Coventry City (A) FA Cup 3rd Round Matchday Thread

[Karamelli1]

Cup magic, worse team still continue.

[PistoldPete]

I missed this game didnt realise it was 12.30 kick off.

Having caught up on this thread, I would like to add that Peter Shilton was a "player" for both Derby and Coventry, or at least he was on Coventry's books for a short time as back up keeper though never played for them. Also Keith Osgood really did play for both teams.

Edited January 8, 2022 by PistoldPete

[TheresOnlyWanChope]

24 minutes ago, FindernRam said:

Which is exactly why the lack of interest.

Even if you draw a top team you know they will play their reserves. So you don't even get to see the best players.

This sort of thought really surprises me. Ideally, a good cup run would involve drawing weaker clubs, having an easier passage to later rounds and if drawing a big club or competitive team, hope they play a weakened team. I get maybe some younger Derby fans wanting to see the best players as they haven't seen Derby in the prem but I would rather take advantage, play strong side etc and play Man U reserves!!!!. Like Leicester did back in the Coca Cola cup days. I went to watch Derby play Leicester a few years ago in the cup, before we had started the match, I heard we had made like 7 or 8 changes, same as them for example. The last time Derby got to a cup final was 1946! Really poor record.

[TheresOnlyWanChope]

46 minutes ago, Ramifications said:

What was today's attendance? Didn't look too many there. 

Really poor show by Coventry. Looked very sparse in their crowd. They're getting good crowds (for them) in the league this season but they barely turned up today.

[Mick Brolly]

3 hours ago, plymouthram said:

hope we get knocked out today,

Don't understand this why would you want your own team beaten 

[Mick Brolly]

1 hour ago, Ramifications said:

What was today's attendance? Didn't look too many there. 

8k 

[angieram]

1 hour ago, Ramarena said:

I think Bird and Thompson are fine in the right set up as they’ve proved recently.

Todays set up was back to the poor start of season days. 

Back then we learned:

- Morrison isn’t a starter and can seriously unbalance the side.

- If you play CKR you need runners/movement around him and getting beyond him.

- Lawrence and Morrison can’t play in the same team (look how Lawrence’s form collapses)

- We can play infront of teams all we like, but if you don’t break through them you’re going to lose.

Today we picked our strongest defence and midfield and then completely blunted them with our poor attacking selections!

This is spot on and I was saying it all through the game.

Jozwiak did more to open their defence in the ten minutes he was on the pitch than Morrison and Lawrence (great early shot apart) did all match. Too much sameness earlier and not enough incisive passing.

Love Ebosele for his runs but he has to work on his final ball. Keep going young man, it will come, especially when you have more movement in the box ahead of you.

I think Rooney might have given in to pressure from CKR and Morrison to start them today. Glad he did it in the cup and not the league because now he can revert to movement up front instead next week. Trust your instincts, Wayne - they were right! 

Our fans get a B- today, plenty of us but never really got going. Too many more interested in refilling their "coffee" cups than watching the game. It didn't help that Coventry played the wrong way round for us, so we were attacking at the far end second half. Shocking attendance from Coventry really.

 

[Mick Brolly]

2 hours ago, RadioactiveWaste said:

Still, there's the exciting final day of the 4th ashes test tonight to look forward to.

Will England survive until you fall asleep challenge?

I won the challenge last night but staying awake for 40 minutes no great achievement 

[Gone]

4 minutes ago, angieram said:

I think Rooney might have given in to pressure from CKR and Morrison to start them today. Glad he did it in the cup and not the league because now he can revert to movement up front instead next week. Trust your instincts, Wayne - they were right! 

Same, glad he tried it today not in the league. I don’t think they have the energy to start with the current tactics we play, great to have to come of the bench but not start. As for the fans, early kick offs are always the same it just kills the atmosphere. 

[RadioactiveWaste]

24 minutes ago, Mick Brolly said:

I won the challenge last night but staying awake for 40 minutes no great achievement 

We're like trying to hit a nail with a wet piece of bread.

[TheresOnlyWanChope]

33 minutes ago, Mick Brolly said:

Don't understand this why would you want your own team beaten 

He/ she must have been loving the Coventry goal sending us to defeat then. What a strange mentality to want your team beaten. Just plain weird. 

[kevinhectoring]

6 minutes ago, TheresOnlyWanChope said:

He/ she must have been loving the Coventry goal sending us to defeat then. What a strange mentality to want your team beaten. Just plain weird. 

I wish we’d won today. BUT it’s just possible that we’ll win a league game and stay up BECAUSE our opponents have played more football than us. I think that’s all that’s being said 

for that reason I can’t believe he started Curtis and Jags today and astonishing that Stearman did not start 

[Ram Logan Josh]

Don't agree with this glad we lost stuff.  Surely the dressing room feels buoyed after any win? 

Barnsley, our first target, won today (just!). I'm sure their dressing room was a happier place than ours. I doubt their players are thinking "Oh no, we've won so we're gonna have to play one more game than Derby."

