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@shylad1 | 6 March 08 | |
No plans for Kevin Kyle return, says Chris Coleman CHRIS COLEMAN says Coventry City's lack of firepower concerns him - but he won't be recalling on-loan Kevin Kyle. The new Coventry City boss admits one of his biggest concerns is the lack of fire powe. It is a fact highlighted by Dele Adebola hitting three goals in his first five games since his move to Bristol City. Dele left before we arrived and what we are left with, is Leon Best up front, Coleman said. After that we have got young Robbie Simpson, Michael Mifsud can play up the middle and then who do you put on the right wing? There's Wayne Andrews who hasn't got a lot of experience, so we are short. But, dspite the problems up front, Coleman insists he has no plans to recall target man Kevin Kyle from Wolves. I have not thought about that, he said. I know Kevin had a difficult time when he was here but we have not looked in that direction, and that's no disrespect to Kevin. |
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@shylad1 | 6 March 08 | |
Coventry City ladies maintain winning streak COVENTRY City Ladies notched their ninth straight league win with a 5-2 flourish against Alfreton Town. Danni Saulter scored twice for the fourth game in a row to take her tally to nine goals in five outings while under-17 international Jade Formaston also bagged a brace on her return to the side. Sky Blues took the lead on 10 minutes when Alfreton's Catherine Davey headed against her own post and the alert Formaston collected the to angle a low drive into the far corner. The pair linked up again on 21 minutes when Saulter picked out Formaston, whose fierce effort left Rebecca Haslam helpless. And City killed off their rivals with a spurt of three goals in five second-half minutes. Saulter broke down the right in the 53rd minute and crashed a superb angled drive high into the net from the narrowest of angles and within 90 seconds Kirsty O'Sullivan's through ball gave Formaston time and space to pick her spot. City completed their scoring on 57 minutes when lone striker Kelly-Ann Willis ran on to Jenni Lowe's pass for a crisp 10-yard finish, but they then took their foot off the gas and allowed Alfreton to snap up two consolations. City: Williamson, Pinner, Lowe, O'Sullivan, Lynch, Sharad (Forbes 69), Formaston, Henson, Willis, Saulter (Tinto 62), Wil (Dermody 69). |
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@shylad1 | 6 March 08 | |
Coventry 0 QPR 0 COVENTRY CITY missed the chance to move further clear of the Coca-Cola Championship relegation zone as QPR dug in for a point at the Ricoh Arena. City striker Leon Best had the best chance of the game when he raced clean through in the 33rd minute but Rangers goalkeeper Lee Camp blocked the shot. Chris Coleman's side dominated for long spells but as the game progressed they ran out of ideas against a dogged yet disappointing Hoops team. Victory for the home side would have moved them six points clear of the drop zone into 17th but instead they remain 21st - just four points clear of trouble. There was a return for Sky Blues skipper Stephen Hughes along with Michael Doyle and Elliott Ward, while QPR boss Luigi De Canio named an unchanged line-up. City began purposefully and looked the more likely to open the scoring. They had the ball in the back of the net within the first three minutes but the effort was disallowed for offside, while Ward spurned an excellent opportunity when Best drilled the ball across the face of goal. It was a far cry from their recent laboured away performances as the home side moved the ball around with speed and style, in fact the Sky Blues were at times culpable of being overly elaborate. Michael Mifsud was sent clear down the right channel but he selfishly elected to shoot and only found the side-netting. Then Camp was forced to furiously backpedal when Jay Tabb's cross took a deflection and threatened to loop into the far corner, but much to his relief it landed on the roof of the net. Rangers may have improved dramatically under De Canio but they remain inconsistent and this was a long way short of the performance which saw them tear Stoke apart in the opening half hour of Sunday's 3-0 win. Best and Mifsud were linking up well and the pair combined to excellent effect when Mifsud was sent clear down the right but his first touch was a poor one and Camp collected easily. Moments later they had an even better chance when Best raced through but the City striker lacked conviction and Camp saved well. One last-ditch block from Matthew Connolly denied Best soon afterwards and then Camp was quickly down to push away Tabb's goalbound shot as City failed to get the goal their efforts deserved. The visitors stepped up a gear after the break and a dipping drive from Akos Buzsaky after 52 minutes was the closest they came to scoring. Coventry quickly reclaimed the initiative but a combination of resolute Rangers defending and disappointing deliveries meant they failed to create any real clear-cut chances. Tabb was replaced by Julian Gray with 15 minutes remaining as Coleman stepped up his search for a winner. The change almost had the desired impact when Gray combined impressively with Kevin Thornton down the left channel but the former Birmingham winger's cross failed to live up to his earlier interplay. Dexter Blackstock came on for the anonymous Patrick Agyemang and Rangers could have even stole with two minutes left when Mikele Leigertwood fired narrowly over. Best had a chance to atone for his earlier miss with an overhead kick with seconds remaining but it was not to be and the home side were greeted by a mixture of boos and cheers at the final whistle. |
