Coventry City
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Coventry City

Full name	Coventry City Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Sky Blues,
Founded	13 August 1883 (as Singers) [1]
Ground	Ricoh Arena, Coventry CV6 6GE (Capacity: 32,609)
Chairman	Ray Ranson
Manager	Chris Coleman
League	The Championship
2007-08	The Championship, 21st
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, is an association football club based in Coventry, England. Coventry City were founding members of the FA Premier League in 1992. They currently play in the Coca-Cola Championship, the second-highest tier of the English league system. As of 19 February 2008 they are managed by Chris Coleman following the departure Iain Dowie on 11 February 2008. A takeover with SISU Capital was agreed on 14 December 2007.

Their only major trophy came in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 to win the FA Cup, a game often cited as one of best FA Cup Finals of all time.^[1] They also reached two League Cup semi-finals in 1981 and 1989.

From 1899 to 2005, Coventry City played at the Highfield Road stadium. During the 1980s it became the first all-seater stadium in English football, but by the end of the following decade the club's directors decided it was time to build a bigger stadium and chose a site in the Foleshill area of the city. The Ricoh Arena was opened in August 2005.

Their football academy, based in southeast Coventry at The Alan Higgs Centre, owned by the Alan Higgs Trust, was opened in September 2004.^[2][3]

History

See also: History of Coventry City F.C.

A Brief History

• 1883 - The club was founded by employees of Singers, the cycle firm.
• 1898 - The club's name was changed from Singers F.C. to Coventry City.
• 1899 - Coventry moved to Highfield Road following stints at Dowells Field and Stoke Road.
• 1901 - City suffered their worst ever defeat with a disappointing 11-2 loss against Berwick Rangers in the qualifying round of the FA Cup.
• 1919 - The Sky Blues given entry for the first time into the Football League, a place where they have remained ever since.
• 1928 - In the cold of February and with Coventry struggling near the base of Division Three South, the club's worst ever attendance was recorded. Only 2,059 turned up for the match against Crystal Palace.
• 1934 - This was the year City made their biggest ever victory. It was a 9-0 league drubbing of Bristol City.
• 1936 - Coventry City win the Third Division South championship after a nail-biting final day 2-1 victory over Torquay United and return to Division Two after eleven years in the lower division.
• 1958 - Alf Wood became the oldest ever player to start a game for Coventry. He played against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup aged 44 years and 207 days.
• 1964 - Jimmy Hill guided Coventry to promotion from Division Three (now Football League One).
• 1967 - Coventry City promoted from Division Two to the top flight for the first time in their history. This made manager, and BBC Sport presenter Jimmy Hill a legend at the club. Coventry's record attendance was also set in this year - 51,455 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the team which Coventry would only just finish above at the top of the table.
• 1970 - Coventry qualified for the European Fairs Cup but lost 7-3 on aggregate in the 2nd round to Bayern Munich, despite winning the second leg 2-1 at Highfield Road.
• 1987 - The Sky Blues won the FA Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur in the final. It is their only major trophy to date. They were runners-up to Everton in August in the Community Shield. Coventry also won the FA Youth Cup in this year.
• 2001 - Coventry relegated from the FA Premier League after 34 years in the first tier.
• 2003 - Ben Mackey, Coventry's youngest ever player makes his debut as a substitute against Ipswich Town aged 16 years and 167 days.
• 2005 - Coventry relocated to the 32,609 seater Ricoh Arena after 106 years at Highfield Road.
• 2007 - Coventry narrowly avoided administration when Ray Ranson took over the club at the last minute.
• 2008 - The club celebrates its 125th anniversary and avoids relegation to League One despite being crushed 4-1 at Charlton on the final day of the season.

Fans

Former Players Association

In February 2007 a Former Players Association was launched. Set up by club historian Jim Brown, former 1980s player Kirk Stephens and a committee of enthusiastic volunteers, its aim was to bring former players of the club together and cherish their memories. Around 50 former stars of the club attended the launch including Coventry City legends George Hudson, Cyrille Regis, Charlie Timmins and Bill Glazier. By February 2008 almost 120 former players had joined the association. The association's first newsletter was published in autumn 2007 and a website www.ccfpa.co.uk had been launched.

Sky Blue Sam

Sky Blue Sam is Coventry City's mascot. Famed for his (or her) acrobatics, including forward rolls and backflips.

