By CovSid67
November 13 2006

Like the words 'Operation Premiership', the words 'Fortress Ricoh' currently have a hollow ring to them. The words ' League One' seem closer than anything else.... It's now three defeats on the trot, three defeats out of four at home, and while this display was slightly better (Let's be honest, it couldn't possibly get a lot worse, could it?!), the reality is it still wasn't good enough. Hardly any wonder then that only 19,701 people turned up then.

Before this match I watched the first 45 minutes of Manchester City-Newcastle, and thought it was quite entertaining. This possibly shows how bad the entertainment provided by Coventry City now is, as Radio 5 thought the quality was terrible!

Some fairly remedial Derby fans passed through the turnstiles, with the new technology that is 'Skidata' proving far too much for many of them to comprehend. Ticket in, green light, ticket out, go through turnstile - not rocket science, is it? Ripping the barcode off and trying to insert it into the machine really was to stupid to comprehend, but somebody did it....

Hearing that Lee Probert was officiating was enough to leave me knowing a win was unlikely, with said person(?) managing to miss a half-a-dozen rugby tackles on Coventry players by the Derby defence, plus a blatant trip on McKenzie.

Stephen Hughes was stripped of the captaincy midweek, and wasn't even in the sixteen for this game, with reports suggesting he was spotted leaving the ground 15 minutes before kick-off. His place was taken by Don Hutchison. His omission from the team also meant MA actually picked a substitute keeper on the bench!

The 'Naughty Corner' was noticeably emptier than normal, with a fair few supporters possibly staying away in case they were recognised after the trouble that occurred in the Coventry v Birmingham fixture!

It took less tha five minutes for CCFC to score, though Ward's goal was ruled out for offside, and with seven minutes of the match gone, Coventry City should have scored what would hopefully be the first of six goals again(!), but Stern John completely messed up a simlpe chance to score after being set up by McKenzie.

Jon Stead, the player I thought Coventry City should have brought in from Sunderland rather than Kyle (Even if it would only have been on loan), was given far to much time and space, and hammered a shot past Marshall to make the score 0-1.

A blatant foul on McKenzie by Leacock was ignored by the referee, with a corner being awarded (Almost as good as a goal with our record from set pieces), then Page almost had the shirt ripped from his back in the Derby area. Despite this being in full view of the referee, he decided this was a fair challenge (Should have gone to Specsavers....).

Stern John silenced those Derby fans that had been booing him from the start by equalising after 21 minutes.

The first of two decent long-range efforts from Doyle came in the 26th minute, with Bywater saving well, and a Hutchison blast direct from a free-kick soon after was also saved well by the former Coventry City loan keeper.

In between those efforts, an attempt at a route on goal almost paid diveidends, with a Marshall clearance being superbly controlled by John, whose attempt to reach McKenzie was thwarted by Bywater.

It was once again clear off the pitch that the policing and stewarding in the home and away ends had different rules for different sets of supporters, with the authorities once again opting to stand alongside the youngsters in the home sections, yet allowing any gesture or act of provocation to go unchallenged in the away section.

Back on the pitch, and a Derby breakaway saw a dangerous cross fizz across the Coventry six yard box, but (Thankfully!) nobody was able to get a touch on the ball.

Nice link-up play between Clarke and John saw the latter hit a shot far to close to Bywater, and minutes later a fine run by Tabb was wasted when he failed to set up McKenzie who was in a better position to score. Tabb was tackled on the edge of the Derby area, and the chance was wasted.

Another decent run from Clarke saw hime send a cross over to Stern John, who must have taken his eye off the ball, and once again any chance of a goal was wasted.

Throughout the first half it was noticeable that a fair few players were having a go at each other, and I wasn't the only person to suggest that there were a fair few players playing as individuals rather than as a team.

Paul Fletcher's half-time attempt at 'doing a Delia' fell on deaf ears (Not quite as cringeworthy, but close!), though there was a fair amount of noise made around the ground as the sprinklers came on during the second half.

A fine piece of control on his chest saw Ward get past the Derby defence, but just as he was about to shoot the ball was cleared.

Fine battling from Stern John set McKenzie up for a run at the Derby defence, but the four defenders around him did enough to stop him getting a decent shot on goal. A minute later a Stern John effort went just wide of Bywater's post.

With the game dying on its arsenal, Derby boss Billy Davies made a substitution. Minutes later he made another one. Adams did nothing.

In between the two Derby changes, highly-rated youngster Giles Barnes was rightly booked for a dive straight out of the Jurgen Klinsmann book of theatricals (Which must have come as a relief to Richard Duffy, who looked convinced the referee had bought the dive).

Throughout the match any ball into the Coventry area was greeted with cries of 'handball' by the Derby end, though it was from a corner that their winning goal actually came - one time Coventry City target Steve Howard scored it, with the sort of quality header you're unlikely to see from Kyle or Adebola.

Tabb and Clarke combined to set-up Doyle, with his cross-come-shot missing everybody in the Derby six-yard box, and eventually going out for a throw-in.

Another decent cross saw Stern John just beaten to the ball, with the clearance going just wide of Bywater's post for a corner.

A Hutchison free-kick ended up loose in the Derby area, but no Coventry player bothered attacking the ball. It eventually fell to new captain Robert Page, who lashed a shot just wide of the post.

Tabb was replaced by Adebola on 85 minutes, and seconds later, Adams ate up some more time by replacing Hutchison with Cameron, who was disgracefully booed by some sections of the crowd (Because it really is his fault he's not young enough to run up and down the right wing these days).

Another decent Doyle effort was saved by Bywater, though the linesman had raised his flag at some point as Coventry players tried to get to any rebound, while John was clearly held twice in as many minutes inside the Derby area. Nothing given.

With a fair few minutes left on the clock, there was a huge rush for the exits as most home supporters realised they had seen enough. Those that stayed 'til the end were treated to 'Have A Nice Day' by The Stereophonics as they left the stadium.

If only half the rumours about Mickey Adams from the previous week are true (Involving Lynch, Heath, Andrews, Hughes, and a ball-girl, amongst others!), he is clearly losing the plot. If they all are, he's lost it!

In-form Sheffield Wednesday next, but will Adams still be here? And if we lose that one, will he still be here afterwards?! The number hoping the answer to either is 'no' is growing by the day....