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Coventry City's recovery story

With a record crowd at the CBS Stadum yesterday Coventry City fail to gain an anticipated three points against bottom club Sheffield Wednesday, but it is just a matter of time before promotion to the Premier League is confirmed.

I remember watching the 1987 cup final victory with my eldest who now lives just down the road from the Sky Blues training ground at Ryton.   She celebrates her 60th this year and my grandson is 20 this month.

The fact that 1987 still figures so prominently in club folklore speaks volumes about the troubles Coventry have been through, especially since a 34-year stay in the top flight ended in relegation from the Premier League in 2001.

Low points of the despised ownership by the hedge fund group Sisu included being forced to groundshare with Northampton in 2014, and Birmingham City from 2019-21, as the club teetered on the brink of oblivion. Relegation to the fourth tier in 2016-17 was the nadir.

However, Mark Robins started the recovery, leading the club from League Two to the second tier during his seven years in charge. They missed out on promotion to the Premier League when losing the 2023 Championship play-off final on penalties to Luton Town, and they were defeated on spot kicks at Wembley again a year later, having fought back from 3-0 down in an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.

With Robins finally sorting out Coventry on the field, off it, the local businessman Doug King brought an end to Sisu’s reign, taking complete control midway through the 2022-23 season and setting about putting the club on a sound financial footing. Last season, when Lampard took Coventry to a play-off semi-final defeat by Sunderland, the club reported losses of £21.6million, underwritten by the owner.

Not everything King did was met with universal approval, not least his decisions to dispense with cult hero Robins in November 2024 and increase ticket prices. “Mark was so highly regarded by Coventry fans so it was a bold move to move him out when he did,” Harding, the co-founder of Coventry’s Bedworth and Nuneaton Supporters’ Club, told The Times.

King held fan forums to explain decisions, especially the ticket-price rise, which came with an added bonus in 2023: sign up for five years at the increased rate and receive a free season ticket for the first season back in the Premier League, should Coventry win promotion in that period.

In late August, Coventry officially took ownership of their stadium, ending years of headaches over renting from various landlords, and marked the day by beating Queens Park Rangers 7-1. 

Manager Frank Lampard commented: “We’re in a good place as a club — the owner buying the stadium is a huge deal this year, and has given a real feeling of stability. But is there a lot of work to do behind the scenes? Absolutely. Always, on and off the pitch. Things that we can get better at, the training ground, things that we can do. I think we’re in a good place, but we need to stay on it.”

The training ground was once a forlorn place, but high screens now protect it and knots of supporters can often be seen by the entrance.

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