The Coventry City Former Players Association is pleased to announce that our ‘special guest’ the next Ricoh home game on Easter Friday (k.o.3pm) will be former Sky Blues winger John Salako. He will be hoping to see Sky Blue gaffer Mark Robins’ team gain a fourth successive home victory and keep alive just a little longer their very much outside chances of avoiding relegation to League Two!
John, whom we signed up to CCFPA in 2010, will be ‘newbie’ for us in performing the role.
John in the Sky Blue
However, we are sure he will take to it like a duck to water as he not only had an extensive career in professional football but is also has lots of experience as a media pundit since hanging up his boots.
Nigerian born John was a speedy and stylish left winger with a long and prestigious footballing career including 5 England Caps. He signed to City from Crystal Palace (where he played over 250 games) in August 1995 for £1.5m. He appeared 86 times in Sky Blue scoring 8 times before transferring to Fulham in close season 1998 on a free. He also appeared for Feyenoord, Bolton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic, Reading and Brentford before retiring in 2005.
John then took coaching qualifications and also moved into a successful media career with Sky Sports. He recently has been an academy and then (2015) first team coach at premiership Crystal Palace. John has evinced strong views in public, given his own desire to manage a professional side, about the obstacles that sadly still remain in British football preventing more black and minority ethnic (BME) players moving into coaching and management at the senior level.
Welcome John! Look out for him before the game with the JSBs in the club’s Family Zone at the Ricoh (if running on Friday afternoon) and also around the supporters’ lounges pre-match. He will be joining the BBC Coventry & Warwicks Radio live matchday commentary team providing them with skilled analysis as the game unfolds. After the game is over, no doubt, CCFPA Vice chairman Billy Bell will manage to entice him onto the stage of Lady Gs in the Ricoh’s G-Casino for a bit of banter in front of an appreciative audience of Sky Blue fans!