The less said about
City's FA Cup exit to Northampton last Saturday the better. I will
only point out that in Coventry City's three championship seasons of
the 20th century they made early Cup exits. In 1935-36
under the legendary Harry Storer, City lost to non-league Scunthorpe
United in a First Round replay – a major shock, but one that was
quickly forgotten as the Bantams raced to the title. In 1963-64 City
lost at home to Bristol Rovers in Round 2, following a simple 6-1 win
at non-league Trowbridge. Three years later Jimmy Hill's team fell at
the first hurdle in the FA Cup to Newcastle United in a classic 4-3
game at Highfield Road, after a humbling League Cup exit at home to
Third Division Brighton. I'm not suggesting that City are going to
win the League One championship but illustrating that Messrs Storer &
Hill (our most successful managers of all-time) knew the importance
of keeping the focus on the league when putting in a strong promotion
challenge.
For a change this week
I thought I would write about two books with Coventry City
connections that have landed on my desk recently. Firstly, Steve
Phelps has produced 'Sky Blue Heroes' which tells the story of the
1986-87 season which of course culminated in the Sky Blues winning
the FA Cup. Using a combination of press cuttings and the personal
stories from players, club staff, supporters and journalists, Steve
uses a chronological timeline and it works really well. I thought I
knew everything about that season, especially the cup run but there
are some great stories never heard before. For example, the fact that
Graham Hover, the club's secretary at the time, kept the club's Cup
Final ticket allocation under his bed for safety. Then the story,
related by Lloyd McGrath, of what happened in the dressing room at
half-time in the semi-final at Hillsborough. City were trailing 1-0
to Leeds and had not performed in the first 45 minutes. Lloyd, not
normally known as outgoing, started to sing 'Here We Go, here we go'
and suddenly the whole of the dressing room had joined in. One can
only imagine the effect the cacophony must have had on the Leeds
players on the other side of the thin walls. There is humour: Geoff
Foster's nightmare trip on a bus to Sheffield, and sadness: the tears
of a young Lee Corden. The book is full of lovely personal stories
and it will bring back lots of memories for Sky Blues fans
everywhere.
Steve has managed to
get several of the 1987 squad to attend his book signing at
Waterstones in Coventry on Friday 27th November from 5.30
– 7.30. At the time of writing this, he is confident that Messrs
Bennett, Regis, Ogrizovic, Peake & Gynn will there as well as
'Moxey' the mystery man who appeared on many of those memorable
photographs taken on the Wembley pitch after the final whistle.
'Moxey' was in fact, Steve Cockrill, an apprentice who became John
Sillett's lucky mascot during the Cup run.
The second book is very
different. Bryony Hill, the wife of Jimmy Hill, has written a
heart-warming book about her life with JH entitled 'My Gentleman Jim
– A Love Story'. Jimmy, who has been struck down by Alzheimer's,
has been in a care home for three years – his last public
appearance was the unveiling of his statue at the Ricoh Arena.
Bryony, who has published several books on gardening and cookery as
well as novels, is a natural, easy-to-read author and reminds the
reader of JH's varied and successful career as a player, manager,
director, chairman, union negotiator as well as a consummate
broadcaster. She describes funny and moving stories of their time
together, the majority of which involve a host of celebrities from
all sports and film and television. We also see another side of the
multi-talented JH – a romantic, with a talent for poetry!
Bryony has had a
terrific strain on her these last few years as Jimmy succumbed to the
terrible disease but her love for him shines through. The section of
the book on Alzheimer's is brief but superb. I have personal
experience of the devastating effects of the disease and Bryony, from
her gruelling experiences with Jimmy, has defined her 'rules' for
coping with sufferers and it is something I wish I had read a few
years ago.
Strictly speaking it is
not a football book but is of interest to Coventry City fans of a
certain age who recognise his enormous achievements in football in
general and especially to the Sky Blues. He left his mark on football
and our football club for ever.
One of many photographs
in her book was of JH and the Third Division championship trophy, won
by the Sky Blues in 1964. I've never seen this picture before and
wondered if anyone knew the relevance of the garden gnome in the
picture.
Bryony has a book
signing at next Saturday's home game with Gillingham. She will be
signing copies of her book in the Family Zone between 1.30 and 2.30.
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