Coventry

Early years (1883–1919)

Coventry City was founded in 1883 as Singers F.C., following a meeting between William Stanley and seven colleagues from the Singer Cycle Company at the Lord Aylesford Inn in Hillfields. It was one of several 19th century clubs linked to Coventry's bicycle factories, and the company founder George Singer was its first president. Singers joined the Birmingham County Football Association in 1884 and played around forty games in their first four years at Dowells Field in the Stoke area. In early seasons they lacked a regular playing staff and sometimes lacked equipment such as goal nets. In 1887, the club moved to the larger Stoke Road Ground, which had rudimentary stands, and they charged an entrance fee for the first time. The following five seasons were very successful, culminating in back-to-back Birmingham Junior Cup titles in 1891 and 1892.

Singers turned professional in 1892 and joined the Birmingham & District League in 1894, competing against strong reserve sides from established regional teams such as Aston Villa. Coventry residents not connected to the cycle company began supporting the club, and it was renamed Coventry City in 1898. Highfield Road opened in 1899, but its construction caused a financial crisis and subsequent salary disputes with the players. The club endured several poor seasons on the field, having to re-apply for membership of the league three times in the space of five years. In 1901, Coventry suffered their worst ever defeat with an 11–2 loss against Worcester-based Berwick Rangers in the qualifying round of the FA Cup. The club became a limited company in July 1907 and the team was more successful the following season, reaching the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time before being eliminated by Crystal Palace.

In 1908, Coventry joined the Southern League, at the time the third-strongest English division. In their second season, Coventry reached the FA Cup quarter final, beating top-flight teams Preston and Nottingham Forest before losing to Everton. Another two successful seasons followed but in 1914 the club was relegated, amid renewed financial problems. Its economic health worsened as attendances dropped sharply, and the club was in danger of dissolution. It was saved in part by the abandonment of competitive football in mid-1915 due to World War I. The club's debts were then paid off by benefactor David Cooke in 1917. During the war, they played some friendly matches against local clubs and joined a temporary wartime division for 1918–19.

League football and the "Old Five" (1919–1945)

In 1919, Coventry submitted a successful application to join the Football League and were placed into the Second Division for the 1919–20 season, the first played after the war. In preparation for league football, the club invested in new players and increased Highfield Road's capacity to 40,000. They avoided finishing last in 1919–20 when they won their final game against Bury, but this result was later found to be rigged, the club receiving a heavy fine in 1923. In 1924–25, after their sixth successive relegation battle, Coventry finished bottom of the table and dropped into the Third Division North. A year later they were asked by the League to switch to the Third Division South, to keep the sizes of the divisions even. Their poor form continued, and in 1927–28 they narrowly avoided having to seek re-election. Supporters rioted after the final game that season, some calling for the club to be wound up and a phoenix club established in its place. In 1928, the club's worst ever attendance was recorded with a gate of 2,059 for a match against Crystal Palace.

In addition to poor form on the field, the club ran into financial difficulties by the end of the 1920s, having to rely on fundraisers by supporters and a cash injection by Cooke, who had become club president. A committee of enquiry in 1928 concluded that the club was being mismanaged, leading to resignation of chairman W. Carpenter and his replacement by Walter Brandish. The club's form began to improve under the new board, and the appointment of Harry Storer as manager in 1931 brought in an era of success at the club. Coventry scored a total of 108 goals in the 1931–32 season, gaining the nickname "The Old Five" as a result of scoring five or more in many games. New signing Clarrie Bourton's individual tally of 49 goals was the Football League record for that season, and his overall total of 50 remains the club record. Two further 100-goal seasons followed, the first time in the league that a team had achieved three in a row, and Coventry recorded their largest ever league victory in April 1934, 9–0 against Bristol City. Despite scoring heavily, Coventry missed out on promotion every season until 1935–36, when they finished as Third Division North champions.

The club continued their good form in the second tier, finishing eighth, fourth and fourth again between 1936 and 1939. They also constructed a new main stand and purchased the freehold of Highfield Road, utilising a loan of £20,000 from local motor-industry entrepreneur John Siddeley. In 1937–38 they met with Midlands rivals Aston Villa the first time in league football, securing with a win and a draw in the two meetings as well as a higher-placed finish than the Birmingham club. In September 1939, the league season was aborted after three games due to the start of World War II. Many supporters at the time blamed the war for robbing the team of a probable imminent promotion to the First Division, although several top players including Bourton had been sold by 1939, and attendances had begun to fall. Coventry continued playing some friendly games until November 1940, when the Coventry Blitz damaged the stadium and brought all football in the city to a halt. Friendly matches resumed again in 1942, as parts of Highfield Road had been rebuilt, and the team joined the Midland Regional League.

Rise to the First Division, Europe, and FA Cup victory (1945–1987)

Storer left Coventry for Birmingham City after the war, and many of the 1939 squad had retired by 1945. New manager Dick Bayliss assembled a squad with a mixture of pre-war players and newcomers, but his tenure was cut short when he died after being stranded in a snow storm in 1947. Replacement Billy Frith was dismissed following a poor start to 1948–49 and the club persuaded Storer to return from Birmingham. In 1950–51, Coventry led the Second Division table at Christmas, but a poor run ended their promotion hopes and the following season they were relegated. They spent the next six seasons in the Third Division South, with seven different managers, but were never in contention for promotion. The average attendance at Highfield Road dropped sharply during this period, and several top players had to be sold amid financial difficulties. In 1958, the north and south divisions were replaced by a single nationwide third and a new fourth. Coventry were placed in the latter as a result of a bottom-half finish in 1957–58. Three games into 1958–59, the club occupied its lowest ever overall league position, 91st, but recovered to secure promotion back into the third tier.

