrate on the Watford game. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 SKY BLUE NEWS Tuesday 30 March 2004 Developments on the transfer front as the exit door from Highfield Road has been revolving in recent days ... Safri Says His Farewells Youssef Safri has signed for Rotherham United in a £220,000 deal. The Moroccan midfielder had been on the transfer list for a while and the Yorkshire outfit moved for him last week with the deal finalised yesterday. Safri was always a popular figure during his near three-year stint with City. The emergence of a new crop of midfield talent meant that SBA was always going to be tempted to sell should a reasonable offer come through. Two More Leave Also departing the club this week are Vijay Singh (Wigan Athletic) and Michael Briscoe (Accrington Stanley). Singh scored one senior Sky Blues goal, in the win over West Ham in January, while Briscoe never took the field for the first team. Singh leaves for £70,000 but SBA was pleased to secure the probability of a further payment which will be due to the Sky Blues should he move on from Wigan. 20% of any sell-on figure will be payable to City. Briscoe attracted a fee of £10,000. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Wednesday 31 March 2004 Watford 1 Webber 40 CITY 1 Goodman 5 Super Alec Keeps City In Check The heroic goalkeeping of 39-year old Alec Chamberlain denied City two league points at Vicarage Road tonight. The stopper excelled to deny young hotshot Mark Goodman a probable hat-trick as Watford somehow emerged with an improbable draw from City's visit. It was one of City's best displays of the season but on this occasion, thanks to Chamberlain, they could not force victory. City were unchanged with Suffo and Goodman continuing up front and Goodman it was who propelled the Sky Blues out of the traps. After some neat build up play on the left it was Suffo who curled the cross to the edge of the six yard box where GOODMAN glanced the ball across Chamberlain and into the far corner. City were already sensing easy prey in their quest for win number three on the road this season. They were swarming all over Watford in all areas of the pitch and should have killed the game at 2-0 long before the home side grabbed an equaliser. Goodman and Suffo both had shots tipped away for corners but it was Geoff Pitcher who had the clearest sight of goal. He played a one-two with Suffo before finding himself with a clear run on Chamberlain. After finally convincing himself that he was not off-side he went on to prod the ball beyond the 'keeper only to see his effort come back off the inside of a post. The Hornets drew level as Webber latched on to a Helguson flick on leaving Shearer to pick the ball out of the net, his first serious call of duty of the night. Watford suddenly found impetus from the goal and hit the woodwork themselves straight afterwards through Helguson. SBA's half time talk appeared to have re-focused the Sky Blues as they emerged for the second half ready to take the game back to Watford once more. They looked certain to go in front when Goodman saw a drive blocked but Stanford, still waiting for his first City goal, ballooned the ball over the crossbar with the net gaping. There was even time for the returning Julian Joachim, on for Suffo, to burst clean through in injury time. He also saw his low shot turned away by the veteran 'keeper. So, a frustrating night for City as they round off the month of March. However they are currently on a run which includes just one defeat in the last twelve games. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Watford 4 Coventry City 14 Corners Watford 1 Coventry City 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 10, 2004 Author Share Posted March 10, 2004 SEASON 2003-04 Review Of The Season So Far: MARCH March Results (a) Crewe Alexandra drew 2-2 Goodman 2 (h) Bradford City won 2-1 Whing 2 (a) Derby County drew 1-1 Suffo (h) Gillingham won 2-0 Goodman 2 (a) Watford drew 1-1 Goodman LEAGUE POSITION City are currently 12th in Division One. They have won 12, drawn 16, and lost 11 of their 39 games played. They have scored 46 goals and conceded 43. They are 13 points above the relegation zone, 9 points off the play-off places, and 15 points off the automatic promotion places. Leading Goalscorers (All Competitions) Goodman 14 Joachim 7 Adebola 7 Staunton 6 Suffo 3 Whing, Morrell, Barrett 2 Davenport, Pead, and Pipe 1 Average Player Ratings Figure on far left indicates full appearances. Figure in brackets indicates substitute appearances. 1. 15 (1) Mark Goodman 7.06 2. 40 Andrew Whing 6.93 3. 34 (5) Steve Staunton 6.92 4. 36 Calum Davenport 6.81 5. 