Well another season is over. Nine months of testing the patience of everyone involved before we could say farewell to our dear old friend Highfield Road in a style, way beyond all of our expectations.
It was a season when the name of Peter Reid, joined the list of Coventry’s most hated whilst the popularity of the Board twice plummeted to the levels just before Gordon Strachan was sacked in 2001.
Micky Adams was quite right when he addressed the supporters on the pitch after the demolition of Derby in that “staying up is not success”. However, considering the mess the first team was in when Mr Reid finally decided that he was not up to the job in question, remaining in the Championship at the end of the season, could certainly be considered as one form of “instant success”.
In order to prosper, Micky Adams needs the proper funding. We’ve all seen how Chelsea have been transformed by the input of one man’s money and whilst the sort of money that Roman Avramovich has invested would be a god send, two to three million pounds would, at this level be enough to provide Adams with the tools to get us back to the promised land.
Even if the non-contract Adams does decide to stay with the Sky Blues and has to continue with his budget of fresh air from a cash conscious Board, reluctant to look for other external funding, there are still steps he can take to aid his chances of getting the team heading in an upwardly direction.
The Academy set up this season has yielded a team which beat the likes of Premiership Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Aston Villa to win their league and progress to the Academy League Final, but City need to ensure that the many talents in this team are properly channelled into becoming the first team players of next and future seasons.
Having a dedicated reserve team manager to repair this not working link in the player production chain and push players for first team spots whilst encouraging those out of the frame to give the first team manager a reason to recall them, is one idea and to me one that makes good sense.
It also makes financial sense in that Micky Adams or whoever is in charge won’t have to spend as much time and effort in the market of free transfer and loans which have been the mainstay of Reid, Black and McAllister, if they have players coming through the ranks ready for their crack at the big-time.
Although too late for some of the players released last week, when the good times do make their way through the gridlock on the A444, pay the exorbitant parking fees and finally roll into the Coventry Arena probably a while after kick off, hopefully, the seeds we sow now will bring their benefits then.