I think a confident, happy, winning team leaving the dressing room would have been the best result for us.

RLJ

[DavesaRam]

I managed to find a live stream on Ladbrokes, so signed up, logged on and Bob's your uncle. I lodged £10 into my "account", which turns out is needed to actually see the stream, so is effectively a bribe. I am not a gambling man, so I will take the tenner back! There was no commentary, and the picture was little bigger than a postage stamp, plus I couldn't get it to talk over hdmi to the telly. Apart from that it was a flying success!

We started well, and looked the most likely threat for the opening 10 or 15 minutes, and both sides were playing the press well. But gradually Coventry improved the press and ended up seemingly with an answer for most of what we tried - Ebosele excepted. His end product is lacking, but he puts the fear of God up the opposition. What we need is players getting into the box to pick up whatever the defence's panicking throws our way. Coventry's press spread all over the pitch, and they went into challenges and tackles in full-blooded manner - a bit like Leeds, but without the dark malice!  We began to go into our shell, thinking that keeping the ball in our own half, or just into theirs was a good tactic. It is better than simply giving the ball away, but unless we do something with it in the final third, it doesn't actually achieve very much.

Sadly, we were far too cautious, playing the safe ball, playing backwards, such that any forwards momentum was stifled time and time again. No matter what impact Morrison has had, stifling the forwards flow seems to be his MO far too often. We are also unwilling to take the shot on as soon as it presents itself. Too many promising moves ended up with us trying to walk the ball home when a pot shot was screaming out to be had. And yes, the substitutions were way too late. Another shortcoming was that although Festy was our main threat, he spent most of the match out on his own unmarked on the right wing, while we played the ball around in the middle and then out to the left, time and time again. When the ball did get to Ebosele, it was via the requisite 7 or 8 other players, by which time he had two defenders on him. By contrast, several times when Coventry got the ball out of defence, one look up and a long diagonal ball out to the unmarked right winger, time and time again. A lesson to be learned?

On thee live stream all we could hear were the Derby fans giving it large. No surprise - out of a total crowd of 8837, we supplied 3000! I know someone sat in the Coventry end thought we were quiet, but not according to the telly!

Every where we go, making all the noise!!!!

I hope that whoever takes over the club keeps Rooney on, but it is clear, as today showed, that he still has much to learn. Oh, and a single word explanation of the poor refereeing: Madley. 

RIght. Let's dust ourselves down and get ready for next weekend.

[HorsforthRam]

A lot of comments just because one person said they wanted us to lose. Vast majority wanted a win and the “oh well, we can concentrate on the league” is just a defence against the disappointment 

[Jimbo Ram]

1 minute ago, Ram Logan Josh said:

Don't agree with this glad we lost stuff.  Surely the dressing room feels buoyed after any win? 

Barnsley, our first target, won today (just!). I'm sure their dressing room was a happier place than ours. I doubt their players are thinking "Oh no, we've won so we're gonna have to play one more game than Derby."

I think a confident, happy, winning team leaving the dressing room would have been the best result for us.

RLJ

Has anyone actually said they are glad we lost ? I was cheering us on, wanting us to win. On the final whistle my view was it wasn’t to be but that the squad will get a bit of a breather. I was surprised that Wazza played Curtis and Jags today. Perfect opportunity to give them a rest and give Stearman a start along with Cashin….

[TheresOnlyWanChope]

17 minutes ago, kevinhectoring said:

I wish we’d won today. BUT it’s just possible that we’ll win a league game and stay up BECAUSE our opponents have played more football than us. I think that’s all that’s being said 

for that reason I can’t believe he started Curtis and Jags today and astonishing that Stearman did not start 

Stearman can play in another match. We played the best team to win the match. It’s refreshing Rooney played a strong team although we don’t have much depth anyway. 

[Jimbo Ram]

2 hours ago, Karamelli1 said:

Cup magic, worse team still continue.

What’s that mean ?

[TheresOnlyWanChope]

12 minutes ago, Ram Logan Josh said:

Don't agree with this glad we lost stuff.  Surely the dressing room feels buoyed after any win? 

Barnsley, our first target, won today (just!). I'm sure their dressing room was a happier place than ours. I doubt their players are thinking "Oh no, we've won so we're gonna have to play one more game than Derby."

I think a confident, happy, winning team leaving the dressing room would have been the best result for us.

RLJ

Exactly. Especially since relegation is likely, a cup run would have been very welcome. Never mind. Just always disappointing to lose and always disappointing to be out of the cups..... for another year!! A takeover is the most important thing anyway above league or cup. 

[plymouthram]

4 hours ago, TheresOnlyWanChope said:

Weird hoping your own team gets knocked out in a cup. 

Priorities is the league, plus we and any other team outside the Premiership have a very slim chance of winning it. I also think, if we are due a defeat, lets have it in the cup and bounce back in the league.