16 Eddie Stanford 6.75 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 11, 2004 Author Share Posted March 11, 2004 SBA Talks Exclusively To CM Stories Thursday 1 April 2004 The first tentative stages of clearing the financial cloud hanging over the club have been made this week, with three players leaving. It was with regret that we had to let Youssef Safri go. If financial restraints were not what they were then there is no way we would have allowed a player of such quality to leave. He had become the linchpin of the side in recent seasons but, thanks to the excellent youth development set up here, we feel that his loss will not prove to be the shattering blow it might have been last season. We realise that the fee we acquired for Safri was not reflective of his influence but in selling him we are now free from his salary. We were unfortunate to come up against a goalkeeper at the top of his game last night, when we should have taken all three points at Watford. The pleasing aspect was the high ratio of attempts we managed to get on target. For that reason it would be unfair of me to lay blame at the door of those who went so close to getting what would have been a crucial second goal. With seven games to go all we can do is try to accumulate as many points as possible before the end of the season. Next Wednesday sees Burnley visit Highfield Road. They are one place below us with the same number of points. We are highly placed in all the form guides at the moment and it would be nice to continue our excellent run through April. At the same time I realise that the flipside of all this is that the supporters' expectations are constantly rising in anticipation of what might be achieved next season. So long as we're all pulling in the same direction then those aims might not be so far away as they seem. SBA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBA Posted March 12, 2004 Author Share Posted March 12, 2004 MATCH REPORT from the CET Wednesday 7 April 2004 CITY 1 Staunton 45 (pen) Burnley 1 Blake 75 Blake Blast Denies City A 30-yard rocket from Clarets' striker Robbie Blake meant that the Sky Blues had to settle for a point in this mid-table battle at Highfield Road. A nine point gap at this late stage means that it is now virtually impossible for City to force themselves into a play-off position. However they could not have argued that Burnley were not full value for their share of the spoils as City saw a Steve Staunton penalty cancelled out in the second half. SBA again named an unchanged side but was forced into a familiar defensive reshuffle when Mo Konjic was forced off through injury on the half hour. Craig Pead filled in at right back with Whing moving across. The visitors threatened, particularly from dead ball situations, early on, with the big men going forward but Scott Shearer denied them on one occasion, with Staunton also forced into an off-the-line clearance. City were struggling to get their wide men into the play with Stanford and Pipe both having quiet games. In City's best moment early on Andrew Whing picked out Goodman with a long ball over the top. Goodman rounded the 'keeper but fired into the side netting from an acute angle. The Sky Blues went in front on the stroke of half time when Suffo had his legs taken away just as he shaped to shoot. STAUNTON drilled home his seventh goal of the season from the spot, and maintained his 100% penalty kick record. Burnley, with Chadwick and Kinkladze becoming increasingly influential, dictated the game through much of the second half with City being forced back. Suffo was withdrawn from the action in favour of Lee Fowler who was brought on to help City in the middle of the park. Just when it was looking as though City had weathered the worst of the storm, Burnley got their equaliser. It was a fine individual effort from Robbie Blake who struck from well outside the area and beyond Shearer's left hand. Clarets' full back Lee Roche was sent off for a second yellow card soon after as the game simmered going into the final stages. SBA acted by introducing Joachim from the bench but City never looked likely to grab a winner. This is City's 17th draw in their 40 games this season and whilst they should certainly have taken all three points at Vicarage Road last time out, they were grateful for this latest stalemate. City are 12th in Division One and are in action at Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United on Saturday. The Blades are currently fourth in the table. MATCH STATS Goal Attempts Coventry City 3 Burnley 7 Corners Coventry City 1 Burnley 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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