The appointment of Derrick Robins as chairman in 1958 and Jimmy Hill as manager in 1961, marked the start of the "Sky Blue revolution" at the club. Hill changed the club's kit colour and nickname, introduced the Sky Blue Song, and added pre-match entertainment. Backed by an injection of cash from Robins, Hill led Coventry to the Third and Second Division championships in 1964 and 1967 respectively, taking them to the top division for the first time. Coventry's record attendance was set in 1967, against fellow title-chasers Wolverhampton Wanderers; the official gate was 51,455 although the club estimated that the figure was higher. In 1969–70, under Hill's successor Noel Cantwell, the club finished sixth in the First Division, which as of 2022^[update] remains their highest ever position. The top-six finish earned them a place in the 1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which ended in the second round with a 7–3 aggregate defeat against Bayern Munich. In the mid-1970s, the club faced renewed financial difficulty and sold several top players. A relegation battle followed in 1976–77, which culminated in a controversial 2–2 draw with Bristol City that saw both sides survive at the expense of Sunderland, playing out the final minutes without any attempt to score further goals. A season of success followed in 1977–78, as Coventry finished seventh, narrowly missing a European place. In 1980–81, Coventry reached their first major semi-final, losing to West Ham United in the League Cup.

Hill returned to the club as managing director in 1975, and was elevated to chairman in 1980. He initiated several transformations at the club, including the conversion of Highfield Road to England's first all-seat stadium in 1981, and the opening of a sports centre and training ground in Ryton-on-Dunsmore. Hill attempted to rename the club "Coventry Talbot", after their sponsors, but this was rejected by the Football Association. To pay for the developments, the club sold top players including popular striker Tommy Hutchison, and results suffered. Hill was forced out of the club in 1983 and terraces reintroduced. Despite surviving relegation battles for four successive seasons, with three changes of manager, by 1986 the club had assembled a strong squad. Under duo George Curtis and John Sillett, they spent most of the following season in the top eight, and advanced to the 1987 FA Cup Final. In a match later described by Steven Pye of The Guardian' as a "classic final", Coventry beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–2 at Wembley which, as of 2022^[update], is the club's only major trophy to date.

Recent history (1987–present)

Coventry's FA Cup defence ended with a fourth-round defeat to Watford, followed a season later by one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history when they lost 2–1 to non-league Sutton United in the third round. They finished seventh in the league that season, however, their highest finish since 1978. A last-day escape in 1991–92 earned Coventry a place in the newly-formed Premier League. Bryan Richardson took over as club chairman in summer 1993, making large sums of money available for players over subsequent years. With Ron Atkinson and then Gordon Strachan as manager, Coventry signed several high-profile players such as Dion Dublin, Moustapha Hadji, Peter Ndlovu and Robbie Keane, but did not finish higher than 11th place for the remainder of their Premier League tenure.

In 1997, Richardson revealed the initial proposals for a new stadium in the north of Coventry, at the time envisaged as having 40,000 seats and included in England's unsuccessful bid for the 2006 World Cup. The project was backed by Coventry City Council and gained planning permission in 1998, but involved high costs, inducing the board to sell Highfield Road to a property developer and lease it back, before construction had started. On the field, Coventry were forced by the rising debts to sell their top players without replacement, and were finally relegated in 2000–01, ending 34 years of continuous tenure in the top flight.

In their first season back in the second tier, Coventry occupied 4th place with seven games remaining, but ultimately finished 11th, outside the play-off places. The new stadium opened in 2005, having been reduced in size and delayed several times; the club had previously sold its 50% share to the Alan Higgs charity to repay debts. The club's financial situation remained poor, and by 2007 they faced the possibility of being forced out of business; this was averted when the club was bought by hedge fund owner Sisu Capital. Led by chairman Ray Ranson, Coventry signed several promising youngsters in the early Sisu years, but they failed to achieve on-field success. Sisu began reducing investment from 2009 as debts mounted, leading eventually to Ranson's resignation in 2011. They were relegated to League One in 2012, and were forced to groundshare with Northampton Town for more than a year from 2013, following a rent dispute with the Ricoh Arena owners. The club also fell into liquidation, but were allowed to continue playing in League One under Sisu company Otium.

In 2016–17, Coventry were relegated to League Two, but also won the EFL Trophy in the same season, their first trophy for 30 years. The following season, their first in the fourth tier since 1959, they were promoted straight back, finishing sixth and beating Exeter City in the play-off final. Two seasons later, they were promoted again, being awarded the League One championship via a points-per-game system after the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of curtailment in March 2020, they led the table with 67 points from 34 games. They were exiled from the Ricoh Arena again from 2019 to 2021, playing their home games at St Andrew's in Birmingham, amid ongoing legal action by Sisu over the 2014 purchase of the stadium by rugby club Wasps, which concluded only in 2022 when the European Commission declined to hear an appeal.

The Sisu era at Coventry City ended in 2023, when local businessman Doug King purchased the club. King had also attempted to acquire the CBS Arena, after both Wasps and the stadium holding company had fallen into administration, but his bid came too late and the stadium was eventually sold to Mike Ashley. Coventry went on to finish fifth in the Championship at the end of the season, earning a play-off place. After beating Middlesbrough in the semi-final they played in the 2023 EFL Championship play-off final at Wembley, missing out on promotion to the Premier League after a 6–5 penalty shoot-out defeat against Luton Town. On 16 March 2024, Coventry City progressed to the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time since their 1986–87 FA Cup victory with a 3–2 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers, following two stoppage time goals from Ellis Simms and Haji Wright.