Manager Memories: On This Day 2016 – Remembering Cov. Cathedral Commemoration Of Sky Blue JH!

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Jimmy Hill CCFC Manager 1961-67

The Legend that is Jimmy Hill, renowned in the football world for his exploits, especially at Coventry City and subsequently famous in the media world passed away age 87 on 19th December 2015. Eight years ago today (12th February 2016) people from all over the UK and beyond gathered in Coventry Cathedral to remember the man who was described in the video below as an, “Inspirator, Innovator and Instigator”.

Jimmy leads the singing of SBS at statue unveiling

He was so much more to the Sky Blue family and will always be deeply missed in the city whose Football Club he took from the third tier to the top flight in six short and heady years in the 1960s. The importance of JH and the City to each other will be forever marked in the memories of his players and Sky Blue fans and in the memorial garden and, not least, the statue of the great man outside the Ricoh/CBS Arena which JH himself unveiled.

The Association was proud to be involved in helping, in a small way, to enable the Cathedral commemoration to come together. Those that were there inside (like the CCFPA committee and many of our members and Jimmy’s former players) and outside the Cathedral will have strong memories of the remembrance service cum celebration of JH‘s life and career. The Media was also out in force to report on the gathering and the BBC broadcast some of the ceremony live.
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Then England anager Roy Hodgson blows his own trumpet!

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Bill Glazier in attendance

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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An appreciative Gary Lineker

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Motty gives an oration at the service

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks to former CCFPA committee member Dean Nelson you can relive some highlights (approx 30 minutes) of that broadcast which appeared on BBC Midlands Today that 12th February 2016 from outside Coventry Cathedral. It includes early snippets of the ceremony and several interviews with the footballing ‘great and good’  including with another Sky Blue legend, our own CCFPA committee member Dietmar Bruck. Just click on the link or image below:-

https://www.facebook.com/CCFPAOfficial/videos/2696660533947181/

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young (& Dean Nelson) for sourcing the images.

 

Matchday Memories: On This Day 2011 – CCFC Punish Palace To End 10 Game No Win Woe

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Aidy Boothroyd- Sky Blue ‘gaffer’

On this day (12th February) in 2011 the Sky Blues managed by Aidy Boothroyd, were greatly relieved to end a ten game run without clocking up a  victory. The victims were south London club Crystal Palace who City had beaten by the same score (2-1) at the Ricoh in the F.A.Cup Third Round only the previous month with early goals from Freddie Eastwood and Carl Baker (both Association members now). The Eagles, however, had trimmed us by two clear goals at Selhurst Park in the Championship the previous November. Though this time, in the league return, the Sky Blues built a 2-0 lead with a goal in each half  thanks to defender  Richard Wood and striker Marlon King (both now CCFPA members) the game was result was in doubt to the final whistle. The City fans in the 16,454 crowd, but not the 2,500 or so travelling fans, went home happy!

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Richard Wood in the Sky Blue

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Marlon King in the Sky Blue

In the finely balanced encounter ‘Woody’ scored a close range backward header drom a speculative Martin Cranie long ball just after the half hour mark to send the Sky Blues in at half time a goal to the good. It should have been all over after 79 minutes when Marlon turning in a cross from (now CCFPA member) Aron Gunnarsson. However, typically for City, their win was put into jeopardy by allowing the Eagles’ Steffen Iversen to strike for Palace from six yards in injury-time to set up a frantic final few seconds. Palace failed to capitalise on earlier chances and City’s other striker (and fairly recent CCFPA recruit) Clive Platt also had three fine headers well saved by Eagles’ ‘keeper Julian Speroni. The win left the Sky Blues in fourteenth spot having (only temporarily as it proved) stopped the rot!

A contemporary match report from BBC Sport can be accessed here.

The Sky Blues put out the following team (CCFPA members underlined):-

Clive Platt
in the Sky Blue

Keiren Westwood, Richard Keogh, Stephen O’Halloran, Martin Crainie, Richard Wood, Nathan Cameron, Aron Gunnarsson, Carl Baker, Marlon King, Lukas Jutciewicz and Clive Platt (sub. Freddy Eastwood -88)

Unused subs:-  Chris Hussey, Jordan Clarke, David Bell, Gary McSheffrey, Roy O’Donovan and Danny Ireland (gk)

Dougie Freedman‘s Palace fielded the following side:-

Julian Speroni, Nathaniel Clyne, David Wright, Patrick McCarthy (c), Darren Ambrose (sub. Sean Scannell -63), Owen Garvan, Wilfried Zaha, Jermaine Easter (sub. Pablo Counago -63), Dean Moxey, Anthony Gardner and James Vaughan (sub. Steffen Iversen -84)  Unused subs:- Claude Davis, Adam Barrett, Andrew Dorman and Lewis  Price (gk)   Referee:- K. Wright

CCFC 2010-11 (under Aidy Boothroyd)

CCFC gaffer- Andy Thorn,

Sadly, the performances of the team that Aidy built gradually but substantially deteriorated particularly in this second half of the season. Aidy was replaced by Chief Scout Andy Thorn in March as (initially) caretaker ‘gaffer’ to the end of the season.

