The Coventry City Former Players Association are pleased to announce that our ‘special guest’ for Tuesday night’s fixture with fellow League One relegation strugglers Port Vale at the Ricoh (21st March 2017) will be Sky Blues former full back/ defender Stuart Giddings.
Though this will not be Stuart’s first visit to Sky Blues games this season he will be undertaking ‘special guest’ duties for the first time. We wish him well and are sure he will do a great job when he tours the supporter’s lounges before the game for a brief Q&A with fellow CCFPA member and former Sky Blue defender (of a very different era), Brian ‘Harry’ Roberts. As with most younger professional in modern football Stuart has undertaken media training so we hope for great things as he joins the BBC CWR live matchday commentary team in the pressbox to provide commentary and analysis as the game unfolds.
Stuart in July 2002 in England U17 shirt
He will have to keep his wits honed sharp when he joins CCFPA’s Billy Bell after the game on the stage of Lady Gs in front of CCFC supporters for the usual ‘special guest’ badinage, career advice and analysis of the Sky Blues season and performance! All members of the Sky Blue Army will be hoping the Sky Blues will have managed to halt their alarming run of home defeats this season against the Vale!
For the record, Stuart is a ‘Cov Kid’ brought through the Club’s youth system collecting England caps from under 16 to U19 level on the way. He made his first team debut in the Championship in May 2004 as a sub and full debut the following season. He will therefore appreciate the pros and cons of the Club’s current reliance on so many players who cut their teeth in the Sky Blues Academy.
In total Stuart turned out 19 times for the first team before being released in March 2008 (after a loan spell at Oldham Athletic). Since 2009 Stuart has played at Hinckley Athletic (two spells) and Darlington (on a season’s loan) but his career has been set back by a long-term knee ligament injury.
Welcome Stuart, we hope your ‘newbie’ day for us will not prove too stressful and you will see a good Sky Blue performance.