Coventry City notebook: Simon Jordan on takeover interest, ‘off mic’ chat with Doug King & statue launch
Coventry City notebook from CoventryLive as Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner takes a look at what’s going on in and around the club this week, from Doug King on the radio to the George and John’s statue launch.
It’s a busy week for Coventry City but also one where the players, at least, can take a deep breath and reflect on a fabulous festive programme of fixtures and results before turning their attention to the FA Cup.
Sky Blues boss Mark Robins insists he wants a cup run, which suggests he’s going to select a strong side to face League One promotion hopefuls Oxford United rather than risk another early exit from the competition the club famously won in 1987. Twelve months on from being dumped out by Hollywood-funded non-league Wrexham when the manager picked a weakened side with star men Gus Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres rested on the bench, will he go with as near as possible his best eleven?
Off the field, the club have announced plans for a new statue of Cup legends George Curtis and John Sillett at the South entrance to the CBS Arena, further cementing the Sky Blues’ identity and security at their home stadium. Club owner Doug King, meanwhile, has been speaking about his first 12 months in the job, and ambitions for the rest of the season during an interview on national radio station talkSPORT.
At the end of the chat with King, who reflected on his first 12 months at the club, White asked Jordan: “Did Doug do what you were considering doing?” To which he replied: “Yeah. I thought there was more difficulty in joining the stadium up and a whole raft of other things.
I looked at Coventry a few years ago with Gary Hoffman, the former chairman of the Premier League. But listen, Mark Robins is a decent manager; they’re in good condition, they have got good young players coming through and they seem to have settled down now as a football club.
“They seem to have a better ownership model than the one they had before. He’s obviously well heeled, economically. I don’t know if he’s a Coventry City fan. If he is, that’s even better for them because he has more interest than just a commercial opportunity.
“And they are there or there abouts. They will be disappointed last year in the play-offs but I have listened to Mark Robins and I think he is very sensible and done a decent job. He’s done a decent job in difficult times, and I think they have given themselves a chance. This Championship is wide open. Wide open.
Presenter Jim White ended the interview and Coventry feature by reassuring Sky Blues fans that King was genuine in his sentiments about how much he was enjoying the challenge of owning the football club and trying to take it forward to achieve the goal of promotion back to the Premier League.
“What I can tell Coventry fans is that off mic, Doug was endorsing what he was saying on mic,” he said, “that he is very much enjoying it and they are going in the right direction. So fingers crossed, let’s see where it takes them.
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