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Coventry Away

sglosbcfc

By sglosbcfc
in Football Chat

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sglosbcfc

sglosbcfc

Posted
Posted

It could well be on a Friday night, if that is the case there might be more City fans in attendance than Coventry. Can anyone remember the last time City had more fans than the home team? I' m sure we did at Wigan in the 90s and Bury in the 80s.

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gater2

gater2

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On the League 1 banter site on Facebook Coventry fans are appealing to all away supporters to boycott games at Northampton .

And I completely agree with them. If you wonder why, read this article: http://twohundredpercent.net/?p=23703

Killer line at the end: 'And those who think that none of this really matters because it’s somebody else’s club in somebody else’s city are best advised to remember that there was a time, not too long ago, when Coventry City supporters would not have believed that this could happen to them, until it did.'

I think City fans should seriously consider boycotting this fixture this year in solidarity with Coventry fans.

#againstmodernfootball

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leftwingfullback

leftwingfullback

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And I completely agree with them. If you wonder why, read this article: http://twohundredpercent.net/?p=23703

Killer line at the end: 'And those who think that none of this really matters because its somebody elses club in somebody elses city are best advised to remember that there was a time, not too long ago, when Coventry City supporters would not have believed that this could happen to them, until it did.'

I think City fans should seriously consider boycotting this fixture this year in solidarity with Coventry fans.

#againstmodernfootball

You would hope, yet as someone said above "true fans will follow teams wherever" blah blah blah blah blah.

Fans should unite.

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Timbo7

Timbo7

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And I completely agree with them. If you wonder why, read this article: http://twohundredpercent.net/?p=23703

Killer line at the end: 'And those who think that none of this really matters because it’s somebody else’s club in somebody else’s city are best advised to remember that there was a time, not too long ago, when Coventry City supporters would not have believed that this could happen to them, until it did.'

I think City fans should seriously consider boycotting this fixture this year in solidarity with Coventry fans.

#againstmodernfootball

You certainly have a point - it would be quite wrong for anyone claiming to be a football fan not to feel sympathy for Coventry City's supporters and not to feel real anger over this appalling outcome. However, before deciding to support another's act of protest I would need to form my own opinion as to:

1. who (if any specific persons or organisations) is really responsible for this state of affairs; and

2. how it is envisaged that such a protest might bring about any favourable resolution.

It seems to me that in essence Coventry City have become just the latest (and certainly not the last) victim of all that has gone wrong at the heart of English football. As a Premier League club they were playing at a hopelessly inadequate Highfield Road stadium with little prospect of a sustainable future until the local authority stepped in to assist (as others have done with much better results - e.g. Swansea City). Between the club and the local authority a business plan was drawn up on the basis of overly optimistic revenue projections (as is so often the case) and soon enough relegation from the Premier League led effectively to a complete collapse of the commercial case. The local authority's support for the stadium could / can only be justified to the council tax payers on the basis the club would/could commit to paying a commercial rent - insolvency, administration and a second relegation mean that the commercial rent cannot be paid.

On top of all of this the council tax payers of Coventry can now all see that the club owners allowed the administration (rather than stepping in to prop up the club) and are now (in slightly different form) seeking to buy the club back from the administrator free (or largely free) from the debts that it owed to the stadium owner and others, and offering only a rent it can sustain in League 1. The local authority (under the media spotlight) cannot acquiesce at the expense of the council tax payer and the League 1 club simply cannot commit to the level of payment demanded - hence a game of brinksmanship has ended in the club owners' bluff being called.

I am sure it is much more complicated that this but the inconvenient truth is that the life expectancy of any venture whose revenues consistently fail to cover its costs is limited. It will inevitably lurch from one crisis to the next. The difference in football is that many clubs (and Bristol City is a fine example) are able to sustain considerable losses over the medium term through the support of a rich benefactor motivated either by love or sometimes something more base. The sustained presence of loss-making players in any market prevents the market finding its equilibrium (e.g. through return to affordable wages) and hence makes matters worse for the rest.

If we wish to show solidarity with other supporters to prevent regular repeats of Portsmouth, Coventry and so many others, we should perhaps take a stand against profligate spending and rich owner domination at all clubs starting with our own - perhaps before we join a protest which seems likely to achieve little but accelerate the next step in the demise of a once proud and relatively successful club.

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