Coventry City : Part II

[covlad-99]

Oh yes. Its Back! Updated 08/09 transfers (well, Championship, Premiership and a few other main ones!), 07/08 leagues, updated stats, all the ingredients for a regeneration of the classic story which went all the way to the top in PlanetCricket's 2008 PC Awards, scooping the title of 'Best Other Games Story'. But its not done yet. Back comes Craig Tough to manage the Sky Blues again, and its going to be better than ever. Expectation, jubilation, recreation and dissapoint-ation(?) will be the consequences or rewards of the rollercoaster that is football management, and we all know that all will be experienced.

The Story so Far...

In Part I, Tough took his beloved Coventry City to 2nd place in the Championship after a head-to-head battle with Tony Mowbray's West Bromwich Albion, a battle which went down to the final day, but Tough's men went down 2-0 to a strong Crystal Palace side, and had to settle for 2nd. In the following season, Tough's men had an impressive start to life in the Premiership, for the first time in 8 years, however results started to avoid Coventry's men and Tough resigned on the back of a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Steve Coppell's Reading. Tough then went on to a short tenure with 'The Bhoys' at Celtic, before leaving to France to take part in a coaching course, when he was snapped up by French outfit Olympique Lyonnais after impressing in his Grad 1 coaching course. A poor start to the season saw Tough again fail to make a name for himself across the channel and returned home for a break.
But not for long. He's back, and this time, to stay.

Its going to be a bumpy ride . . .​

 

[thesweepmaster]

Craig Tough's Barmy Army:hpraise! Anyway great start mate, hope you are successful!

 

[covlad-99]

Thanks Sweep. I hope so too I am still getting things ready (eg starting the game, making a new signature and avvy) so the first game will be tomorrow/ later tonight. I am about to start the squad post with squad names and numbers with a short description of each senior player so that'll take me half an hour or so, but I'm looking forward to this!

 

[DPRA]

Good to see you back mate!

I shall be watching with anticipation!

Great start, Keep Up the good work!

 

[covlad-99]

Cheers Lee, I hope we can get the same guys posting as before, with you, Audrey, trev, maney etc.. and maybe a few more, as the banter was great And I'll do a supporters cup again during the pre-season if everyone wants to. Droylesden can be in it

Done siggy and avvy as best I can, as I'm not very good at GFX and I'm doing the squad post now!
:happy:happy

 

[PaulNixon1]

Can we have tottenham in the cup craig?

 

[covlad-99]

SQUAD​

​

KEEPERS

1.Kieren WESTWOOD = Highly rated young goalkeeper had a superb season with Carlisle Utd last season, and was rewarded with a move to the Ricoh Arena as Coventry's official #1

33. Andy MARSHALL = Had yet another great season with the Sky Blues last term, but succumbed to a back injury ruling him out of some of City's vital games. Will have to fight for his place with Westwood (above) this season, something he says is just what the club needs.

13. Dimi KONSTANTOPOULOS = Good for 'Football Scrabble' but I'm afraid, not much else. His kicking let him down last term and didn't provide sufficient cover for Andy Marshall (above) when he was injured, and was sent on loan to Nottingham, where he was injured in his first training session, and sent back to Coventry.


DEFENDERS

3. Marcus HALL = Yet another season in Sky Blue for veteran Marcus Hall, and another solid one. Despite not being first choice at City, he provided excellent cover for absent defenders at left back and centre half, and was rewarded with another season at the Ricoh.

6. Scott DANN = Was brought in by a later sacked Iain Dowie in January of last year from Walsall, and never looked back. Despite not expecting to be first team for a while, the 21 year old scouser was selected for nearly all of the nail biting second half of the season games, and was rewarded with 2 appearances for former Coventry player Stuart Pearce's England U21 side, and also has recieved the news he will be captain for the 08/09 season (in real life), something he would not have expected.

5. Elliott WARD = After a £1mil move from West Ham 2 seasons ago, Elliott Ward has established himself as a vital component of Coventry's occasionally (usually) leaky back four, however with the arrivals of Scott Dann (above), Daniel Fox and Stephen Wright, the plumbing has been well and truly sorted out.

2. Stephen WRIGHT = After being released by Roy Keane's Sunderland at the end of last season, the Liverpudlian has been welcomed with open arms by Chris Coleman and the Sky Blues fans and will finally fill that pesky right back slot for the first time in what seems like years. He completes my choice of the back four with Fox, Dann and Ward (above) to form a 3/4 Liverpudlian defence with Wright, Ward and Dann being from Liverpool, and they can look forward to stealing the ball from attackers whenever possible.

4. Daniel FOX = Arguably the best young player in the side. Arrived at the Ricoh with Scott Dann in January last year, another highly-rated Walsall defender to take the Ricoh by storm, and he certainly did. Partnered Scott Dann in the same 2 games for the England U21s a and the 21 year old left sided defender has established himself as a superb passer and crosser of the ball, with the tendancy to bend in a selection of free kicks.

MIDFIELDERS

8. Michael DOYLE = Scored some vital goals for Coventry in their winning battle against relegation last term, however with the arrivals of Aron Einar Gunnarsson and Guillaume Beuzelin, the Irishman may have to be lucky to be first choice this season.

21. Jay TABB = Coventry's MVP last year, and the 24 year old continues to impress after his move from League One outfit Brentford. He is probably Coventry's best midfielder and can play anywhere along the midfield without any dificulty. He may be only small, but Tabby can certainly hold his own on the pitch and pick out many a delightful pass.

