Who would have thought it? A club the size of Coventry's being made to groundshare with lowly Northampton Town. The whole situation with Coventry City has become a complete joke and they now find themselves without a permanent stadium and having to share a 7,500 capacity Sixfields over 40 miles away from the City. Add on top of that the club still being in administration and hit with a transfer embargo with owners who are utterly useless, then it is extremely difficult to see a way out.
The fact that the owners SISU were unwilling to do any sort of sensible deal to play in the Ricoh, how some of the SISU board members managed to buy the other part of the club through acceptance from the administrator and how the Football League could ratify the ground share really opens up a numerous amount of questions. Some of these questions include how on earth have SISU managed to get away with all this. Usually when a club gets bought after going into administration, it means new owners, the club coming out of administration and a fresh start. But in this case, the club got completely bought by the existing owners, are still in administration and the gloom continues. It is a mystery to how they have been able to do this without the Football League or the administrator getting involved.
It seems like SISU are a cancer trying to kill Coventy City Football Club and won't stop until they do. It is clear they don't care about the club or football as they would have left by now if they did. They are just in it for the money side of things in terms of not being willing to leave until they have made some sort of profit and gain some sort of percentage in the Ricoh, much like a hedge fund.
With this ground share, it is hard to see too many Coventry fans turning up and who can blame them. 40 odd miles is a long way to travel just to watch your home side play and it turns out most of the matches will be played on a Friday night due to fixture clashes with Northampton. They will do well to get 1,000 in all honesty. A truly ridiculous state of affairs with a perfectly good 32,500 capacity stadium now just sitting there in Coventry. This is well and truly a new low for Coventy City and if things carry on the way they are, it is hard to see a prolonged future for the club.
Monday 8 July 2013
Tuesday 2 July 2013
India's Young Guns Pick Up More Silverware
MS Dhoni's men won the Champions Trophy just last week and what a performance by Team India it was. It was 2 years ago when they lifted the World Cup in Mumbai but the difference this time was most of that squad had been dropped in the subsequent years. No longer do India rely on the class and aggression of Virender Sehwag, the genius of Sachin Tendulkar, the all round prowess of Yuvraj Singh or the craftmanship of Zaheer Khan. In fact, only 4 members of that World Cup winning squad remained for the Champions Trophy which is another reason why this victory was oh so sweet.
Leading into the final against England, there was no doubt that India were the best team of the tournament. They blew away every team that stepped in their way and they had got the balance between their bowlers and their batsmen just right. But England were always going to be a handful in home conditions, especially with the type of seam attack they have. In a rain affected final which was reduced to 20 overs a side, England won the toss and decided to bowl first which took place 5 hours before play finally got under way. Conditions were tough early on and after a solid start of 38-1 from 6 overs, the rain further delayed proceeding destroying any momentum India might have had. On a slow pitch, part timer Ravi Bopara struck 3 times with his slow medium pacers to restrict India to 66-5 off 13 overs. Kohli played a useful hand of 43 before he was dismissed in the 19th over and it was only until Jadeja struck a quickfire 33 that India got to 130-7 which seemed like at least 20 runs off a par score.
England lost Cook early and quickly slumped to 46-4 on a turning track after a debatable third umpire decision which saw the demise of Ian Bell. Dhoni decided against bowling spin in the middle overs and seemingly relieved the pressure off of England with some hapless bowling from Ishant Sharma. This saw England to a comfortable position of 110-4, needing just 20 from 16 balls. That was until that man Sharma picked up 2 wickets in just 2 balls to turn the final on its head. England then lost a further 2 wickets to collapse to 113-8 and fall 5 runs short of what should have been a certain victory. England once again fell short in a final and India once again win a major ODI trophy.
This young Indian side were very impressive throughout the Champions Trophy. Shikhar Dhawan won player of the tournament and most runs whilst Ravindra Jadeja took the most wickets. These two players were the stand out performers for India with Dhawan scoring back to back centuries in the group stage after a two year absence from the side. Jadeja proved to be a very useful all rounder with his spin proving his worth to the team. He hasn't always had the praise he might have deserved from the Indian media but surely now that will change. MS Dhoni proved why he is probably the best captain in World cricket. Bold moves were made throughout which went a long way to him lifting the title. So this new, young Indian side looks like it could be around for years to come and with one eye on the 2015 World Cup, they could well be the team to beat.
