[theo_luddite]

Old McGalphsmiths Pharm
and on that pharm he had some dogs
with a nip, nip here and a yap, yap there
HD1 6PG
Kick-off 12:30 UK Time
Saturday 11/12/21


Former Town Manager Mark Robins brings his slightly misfiring Sky Blues up the M1 on Saturday for the televised game v the equally slightly misfiring Terriers. Both clubs got off to a likely better than expected start to the season, with Coventry seriously punching above their weight to secure a higher position in the top 6 and few more points than Town most weeks.
Both seem to be coming down to earth a bit at the moment.

On the tellybox

As mentioned above, Sky picked this game to show to the millions of Town and Coventry fans around the world, partly as a result of the good start we both had to the season.
To put it politely, interest might have waned a little due to recent results. Coventry have sold their allocation of tickets, so I'm told by a reliable sauce in the canteen of the Coventry factory I was in this week doing a bit of consultancy stuff for the guys that used to give me a full time job.

Wherever you are in the rest of the world - pick your favourite local overpriced sports broadcaster from this list.

Latest news

As I understand it, Covid vaccine/negative test result passports will be required for future matches that draw "large crowds",
whatever "large" means as it's surely relative depending on stadium capacity, but not until from next Wednesday onwards.

On further investimigation, apparently "large" is more than 4000 capacity at an outdoor standing event or 10,000 if it's seated.
So here's the thing, if you're a lower League club that has seating for say 2000 and standing for say 4000, which rule applies (if any)?

The revolving door that is The Sack Race got into full swing this week.
First out was Paul Cook at Ipswich after they drew 0-0 at home to Barrow in the FA Cup.
Ipswich are firmly in mid-table mediocrity in League 1 as it stands, clearly not good enough given recent memories of Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson's exploits as managers before landing the England job only a few short years ago.   

Then the revolving door moved into overdrive.
Next out was Frankie McAvoy at Preston Both Ends on Monday.
Ryan Lowe at Plymouth Argyle followed on Tuesday.
Strange one this at first sight as they are firmly in the play-off places in League 1.
Then he went straight back in through the revolving door and turned up as the new Both Ends boss on Wednesday. Hmmm. 

Meanwhile down at the funny Pharm, Deano is still officially unofficially in charge as stand-in Chairman and has asked the coaching staff/recruitment team to "give him a problem" to resolve in the January sales. 

Out Injured/Suspended/Isolating

The long term invalids are still driving around on their mobility scooters, come back in the New Year for updates when they've started running walking off the Christmas Pud.

Sinani is isolating after a positive Covid test.

Back training but not oven ready/Back in the frame

Rhodes and Rowe played in a B team game against Boro in midweek.
Rhodes scored Town's equaliser but don't get too excited, Boro eventually won 1-5. Could be on the bench

Duane Holmes's missus dropped the sprog earlier in the week, a bouncing little baby boy. He's available, as is Pearson and maybe Grant.

Last time out

Town snatched another draw from the jaws of victory with a 1-1 draw at Barnsalee.
The woodwork at Oakwell is still being treated for bruises and shin splints.



Coventry meanwhile went behind (not for the first time) to a Karlan Grant goal and a controversial goal that hit Cedric Kipre in the arm and deflected over the line off defender Kyle McFadzean.
McFadzean scored a header from a set piece in the 2nd half as Coventry decided to join in the game, but this time they couldn't rescue the points.





Tables, Form & all that other stat stuff.

Coventry have picked up 12 points at home this season after going behind and a further two on their travels, the most in the top 2 divisions. They didn't drop a point at home until late October when they drew with Derby 1-1.
They've score 3/4 of their 28 goals in the 2nd half, 17 of them in the last 30 mins of games.
They've conceded most of their goals in the first half, 17 out of 25, 9 of those in the last 15 minutes.
So they seem to wobble a bit just before half-time and come out all guns blazing in the 2nd half.
However, these stats are very much home biased.
Away from home they've scored 8, 4 in each half, the 2nd half ones again in the last 30 mins, and conceded 15.

They got off to good start to the season, mostly on the back of their home form (hmm, sounds familiar).
Whilst the wheels haven't exactly fallen off, they are wobbling a bit (also sounds familiar).
Think we both get serviced in the same garage to be honest.
Trading in the Jag for a London Taxi perhaps? (both made in Cov at some point).










Nearly half-way through the season.

This match and the one next weekend at Brizzle will take us to 23 games played, or half-time (and it's not even Christmas yet).
So how are we doing?

Taking the table as it stands now, not how it was before we played each team.

Top 8

Played 7, Won 3 (all at home), Drawn 0, Lost 4 (1 H - Fulham, 3 A), Points 9

(Note - we play Coventry to make it 8)

Middle 8

Played 7, Won 2 (both away), Drawn  2 (1 H, 1 A), Lost 3 (2 H, 1 A), Points 8

Note - we can't play ourselves.

Bottom 8

Played 7, W 3 (all H), Drawn 3 (all away) Lost 1 (A), Points 12

Those 3 draws were at the current bottom 3 clubs, we scored 1st in two of them, the defeat was at Cardiff, 4th bottom where we scored 1st too.
3 points from a possible 12. Not great. Direby would still be in the bottom 3rd if they got all 21 points back, Reading would replace Brum in the middle 8 with their 6 points.