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@shylad1 | 6 March 08 | |
Chris Coleman frustrated over Coventry City bore draw COVENTRY CITY manager Chris Coleman admitted to being surprised and frustrated by his side's failure to finish as QPR held out for a goalless draw at the Ricoh Arena. Victory for the home side would have moved them six points clear of the Coca-Cola Championship drop zone into 17th but instead they remain in 21st just four points clear of trouble. The Sky Blues could have had the game sewn up by half-time, with their best chance coming in the 33rd minute when Leon Best went clean through only for Rangers goalkeeper Lee Camp to block the shot. Coleman's side dominated for long spells but as the game progressed ran out of ideas against a dogged yet disappointing Hoops team. The City boss felt only one side ever looked like winning and insisted he could still take plenty of positives from the game. Coleman said: A team that put in the performance we did in the first 45 minutes belongs at the other end of the league. We played good football, we made a lot of chances, defended very well when we had to and that's the standard and the type of football we are looking to produce week in week out if we can. When you create chances and don't take them like we did in the first half then you are going to get a little bit edgy and we did that in some periods in the second half. But overall we were never really tested at the back. (Andy) Marshall never really had a save to make and I'm very surprised and frustrated we never took the three points because the players deserved three points. The Welshman, who has picked up four points from his first four games as manager, admits his side are in a scr*p for survival - but insists he knew that was the case when he took charge last month. I think when we looked at the league at the weekend and especially after results last night, I think people believe now we are in a relegation battle, he added. It was a relegation battle when I arrived, I was under no illusions. We are coming into a team that have lost a lot of games recently so there's no quick fix. I haven't got any magic to bring to the table and say everything's going to be fine, it's not. It's going to be a very difficult run in for us and the only way we are going to be okay is if we approach games like tonight - more performances like that then we will get points and we will be okay. Rangers remain 15th after the result but boss Luigi De Canio believes the point gained has moved his team a little step nearer to safety as they moved nine points clear of the drop zone. He said: We have taken another little step forward and we just have to try and aim to get the possible result from every game because it (survival) is within our grasp. It was a disappointing performance from a Rangers side who made light work of promotion contenders Stoke just four days earlier. City goalkeeper Marshall barely broke sweat as the Hoops defended deeper and deeper as the game progressed. Asked if they had come for a draw, De Canio replied: No, Coventry forced us to get a draw. I am disappointed but I say congratulations and well done to Coventry because it's down to their performance that we were unable to play like we wanted. However, we should and we could have done more. |
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@shylad1 | 6 March 08 | |
Coventry City shut out by QPR COVENTRY manager Chris Coleman demanded more of the same from his side - despite a frustrating night at the Ricoh Arena. The Sky Blues were held to a goalless draw by Queens Park Rangers but their first-half performance against the Londoners was arguably their strongest since Coleman took over. On a night when former striker Gary McSheffrey watched from the stands, the only thing missing was goals. It was both an improvement and a frustrating night at the same time, said Coleman. If we produce more performances like that between now and the end of the season then we will get the points we need but more performances like Sc*nthorpe will mean it is a very long and worrying end to the season. We were playing against a side that had won against one of the top teams in the division while we haven't won many games recently but we created a number of chances. We need to see what kind of reaction when we take on Norwich at the weekend - it is another cup final for us and we must take something from it. And the City manager said that he would continue to hold two training sessions a day if he felt it would benefit the players. It's not a punishment, I promise, he said. But we haven't got much time to change things. So we are trying to get as much across as possible in a short space of time. We had a little chat after the Sc*nthorpe game and then results on Tuesday night meant we were fourth from bottom. Up until then, we had just been flirting with it but that brought it home. It's a relegation battle and I knew that from the day I came in. We just have to approach every game - home and away - as we did last night. Coleman