Sky Blue anthem

The club song was written in 1962 by manager Jimmy Hill and director John Camkin. It was launched at the home game with Colchester on 22 December 1962 (a match abandoned at half-time because of fog)with the words printed in the programme. It quickly became popular with supporters during the epic FA Cup run in 1963 when the Third Division team reached the Sixth Round of the FA Cup before losing to eventual winners Manchester United. To the tune of the Eton Boating Song:

Stadium

Main articles: Highfield Road and Ricoh Arena

Grounds

Ricoh Arena, Coventry's stadium since 2005

• Dowells Field - 1883-1887
• Stoke Road - 1887-1899
• Highfield Road - 1899-2005
• Ricoh Arena - 2005-present

106 years at Highfield Road

Coventry City began playing at the Highfield Road stadium in 1899, although the club did not buy the freehold to the site until 1937. The record crowd at the ground was on 29 April 1967 when 51,452 watched the Second Division title decider against Wolverhampton Wanderers. This was more than 6,000 more than the previous record set against Aston Villa in 1938. The ground has an interesting history. In 1940 it was bombed by Luftwaffe planes. In 1968, the main stand burnt down and new stand to replace it built within four months. In 1981, Highfield Road was converted into England's first ever all-seater stadium with a capacity of just under 21,000 [2]. It had been gradually upgraded since then, with the final phase of work being completed in the mid-1990s, including fully-enclosed corners. The final game played at the stadium was against Derby County F.C. on 30 April 2005, with Coventry winning the game with a 6–2 scoreline. On an emotional day, the final goal at Highfield Road was fittingly scored by a homegrown youngster Andrew Whing. Other goals came from Trinidad and Tobago international Stern John, Dele Adebola, and Coventry-born player Gary McSheffrey, who scored two of the goals. One of these was from a penalty given away by the ex-City captain Mo Konjic

Relocating to Ricoh Arena

For the 2005–06 season, Coventry City moved to the new 32,609 capacity [3] Ricoh Arena after 106 years at Highfield Road. In 1998, the club had decided that it was time to relocate to a new stadium in the Foleshill area of the city, three miles north of the city centre and close to the M6 motorway. The original plan was for a state-of-the-art 45,000-seater, multipurpose stadium with removable pitch and retractable roof. It was due to be ready for the 2001–02 season. However, relegation, financial problems, financier/contractor withdrawals and England's failure to secure the 2006 World Cup competition led to a radical redesign. Despite initiating the project and being the principal attraction there, Coventry City's financial situation means that they no longer own the stadium and must pay rent to use it.

The stadium naming rights were originally sold to Jaguar Cars which has strong links with Coventry. Jaguar Cars pulled out of the project on December 16, 2004 and a new major sponsor was needed. A £10 million deal, which included naming rights, was signed and electronics manufacturer Ricoh became the new chief sponsor for the stadium. The project was funded largely by Coventry City Council & the (Alan Edward) Higgs Charity (of which former CCFC and current ACL director Sir Derek Higgs is a trustee), and includes shopping facilities, a casino, exhibition halls and a concert venue.

At the beginning of the 2005-06 season, construction delays at the ground forced Coventry City to play their first three games of the season away and postpone their home games. On Saturday 20 August 2005, City hosted Queens Park Rangers F.C. in the first-ever game at the Ricoh Arena. Coventry won the game 3–0, the first goal at the Ricoh Arena being scored by Claus Bech Jorgensen, with an 11th-minute diving header. Dele Adebola then added two more for the Sky Blues.

Current squad

As of 13 August 2008.^[4]

No. Position Player 1 GK Kieren Westwood 2 DF Stephen Wright 3 DF Marcus Hall 4 DF Daniel Fox 5 DF Elliott Ward 6 DF Scott Dann (Captain) 7 MF Guillaume Beuzelin 8 MF Michael Doyle 9 FW Leon Best 10 FW Freddy Eastwood 11 MF Julian Gray 12 MF Aron Gunnarsson 13 GK Dimitrios Konstantopoulos 14 FW Leon McKenzie

No. Position Player 16 MF Isaac Osbourne 17 FW Michael Mifsud 19 FW Clinton Morrison 20 DF Ben Turner 21 MF Jay Tabb 22 MF Chris Birchall 23 GK Danny Ireland 24 FW Robbie Simpson 25 FW Kevin Kyle 28 DF Gary Borrowdale 29 MF Kevin Thornton 33 GK Andy Marshall 36 MF Adam Walker

Players out on loan

No. Position Player 31 FW Donovan Simmonds (at Kilmarnock until 5 January 2009)

Season Review & Statistics

Coventry City's 2005-2006 Season Review & Statistics

Coventry City's 2006-2007 Season Review & Statistics

Coventry City's 2007-2008 Season Review & Statistics

Coventry City's 2008-2009 Season Review & Statistics

Club officials

• President: Mike McGinnity
• Chairman: Ray Ranson

• Manager: Chris Coleman
• Assistant Manager: Steve Kean
• First Team Coach: Frankie Bunn
• Reserve Team Coach: Steve Ogrizovic