The team ultimately ended up their 2010-11 season safe in a lowly eighteenth spot with Crystal Palace twentieth. Nevertheless, City were a full thirteen points clear (and Palace six clear) of the relegated trio, Preston North End, Sheffield United and, at the very bottom, Scunthorpe United

Queen’s Park Rangers (Championship Champs) and Norwich City got the automatic promotion spots and were Premier League bound along with play-off victors, third placed Swansea City.

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images.

 

Matchday Memories: On This Day 2001 – Joe Scores (Not For City) As OG Secures Sky Blue Draw At Hammers

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Gordon the Gaffer

On this day (12th February) in 2001 in a season all Sky Blues fans will want to forget Gordon Strachan‘s Sky Blues were in the bottom three (19th), a position they would not improve on at the end of the season as they relinquished their top flight spot after 34 unbroken years!

John Hartson in his Sky Blue days

Strachan’s Sky Blues had already lost to today’s opponents West Ham United by three clear goals at Highfield Road towards the end of September last. In the midweek return under floodlights at Upton Park in London they did better, getting a point in a 1-1 draw, despite failing to find the net themselves! It was a tough game with referee Dermot Gallagher booking seven players, five from CCFC!

Today, at the Boleyn ground, the Sky Blues had the advantage of a new striker making his debut, Welsh international John Hartson! John (now a CCFPA member) had signed on a pay-as-you-play contract and he certainly put some zip into the City attack having a goal disallowed as well as having a strong case for a penalty against him turned down. He went on to nearly save the Sky Blues with six goals in his dozen cameo appearances!

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Image The Hammers had their own talismanic striker Joe Cole who always had a good game against the Sky Blues and later (2016) went on to play a few games for CCFC in his veteran years. Harry Redknapp‘s men usually won when Joe scored first and depressingly for the Sky Blues that’s what he did in the 82nd minute.

However, the Sky Blues thwarted the Hammers by gaining a precious equaliser a minute from the final whistle when a free kick from (now CCFPA member) David Thompson spun of the shoulder of the home team’s Christian Dailly into his own net!  Only the Sky Blues fans in the 22,586 crowd didn’t go home disappointed!

All the match details can be found in the graphic (courtesy 11v11 website) below:-

We are pleased to say that of the fourteen Sky Blues players on display only three (Gary, Craig and Jay) have not yet signed up to be members of CCFPA!

As mentioned earlier the Sky Blues lost their Premier League place which they are still striving to regain 24 years later. Down with them (just above them on the same points) went Manchester City -and look where they are now! Bottom club Bradford City eight points behind this pair naturally were demoted. West Ham led the group of four clubs above the relegated Sky Blue teams (all eight points better off) and finished 15th.

CCFC 2000-01

Manchester United took the Premier League title a full ten points above runners up Arsenal! Man. City supporters must have been miffed!

Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young (& Dean Nelson) for sourcing the images.

 

Matchday Memories: On This Day 2000 – See Strachan’s Sky Blues Squeeze Past Sunderland

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Gordon Strachan -City’s ‘gaffer’

On this day (12th February) in 2000, in their penultimate season in the top flight, the Sky Blues took on Sunderland in the Premier League and managed to squeeze past them by the odd goal in five after being 3-0 up at half-time! The two sides had fought out a 1-1 draw in the North-East at the end of August and the Sky Blues, under manager Gordon Strachan (a current CCFPA member), were hoping to repeat their recent run of good form at Highfield Road (two wins out of the last three).

Robbie in the Sky Blue 1999

That’s what they did, but made it harder work than necessary.  Motor racing supremo (and Sky Blue celebrity fan) Eddie Jordan watched proceedings.

The Sky Blues got off to a great start and threatened to blow away the Black Cats, managed by future Sky Blue gaffer (and CCFPA member) Peter Reid. The scintillating first half performance started with a third minute goal from our young Irish star Robbie Keane, followed up on thirteen minutes with a goal from our Moroccan magician Moustapha Hadji (also now an Association member) who was awesome throughout the game and had a hand in all three goals.

Our Belgian forward (and former CCFPA member) the late Cedric Roussel completed the Sky Blues goal burst of three in a quarter of an hour after eighteen minutes! All looked set fair for a humiliation of the Wearsiders.

Hadji in Action

Sky Blue Cedric

However, the away team resorted to bully-boy tactics including a career ending horrendous tackle on City’s Steve Froggatt (also a CCFPA member) early in the game by the Black Cats’ Nicky Summerbee. Peter Reid‘s men staged a comeback and Kevin Phillips grabbed a goal back six minutes before the hour. Then, only two minutes before the final whistle Alex Rae managed to get another for the visitors and a nailbiting end ensued especially when future Sky Blue Kevin Kilbane hit the City post in the last minute! Fortunately it didn’t go in and the Sky Blues held on to a lead that shouldn’t have been so fragile.