Jake: ‘send them back to Coventry pointless – if not naked on horseback’
John McCormick writes: Pete Sixsmith makes reference to events at and around Coventry City FC in this piece. The Coventry Telegraph is a good source of information and includes a countdown clock which will tell you how long it will be until CCFC play their last game at the Ricoh – and maybe in the EFL – unless something changes. At the time of writing it’s a little over two weeks.
Camera shy he may be, but click on Laurie’s chosen image to explore the wonders of this season’s Who are You? series
Laurie Kilpatrick is an innocent man. He wasn’t even an egg, as one of my daughters used to say, on the infamous night that Jimmy Hill – er – orchestrated the perfect finish to Coventry City’s final game of the season, a match delayed by congestion against Bristol City: making sure the players of both sides, then drawing 2-2, knew Sunderland had lost at Everton. It was the only combination of results that would send us down and keep both of them up and they played out the game without further effort.
Laurie, a London-based City fan who is the man behind The Lonely Season blog, sees the funny side of Sunderland supporters’ collective long memory. And with his answers to our questions, he upholds the high standards of our League One Who are You? interviews …
When you are in sight of an automatic promotion place, three successive home games might appear something of a gift. But nerves play a part, too, and often enough this season Sunderland have suffered less in this respect on their travels than at the Stadium of Light, says Monsieur Salut.
The first of that trio of ties, of course, is behind us. A jittery performance against Burton Albion, described by Pete Sixsmith as a team looking tired up against “sprightly’ opponents, nevertheless yielded the point that took us second top.
Sunderland under Jack Ross continue to show a welcome defiance to the idea of being defeated. And still we have a game in hand over the side we displaced, Barnsley.
Dropping two points left it a lot less likely that we can catch Luton at the top. But the run-in remains in our hands and we need only match Barnsley’s results to be be sure of finishing above them while naturally keeping an eye on what Charlton and Portsmouth are up to.
Part one of our mid-season review looked forward to the Christmas games.
Part two looked at what had happened up to New Year’s Day.
Part three was delayed until yesterday, and I’m taking the time to update that post after yesterday’s results. The first part of this one is the same as yesterday, given that we didn’t play. It’s the discussion of the breakaway group that has changed:
Part one of our mid-season review looked forward to the Christmas games.
Part two looked at what had happened up to New Year’s Day.
Part three was meant to go out after the Luton game. Repetitive strain injury decided otherwise and I still have to take care so here’s what I’ve managed, with a focus on a couple of comments I made towards the end of that second part:
“Christmas and early January remain crucial, which for us means holding our own away and completing doubles over Bradford and Shrewsbury at home. I’m not one for predicting results or tempting fate, and am all too aware there are no easy games in this league but I think we can do that, and I can see us still being in contention when the decorations come down.”
With a break this weekend it’s time to revisit our “Ones to watch”.
If you’ve been following this series you’ll remember that we’re tracking six clubs over the course of the season. The six were chosen by a people’s vote,that new tool of democracy, with the club which came top of the poll – Coventry City – also providing a baseline against which the other five will be compared.
If you’re wondering how Coventry came to be chosen click the hyperlinks at the bottom of the page. (And if you want to see how I’ve followed our selected teams in previous seasons you can follow this link ).
Pete Sixsmith felt a draw was fair, and listening to Barnes and Benno, Monsieur Salut thought the same. Injuries – Loovens off in the first few minutes, with more to follow – certainly harmed our cause but we must somehow learn how to keep a clean sheet. Pete did not, he assures us, ride naked on Lady Godiva’s horse to the Ricoh but will be writing more fully about being sent to Coventry ….
John McCormick writes: like Pete Sixsmith, I was at Goodison that night. Like Pete Sixsmith I condemned Jimmy Hill for his actions, especially his ‘holier than thou’ attitude afterwards. But, like Pete Sixsmith, I’m old enough to know it serves no purpose to harbour grudges against clubs or fans. It’s better to share some decent beer with them in a decent pub because, when it comes down to it, we supporters are pretty much the same in our hopes, our passions and our disappointments. And maybe in our genes as well; my aunt and uncle moved to the Midlands many, many years ago and there’s a good contingent of McCormicks down Coventry way.
So, like Pete Sixsmith, I hope that those Sky Blues supporters who have kept their faith and regularly make the trip to the Ricoh manage to get their club back.
After we’ve beaten them, of course. There’s not just empathy, there’s rivalry, and long may it continue. Here, Pete’s magnificent twin series on Sunderland’s opposing teams and heir grounds reaches Coventry …
Part one of our mid-season review looked forward to the Christmas games.
With a break this weekend it’s time to revisit our “Ones to watch”.
