Coventry Telegraph Article 2 Season 2011/12 (Extended Remix)

This article could have been so different had Coventry City not blown four points in the last two home matches (Injury time penalty miss versus Reading, injury time goal conceded versus Blackpool), or had they joined in against Barnsley. I could have pretended everything was fine and papered over the cracks by writing a positive fanzone contribution. The only way, it appears, is down.

We've played ten Championship games this season, and, as well as blowing the two results mentioned, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Crystal Palace by conceding two injury time goals, and also tried our best to gift Middlesboro an injury time victory too. Different season, same failings. 

Only Lucas Jutkiewicz seems to know where the opposition goal is (Cranie knows where ours is), with Roy O'Donovan's claim that he can replace Marlon King being as wide of the mark as LJ's penalty versus Reading. It would be nice to see 'Fat Freddie' in a Coventry City shirt before the season ends. 

As for David Bell claiming Andy Thorn has made him a better player (Comment from April 2011), he appears to have returned to the passenger we thought we had signed what seems like years ago. I guess he's got most of his four year contract left to find some form again though. SISU, what were you thinking?

Cody McDonald hasn't yet become the star signing I thought he would be, but I remain hopeful that when he reaches full fitness we will see that we bought a bargain. The fact that he missed four decent chances versus Ipswich is disappointing (Albeit that two were cleared off the line), the fact he got into said positions is a positive.

In August, Andy Thorn stated that Coventry City 'wouldn't lie down for anybody this season'. If the performances against Ipswich and Barnsley are the best we can manage, we might as well give up. Ipswich could have had ten, but thankfully Chopra seemed to be wearing his boots on the wrong feet.

The answer to our current problems is obviously - as supporters want - for SISU to spend out on wages to bring players in .... or is it? Attendances are already way below what the club needs to merely break even, and are continuing to fall: 14,219 versus Derby, even with the 'buy one get one free' offer; 12,309 versus Reading; and 12,822 versus Blackpool. It's not even close.

Some fans say they won't come back till SISU have gone, and that's fine, as long as they don't moan when more assets (If we can find any) are sold off in the next transfer window. The club needs 10,000 missing supporters to decide they have nothing better to do on matchdays, and to start backing THEIR team again. We have the side our apathetic supporters deserve.

For the record, I'm not taking sides in all the arguing - SISU and the protestors seem equally as bad as each other. The only thing I would point out is the hypocrisy of SISU, saying they wanted 'transparency of investors' identities' with Gary Hoffmann's bid - we didn't know who SISU were for over two years (And still don't know much, if anything, about them).

Players of the calibre and popularity of Robbie Keane (In his prime) wouldn't add more than a few thousand to the gate, so the chances of bringing players in that can double our current attendance, and help reach the break-even figure is, like Roy O'Donovan's Championship goal tally, nil.

The only positive I can find is that if the quality of football and/or results don't improve, and attendances continue to fall, we can all have three seats each and lie down and have a snooze during matches. I really can't ever see anything changing with Coventry City, and merely expect us to tread water until somebody finally pulls the plug.

We're dying with SISU, but probably dead without them. Depressing stuff.