Goals Goals Goals



Based on the results so far this season

Town are most likely to score 1 goal at home and concede 0 (3 wins 1-0), unless we play Fulham
Town are most likely to score 1 or 0 away and concede 1, (2 defeats 1-0, 3 draws 1-1)

Deano - the answer to your problem is "a striker that knows where the onion bag is" and maybe someone in midfield to provide some better ammo.

For comparison

Cov are most likely to score 1 or 2 at home and concede no more that 2
Cov are most likely to score 0 or 1 away and concede no more than 2, except at Luton.
There's an error in that table above, they've only conceded 5 once not 5 times but I can't be arsed to recreate it to fix it.

Match Prediction

So at face value, a high scoring game doesn't appear to be on the cards, but you all know what this Division is like.
Whilst most betting markets can't make their mind up about a H, D or A result, offering similar odds for all 3 (crafty bastards, they could rake in up to twice what they pay out on any two of those, but then which was the last bookie that went bust?
The range is a bit more generous if you go for say a 4:4 draw at between 150:1- 300:1 with the big boys.
I wouldn't recommend betting your mortgage on that score if you're on a match prediction thread however.
More chance of Jordan Rhodes playing for Scotland again in my opinion than raking in some serious holiday brass for a 5'er.
You can't go very far even if you win it, unless you fancy paying double for a 10 night stay in a Covid hell-hole when you return.

Musical Interlude

So, this first one is for our striker Jordan Rhodes, who this week, fresh from two 60 minute appearances for the B-Team after months on his mobility scooter with a bad back, has claimed he wants to score enough goals for Town to force his way back into the Scotland side for the World Cup. Just two slight problems with that, and the other one is that Scotland haven't qualified yet.
The A-Team are considering his application to join them.

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7fcc94d9e...694bc36604

From Black and White Night



Speaking of Black and White, Cov is the home of a distinctive style of music that surfaced in the 1970's and lasted for what seemed like ages. Known as 2-Tone (per the record label), Ska or 2-Tone Ska (bloody inventive these Cov lads you know  ), it featured bands such as these ...... (see what I did there?).

Two for the price of one here


Pauline Black was awarded an honorary degree from Coventry University in 2016 after ongoing support for the city’s music scene and in the run up to Coventry’s City of Culture 2021 bid.



You can sit in the Ghost Town car at the Coventry Music Museum.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6fQnTyEniM

Get your black suit, white shirt, black tie and pork-pie hat out and do that crazy rhythmic(?) dance.
I know some old duffers that still try. It's strange being the same age (more or less) as some stupid old farts.

Did you know?
On February 3 1972, Chuck Berry’s only UK number one hit, My-Ding-A-Ling was recorded live in Coventry?

Oh what the hell, why not?

https://youtu.be/hMddte6yD2w

OK so it wasn't Coventry for this version
Am I over the allowed video's allocation yet?

Likely - now Chuck Berry was known for touring without a backing band, he'd get some local musicians to jam along with him and kick their asses if they were out of key after about an hours worth of rehearsal, usually when he threw a track in they didn't rehearse in the first place.
Here he is with a little known up and coming combo called The E-Street Band and some other bloke that turns up in Coventry every so often.
He's playing some track from Escape to the Future but without Doc, a hovvering skateboard or the DeLorean to help him out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6swgiM9vSEE

I know I'm way out of total vids allowed now, so just a link. 

Innies and Outies

Mark Robins convinced their bat-shit barmy owners who seem to think that playing home games in Northampton and Brum while they throw their toys out of the pram is acceptable (and some Town fans think we've got a problem???) to splash out £1m on Viktor Gyökeres from Brighton.
I doubt anyone at the Coventry Building Society Arena is moaning at the return on that investment so far.
No, it's not an oversized photocopier stadium anymore.



Who's banging 'em in?

Would you believe Viktor Gyökeres and Matt Godden. I guess they figured Jordy Hiwula was never going to be prolific enough.
Almost as prolific as Robbie Simpson was for us.  I think Simpson scored one more goal for us than Joe Murphy. 



They can't all win

Stoke v Boro and Bornmuff v Blackburn are the main fixtures of interest in the play-off area that we may or may not decide to try and rejoin shortly.



We've played 'em before

Since our first fixtures in the 1919/20 season, we've spent our histories doing our best to avoid each other.
We've only met in 6 seasons in the League since then before this weekend, an EFL Cup game in Jan 1978 and the FA Cup in Jan 54/55 where we drew 3-3 at ours and won the replay 1-2.
We didn't meet again until the mid 60's in the League, a couple of seasons in the 70's when we were up in the nose bleeds and since then, last season.



Next up?

Brizzle Rovers on Xmas Shopping Day Saturday.

Pressers

Careless on town YouTube


Grab a drink, he goes on for ages. Radio Local posted a link to a dead end on their Sports Daily - Clips page.

Translated from Esperanto by the guys at The Unexamined

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/foo...e-22420507

The Sky Blue thinking down Coventry way

https://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/2021/decembe...n-preview/

https://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/2021/decembe...n-preview/

Gone but not forgotten

Took Coventry to Wemberlee to win the FA Cup in 1987, beating Spurs 3-2 after extra time.

Former player and manager John Sillett passed away recently. "A bit of a character" doesn't really describe him adequately.
RIP.