When the Circus Leaves Town: What Happens When Football Leaves Home by David Proudlove;

Author:David Proudlove;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mint Associates Ltd
Published: 2022-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Sky Blues – Coventry City

Those that know me know that one of my biggest annoyances is the state of public transport in North Staffordshire. Getting in and out of the place is pretty straightforward given Stoke-on-Trent’s location on the electrified West Coast Pickler Line. But getting around North Staffordshire is a pain, involving unreliable, inefficient and expensive buses, or taxis that can be just as inefficient thanks to the area’s antiquated roads. It really is crap.

These things often disrupt my days and waste my time, and Dave’s Law struck – once more on the day I chose to visit Coventry with my good friend Stephen Stoney, who spent a few years living in the city while a student. Despite our best-laid plans, things almost descended into farce from the off thanks to the previously described local transport failings which led to us losing two hours of our day and costing me an extra 17 quid. But things picked up once we arrived at Birmingham New Street station to get our connection to Coventry, and things turned out well in the end.

I was looking forward to getting to Coventry for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was 20 years since I’d last been there – for a job interview – and I can remember very little of the place. Secondly, my own city had gone head-to-head with Coventry a few years ago to win the title of UK City of Culture for 2021; Coventry won, and I was keen to see what they’d made of it, particularly the 2-Tone exhibition at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. And I also intended to check out the city’s post-war architecture; Coventry is the modern city par excellence, symbolised by Sir Basil Spence’s incredible and inspirational cathedral that rose alongside the bombed ruins of the original.

Aside from the City of Culture thing and the architecture, I was there for the football stuff most importantly, and on the train down there, I inevitably got to thinking about Stoke City/ Coventry City-related matters, and there are a few, mostly going back to past FA Cup ties.

In 1987, Coventry won their one and only major honour, the FA Cup, beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 in the final. On their way to Wembley, they visited Stoke in the fifth round, knocking the Potters out in a 1-0 win. Their winner was scored by Micky Gynn, who subsequently signed for Stoke in 1993.

Another of Coventry’s FA Cup heroes that year was Keith Houchen, who netted in the final with a spectacular diving header which won him the Match of the Day Goal of the Season award. Houchen arrived in the Potteries in 1991 to sign for Stoke’s local rivals Port Vale. It’s safe to say we enjoyed a hate/ hate relationship with Houch the Slouch.

Coventry’s captain that day was big Brian Kilcline, and I used to work with a guy that was a friend of his. They used to go to heavy metal gigs together, but despite his fearsome image, he assured me that Killer was a gentleman.

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