By CovSid67
November 4 2007

Absolutely heart-breaking. Defeat I can just about take, but defeat thanks to a last minute goal, where the referee missed two offences and reasons to award us a free-kick, I can't. West Ham never really looked like scoring, so gifting them an own goal was an unnecessary act of charity!

The free-kick which led to the first goal was unnecessary, while Ben Turner is probably still having nightmares about his error - he shouldn't be. His displays so far this season have kept far more experienced players out of the side, and rightly so.

Craig Bellamy's injury denied the Arena crowd the chance to remind him he is still fairly disliked by the majority of Coventry City supporters, though they were still in good voice anyway, without the side-show that would have been his return. If only the ground could be that full (Or fuller), and that noisy, every home game. The team do seem to respond to it.

By the time you read this, positive news about any potential take-over will hopefully have been revealed (For the sake of everybodies nerves, Please! Please!). But how much better would it have been if we were still looking forward to being in the last eight of the Carling Cup too? With the chance of at least one more decent pay-day? Knowing that a few thousand of those missing supporters, who will now know doubt disappear until the next decent cup draw, are still going to be giving money to the club for a while?

Of all the financial, potentially club-killing sagas we've had, the recent one has surely been the worst. Even people I know that see the positives in everything thought we were done for this time. A further round in the cup would have made up for the lack of home Saturday matches in Novemeber!

The campaign to save the club, with link-ups to local papers - especially the free and delivered-to-your-door 'Coventry Times' (Which every home should receive. Should!) - meant it should have been virtually impossible for the people of Coventry to not know exactly how much trouble we are in, so it was massively disappointing to see the response to the call to fill the stadium for the Watford game (And beyond).

The attendance versus Colchester was far better, though that was partly down to some tickets being given away. Reports vary as to how many were, and that offer will only prove worthwhile if a fair percentage of those that received them come back. At least the club are trying something.

I've suggested it before (Without success!), but I would still like to see the entire City (And beyond) surveyed, to see just why people don't bother with Coventry City. We need to at least know how big our actual potential audience is, or whether what we currently have is as good as it's going to get (The Manchester United and West Ham games would suggest there is potentially a bigger audience out there). If the latter is true, it's time to cut our cloth accordingly.

A cheaper option to bring success on the pitch would appear to be for supporters to raise funds to put me in the 'posh seats' every game! I've had the pleasure of four times now, and we've won four times (The last three times resulting in 1-0 victories, so a cheeky punt at Ladbrokes could see us all in profit!).

Despite recent poor performances, we are still a mere two points off a Top 6 place, with a fixture against the team occupying said position this weekend. Displays anywhere near the one against West Ham should see us climb the table - and stay at the right end too.

Keeping Iain Dowie at the helm, and John Harbin (The fitness coach) too, is fairly essential to our chances of success. With that in mind, the sooner Leicester apppoint a new manager, the better! Until the Dowie link starts again when Mandaric begin searching for a new manager in six to ten weeks....