Sunday 26 February 2012

Jim's column 25.2.12


                                                                   Harry Hart

I have to report the sad news that former Coventry City player Harry Hart who played briefly for Coventry City in the early 1950s passed away on 11 February in Morecambe aged 85.

Harry was born in Sheffield and started his professional career with Rotherham United. He was spotted whilst playing for Woodthorpe Youth Club. As a 16 year old, he played for Rotherham Reserves against Gainsborough Trinity and Neil Franklin (later to be one of the best England centre-halves of all-time) was one of the guest players for Gainsborough!

Harry Storer brought the inside-forward to Coventry in 1950 but competition for places was tough and Harry managed only ten first team games in his two seasons at Highfield Road. His debut was in a 2-1 win at Grimsby in March 1951 and he scored his only goal in the final game of that season in a 1-1 draw at Luton. His final game was in that home game with West Ham in February 1952 which I featured a couple of weeks ago, when a minute’s silence was observed for the late King George VI.

During his time at City he was a regular for the reserves and on 29 December 1951 at Filbert Street he scored a goal and was sent off in the 3-2 defeat. Harry had lost his hair by the time he was 19 and therefore looked older than he was. He complained that, because referees assumed he was older, they thought he should know better and sent him off!

 He joined Grimsby in 1952, and played under the legendary Bill Shankly. Later whilst still living in Nuneaton, he played non-league for Frickley Colliery and Stocksbridge Works. Post football, he worked at Dunlop and then Massey Ferguson on the furnaces (for 16 years). The likes of Reg Matthews, Dick Mason and Alf Wood were there with him. 

One of Harry’s former teammates at City, Lol Harvey, told me a story about Harry. After one home defeat at Highfield Road Storer came into the dressing room and grabbed Hart by his football shirt collar and marched him out on to a mud heap of a pitch. When they got to the centre circle Storer turned to Hart and said, ‘Come on then Harry, show me the hole you’ve been hiding in all afternoon!’
 

Predictably the Sky Blues lost at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground last week to make it nine consecutive away defeats and equals the club’s post war record set in 1984 and repeated in 1999-2000. In the latter season the team had an excellent home record with Robbie Keane, Gary McAllister and the Moroccans, Hadji and Chippo, in top form. Away from Highfield Road it was a different story however and although they drew seven of the first 10 trips they fell away badly and even lost on the final day against already relegated Watford. The run was ended in the first away trip of the following season with a 2-1 win at Southampton and followed up with a similar scoreline at Maine Road four days later. Ironically the team ended up suffering relegation that season.

Feb
5
2000
a
Man. Utd.
L
2-3
Feb
12
2000
h
Sunderland
W
3-2
Feb
19
2000
a
Middlesbro
L
0-2
Feb
26
2000
h
Tottenham H
L
0-1
Mar
5
2000
a
Leeds U
L
0-3
Mar
11
2000
a
Aston Villa
L
0-1
Mar
15
2000
h
Everton
W
1-0
Mar
18
2000
h
Bradford City
W
4-0
Mar
26
2000
a
Arsenal
L
0-3
Apr
1
2000
h
Liverpool
L
0-3
Apr
12
2000
a
Chelsea
L
1-2
Apr
15
2000
h
Middlesbro
W
2-1
Apr
22
2000
a
West Ham U
L
0-5
Apr
29
2000
a
Newcastle U
L
0-2
May
6
2000
h
Sheff. Wed.
W
4-1
May
14
2000
a
Watford
L
0-1

In 1984 Bobby Gould’s early impact as manager had faded and the club were hurtling down the table. Defeats at Loftus Road and Meadow Lane were unlucky but thumpings at Old Trafford, the Dell and Anfield ensured the Sky Blues went into their final game with Norwich needing a win to avoid the drop. Thankfully the game was at home and City scraped home 2-1. The poor away form extended into the following season with the run not ending until a 0-0 draw at Sunderland.

