In a fairly unusual occurrence in Coventry City Football Club‘s history the club made a misguided attempt, as part of a rebranding exercise, to replace the club badge!
On this day (13th January) in 2005 the new club badge (right) was announced to decidedly mixed reviews.
It featured a ‘modern’ CCFC and a sky blue elephant but the overall effect was seen as dull and uninspiring by many. It was fairly quickly withdrawn after an outcry from Sky Blue supporters all over the land.
Thanks to CCFPA’s former committee member Dean Nelson for sourcing the logo picture
CCFPA’s ex Chairman (stepped down earlier this season) Jim Brown, author of many books on CCFC and the club’s official historian, has for many years offered Sky Blue fans a roughly weekly blog about all things Sky Blue, often featured in the Coventry Telegraph as well as publicised on this site. As mentioned in an earlier post today the latest blog can be found here. Jim’s latest venture (this time online), in collaboration with log-time Sky Blue fan Claudio Cardellino, has kept up with the newer media communication technologies and the pair have been running a podcast launched last year which can normally be found via Spotify and/or Apple podcasts (sound only) and sometimes YouTube (visual). This latest hour long episode on Spotify/Apple focusses on ‘Festive Football’ and is a historical rumination on how CCFC and its fans have experienced the Christmastide sporting festivities over the years. They have a look at the days, quite a while back, when CCFC often faced the same team home and away on Christmas and Boxing Day and how games on the 25th December are now a rarity! Jim and Claudio about games in recent Sky Blue history and much further back. The Link for the Apple podcast and the Spotify version appears below:-
By the time you read this there may well be a YouTube version of these for you to watch. The discussions between Jim and Claudio (and fellow contributors) are always well worth a listen for fans of all the Sky Blue generations and the chat with Oggy is full of revelations and reminiscences -lots for the Sky Blue family to enjoy!!
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images.
On this day (January 13th) in 1990 the Sky Blues beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in a top flight clash at Highfield Road in front of 10,839. They, therefore, completed the double over the south London side having beaten them at Selhurst Park in the third game of the season the previous August by the same score thanks to a 24th minute free kick from Sky Blues centre-half Brian Kilcline!
Both teams were hovering just above mid-table and new Sky Blue coach Dixie McNeil saw a fairly negative Glazier’s team put to bed by a late (85th minute) goal from our mercurial and combative forward David Speedie. The Palace defence moved out to catch the Scottish forward offside following a mighty kick from ‘Oggy‘ but David scooted past a sluggish Gary O’Reilly to plant the ball past the Palace’s shot-stopper Nigel Martyn.
John Sillett CCFC gaffer
(The late) John Sillett‘s men in the Division One game that day were (CCFPA members underlined) were:-
Steve Ogrizovic, Brian Borrows, Greg Downs, Lloyd McGrath, Peter Billing, Trevor Peake, Micky Gynn, David Speedie, (the late) Cyrille Regis, Gary Bannister (substitute Howard Clark) and David Smith
Steve Coppell‘s Eagles XI took the field as follows:-
Nigel Martyn, John Pemberton, David Burke, Gary O’Reilly (sub. Eddie McGoldrick), Jeff Hopkins, Andy Thorn, Phil Barber, Jeff Thomas, Mark Bright, Ian Wright and Alan Pardew Referee:- R.Gifford
Future Sky Blue gaffer (and CCFPA member) Andy Thorn was in the Palace side that day and (though none of them played) Perry Suckling (goalkeeper), defender Richard Shaw and forwards John Salako and Garry Thompson (all now CCFPA members) were also on the Sky Blues books at one time!
CCFC 1989-90
The Sky Blues had a relatively comfortable Division One season in 1989-90 finishing in twelfth spot. In their first season back in the top flight the Palace stayed safe in fifteenth position. Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton Athletic and bottom club Millwall went down whilst Liverpool took the title by nine points from Aston Villa.
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Youngfor sourcing the images.
This Association’s former committee Chairman (recently stepped down) and founding member Jim Brown has produced a long-standing, roughly weekly, blog post about all things Sky Blue for many years. Parts of it have also appeared in a regular column for the Coventry Telegraph.
The posts are a mine of information about the club’s recent and long distant past. As most Sky Blue fans know Jim is also Coventry City FC’s official club historian. His latest blog, the first of the New Year 2025, has just been published online.
In his latest posting Jim uses as inspiration the Sky Blues’ recent Boxing Day victory under new ‘gaffer’ Frank Lampard over Plymouth Argyle which helped precipitate Wayne Rooney‘s departure as the Devon club’s manager. CCFC went in at half-time four goals to the good and Jim provides historical context for this achievement – surprisingly not a rarity!
He provides all the detail of the last ten times we achieved this (all since 2002-03) and we even accomplished it in the same year (different season) against Rotherham United in March 2024! Needless to say nearly all were home games and we went on to win all these matches (surprisingly not always comfortably).
‘The Hud’ in Sky Blue action
In example, Jim highlights an earlier occasion in April 1963 when our future Sky Blue iconic centre-forward (and CCFPA member) George Hudson scored three of the four before half-time on his debut against Halifax Town! The Yorkshiremen staged a brave fightback and Jimmy Hill‘s men clung on to a 5-4 victory by full-time!
CCFC’s record half-time score apparently was 7-0 against Queen’s Park Rangers way back in 1933 (strangely there was no score in the second half)!
Jim also notes that the turnout at the CBS at that Boxing Day win in 2024 of 29,420 was the 6th largest attendance at our latest ground and augurs well for the future!
As always, there is plenty for Sky Blue fans to get their teeth into in Jim’s latest offering. It and all previous instalments of the blog can be read by clicking on the link below:-