Awards and honours

Player of the Year

Year Winner 1968 Ernie Machin 1969 Bill Glazier 1970 Neil Martin 1971 Willie Carr 1972 Ernie Hunt 1973 Tommy Hutchison 1974 Bill Glazier 1975 Tommy Hutchison 1976 Tommy Hutchison 1977 Mick Ferguson 1978 Ian Wallace

Year Winner 1979 Bobby McDonald 1980 Ian Wallace 1981 Gary Gillespie 1982 Danny Thomas 1983 Gary Gillespie 1984 Nick Platnauer 1985 Terry Gibson 1986 Trevor Peake 1987 Steve Ogrizovic 1988 David Speedie 1989 David Speedie

Year Winner 1990 Brian Borrows 1991 Kevin Gallacher 1992 Stewart Robson 1993 Peter Atherton 1994 Phil Babb 1995 Brian Borrows 1996 Paul Williams 1997 Dion Dublin 1998 Dion Dublin 1999 Richard Shaw 2000 Gary McAllister

Year Winner 2001 Gary Breen 2002 Gary McAllister 2003 Muhamed Konjic 2004 Stephen Warnock 2005 Michael Doyle 2006 Gary McSheffrey 2007 Andy Marshall 2008 Jay Tabb 2009 TBA

Top goalscorers

Year Winner Goals 1968 Ronnie Rees 9 1969 Ernie Hunt 13 1970 Neil Martin 15 1971 Ernie Hunt 12 1972 Ernie Hunt 12 1973 Brian Alderson 17 1974 Brian Alderson 15 1975 David Cross 8 1976 David Cross 16 1977 Mick Ferguson 15 1978 Ian Wallace 23 1979 Ian Wallace 15 1980 Ian Wallace 13 1981 Garry Thompson 15

Year Winner Goals 1982 Mark Hateley 18 1983 Steve Whitton 14 1984 Terry Gibson 19 1985 Terry Gibson 19 1986 Terry Gibson 13 1987 Cyrille Regis 16 1988 Cyrille Regis 12 1989 David Speedie 15 1990 David Speedie 9 1991 Kevin Gallacher 16 1992 Kevin Gallacher 10 1993 Micky Quinn 17 1994 Peter Ndlovu 11 1995 Dion Dublin 16

Year Winner Goals 1996 Dion Dublin 16 1997 Dion Dublin 13 1998 Dion Dublin 23 1999 Noel Whelan 13 2000 Gary McAllister 13 2001 Craig Bellamy 8 2002 Lee Hughes 15 2003 Jay Bothroyd 11 2004 Gary McSheffrey 12 2005 Gary McSheffrey 14 2006 Gary McSheffrey 17 2007 Dele Adebola 9 2008 Michael Mifsud 17 2009 Robbie Simpson 2

Most appearances

Year Winner Apps 1968 Ernie Machin 44 1969 Bill Glazier 49 1970 Mick Coop 44 1971 Jeff Blockley 48 1972 Willie Carr 45 1973 Mick Coop 48 1974 Jimmy Holmes 53 1975 Tommy Hutchison 46 1976 Mick Coop 47 1977 John Beck 45 1978 Bobby McDonald 47 1979 Tommy Hutchison 45 1980 Tommy Hutchison 45 1981 Paul Dyson 54

Year Winner Apps 1982 Gary Gillespie 46 1983 Gary Gillespie 48 1984 Trevor Peake 40 1985 Steve Ogrizovic 46 1986 Steve Ogrizovic 47 1987 Steve Ogrizovic 53 1988 Brian Borrows 45 1989 Brian Borrows 42 1990 David Smith 46 1991 Brian Borrows 47 1992 Lloyd McGrath 44 1993 Peter Atherton 42 1994 Phil Babb 44 1995 Steve Ogrizovic 40

Year Winner Apps 1996 John Salako 40 1997 Steve Ogrizovic 46 1998 Dion Dublin 43 1999 Magnus Hedman 42 2000 Gary McAllister 43 2001 Craig Bellamy 38 2002 David Thompson 45 2003 Muhamed Konjic 48 2004 Stephen Warnock 46 2005 Michael Doyle 48 2006 Michael Doyle 49 2007 Andy Marshall 42 2008 Jay Tabb 49 2009 6 players 3

Club honours

Players

See also: Category:Coventry City F.C. players and List of Coventry City F.C. international footballers

Official Hall Of Fame

Player Apps Goals Dave Bennett 187 33 Brian Borrows 474 13 Clarrie Bourton 241 181 Willie Carr 280 36 Mick Coop 485 22 George Curtis 534 13 Jimmy Dougall 237 14 Dion Dublin 168 72