Leading into the final against England, there was no doubt that India were the best team of the tournament. They blew away every team that stepped in their way and they had got the balance between their bowlers and their batsmen just right. But England were always going to be a handful in home conditions, especially with the type of seam attack they have. In a rain affected final which was reduced to 20 overs a side, England won the toss and decided to bowl first which took place 5 hours before play finally got under way. Conditions were tough early on and after a solid start of 38-1 from 6 overs, the rain further delayed proceeding destroying any momentum India might have had. On a slow pitch, part timer Ravi Bopara struck 3 times with his slow medium pacers to restrict India to 66-5 off 13 overs. Kohli played a useful hand of 43 before he was dismissed in the 19th over and it was only until Jadeja struck a quickfire 33 that India got to 130-7 which seemed like at least 20 runs off a par score.
England lost Cook early and quickly slumped to 46-4 on a turning track after a debatable third umpire decision which saw the demise of Ian Bell. Dhoni decided against bowling spin in the middle overs and seemingly relieved the pressure off of England with some hapless bowling from Ishant Sharma. This saw England to a comfortable position of 110-4, needing just 20 from 16 balls. That was until that man Sharma picked up 2 wickets in just 2 balls to turn the final on its head. England then lost a further 2 wickets to collapse to 113-8 and fall 5 runs short of what should have been a certain victory. England once again fell short in a final and India once again win a major ODI trophy.
This young Indian side were very impressive throughout the Champions Trophy. Shikhar Dhawan won player of the tournament and most runs whilst Ravindra Jadeja took the most wickets. These two players were the stand out performers for India with Dhawan scoring back to back centuries in the group stage after a two year absence from the side. Jadeja proved to be a very useful all rounder with his spin proving his worth to the team. He hasn't always had the praise he might have deserved from the Indian media but surely now that will change. MS Dhoni proved why he is probably the best captain in World cricket. Bold moves were made throughout which went a long way to him lifting the title. So this new, young Indian side looks like it could be around for years to come and with one eye on the 2015 World Cup, they could well be the team to beat.
Tuesday 26 March 2013
Is The End Near For Sachin Tendulkar?
Like with anything, all good things must come to an end eventually. Sachin Tendulkar is without a doubt the greatest batsman in the modern era and second only to Sir Don Bradman in the history of the game.
The numbers are simply amazing. 198 test matches, close to 16,000 runs, 51 centuries and not to mention a remarkable ODI career to match. But he will be 40 next month and the signs are already there that he could well be on his way out of the game. He retired from one day cricket in December to spend more time with his family and to be honest that was the right decision due to the lack of one day cricket he had been playing since the World Cup victory in 2011. His form has been poor by his very high standards, for the past couple of years.
He hasn't scored a test century since January 2011 in South Africa which was 21 test matches ago. In that time his average isn't that bad at 31.80 with 8 half centuries but the pressure of being the best tells you that isn't good enough by Sachin standards, which are enormous in all truth. Critics will say he should have retired on top after the World Cup win two years ago. He was in the form of his life during 2009 and 2010 and that was probably the best time to leave. The difference with him now though is how he has been getting out after getting a start. He will play majestically until he reaches 20 or 30 and not capitalise which is not like the Sachin of old.
No matter what happens from now on, he will always go down in history as a true great. I believe there is no comparison between him and the likes of Lara, Sobers and Sir Viv Richards. Although these players were true greats, the numbers and impact Sachin has had on the game just don't compare. Also take into consideration the style of his game which is truly unmatchable to any player ever to play this great sport. It will be a sad day when Sachin decides to finally retire which will be sooner rather than later, but he will always be remembered as a true great of cricket and a true sporting hero.
The numbers are simply amazing. 198 test matches, close to 16,000 runs, 51 centuries and not to mention a remarkable ODI career to match. But he will be 40 next month and the signs are already there that he could well be on his way out of the game. He retired from one day cricket in December to spend more time with his family and to be honest that was the right decision due to the lack of one day cricket he had been playing since the World Cup victory in 2011. His form has been poor by his very high standards, for the past couple of years.
