Missing! Coventry Defence! Reward Offered If Found

By CovSid67
January 15 2007

Just what more does a manager have to do to get the sack round these parts? Our only saving grace this season has been our defence, yet currently their whereabouts are unknown....

Being unemployed myself at this moment in time, I wouldn't wish a P45 on anybody. That said, I'm fairly sure that if anybody with a normal job was getting it so badly wrong as Mickey Adams, they would be out on their arsenal....

Some have suggested that the club - still financially in the mire - cannot afford to sack Adams. Looking at the results, and the way attendances are falling (With the Coventry Telegraph stand being emptier than I can remember it for a Championship match), it's getting to the point where they can't afford not to.

Adams has back-tracked on his comments after Barnsley where he threatened to leave (When we were awful, but winning), and has now stated he won't (Now we're absolutely awful, and losing). And to think a while back he offered to quit (But was talked out of it), or we could have taken compensation from WBA had we allowed him to speak to and join them....

Whose stupid idea was it to give him a three year deal anyway? Maybe we could do the same as the F.A.? Release him from the position of manager, but continue to pay him until he finds another job? He's already on the managerial merry-go-round, so it shouldn't take long for him to find another job.

Back to yesterday....

Ben Turner did little wrong last week against Bristol City (After a nervous start), but Mickey Adams opted to play Adam Virgo alongside Robert Page instead. Having last week proved that he also can't play at right-back, Virgo did nothing right in the centre this week, and was replaced at half-time.

The home side started OK, with John shooting wide, and a Kyle effort soon after going the same way. It wasn't great, but we were in control - then we simply lost the plot. And how.

It took Palace about 18 minutes to get into the Coventry half of the pitch with any great effect, and when they did, their first four attacks all brought about goals. The only surprise was that Palace didn't score 10, as, even when a not particularly dangerous cross was played into the area, our defence usually obliged by making the situation dangerous.

It's fair to say, the home defence were worse than useless, and a shambolic embarrassment to the club. If they had any deceny about them, they would give back the wages they earned for the first 45 minutes of this game.

Luke Steele must have done something to warrant a move to Manchester United once upon a time, but that ability has clearly deserted him, while Adam Virgo looked as if he would be out of his depth playing in League One with Brighton.

Having driven past the training ground this morning, I was stunned that they were not called in for extra training!

Fletcher, Kuqi, Cort, and McAnuff were all gifted goals, with the home side hitting the bar twice in the first half too (Had Kyle's effort, two minutes after Palace had scored, gone in, how different ..... things wouldn't have been).

Some vented their anger at the players on the pitch, while others just sat there in total disbelief. Some also headed for the exits, and probably won't be seen at the Arena again until something drastic happens....

On the stroke of half-time McKenzie pulled a goal back for the home side, though the Palace supporters seemed to celebrate more than the home fans.

Following a shake-up of the defence at half-time (Whing to left-back, Hall in the centre, and Birchall replacing the hopefully not-to-be seen-in-defence-again Virgo), the Coventry defence looked slightly improved, though Steele was forced to make a decent save after 51 minutes.

Kyle pulled a second goal back for the home side with just under an hour gone, which brought the home supporters back to life, giving the players backing they did not deserve. They were lucky there were any supporters left in the home sections of the ground after the shambles that was the first half.

McKenzie was almost put through on 58 minutes, and soon after Tabb wasted a glorious chance to at least test the Palalce keeper when a quality pass saw him get in behind the Palace defence. Tabb was praised by a fair few home supporters, but the ease with which he is able to be tackled left me far from impressed.

A decent move between Tabb and Hall saw a Hughes effort go just wide, before Mifsud was given his Coventry debut - I wonder if he realised just what he was letting himself in for when he signed that contract....?

A lob from distance by Tabb landed on the roof of the Palalce net after 71 minutes, while Birchall trickery set up Whing, whose acrobatic effort was saved by Flinders in the Palace goal.

A minute later, another decent bit of skill from Birchall saw his cross drilled across the face of goal, and knocked back into the danger area by Kyle. Both times Mifsud was just not quite close enough to tap-in, and achieve automatic hero status amongst home supporters. There were enough decent moments from him to suggest he might be a decent acquisition, if we don't destroy any ability he has.

A decent Mifsud effort after 83 minutes just failed to bring rewards, while another cross fizzed across the Palace six yard area minutes later. Palace should have scored a fifth after that miss, but failed when it looked easier to score.

The result would have been embarrassing had it been against a decent side, but, having spent the hours before the match in a pub with Palace supporters, it seems they are every bit as under-achieving as we are....

As if to show just how differently supporters see the game, there were some that thought Stephen Hughes deliveries were much improved - I, on the other hand, thought they were as poor as they ever were. The signal for the first corner was right-arm raised, and it was cleared with ease by the Palace defence. Almost every other corner after saw him raise his right-arm again, and, unsurprisingly, nearly every one was met by a Palace defender.

Can we really afford NOT to sign Currie from Ipswich if this is as good as it gets from Hughes' set pieces?

In another move that had the words 'tactical genius' written all over it, Stern John, who splits opinion with his casual looking attitude throughout matches when he plays up front, seemed to be moved into midfield - or, as I guess some would call it, 'in the hole behind the strikers'. Wherever it was supopsed to be, he was far worse, and more ineffective, than usual.

How Bristol City's players and supporters must be looking forward to Tuesday. Coventry supporters won't be....