An Open Letter to Coventry Fans

Dear fellow Coventry Fans,

 

Although it has been almost two years since we had to replace Mark Robbins as our manager, I can imagine that some of you are experiencing a sense of déjà vu as we look to appoint a new manager after the departure of Steven Pressley. One of the harbingers of modern football is a willingness to dispose of managers when the problems of a football club run deeper than the performances that the fans see on the pitch. Having said this, it was clear to see that Pressley was running out of ideas and he was working against the clock as the club tried to avoid relegation. However, the latter part of his tenure has overshadowed the circumstances he was up against when he first joined the club. It’s clear to see that whoever succeeds Pressley in the role of manager will have to contend with a similar set of circumstances, which will be the detriment of any success the club can achieve. It’s a sad reality that us Coventry fans have had to accept in the last ten to fifteen years – but it may not be like this for much longer.

 

As I have stated in the past, the start of my support for Coventry commenced at the beginning of the ‘norties’. It has struck me recently that there is one theme that has ever present since I have been attending games regularly: decline. Teams are constantly getting relegated and promoted – that’s the nature of football. Coventry fans, however, are only familiar with the despair of relegation. Even though we have only been relegated twice in my lifetime, I think, with the assistance of history, can accept that these relegations were a product of the club failing to understand the immediate future of the club. Given our current position in League One, it is more pertinent than ever to heed these lessons.

 

Accepting that my beloved club has been characterised by decline is a bitter pill to swallow. It has repeatedly led to despair, heartbreak and anger. All of the aforementioned emotions are justified, so it is going to make my plea for the one thing I ask of fellow Coventry fans ever harder. The one thing I believe The Sky Blue Army should be is patient – and the rest of this letter will explain why.

 

So far this ‘letter’ has been more of a descriptive piece on Coventry’s current position. I believe it is necessary to recall the events of our recent past to outline why Coventry should remain resilient whilst we see little investment in the first team and dwindling home attendances. Both facets of Coventry’s current predicament have been compounded by relegation and the inability to get promoted. In a similar guise to a hegemonic state declining in a developing world, Coventry, a team that never suffered relegation from the top flight, have consistently failed to compete with whomever they are up against in the Championship and latterly League One. There are a number of complex reasons as to why this has been allowed to happen, but most importantly Coventry have never responded effectively to perceived failures. This is an important distinction between the two relegations we have suffered in the 21^st Century.

 

Our relegation from The Premiership was, in some ways, just a result of prolonging the inevitable; survival was one relegation battle after another, rather than the club building on the fact we had survived so long in the English top flight. The club’s response in the resulting seasons was naïve at best and capricious at its lowest ebb. Our willingness to sack good managers in quick succession is one key example. The other is signing the wrong players when we had money – who remembers Keith O’Neill? Frivolous episodes like these were the catalyst of our decline that has left us in the position we are in today. When we had the opportunity to invest and galvanise our academy set up, we repeatedly failed because the club was never stable enough to move the club forward. We as loyal fans were infuriated with the direction of the club, and these feeling were further compounded by another relegation. The hammer blow came with successive points deductions. It was these two measures taken by the footballing authorities that really constituted our current predicament.

 

None of these depressing facts are new to Coventry fans. In fact, its pretty much all we have to offer the rest of the footballing world if you look at the media coverage of the club. Having said that, it is the reality we have to deal with. The reason I have outlined them in a broader historical context is because I feel it adds credence to my plea for patience. If the club is to move forward, it will have to accept that we are just a League One club striving to improve in a league where those succeed is wholly unpredictable.

 

My definition of patience does, I feel, need more of an explanation. Fellow fans will tell me that we have been too patient for too long – and they’re right. I would however argue that instant achievement has been a product of prolonged infuriation. But if this season has taught us anything, we are clearly a club that is going to be spending a few seasons in the league we currently reside in. This became apparent after the euphoria of our return to The Ricoh had died down and our performances and attendances dwindled. Alas, we are now in another relegation scrap that no one wants to be in. But as I write this, we are set to appoint Tony Mowbray as our new manager after he quickly became the outright favourite for the position. Given his previous positions in management, he is much more than an inexperienced manager looking to make his way in the game. If he is to succeed, he needs the support from everyone: club, fans and staff alike. That said alone is nothing revelatory, or, in fact, interesting; asking for the continued patient support of a club who is going to be in League One for a while is slightly more provocative.

 

I would personally ask you, fellow fans of our beloved club, err on the side of caution when it comes to the results you expect from Mowbray in the season after next. I strongly believe we will escape relegation this season – but only by a matter of a few points. If this is the case, we must use the summer as a time to collect our thoughts and feasibly think where our future lies. My documentation of modern football has been pretty damning as it has been elsewhere. Unfortunately, we have to work with what we have. If Mowbray is only able to guide us to mid table next season, that is fine…just as long as there is a visible progression in the football that we play and the squad have the endeavour to succeed as a cohesive unit. Incremental progress is the only way we can start to reverse our decline. Progress of this nature requires patience for positive results.

 

It’s here I am going to sign off. I believe that Mowbray is the right man for the job and I can imagine some of you do too. But for a change, let’s support him with the right aspirations in mind.

 

Regards,

Tom.