11. Julian GRAY = Plagued by injury in the 2nd half of last season, Gray was disappointed he couldn't carry his quite brilliant for from the first half through. He started the campaign of last season so well, starting with a goal and 2 assists in a 4-1 win over later FA Cup semi finalists Barnsley. He will hope to fill in the vacant left midfield slot this season.

29. Kevin THORNTON = The highly rated young Irishman has turned over a new leaf at Coventry after portraying himself as an alcoholic after he saw it was affecting his game. He returned to first team football and displayed his magic to everyone as he stood up and became counted. He has every reason to expect regular action thsi season.

15. Leon McKENZIE = The former Norwich goal machine has swapped his out-and-out striker lark, for a more suitable left midfield battle with fellow winger Julian Gray. He was also plagued by injury last season, but is fighting fit now and raring to go.

7. Guillaume BEUZELIN = The lovable Frenchman was an instant hit with the Hibernian fans, and adopted the nickname 'Boozy'. He has a wide range of ability, but his main asset is his superbly accurate long range passes, however has been slightly injury prone in the past.

12. Aron Einar GUNNARSSON = The 19 year old Iceland International arrived from Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar, after feeling his talent wasn't being realised with the Dutch side, and has said 'he just wants to play'. Another layer for the future AND present to come to the Ricoh, and looks forward to what looks like a good season for him.

STRIKERS

10. Freddy EASTWOOD = The arrival of the Essex boy from Wolves has excited many a Coventry fan. After a nightmare with Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, he has been sent to Coventry to fulfill his dream of regular football. The former Southend legend scored 2 goals against Manchester United in the Carling Cup 2 seasons ago, however he couldn't stop his Southend side from relegation. The Wales international has said his move to Coventry was influenced by Welsh manager John Toshack and fellow Wales striker and former Coventry hitman Craig Bellamy.

9. Leon BEST = has expressed his delight at bagging Coventry's #9 shirt, and yet another young Irishman in Coventry's ranks. He has attracted the attention from many clubs, including Reading, ipswich and Nottingham Forest, however he has been tagged 'Not for Sale' and has set an aim at 15 goals this season.

17. Michael MIFSUD = After a great first half to last season, matching Freddy Eastwood by scoring 2 against Manchester United in the Carling Cup, however the second half wasn't so good, onyl scoring 1 goal in the new year and that was on the last day in a 4-1 drubing at Charlton, after going 19 games without a goal. Even so, Mifsud has attracted attention from Reading, Norwich, Crystal Palace and Bristol City. Bristol City were all set to capture the Maltese International, when Gary Johnson pulled out of the deal, and said Mifsud had the 'wrong attitude'. Mifsud has since been frozen out of Coventry's plans after manager chris Coleman stating he does not want players who don't want to play for his club. Coleman released a statement saying 'He is a Coventry player, and we still pay his waged, but he isn't part of our squad'. Norwich, Palace and Reading have also since denied wanting the player, leaving Mifsud out in the cold.

14. Clinton MORRISON = After being released by Crystal Palace at the end of last season, Morrison has welcomed a move to Coventry, and has said he looks forward to fighting with Best and Eastwood for a first team place after he went through a superb purple patch last season, where he scored in 14 successive games for Palace, taking his tally to 16 for the season, after a hard first half of the season.

24. Robbie SIMPSON = The 23 year old former Cambridge striker has found it hard to break through into Coventry's starting 11 lasts season, however he was definately a very uselfull substitute for the SKy Blues, with his height, power and pace providing a much needed threat, but couldn't turn as many chances into goals as he would have liked.​

covlad-99 added 2 Minutes and 2 Seconds later...

Can we have tottenham in the cup craig?

Sure thing.

PCS Cup: Coventry, Droylesden, Tottenham, West Brom.

Chosen on who has posted already! No room left in that one I'm afraid, but i'll make another one. Don't know when it will be played, but i'll release a pre season fixture list when i have arranged it all!

 

[Ollie_H]

I loved your last story Craig! So looking forward to this one buddy!

 

[DPRA]

covlad-99 added 2 Minutes and 2 Seconds later...

Sure thing.

PCS Cup: Coventry, Droylesden, Tottenham, West Brom.

Chosen on who has posted already! No room left in that one I'm afraid, but i'll make another one. Don't know when it will be played, but i'll release a pre season fixture list when i have arranged it all!

I had to say this a few times last season in the conference. Droylsden is how its spelt. :laugh

What a top notch update!

Look at the quality of them Strikers!

 

[PaulNixon1]

Looking forward to the cup we all know whos going to win

 

[DPRA]

Looking forward to the cup we all know whos going to win

Yep, The mighty Droylsden.

 

[PaulNixon1]

Yep, The mighty Droylsden.

No lee im talking about tottenham

 

[covlad-99]

Thanks for all the posts so quick guys! Didn't expect so many already!

@ DPRA: Yeah! They don't half look good. I can't wait to get going! I've decided to sort out my pre-season fixtures tomorrow, and I'll post them here. Also, the first game might be tomorrow as well!

Lets get some banter going, or maybe even a full blown argument!

Today's discussion: "Who should be Tough's 2 first choice strikers be?"

 

[Ollie_H]

Well thats a 'tough' decision but East and Miffy Biffy

 

[DPRA]

I say sign Jody Banim and Terry Fearns from Droylsden They are dangerous!