Supporters Go Down to Baggies in Final
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Unfortunately, Coventry City Supporters FC went down to a 5 : 0 defeat in the IFA Midlands Cup. But Mark Franklin tells us, "That doesn't really tell the story against one of the top teams in the league. The match was played in the right spirit but no quarter given on either side. Both teams created some fine football."
In the first half CCSFC matched WBA every step of the way, defending resolutely and breaking well to create chances of our own. Probably the best display we've seen from our lads this season. At half time it was nil : nil. WBA were rattled.
Second half WBA pressed higher up and put us under increasing pressure. There were still chances for CCSFC but 15 minutes in and a couple of injuries to our midfield plus two individual errors let WBA in, and they didn't look back. In truth you could see it coming but not the 5 : 0 scoreline. CCSFC kept going until the end creating chances but were never quite sharp enough to convert.
The better team won in the end. They were stronger, more organised, sharper in front of goal and more experienced. A very good team. Our lads have come a long way and six of the squad are 18 or under. All of our lads can be very proud of themselves - they all gave everything they could, competed all over the pitch and showed flashes of very good football
We can be proud of every single one of them - great bunch of lads.
This is what WBA said about us:
"Well done, you gave us a tough game. Your boys have come on so much and made it tough for us to play much football"
"In the end it was the right result but the wrong scoreline. On the night, it was closer than that - but we go again next year, hopefully one place better, "said Mark.
"Thanks to the guys at IFA for organising it all, to Eccleshall FC for the use of their ground, the Sky Blue Trust for organising the team coach, to James for the hard work he puts in running CCSFC and last but not least our supporters who turned up to cheer the lads on."
(Mark himself should be congratulated. He's coached the team all season, and should be proud of their achievements. We're just happy to have provided what support we could.)
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Football League Award Is For People Like Pat
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It has been widely reported that Coventry City has been one of 47 clubs to receive the Football League Family Excellence Award for the 2013/14 season. This decision has been widely criticised and described as a kick in the teeth for many City fans. Certainly it shows crass insensitivity by the Football League considering that our "home" matches are now played 35 miles from Coventry but it should not detract from the fact that this award has not really been earned by the club. It has actually been earned by die-hard Coventry City fans such as Pat Raybould who volunteer their services free of charge because they believe that the youngsters shouldn't miss out despite the problems surrounding the club. Pat gives up a huge amount of time and effort to make the match day experience as good as possible for the Junior Sky Blues in obviously difficult circumstances. We understand Pat's views and congratulates her and her team in their unstinting efforts for the youngsters. We hope one day she will be able to carry on her work back in Coventry.
We asked Pat to put down a bit of information about the JSB's and the work done by her and her team of volunteers:
"A few years ago in the days of Paul Fletcher and Ken Sharp the idea came about to give more to the young fans of Coventry City. I got involved because I worked in a Coventry primary school and we took part in the after school football sessions with SBITC.
"Initially the idea was to offer families of schoolchildren free tickets to matches at The Ricoh. The tickets were collected from the Jaguar Exhibition Hall before the game and different activities were available inside the hall. There were various issues with this system and when Nathan Kosky came to the club new Tickets for Schools initiative was introduced. This scheme ran up until our move to Northampton and was supported by Pat Abel, Cheryl and Elaine who put in many hours and great effort to make it a success.
"When this new scheme came into being the team of original volunteers were asked to consider putting on pre-match activities in The Ricoh’s Family Zone. These activities have included, arts and crafts, games, competitions, face painting, player visits and much more. To keep the arts and crafts free, we ran a 10p competition once a month and were ably supported by the club when we needed prizes.
"The JSB Christmas Party is the biggest event of the year. Again we organise arts and crafts. We also, with the support of the club and donations from players, hold a 25p tombola for some “money can’t buy prizes” Any money raised by these activities goes straight back into the “pot” so that we can continue to resource future free activities. We have given out Christmas gifts, Easter Eggs, and goody bags at the last game of the season. We also held a raffle at the game v Wolves with 4 prizes donated by the club. This raised enough for the “pot” to take us into next season. This year we have also been lucky to receive donations, from The Diamond Club, Cov Support and members of the SCG. These donations were very much appreciated by the team.
"We also turn up at events where CCFC are out and about in the close season and again put on arts and crafts.
"The whole team understand and respect everyone’s view on the current situation that the club finds itself in, but we do not think it should be our young fans who should suffer. In fact just the opposite we need to make sure that they get the maximum enjoyment they can at every game and whilst we can’t influence what happens on the pitch we can certainly make sure that their pre-match experience is remembered.
"After all this has been said every member of the volunteer team want Coventry City FC back in it’s rightful place."
PUSB
Pat Raybould
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Strap On Your Boots For This Summer's March
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We're delighted to announce that this year's summer Sky Blue Supporters March will take place on Saturday July 12th, starting at 11.00 from Gosford Green and ending up in Broadgate. Following on from the incredible success of last years march where thousands of Coventry City supporters showed their love for their club by joining in this amazing event we hope that this years event will be bigger, better and even more fans will join in. Detailed plans are still being firmed up but it is hoped to have Lady Godiva once again leading the march, a Coventry marching band accompanying fans on the route. In Broadgate we will have a stage set up and following a few short speeches from fans there will be music from local artists – this will be a non-political event: it's about the supporters and our club.
The theme of this year's event is "Sky Blue Supporter Unity" – there have been too many splits among supporters, each pointing fingers and blaming different parties or even each other for the current situation we find ourselves in. But at the heart of it we are all Sky Blue supporters with a deep, shared love for our club. This is our chance to show the world that our club is still alive, just how much we still care about it and as long as we sing together we will never lose.Share this post
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