Coventry City FC (The Bantams, Sky Blues)

Coventry City ground share at Butts Park Arena looks "remote" according to site leaseholder - Telegraph report

With the impending appointment of Sam Allardyce as England manager this will leave all four Home Nations in the hands of ex-Sky Blues Ex-players Allardyce (England) and Michael O'Neill (Northern Ireland), ex-player and ex-manager Gordon Strachan (Scotland) and ex-manager Chris Coleman (Wales)

Interesting, MR!! Makes you wonder what Jimmy Hill might have done for the national team!

Saddened today to read this - hope this good man gets his life back in order soon Chris Kirkland has left Bury without playing a first-team game after the club agreed to cancel his contract. The 35-year-old former Coventry City, Liverpool, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday keeper signed on a free transfer in the summer after being released by Preston North End. But manager David Flitcroft revealed the ex-England stopper wanted to "devote all his time to his family" and says he had no choice but to support his decision. "It's been a difficult situation to deal with for me as a manager," he said. "When someone like Chris Kirkland, who has so much to offer the game as a player and as a person comes into your building and says he doesn't want to and can't carry on you have to listen. "One thing I pride myself on as a manager is that I'm always approachable to my players and staff and understand the pressures that sometimes can be experienced away from football. "We work in a fantastic industry but the game and life has many pressures and can be very difficult at times. "Chris needs time out away from the game he loves, but family is and will always be more important than football. "Chris has chosen to devote all his time to his family and both the club and I support his difficult decision. "He knows of the unconditional support he has and will always receive from me and the club. We wish Chris and his family well and I hope to see him return in some capacity to football when the time is right for him." Kirkland has made just 321 first-team appearances in a 19-year career that started at Coventry City as a trainee in 1997. His father, Eddie, famously put on a £100 bet when he his son 14 that he would play for England before he turned 30. He won £10,000 when Kirkland won his one and only cap after featuring in a friendly against Greece in 2006. Liverpool paid £6,000,000 for him as a 20-year-old, but he only made 45 appearances for them in all competitions. After loan stays at West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic he moved to the DW Stadium on a permanent deal in 2006, where he played 125 games. Despite spending a number of years in the top flight, Kirkland was continually dogged by injuries and failed to reach the heights expected of him as a teenager. Further temporary spells at Leicester City and Doncaster Rovers followed before a free transfer to Sheffield Wednesday in 2012, where the Midlander spent three seasons before plumping for a move to Preston North End over Bury last summer - a decision he later admitted he got wrong after making just six appearances for the Lilywhites. Kirkland eventually signed for the Shakers in June, and while it is not clear exactly what personal issues have triggered his decision to tear up his contract and walk away from the game, he said he hoped to return, refreshed, at some stage in the future. "I have asked Bury FC to cancel my contract with immediate effect and I am thankful to the gaffer and the chairman for the compassion and understanding they have shown. "I know people will find it hard to understand why someone like myself, who has been lucky enough to have spent my professional life in football and enjoyed all the benefits that comes with that, needs some time and space away from the game; however, it's a decision I've taken, putting my family's future and well-being first. "It's been the toughest decision I've ever had to make, but I know it's the right one. "I hope, at the appropriate time, I might be able to, again, be involved and work within football, either as a player or in coaching or even work within the community.

I live near the Ricoh Arena and as such have a virtual parking permit. The system is however more complicated than it originally was or needs to be. Prior to the Oldham game on Saturday I noticed quite a few "Traffic Warden" type people photographing cars parked in Arbury Ave, Lythalls Lane & Windmill Road (obviously without permits) I wonder how many of the prosecutions that will result from this operation are against migrants whose first language is not English? When the parking permit scheme was first introduced I thought it only came into force if attendances exceeded 15,000 (which would require a Rock Concert or Religious Jamboree) I have just noticed on the website that "the aims are to make sure there are no parking problems on major event days, where more than 10,000 people are expected at the Arena" but it also states "Please be aware that only residents that live within one of the 7 parking zones, and their visitors, are allowed to park within the parking zones on match and event days. These vehicles will need a virtual permit to show they are allowed to park there" Have they "Moved the goalposts" so to speak on the rules or have I got it all wrong again??? There were only 8,813 at Saturday's game and street parking didn't seem an issue and probably won't be until the Sky Blues have some success.

