Coventry City A CLUB WITHOUT A HOME The Fight Behind the Sky Blues' Return from Exile By Simon Gilbert
Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd (7 October 2016) ISBN-10: 1785312103 ISBN-13: 978-1785312106 RRP: £12.99
Coventry City fans had plenty to be happy about in the late 1990s. They had been a top-flight side for more than three decades, and they were graced with a team of glittering international stars such as Robbie Keane, Gary McAllister and Mustapha Hadji. The future appeared bright with the promise of a huge new multi-purpose stadium – including a retractable roof and removable pitch – that would make the club self-sustainable. Fast-forward another 15 years and the club found itself with no stadium to call its own, playing in front of tiny crowds some 35 miles away from the club's home city.
Coventry City: A Club Without a Home is a journey through one of the most turbulent times in the history of the Sky Blues, told by those caught in the eye of the storm. In A Club Without a Home you will discover:
* How Coventry City ended up without a stadium to call its own
* How much the club invested in building the Ricoh Arena and what happened to plans for a retractable roof and pitch
* Why CCFC ended up paying £1.3million annual rent in a stadium built for the club
* Why the Sky Blues spent more than a season playing 35 miles away in Northampton
* How the move to Northampton affected the manager and the players – in their own words
* Damning views of former CCFC board members and other key players over how the club has been run during the past two decades
* Bizarre boardroom suggestions such as 'text a substitute'
* The players and potential multi-million pound transfer fees that got away
* Identities of other bidders who could have ended up owning CCFC and details of bids made
* The stories behind the courtroom battles and details of alleged plots to oust the owners
* How the passion of fans united them during the club's most depressing time and the effect of fan power on the decision makers and key players
* What went on behind the scenes which led to the Ricoh Arena return and why the fitness coach ended up cutting the grass on the pitch before a match
* How London rugby club Wasps ended up owning the stadium built for Coventry City Simon Gilbert is an award-winning journalist with more than a decade of experience in the media industry. He is the chief reporter at his hometown paper, the Coventry Telegraph, and a regular Daily Mirror contributor. He is also an avid Sky Blues fan. He has led the coverage of the off-the-field issues at CCFC and spearheaded the Telegraph’s campaign to see Coventry City return to its home city. His work and campaigning on the subject saw him short-listed at the British Journalism Awards in the Sports Journalist and Campaign of the Year categories.
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