Coventry Telegraph Article 1 Season 10/11

While under-standing that some negotiating is necessary, can somebody please tell me how it can take so long to sign a free agent?

Is the club trying to save (A reported) £10,000-a-week in wages by not bringing in Marlon King before a fixture free Saturday? Or are the club merely waiting for people to grow bored of the 'should we? / shouldn't we? sign him' debate, so he can sign without any fuss? I'm certainly bored of waiting for something described as 'when', not 'if'....

The two week dead-line given to Kieran Westwood to commit himsef to the club is almost up, and, should he decide not to sign up, everybody concerned with the club will lose out: Westwood, because he won't be able to put himself in the shop window with quality displays; the club, because he can't boost his potential transfer fee if he doesn't play; and supporters, because a quality keeper is wasting his time picking splinters out of his backside, spending matchdays on the bench.

While I expect Westwood will be a success elsewhere (Should he end up leaving), I think it's time somebody at Coventry City compiled a list of players who thought the grass might be greener elsewhere, and show it to those that start believing their own hype (And there are a fair few of them!). Michael Mifsud's name would be in the first few pages for a start....

There was much debate over Aidy Boothroyd's decision to 'opt out' of the League Cup. My main gripe was that comments about players lacking match fitness are used for sub-standard early season displays, only for players to then be pulled out of games where they could gain match fitness! The least Mr. Boothroyd could/should have done (In my humble opinion) was to have a strong bench, capable of making a difference if the result was going our way. Every match matters to me!

Despite the fact the fixture versus Derby was on TV, and an early kick-off, a drop of 4,500 supporters compared with last seasons match against the same opponents does not make for good reading, while the decision not to sign Francis Laurent was also slightly disappointing, as I doubt he would have cost to much in wages (Coming from Southend), and he seemed to have pace in abundance, and the odd trick or two, in the half-hour cameo he made versus WBA.

Another disappointment was the first hour or so against Watford, where Coventry City barely joined in. But, as I'm trying to end each piece I write with a positive, I will over-look that and applaud the out-standing come-back instead! Had Michael Doyle's late effort gone in instead of being saved, and landed a highly unlikely victory, Watford could have been forgiven for reporting said mugging to the police....