By CovSid67
February 20 2009

How disappointing. I should be writing this column on the back of three quality wins for Coventry City. Instead, we've won only once, thanks to a very late penalty save from Kieran Westwood, and drawn two, thanks to a nasty habit of conceding late goals.

Against Wolves, Blackburn, and Burnley, we looked a little bit to much in awe of sides that league positions would suggest are better than us. But, in the first two of those fixtures, when we finally decided to play our own game instead of worrying about the opposition, we were more than a match for both. And, while the display against Wolves wasn't always pretty to watch, the players finally looked as if they wanted the ball more than the opposition.

I hope we haven't blown our chances of a place in the last eight of the F.A. Cup after gifting Blackburn a late, late equaliser. It's difficult not to think about the potential glamour tie versus Chelsea, and the potential for our first full house, but those missed chances, and Samba's goal, could cost the club glory, and a lot of money.

Victory over Burnley would have taken us to within eight points of a play-off place, instead we are nine points off twenty-second place! A few more wins should see us okay, but after last season, I'm taking nothing for granted! To often the period after Christmas has seen us go into free-fall.

That outside chance of a top six finish means the old cliche that 'the league is more important' is as relevant as ever, though for the sake of finances, and creating a buzz around the City, beating Blackburn is probably slightly more important than beating Birmingham. Winning both games is the most preferable outcome though!

Turning victories into draws aside, and presuming Chris Coleman hasn't done anything drastic over-night, congratulations are in order, as he's managed to last a year at Coventry City! Another reason to celebrate is that the vision for the future that Mr. Coleman and Mr. Ranson seem to have for our club is becoming a lot clearer following another transfer window, so let's hope CC is still here this time next year!

Looking at the quality that has been brought to the club in just one year, we really could be on the verge of something special should those in charge manage to keep hold of what is becoming a solid first XI, and boost the depth of the squad too.

The players brought in are as good as can be expected for a club of our size and pulling power, and I only hope the club can get to where they want to be before the big clubs start picking off our best players, and maybe even our manager! The number of scouts from other clubs must be helping boost the club coffers at the moment!

It's no surprise at all to see Westwood, Fox, and Gunnarsson being linked with Premiership sides, and we can only hope that they really are more concerned about staying here and playing, rather than warming the bench for Premiership sides. There's plenty of time in their careers for that if they can't achieve top flight football with Coventry City.

It wasn't that far back in time that Michael Mifsud was a hero for supporters, and claiming he was just happy to be here. But little more than a year down the line, we couldn't get rid of him quick enough, and he couldn't wait to leave either. For Barnsley, not Blackburn.

Once again there's a touch of marketing genius being worked at the club, attempting to make people buy tickets for the Birmingham and/or Blackburn clash, if they definitely want tickets for a fixture that might never happen! Having also managed to get money for both Gary Borrowdale and Julian Gray, I wonder how long it will be before other clubs look to poach our chairman?!