It would appear that the council routinely ignore the requirement that there should be 10000 attending for the parking regulations to apply. Gates under 10000 are commonplace now, and the 'Tinpot Trophy' game against West Ham's juniors only attracted 2000. The council nominate 'event days' and post them on the road signs, but my experience is that no consideration has ever been given to whether they are actually expecting 10000 or not.

The city council ignoring its own requirements, surely not?

Now Tony Mowbray resigns

That's OK - with the Telegraph allegations it looks like SISU will have a raft of choices to pick from who are as dodgy as they are! Saddened to see TM go, but it's clear it wasn't working - the team are just too young and inexperienced to compete and with no emergency transfer window we're pretty much stuck like this until Jan at best, by which point it may well be too late and the owners will refuse to sanction further investment as they believe we may be relegated anyway and it would be a waste of resources. Ho hum!

I listened to Tony Mowbray on the radio after last night's game. It was obvious he was going. He sounded a beaten man and was referring to the club as 'they', not 'we'. He seems to be saying that the club haven't given him any chance of getting promotion, and it can be no surprise that he has walked, knowing how the owners are killing the club. The rumours have been around for a few days that he would go if we didn't beat Wimbledon and so it proved. Worryingly, there are also rumours that he will be replaced with Steve Evans. I really don't know where the club goes from here. The squad we have is so painfully ill-equipped for this league. It is true they are mostly kids, loans and has-beens. Any of the young lads who shows promise is soon sold. I doubt Pep would get this lot promoted, and I do fear that yet another 'usual suspect' through the revolving door will see the club in Division 4 next season.

I have a feeling TM, and a few of the managers before him, would love to say more about the situation but can't due to legal restrictions. I find it amazing that the club missed out on so many targets in the summer. Althoguh they keep banging on about resources/FFP etc. we still get pretty good crowds for this league even with the huge drop off due to poor form this season, NOPM etc so really in terms of finance this club SHOULD be at the very least competitive with most of the others. If TM has forfeited any pay-off to resign then that is to his credit - we've had plenty of managers hang on until they're sacked just to secure a pay-off in the past.

I really do hope Mowbray does blow the whistle on what is going on at the club. He isn't taking a pay-off so we can only hope. There were a few clues in his interview last night where he had a swipe at the owners for not hanging on to anyone half-decent. It is also not surprising that we missed our targets. What player would join this basket-case of a club if they had any other offer on the table? Sadly, we saw this coming and decided not to 'invest' in going to matches this season. If anyone had told me even 3-4 years ago that would happen, I would have laughed at them.

I genuinely fear the worst now. All that's left is the name now

Still no news of a manager. Very interesting though, to look back at the thread which is now some five years old. I have always said that Sisu's only interest in the club has been gaining the Ricoh and the Academy facilities on the cheap, having forced them into administration. I don't believe that anything has changed. I do fear that the MP's involvement could assist them in their task. If they achieve that and significantly increase the asset on the spreadsheet, then you can be sure that they will then sell. That's the limit of their ambition, money not the team. The club's eleventh hour response seems to imply that only they matter, the Academy facilities need to break even like any business and they were perfectly sensible to seek another tenant. The club only has itself to blame. The club is not the victim it likes to believe it is. Do they really believe that they will ever have any integrity within the city? For the sake of our city, let's hope we don't sell our principles down the drain. I suspect that by taking the council to the highest courts open to them, they intend to make the taxpayer suffer too.

Meanwhile, back to better times - Tommy Hutchison signs in 1972