Mar
10
1984
a
QPR
L
1-2
Mar
13
1984
h
Aston Villa
D
3-3
Mar
17
1984
a
Notts Co.
L
1-2
Mar
24
1984
h
Tottenham H
L
2-4
Mar
31
1984
h
Arsenal
L
1-4
Apr
7
1984
a
Aston Villa
L
0-2
Apr
14
1984
h
Wolves
W
2-1
Apr
17
1984
h
Nottm Forest
W
2-1
Apr
21
1984
a
Man. Utd.
L
1-4
Apr
28
1984
a
Southampton
L
2-8
May
5
1984
h
Luton T
D
2-2
May
7
1984
a
Liverpool
L
0-5
May
12
1984
h
Norwich C
W
2-1
Aug
25
1984
a
Aston Villa
L
0-1
Aug
28
1984
h
Norwich C
D
0-0
Sep
1
1984
h
Leicester C
W
2-0
Sep
4
1984
a
West Ham U
L
1-3
Sep
8
1984
a
Everton
L
1-2


Defeat at Leicester a week today will take the run of losses to 10, the worst since 1929-30, and one short of the club’s all-time record of 11, in 1926.

Sunday 19 February 2012

Jim's column 18.2.12



Andy Thorn’s Sky Blues came good on Tuesday night and deservedly won an entertaining encounter with Leeds United. For once the team lasted the distance and grabbed the winner from the penalty spot in added time. On four occasions this season (Palace (away), Burnley (home), Blackpool (away) and Ipswich (home)) City have lost the game in added time but on Tuesday the boot was firmly on the other foot. I had to look back a fair way to find the last time the Sky Blues managed this and it seems it was in November 2007 when Kevin Kyle needed a 92nd winner in a 2-1 victory at Loftus Road. There have been a few instances of City scoring a late goal for a point, but only one this season, Richard Wood’s late goal at Elland Road earlier this season, and only one last season, Lukas Jutkiewicz’s injury-time penalty at Watford to make it 2-2. Prior to Kyle’s late winner in 2007 one has to go back to the Highfield Road days and a very late Johnnie Jackson winner against West Brom in 2003! So Gary’s winner on Tuesday night was the latest home winner for many years.

Lots of readers wanted to know when a City player last scored two penalties in a game. It wasn’t that long ago – last April to be precise when Marlon King scored two from the spot in the 3-0 win at Fratton Park, City’s last away win. Prior to that Elliott Ward, now playing in the Premier League with Norwich, scored two penalties in a 5-1 win at Colchester in 2008.

Sadly City’s away form continues to cause concern with the defeat at Reading the eighth consecutive defeat on the road. This run equals the worst run since the club were relegated from the Premier League in 2001. Between December 2007 and March 2008 City lost the first eight away games of the SISU era as follows:

Dec
22
2007
a
Blackpool
L
0-4
Dec
26
2007
h
Crystal P
L
0-2
Dec
29
2007
h
Ipswich T
W
2-1
Jan
1
2008
a
Bristol City
L
1-2
Jan
12
2008
a
Leicester C
L
0-2
Jan
19
2008
h
Burnley
L
1-2
Jan
29
2008
a
Hull C
L
0-1
Feb
2
2008
h
Barnsley
W
4-0
Feb
9
2008
a
Preston NE
L
0-1
Feb
12
2008
h
Cardiff C
D
0-0
Feb
23
2008
h
Leicester C
W
2-0
Feb
26
2008
a
Burnley
L
0-2
Mar
1
2008
a
Scunthorpe U
L
1-2
Mar
5
2008
h
QPR
D
0-0
Mar
8
2008
h
Norwich C
W
1-0
Mar
11
2008
a
Sheff. Utd.
L
1-2

With Chris Coleman having replaced Iain Dowie after a brief reign of Frankie Bunn and John Harbin, City were sliding towards relegation when the run came to an end with a 0-0 at Southampton.

Several readers have pointed out that City have not kept a clean sheet away from home this season, and wondered if this was a record. On four previous occasions City have gone a whole season without an away clean sheet. The last time was in the relegation season of 2000-01 when, despite winning four games on the road (Southampton, Manchester City, Everton and Leicester) they conceded in every away game and couldn’t even muster a 0-0 draw. The other three occasions are very strange as they coincide with high-scoring seasons.

In 1931-32 and 1932-33 City netted 108 and 106 goals respectively but their success was founded on virtually unbeatable home form (17 wins out of 21 in the former season and 16 in the latter). The away form was poor in both campaigns with one win and 69 goals conceded in the former and three wins and 53 goals conceded in the latter. The other instance was in 1977-78 – probably City’s best season of the 34 spent in the top flight. Like the early 1930s though, success was based on good home form with 13 wins out of 21 and 48 home goals but they still managed five away wins but couldn’t stop the opposition scoring. I haven’t researched the highest number of clean sheets away from home in a season but suspect it was probably 1969-70 when they did not concede in 10 away games on their way to a sixth place finish under Noel Cantwell.