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 February2008 they are managed by Chris Coleman following the departure Iain Dowie on 11 February2008. A takeover with SISU Capital was agreed on 14 December2007.
Between 1967 and 2001, a period of 34 years, they were continuously members of England's top division although they never finished higher than sixth. At the time of their eventual relegation, only Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton could claim to have amassed a longer tenure in top-flight English football than Coventry. Their only major trophy came in 1987 when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 to win the FA Cup many people classed it as the best FA Cup Final still today. 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.
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.
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.
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.
2008 - Coventry narrowly avoided administration when Ray Ranson took over the club at the last minute. The Sky Blues also celebrated 125 years of the club.
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, Ernie Hunt 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, his alter ego is also lesser known as the manager of the Coventry pub 'The Dog and Trumpet', which was once voted the best pub in the Midlands for 7 years running, between the years 1982-89.
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 December1962 (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:
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 April1967 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.[citation needed] 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 April2005, 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. [1], who scored two of the goals. One of these was from a penalty given away by the ex-City captain Mo Konjic, he was sent off as a result of this.
Relocating to Ricoh Arena
For the 2005–06 season, Coventry City moved to the new 32,609 capacity [2]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 162004 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 August2005, 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.
Ricoh records
The Ricoh Arena's highest attendance is 30,919, which was for the U21 European Championship play-off between England and Germany on 6 October2006, which England won 1-0, with a strike from Leighton Baines. The record attendance for a Coventry City match is 28,163 for the FA Cup game against West Bromwich Albion on 16th February 2008 which ended in a 0-5 defeat. Goals from Chris Brunt, Zoltan Gera, Ishmael Miller and a brace from Roman Bednar sealed a quarter-final spot for the Baggies. The highest league attendance is 27,216 for the game against Birmingham City on October 312006 in the Coca-Cola Championship which was lost 1–0 . The highest score at the Ricoh Arena was 6-1 against Derby County on 21 January2006. The final game of the season was against Cardiff City. A request to build a 'supercasino' was rejected; a smaller casino was built; located underneath the exhibition halls.
As of July 2007, Coventry City extended their pitch at the Ricoh Arena, so the pitch is now suitable for high profile international matches and Champions League games. The pitch has state of the art laser socketed guiding system, designed to give precise pitch markings. [3] The pitch which now measures 105m x 68.6m is up to FIFA Category 3 status. [4]
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Ray Ranson
Chris Coleman
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