He hasn't scored a test century since January 2011 in South Africa which was 21 test matches ago. In that time his average isn't that bad at 31.80 with 8 half centuries but the pressure of being the best tells you that isn't good enough by Sachin standards, which are enormous in all truth. Critics will say he should have retired on top after the World Cup win two years ago. He was in the form of his life during 2009 and 2010 and that was probably the best time to leave. The difference with him now though is how he has been getting out after getting a start. He will play majestically until he reaches 20 or 30 and not capitalise which is not like the Sachin of old.
No matter what happens from now on, he will always go down in history as a true great. I believe there is no comparison between him and the likes of Lara, Sobers and Sir Viv Richards. Although these players were true greats, the numbers and impact Sachin has had on the game just don't compare. Also take into consideration the style of his game which is truly unmatchable to any player ever to play this great sport. It will be a sad day when Sachin decides to finally retire which will be sooner rather than later, but he will always be remembered as a true great of cricket and a true sporting hero.
Monday 25 March 2013
Future Looking Bleak For Sky Blues
When will it end? Being a Coventry City fan for close to 15 years since the age of 6, it's been pretty depressing stuff. Two relegations and countless mid-table finishes is what us fans have had to endure on the pitch. But off the pitch, it gets even worse.
After narrowly avoiding administration by a matter of minutes in 2007, it looked like things were looking up for the Sky Blues. Sisu took the club over and looked to improve things both on and off the pitch. They were hoping to own the stadium which the club rent, The Ricoh Arena, within a few years.
But failure to do so has caused numerous problems for the club with failure to pay the rent which is reported to be as much as £1.2 million per year. Without receiving revenue from the stadium, the club really is falling fast. The owners Sisu, have said to have pumped close to £50 million into the club. It's hard to see where any of that money has gone as we are in a much worse position that when they took over the club.
And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the club are on the verge of 10 point deduction after a non-operating subsidiary of the club went into administration. This is real shame as the club were starting to perform on the pitch in the recent months. Currently 10th in League 1 and just a few points from the play-offs, this deduction kills off any chances of reaching them and condems us to yet another below mid-table finish.
Back to the off the pitch matters and no-one really knows the full story but it looks like we will be deducted 10 points this season and the actual football club will enter administration before the start of next season and be deducted a further 15 points. Just even more depressing news for us fans. At least it can't get much worse than this though. Oh wait, it can. It was also revealed that the club look set to be leaving The Ricoh Arena after long standing rent issues and are looking for a new place to play the remaining home fixtures. It really is a sorry state of affairs for the club and the long suffering fans. We are not sure when this pain will end but before you know it, we could be playing League 2 football with the likes of Fleetwood Town and AFC Wimbledon. Oh joy. The future for Coventry City looks very bleak indeed.
After narrowly avoiding administration by a matter of minutes in 2007, it looked like things were looking up for the Sky Blues. Sisu took the club over and looked to improve things both on and off the pitch. They were hoping to own the stadium which the club rent, The Ricoh Arena, within a few years.
But failure to do so has caused numerous problems for the club with failure to pay the rent which is reported to be as much as £1.2 million per year. Without receiving revenue from the stadium, the club really is falling fast. The owners Sisu, have said to have pumped close to £50 million into the club. It's hard to see where any of that money has gone as we are in a much worse position that when they took over the club.
And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, the club are on the verge of 10 point deduction after a non-operating subsidiary of the club went into administration. This is real shame as the club were starting to perform on the pitch in the recent months. Currently 10th in League 1 and just a few points from the play-offs, this deduction kills off any chances of reaching them and condems us to yet another below mid-table finish.
Back to the off the pitch matters and no-one really knows the full story but it looks like we will be deducted 10 points this season and the actual football club will enter administration before the start of next season and be deducted a further 15 points. Just even more depressing news for us fans. At least it can't get much worse than this though. Oh wait, it can. It was also revealed that the club look set to be leaving The Ricoh Arena after long standing rent issues and are looking for a new place to play the remaining home fixtures. It really is a sorry state of affairs for the club and the long suffering fans. We are not sure when this pain will end but before you know it, we could be playing League 2 football with the likes of Fleetwood Town and AFC Wimbledon. Oh joy. The future for Coventry City looks very bleak indeed.
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