The Sky Blue Army are basking in the glow of a promotion push. Picture owned/from ccfc.co.uk
What a fantastic ride being a City fan is at the minute.
I distinctly remember where I was on September 18th 2012. At the house of a few University course mates house watching the scores roll in and our varying bets falter.
It escalated from a familiar shrug of the shoulders to teetering on the edge of a breakdown with an evolving use of swear words. It was a pretty unremarkable date for 99% of the population. But for me and alot of other City fans it was also the night Coventry City seemingly hit its lowest point.
That may seem a little dramatic but, apart from a minor blip, we haven’t looked back, or down, since.
We lost 4-1 at Shrewsbury that night, three weeks on from Andy Thorn’s sacking and six games into a terrible ‘caretaker’ spell for Richard Shaw and Lee Carsley.
Something needed to be done, SISU’s noose was being tightened around their collective necks by a worn down fan base. Something was finally done the next day; Mark Robins was appointed the club’s new manager.
Robins appointment was a catalyst for the upturn in fortunes.
City found themselves in 23rd in the third tier and after that defeat at Shrewsbury; social media was alight with people looking for the nearest cliff to chuck themselves or the players off of. Just over three months later and just shy of 5,000 left Stadium MK virtually bouncing out of the ground with a spring in our step not witnessed since Michael Mifsud made Gerard Pique look a bit silly five years before.
Something is happening.
The spring in our step came after a un-City like 3-2 comeback win against one of the stronger, despite what Karl Robinson will have you believe, sides in the division. Oh, and it was all done without the best player in the division, 17-goal David McGoldrick.
Mark Robins has lit that fire under the City squad in a way so many of his predecessor’s have failed to do for a sustained period. This is a period which includes a club record 6 straight away wins, an unbeaten run of 10 and Mr McGoldrick breaking a club record which had stood for over half a century.
We are one of the form teams in English Football, no question about it.
From 23rd and no-hopers for promotion to 9th and promotion contenders in three months is just remarkable and has the City faithful, myself included, excited to watch this team and for what the next 20+ games will bring.
McGoldrick’s 17 goals have been at the heart of City’s ascent.
To outsiders, it may seem like it’s all McGoldrick’s doing but that is doing Carl Baker, Blair Adams, James Bailey, Franck Moussa and new cult hero William Edjenguele a disservice.
Robins, again where so many have failed before him, has every player buzzing around the pitch playing as near to their potential as they ever have.
A perfect example of that was on Saturday and the work and goals Stephen Elliot chipped in with and the re-emergence of Gary McSheffrey.
The latter was one of the main targets earlier in the season for people’s ire. From a £4m man to someone who was really struggling for a glimmer of form. Since Robins has come in and after a brief spell on the sidelines, McSheffrey is doing things I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do and has began to play to his ability in a league he should have been shredding earlier.
It really is ‘fun’ to be a City fan at the minute.
McSheffrey’s return to form has seen him begin to fulfill expectations
For around 15 years this club has been in a gaping rut. It’s fleeted from manager to manager and from financial wall to financial wall, but again, this time something is different.
When the club’s form is mentioned to me and others, it gets a unfamiliar smile and a spell of dumbfounded silence, we just aren’t quite use to this feeling yet.
Robins as he wakes up today is able to add to his ranks again and begin to get a better imprint on this squad he inherited. Over the next four weeks we will get a better view of what Robins sees as his Coventry side but on limited viewing so far, he hasn’t missed a beat.
Moussa’s searing pace is scaring League 1 defences. Picture from Cov Telegraph.
James Bailey and Franck Moussa both came in almost simultaneously with Robins back in September and with fitness a non-issue now both have emerged as important pieces.
Moussa is someone who has an ability that just scares defenders with the ball at his feet-Saturday’s wonder goal showed that. That little something has been lacking almost since Darren Huckerby ran, probably after being flagged offside, all the way to Leeds.
After Saturday’s credential-setting win we have a chance to watch something unique unfold, starting with today’s home game against, Shrewsbury.
Three months on from that horrible night in Shropshire, the people who made the trip there get some redemption and the players who played that night get that horrid taste out of their mouths.
A win today could see us finish the day in the playoff places, which, from where we were when Mark Robins rode in is staggering and slightly ridiculous.
But it sure is a lot of fun.
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