I started supporting Coventry since the 98/99 season and decided to rewatch highlights of every game again (up to the Swansea game just gone). It was like watching a box set of an old tv show. A huge thank you to mrviewsky for making the games available on YouTube. Before any of you ask, yes I have a girlfriend and yes she thinks I’m sad too. It took three years in total to rewatch them all. My three main takeaways are beyond the obvious:
1. 2001-2016 was as grim as I remember. It is normal for a club to have a bad season, but that 15 year period really was horrendous. Terrible football, horrible luck and poor results. We would be lucky to have one game a season which was memorable (usually coming from cup games). Since then I could think of at least ten games a season that stick in my mind. It is a huge testament to our fanbase that we stuck through it. A particular shoutout to the fans who went through that as a teenager (like myself) and never knew of any Coventry joy yet continued to go to games.
2. CBS vs Highfield Road Debate. Admittedly my first visit to Highfield Road was 1998, so maybe some will say I never saw it in its heyday, but I think the brutal truth is that some of the nostalgia is misleading. The stadium tends to be only as good as the state of the club. You could see the ground half full as we fell into the championship and that staleness passed onto the Ricoh (CBS). The CBS now is thriving with the club’s rise and makes a great din. It’s not really about the stadium, but the ownership of the club ultimately that makes the great atmosphere. Sidenote - to state the bleeding obvious, our fans are incredible to stick with the club through those two exiles. I was again reminded of all the pain with the off the field issues.
3. An odd take, but I now feel very lucky to have supported a club that has experienced all leagues in the EFL. It is much rarer than you think and really demonstrates the range of football we have seen. Of course I wouldn’t have wanted to have such a painful fall, but I feel as Cov fans we have a better take of the football pyramid. What a rise it has been which (hopefully) will end in glory this season.
Please forgive my rambling thoughts. PUSB!
1. 2001-2016 was as grim as I remember. It is normal for a club to have a bad season, but that 15 year period really was horrendous. Terrible football, horrible luck and poor results. We would be lucky to have one game a season which was memorable (usually coming from cup games). Since then I could think of at least ten games a season that stick in my mind. It is a huge testament to our fanbase that we stuck through it. A particular shoutout to the fans who went through that as a teenager (like myself) and never knew of any Coventry joy yet continued to go to games.
2. CBS vs Highfield Road Debate. Admittedly my first visit to Highfield Road was 1998, so maybe some will say I never saw it in its heyday, but I think the brutal truth is that some of the nostalgia is misleading. The stadium tends to be only as good as the state of the club. You could see the ground half full as we fell into the championship and that staleness passed onto the Ricoh (CBS). The CBS now is thriving with the club’s rise and makes a great din. It’s not really about the stadium, but the ownership of the club ultimately that makes the great atmosphere. Sidenote - to state the bleeding obvious, our fans are incredible to stick with the club through those two exiles. I was again reminded of all the pain with the off the field issues.
3. An odd take, but I now feel very lucky to have supported a club that has experienced all leagues in the EFL. It is much rarer than you think and really demonstrates the range of football we have seen. Of course I wouldn’t have wanted to have such a painful fall, but I feel as Cov fans we have a better take of the football pyramid. What a rise it has been which (hopefully) will end in glory this season.
Please forgive my rambling thoughts. PUSB!
Pre-1992 Top Flight
Pending 2026/27...
