Coventry City

[Pancho Regan]

Relegated to the 4th tier of the Football League for the first time in almost 60 years.
They were in the Premiership in 2001.

It's the fans of this once-proud club I feel sorry for. It's always the fans who suffer most.

As we are on the up again, I spare a thought for their fans who will be feeling desperate tonight.

[roversdude]

Feel sorry for fans but serves them right for stealing Betts

[BobG]

I spent 3 years at Warwick Uni in the mid 70's. I was a real regular at Highfield Road.  Never a world beating side but always fun to watch. A very innovative club and some really memorable occasions. And THAT never to be forgotten goal to win the FA Cup. One of my all time favourites.

It's sad, sad times now. Yes. They behaved badly over Robert Betts but no club deserves what's happened to Coventry City. For me it's yet another example of the total incapacity of the FA and FL to run the game they are charged with managing.

BobG

[bedale rover]

It's been years of mismanagement and overspending stretching back to when they were relegated from the PL

[roversdude]

Highlights how fortunate we are to have our owners and previously JR
Agree with Bobs comments the FA should have acted years ago, how can they be fit and proper owners

[Super Colin Cramb]

I have a slight soft spot for Cov City as the wife is from Warwick and she's many friends who support them. It's a real shame to see their demise and now spending time in league 2, for a club of their potential is criminal. They have the potential to be a big club with the right owners, they have a catchment area for fans most clubs would be envious of. Towns such as Stratford upon Avon, leamington spa, Warwick, rugby, and obviously cov itself etc etc all are local and would support Cov City when doing well. I for one hope they bounce back but unfortunately I can't see it with the current owners in charge.

[RedJ]

They could be homeless in a year as well.

[i_ateallthepies]

I have only ever known one Coventry City supporter in my life and that was my last two years at school, which is a good few weeks back now.  He was the most arrogant t**t I have ever known, and I've known a few.  So, on that basis I find it rather amusing to witness their suffering now.  Not that I'm the sort to bear a grudge like

[andysly]

I have never gone along the feeling sorry for the fans route. Whether it be Leeds, Coventry, Florists, Portsmouth or many others.
Yes their clubs have been mismanaged BUT the fact is the fans were lapping it up when the club was spending money they didn't have, and demanding bigger and better signings. Some of our fans would've had us do the same thing a couple of years ago, thankfully we have owners in place who see the long term as more important than the short.

[idler]

So you don't feel sorry for the fans that didn't want them to overspend then?

[andysly]

Fair enough Idler.
But look at the clubs I mentioned all of them living the dream on other people's money, possibly excepting Coventry from that as they've just been been royally screwed

[Super Colin Cramb]

From what I am told cov's owner has sold their better player without replacing them and sold all the assets the club had, so not really to do with over spending or going above and beyond their budget.

I pity all clubs fans who go through a similar thing, not so long ago we were in a similar position.

[idler]

Probably the first fans to turn their backs on a club will be the ones that shouted the loudest to spend beyond their means.
The ones left to pick up the pieces are the diehards that will go and watch whatever.

[BobG]

Consider this list:

Coventry City
Charlton Athletic
Blackburn Rovers
Blackpool
Morecambe
Leyton Orient
Torquay United

30 years after the first Charlton Athletic imbroglio began decades of pillaging of football clubs, we STILL have 6 football league clubs and 1 Nationwide club in the hands of villains who should not be allowed anywhere near any football club at all. That's over 8% of football league clubs that, right now, have been abandoned by those in positions of authority. What's the percentage over the last 30 years? I could work it out, but I won't. It will be scarcely believable. Just what do these cretins in Lancaster Gate and Lytham St Annes think they're doing??? What are we, supporters all, up and down the land, doing letting them get away with this blind incompetance?

BobG

[RedJ]

Nationwide? Christ that's going back a few years Bob.

[BobG]

I know. But you know who I mean so it really don't matter I did think about calling it the Vauxhall Conference - and that's even older

Bob

[wilts rover]

Consider this list:

Coventry City
Charlton Athletic
Blackburn Rovers
Blackpool
Morecambe
Leyton Orient
Torquay United

30 years after the first Charlton Athletic imbroglio began decades of pillaging of football clubs, we STILL have 6 football league clubs and 1 Nationwide club in the hands of villains who should not be allowed anywhere near any football club at all. That's over 8% of football league clubs that, right now, have been abandoned by those in positions of authority. What's the percentage over the last 30 years? I could work it out, but I won't. It will be scarcely believable. Just what do these cretins in Lancaster Gate and Lytham St Annes think they're doing??? What are we, supporters all, up and down the land, doing letting them get away with this blind incompetance?

BobG

But what is the alternative Bob? All these are independent clubs making their own business decisions. Are you really suggesting that the FA/FL should be directly running every football club in the country - that's madness.

You could of course suggest some sort of obligatory fan involvement in running the club, but as Rushton & Diamonds, Ebsfleet United and the recent problems at FC United have shown, just because you are a fan doesn't necessarily mean you are going to be able to run a club well.

And when does a good owner become a bad one? Or vice-versa as it's interesting that Leeds are missing from your list. When did Cellino (or whichever Italian businessman is running it now) suddenly become a good owner? When they got into the play-offs with 30k crowds?

The situation at Coventry is very sad but it's up to the supporters and business people of Coventry to get together and buy them out. You can't have the FA just turning up and saying we are taking over because you have been relegated.

[idler]

I think the suggestion is that you don't let them take over in the first place Wilts.
If people like these hadn't been allowed to buy the club then alternatives might have been sourced years ago. I realise that it isn't that easy.
Maybe when an owner buys a club there should be a clause that the ground cannot be sold without FA approval.

[silent majority]

It's a very difficult situation for all concerned. I've sat in many a meeting where disgruntled supporters have taken their case to the EFL or FA and the response is pretty much always the same. The EFL, for example, don't have powers over and above the laws of the land. Its almost impossible to predict how any owner will suddenly turn rogue and behave in a negative way that impacts on the club with drastic consequences. Take Blackburn for example, how could anybody foresee that such a rich family run business who set out with good intention could then cause such chaos? The EFL do have rules and regulations that all clubs adhere to and they do insist these days that clubs meet those expectations, but they can't force any business to invest sufficient funds that meets the supporters desires.

Furthermore, if they set the bar so high that buying a football club becomes an almost impossible task, or that all football clubs become large loss making enterprises, then nobody would ever buy a club and the game would suffer as a consequence. Its a balancing act that the EFL would say they get right on most occasions. They don't have banks and banks of forensic accountants that can foresee the flaws in future business plans. In a lot of occasions you have to cross your fingers and hope your new owners turn out to be the right ones.

[roversontheup]

I have no idea if or how it could be done but I always find myself wondering if football club grounds couldn't be held in some sort of trust. So many rogue owners seem to be after the ground and its development value. Can't the ground be protected somehow?

[Al4475]

I suppose the grounds could become assets of community value - but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are gonna be in safe hands I don't think - I'm sure SM can shed a bit more light on the acv as he put in the majority of the spadework to get the KM classified as one!

[swintonrover]

Football Grounds should be protected land. In the town where I live at uni, Skelmersdale, the local football team are at serious risk of folding because the ground owners are refusing to extend the lease on the ground. 135 years of history about to go because someone made a choice to be a dick. It shouldnt be allowed.

[Syme]

In the end it's very unusual for a Football League Club to go to the wall. Even more so if they're reasonably well supported.

In recent years we've had Portsmouth and Leeds who've had serious issues, but they're "alright" now.

A club like Leyton Orient concerns me more. Minimal crowds and already destined for non league. They are more likely to end up like Chester than Coventry.