Charismatic Farmer was full of stories from one of City’s more memorable era’s
As some of you may know I have just finished a University course and as part of my final year I had to put together a portfolio of articles. I decided to talk to 5 ex-City players and reminisce with them about their time at the club.
First up was Ronnie Farmer. He joined the club in the late-1950’s and was a part of the Sky Blue revolution which ended with promotion to the top tier in 1967. He talked about his first impressions of Jimmy Hill and what the first thing that Jimmy said to him was. How important the characters in that side through the 60’s were. It was a brilliant talk and he reeled off story after story.
As tomorrow could be a dark dark day in our club’s history, I thought I would give some reading to remember the good times before this almighty mess.
Note: This was published in the matchday programme for the Swindon game, which also was a CCFPA ‘Legends Day’.
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This year has seen City celebrate 50 years of the ‘Sky Blue Song’. The song written by then-manager Jimmy Hill and John Camkin it is one that still resonates with the City faithful.
Ronnie Farmer who played 311 games in a near 10 year spell at Highfield Road was one of the few present to the song’s first airing.
Farmer, a midfielder who found the net 52 times during his City career was on the bus when Hill and Camkin first aired the famous song.
Farmer said: “Jim and John were writing the words but needed a tune to go with it. It was on the way back from Peterboro’ I think it was where they decided on the boating song and they got everyone to sing it with them. Jim told me not to bother though, as I couldn’t sing.”
The story is one of many the 76-year old Farmer rolls through with a smile on his face as a member of one of the most successful City eras.
Farmer joined from Nottingham Forest in 1958 when the club were in Division Four and under the guidance of former player Billy Frith.
Frith, with Farmer in his side led the Sky Blues to promotion that year and after missing out on promotion in 1961 the club then decided to make a move which saw Billy Frith replaced by Jimmy Hill.
Farmer in action.
The departure of Frith was one Farmer says he felt about bad about, he said: “Bill was a great bloke. He was the one who bought me here. I was upset when he left because as a player you feel that it was your fault.”
When Farmer first met the new manager, his affinity to the club was nearly bought to an end, Farmer remembers: “When Jimmy first came, he tried to sell me!”
“I was injured and I was struggling a bit to get back to fitness. He called me in and told me he wanted me to leave in a swap for Willie Humphries. I said that he hadn’t seen me play. He told me he didn’t think I’d be good enough. He eventually relented and gave me so many games to prove yourself.”
“After those games, he offered me a two-year contract to stay.”
With Hill aware of his abilities, City started their climb up the league ladder. It was a climb which Farmer was promised on by Jimmy Hill.
“When he gave me the two-year deal, he told me that we were going to go after it and you trusted his word because we all knew this team was good.”
After a promotion in 1964 to the 2nd division, Farmer remembers well that there was something happening, Farmer said: “It was brilliant under Jim. We were slowly pushing on. Ronnie Rees came in up front, Willie as well. Willie used to get me penalties with his pace because he was too quick and defenders would just hack him down.”
Farmer said it was a good team playing well consistently: “When you get the team we had, we had a squad of good players and we were winning games.”
According to Farmer there were other reasons for the upturn on the pitch under Jimmy Hill, one being the personality of the legendary manager.
“He was just like one of the lads. Most of the time when he lost it, it was with the forwards. When he came in, it all changed. We were given our own gear, a pair of boots and the rest of it when we used to have to fight for gear because the club wasn’t very well off.”
Farmer also credited the role the people around Jimmy Hill had saying: “Along with Jim, Alan Dicks and Pat Seward were the best coaches I played for in my career. We were trying these4-3-3 formations in training, Pat used to set up first’s against second’s games where the second’s wouldn’t have a striker, but they’d still win, ahead of his time.”
But possibly the biggest thing for City and their climb up the leagues were continuity and an unquestionable team spirit.
Farmer recalls: “The team came up through the leagues, pretty much all together. The back four with George (Curtis) never changed it seemed. Players like Ronnie (Rees), Dave Clements came in with Brucky and we started to gel together. We were together for 10 years, we knew how each other breathed.”
That continuity of players bred camaraderie, and listening to Farmer it was often himself, George Curtis and Bill Glazier at the heart of the more memorable stories.
“Bill, being a goalkeeper was a nutter. One day he drove down the hill to Ryton and drove over the pitch and with the boggy field, his car got stuck with track marks there. To this day I don’t think Jim knew who had done that.”
Remembering another Glazier antic Farmer continued: “Pulling these ‘wheelies’ was something Bill did often. He sped onto the car park at Highfield Road one day and handbrake turned to a halt spraying the asphalt everywhere. John Minton was in his car, shouted to Bill ‘You silly git’, to which Bill replied, have a look at your car. John got out and his car was covered in asphalt thanks to Bill.”
As for his captain- George Curtis- Farmer remembers when a young apprentice Bobby Gould discovered George’s fiery side. Farmer said: “We used to train at the ground and one day Bobby came in and George asked him to clean his boots. Bobby told him to do it himself. George stood up, in just his jockstrap, and chased Bobby up the tunnel and up the stands. Chasing him in his bare feet shouting for Bobby to take his punishment, it must have been nearly an hour before he caught him.”
Fifty years on and as a member of the former players association (CCFPA), Farmer is a regular at the Ricoh and still shares the same laughs with his former team mates.
“I was speaking to Bill a few years ago and asked if he’d ever conceded a hat-trick at Highfield Road, he said no. I told him he had, from me. I scored one just before he joined. He wasn’t impressed.”
“George is the same, when I see him I take the mickey out of him and run.”
But looking back Farmer will always remember his 10 years as a player at the club, he said: “It was brilliant. My biggest disappointment was not playing in the first division at Highfield Road. I only played away before I went to Notts County.”
Farmer was a key cog in Jimmy Hill’s team and the fact it nearly never happened is something the two joke about today: “I saw Jim when he had his statue, I went up to him and asked if he remembered the face. He went, ‘Ronnie! Course I do, I tried to sell you.”
“I was lucky to play for three great clubs in my career, but Coventry is my club.”
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