It seems a long time ago now (I’ve been travelling), but last Tuesday I was in Coventry for the first time in many years. Readers who know me well, or have a good memory, will know this is where I grew up. I was travelling with Andy, and we were there to watch some football.
I’ve been watching Bristol City for a couple of years with Andy, and as they are in a lower league to the Sky Blues, there’s been little risk of divided loyalties at a match. This year’s FA cup changed that, and Bristol vs Coventry was drawn. Of course, I had to watch that! For the first leg in Bristol, I just sat discreetly in the Bristol crowd (it was easy to applaud them too!), and we watched an exciting, if scrappy, 3-3 draw. Setting up, of course, a replay at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
I was quietly hopeful of a win, even setting up the right feeder line in my last post, but it was not to be. Coventry are in the middle of a long run of bad form, and Bristol clearly wanted the win. 0-2 was the right result, if disappointing. The run has been so bad, Coventry ditched their manager the following morning, and the fans were chanting “We’re shit and we’re sick of it” at one point.
Still, it all seemed very appropriate in some way. Coventry are a team who rarely win anything (apart from the FA cup in ‘87 when I still lived there), and slipped without much fuss from the Premiership a few years ago. My first visit to see them at home, in their new Stadium, was a loss. Oh well.
It was fun to see Coventry again (it did all seem very familiar), and the evening out in Birmingham that followed was also good. Probably because at least Andy was celebrating :-)
If you look very closely at the picture, you can probably see Andy grinning already, the away fans were having a great match…