Coventry City returns to Championship action on Tuesday night when they host goal-shy Bristol City at the CBS Arena. The team has had a busy few weeks both on and off the pitch.
The mid-table Robins, who have only registered 13 league goals away from Ashton Gate, are thought to be playing rather well but are simply having trouble scoring. They currently have the fifth lowest road return in the entire division. Although they have only scored three goals in their past seven league and FA Cup games, they have eliminated Premier League West Ham and forced Nottingham Forest to a replay.
Off the field, the Sky Blues have been in the national spotlight, sadly, for all the wrong reasons following the alleged racist abuse at Hillsborough, which coincided with an almost identical incident in Italy. City, meanwhile, were left exacerbated on Friday night when the players were booed for taking the knee before kick-off on their return to South Yorkshire. Here we take a look at what’s going on in and around the club in Andy Turner’s weekly Coventry City notebook.
Heartwarming moment from young Wednesday fan
The moment Kasey Palmer received a letter and chocolates from Cole, a young Sheffield Wednesday supporter who was determined to stand by the Coventry forward after he was singled out in the Championship game the previous weekend, was one of the most touching moments of Friday night’s return to Hillsborough.
After Friday’s game, the schoolboy spoke with Kasey, saying, “I understand what went off and it’s just horrible.”
The player answered, “Thank you very much. “Thank you,” I said, embracing the young man and his pleased mother. A few young Wednesday supporters, meantime, were waving a homemade flag that said, “Racists, get in the trash.”
Bring on the banana skin
City’s reward if they manage to get through their FA Cup fourth round replay (due to be played at the CBS Arena a week on Tuesday, Feb 6) will be to host non-league giant killers Maidstone United. On paper it’s a huge potential banana skin for the Sky Blues (or Sheffield Wednesday) whom, no doubt, most neutrals up and down the country will be hoping to be knocked out by the National League South side to keep the ‘magic’ of the cup going a little while longer.
Maidstone’s reaction to the draw was captured on video and some City fans have taken exception to their show of disappointment when their club was pulled out of the hat to travel to another Championship side, having beaten Ipswich Town at Portman Road at the weekend. They’d hoped to get a glamour trip to Manchester City, who were one of two Premier League sides left in the hat, along with Luton Town, and who can blame them. It wasn’t necessarily a show of disrespect to Coventry, more genuine disappointment at not being able to have a big day out against the top flight Champions.
As far as the draw goes for the Sky Blues, in years gone by this would have sent alarm bells ringing loud and clear, such is City’s history of slipping up against minnows in the cup, from Sutton United to Worcester City. But the club have come a long way since then, even with Wrexham fresh in the memory from last year – a fact Robins will be all too aware of when picking his team for what will almost certainly be a televised game with a full media circus to go with it.
Taking away the romance of the cup, which can surely only stretch so far, it’s actually a brilliant draw for City because there’s a very real opportunity of progressing to the quarter-finals of the competition, and being just one step away from Wembley where the semi-finals will be played.
Silly season hits new heights
This week will see the January transfer window come to an end at 11pm on Thursday. Sky Blues fans are eagerly waiting to see if Mark Robins will sign any more new players or whether the club will receive any bids for any of their senior personnel.
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