also revealed that midfielder Jay Tabb is 50/50 for the weekend fixture against Norwich after picking up a calf injury last night. I've been impressed with him, said the Coventry manager. He's exactly the sort of player you want when you are in the position we are in. Coleman added: If we produce more performances like that between now and the end of the season then we will get the points we need but more performances like Sc*nthorpe will mean it is a very long and worrying end to the season. We were playing against a side that had won against one of the top teams in the division while we haven't won many games recently but we created a number of chances. We need to see what kind of reaction when we take on Norwich at the weekend - it is another cup final for us and we must take something from it. And the City manager said that he would continue to hold two training sessions a day if he felt it would benefit the players. |
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@shylad1 | 7 March 08 | |
Fans' Zone: We must learn our lessons WHATEVER happens this season, it is crucial that as a club we learn lessons. Why? Because our decline has not just been taking place since relegation in 2001 - it has been going on for almost 20 years and, as the Sky Blue Army is heard to sing now and again: We're not very good and we're sick of it! Of course, it's quite possible that we thrashed QPR 7-0 last night and that all our troubles are over. Yet even if we did, there are fundamentals with regards to running a football club that have too often been transgressed over the last 18 years which have contributed significantly to our current sorry plight. Number one: faith in the manager. The revolving door on the manager's office at CCFC must require a can of WD40 every week, such is the rate at which it spins. Only two of our last six managers have had the luxury of a full season to build and develop the team. Is it any wonder we are where we are? Of course, another went recently - sacked five days before a massive game against local rivals and nine days after overseeing a 4-0 victory. Such time is bewildering and adds to the nation's perception of Coventry as a club that sacks managers on a whim. Yet, depressingly, so familiar are managerial executions at City that the reaction seemed incredibly muted, as though a train had been delayed or the Government had lost a few more data discs. Ho hum. Number two: We must hold on to our best players. This goes right back into the mists of time. We can all name players who have been sold at the wrong moment, causing great damage to our prospects. Often it seems as if there is a culture at City to do what suits other teams rather than ourselves. The Australian cricket team are renowned for doing that which causes the opposition problems. It is just one reason why they are the best in the world. We should do the same. On balance it probably would have suited our purpose to keep Dele Adebola - even if that meant that he left for nothing at the end of the season. His presence up front was influential and if we go down due in part to our lack of goals, the 250K (or what ever it was) we got from Bristol City will be small consolation. The takeover got us out of the frying pan. Now we've hit the fire. Let's hope we can find a way out of that too. |
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@shylad1 | 7 March 08 | |
The lowdown: The Canaries THE big Norwich City revival began with a victory over the Sky Blues in November. Glenn Roeder had only been in the manager's hot-seat for a month and the Canaries went into the game holding up the rest of the Championship table, while Coventry were a comfortable 11th. But, after back-to-back defeats and with just two wins in their last 12 matches, Norwich cruised to a 2-0 result. It was the confidence booster Roeder's side needed and signalled a run that has now taken them up to 13th place. On the other hand, the Sky Blues have suffered since that fixture, winning just three league games and sliding into a relegation fight. And to show how fortunes can swing around, while Coventry have had a change of manager and live in fear of where they may be playing next season, the Norwich chairman has given Roeder a vote of confidence, as he already begins plans to rebuild his squad for a promotion push in 12 months time. He may have to replace as many as 15 players in what is sure to be an interesting summer at Carrow Road. The Canaries currently have six players who will finish their loan spells at the end of the season and also looking set to depart are former Sky Blues heroes Darren Huckerby and Dion Dublin, who has announced his retirement from the game. Roeder said: We are one of the top Championship clubs. When I came to the club they were in a mess with eight points. W We're gradually sorting it out but Rome wasn't built in a day and nor was Norwich. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we will probably be losing up to 15 players in the new season, including the six loans. The key to the turnaround in fortunes has been the loan players we have managed to secure. Roeder has called in favours from Premiership managers since day one, when he brought in Martin Taylor from Birmingham, but he refuted the suggestion he was relying too much on other teams' players. What else can we do? I always pick the best team available, and if the best players are loan players so be it, he said. We will have to hit the loan system next year as well to make up the numbers. I am very lucky. I have enough friends in the Premiership to lend me some of their players because they know I'll play them. They don't sit in the stand. It will take a little bit of time because it is a complete restructure and rebuilding job. The thing is we have the basics there - a Premier League training ground and a Premiership stadium with good support. We haven't got the team at the moment but we are working on that. This week Norwich drew 1-1 away to high-fliers Watford, with Jamie Cureton coming off the subs' bench to volley an 80th minute equaliser, before Dublin almost sna*ched full points when he saw a late scissor-kick superbly saved. The display followed a disappointing 2-1 home defeat against Blackpool last Sa ay and in their previous away game Norwich had crashed 4-0 at Leicester. As well as leading scorer Cureton, Roeder's side also includes former Celtic pair David Marshall and Mark Fotheringham and Spanish international defender Juan Velasco, who made his debut in the draw at Watford. Meanwhile, Lee Croft is reported to be the target of promotion-chasing duo Stoke City and West Brom. The 22-year-old former Man City trainee has established himself in the starting line up over the last few months with a string of consistent displays to help City pull clear of the relegation zone. |
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@shylad1 | 7 March 08 | |
Coventry City need some Michael Mifsud magic COVENTRY CITY go into another cup final tomorrow knowing that they could do with a couple of Michael Mifsud specials to spark them to victory. The club's leading scorer has made a name for himself with his cup exploits this season, hitting a brace against Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers to dump them out of the Carling and FA Cups, and contributing to an impressive seven-goal haul in cup competitions. However, the Maltese international is experiencing a dip after going 15 league games without a goal, but manager Chris Coleman is confident he will soon break his barren spell if he keeps showing bravery on the ball to get himself into goal scoring positions. He's a good little player who is very quick and direct, said the City boss ahead of tomorrow's home match with Norwich City. He needs a little bit more composure in the final third but you often find that with quick players who generally play at one speed. But I have been impressed with Michael who has done very well. He's lacking a bit of confidence but I tell you what, he is a brave boy for me because he keeps getting in there and that's a sign of a player with a bit of bravery. He is prepared to keep getting in positions to get goals. If you keep missing you have got to keep getting in there and when you stop getting in those positions and putting your head on the block because you are scared you are going to miss, that's it, you are no good. You want your strikers to score and we had some chances the other night and they didn't and that's disappointing but, they kept getting in there and that's the only way to correct what's going wrong. All players go through a bad time and the way to get through it is getting on with it, and to be fair to Michael, he did that. You hope that he gets one and it doesn't matter if it is from 30-yards or off his backside, you don't care, but that can spark people off and give everyone a lift, and I hope that happens on Sa ay in what is another cup final for us. He added: I was pleased with big Besty who is only 21 and played up there by himself and was an absolute handful all game. He had a good chance and didn't put it away but he has got to keep getting in there and playing with the anger he displayed the other night. And if they they didn't and that's disappointing but, they kept getting in there and that's the only way to correct what's going wrong. All players go through a bad time and the way to get through it is getting on with it, and to be fair to Michael, he did that. You hope that he gets one and it doesn't matter if it is from 30-yards or off his backside, you don't care, but that can spark people off and give everyone a lift, and I hope that happens on Sa ay in what is another cup final for us. keep doing that we have got a chance. If they don't, it is going to be very difficult. And Coleman admits that he would swap City's cup triumphs against Premiership opposition for two victories in the league. I would change the Manchester United and Blackburn results for league results and if Iain Dowie was sitting here I am sure he would tell you the same, he said. If we were in mid-table those two results would be great, and they are great achievements. But where we are in the league, six points changes a lot, and had we got six points more we would be in Norwich's position wondering whether we could maybe have a pop at the play-offs. But six points less and we are fourth from bottom. So those results were great for the club but it is the league that is our bread and b*tter and we must never forget that. We need points and we need them yesterday. City's only injury worry is Jay Tabb who is 50-50 after suffering a kick to a calf muscle against QPR, leaving Julian Gray on stand-by to replace him in the starting line-up. |
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