Tims 92

Coventry City

Highfield Road

Ground No. 16

Visited - Saturday 16th November 2002
Result - Coventry 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Competition - Nationwide League Division 1
Attendance - 18,998

Being a local derby this was always going to be a passionate affair, and one of the games to look out for when the fixture lists come out. Also being an ex-premiership ground, we went hoping that we would see one of the better stadiums in the First Division, although that illusion would be shattered as soon as we entered the ground.

The train ride down to Coventry from Wolverhampton went simply enough, being direct and fairly quick. However once actually in the city it was a different story. Although admittedly I have less sense of direction than Mark Kennedy’s corners, after a brief stop off in the City Centre we were left having to ask directions for a bus to the ground. After asking 3 bus drivers I found it a bit disheartening that only one of them knew that Coventry actually has a football team! One other thing to watch out for is the maze of subways, with one looking much like another it is easy to get lost. However later on we found out that the number 27 bus leaves from outside the station directly to the ground, its just a pity we didn’t know that beforehand.

We were slightly late in getting there, and missed the first 10 minutes, but after getting through the vigorous security checks of the stewards we found our seats and sat down to see the game.

From the outside it looks a modern stadium and, although not one of the biggest, certainly impressive. However once actually in you can tell that the place is in need of a major refurbishment. There are supporting pillars in the away stand, and although we generally had a good view, one did block out a good part of the pitch, and the spacing between the seats is cramped to say the least! The rest of the ground is much the same from inside, with one corner filled in, and another one partly filled in, which helps make for a good atmosphere.

As for facilities, they were non-existent. There was a refreshments stand, but that had its shutters down, so food or drink were out of the question. And you actually have to go outside (although staying within the perimeter of the ground) to get to the toilet blocks, they are average, although when standing in the organised chaos to get to the front of the queue at half time I actually got there and found it was a row of sinks!

I didn’t see too many stewards throughout the game, although the police presence was overbearing, and despite the possibility of trouble, I thought they were pretty heavy handed, which didn’t do a lot to make Wolves fans tempers any better.

The game itself was exciting end to end action, in which we eventually ran out 2-0 winners, with goals either side of half time from Jo Lescott and Alex Rae. The atmosphere was typical derby stuff, helped by the tempo of the game, and the Coventry fans were vociferous, with Wolves fans replying with the same passion.

After the usual crush in getting outside, it was a fairly easy ground to get away from. There was a bit of trouble, but the police did do their job a bit better than during the match, and kept the fans apart. Walking back apart from the aforementioned hooligans, the majority of Coventry fans seemed friendly, and were quiet happy in supplying us with (yet more!) directions back to the station, which we eventually found despite a long, long walk, which saw us getting lost on countless occasions.

All in all it was a good day out, and one that I will be looking to do again next year. Coventry are one of the bigger clubs in this division and one that would not be out of place in the Premiership. I can see why they want to move to a new ground, but for probably half the cost renovating Highfield Road would be the better option, particularly for a club already with financial problems.

Ground No. 16 (return visit)

Visited - Saturday 16th April 2005
Result - Coventry City 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Competition - Coca-Cola Championship
Attendance - 19,412

With Coventry due to leave Highfield Road in the summer, this was the last opportunity to visit the stadium before it is sadly turned into houses, so I was quite looking forward to this match, especially as it would also be the last Wolves away game of the season for me.

We set off at 11am, catching the train down, changing briefly at Birmingham New St, before arriving into Coventry itself at about 12:30pm. From previous knowledge of the city (gained since the infamous 2 hour walk on the last match I'd seen here) we easily found a pub called The Town Crier, so settled down for a few beers, only to be disturbed by hordes of ice hockey fans! (One of the more random events whilst doing the 92!) They weren’t any trouble though, and despite seeming to be rival teams themselves, were more good natured than you would expect from most groups of football fans. After leaving, it was a short bus ride to the ground, and then one final, but familiar, walk up Swan Lane, past a surprising number of Wolves coaches, before stopping off in the club shop and then into our section.

Although this was only the second game I'd seen at Highfield Road, it was actually the 4th time that I have been to the stadium (the other two occasions for taking pictures) but on all other previous visits, I'd been greeted by a run-down, not particularly appealing stadium, that had passed its sell-by date, this time however it was different. Maybe it was the beer, or the nostalgia of the occasion, but from going down the steps to the turnstiles, I instantly fell in love with the ground. It really is unlike many new stadiums, or even stands, but instead typifies an age that is slowly, but surely passing by. Going down the steps, into the gloomy, basement like space where the turnstiles are located, and then going through, before more dark steps and then finally climbing out with the stadium opening out in front of you really gives you a sense of times gone by. From the toilets, large, spacious, again up and down flights of stairs, to the tight seats, with a low roof, and pillars in view, what could easily be thought of as poor facilities, in an age of ‘McStadiums’ is a refreshing injection of character. Of course the fans who have to put up with this every other week would probably be glad that they are getting a new home, after all its hard to argue against a great view and good facilities, but its undeniable that the charm is going out of football.

After taking in the surroundings, and finding our seats, the game soon got started and before too long, after an opening 10 minutes of end-to-end action, we took the lead through Leon Clarke, when he made space in the box to head home a delivery from Lee Naylors free-kick. Unfortunately things weren’t to stay the same, and almost as soon as we had sat down from celebrating, the home side were on the attack, and won what looked to be a fairly dubious penalty, which they converted with ease. After that, each side played it more cautiously, and the first-half petered out with few other chances of note, ending 1-1 at the break.

The second-half was much the same as the first, with neither side really looking to grab the bull by the horns, and take the game to their opponents, but finally, on 79 minutes, we managed to take the lead again, when Lee Naylor, instrumental in the first, cut in from the left, to hammer home a shot from the edge of the area, which took a deflection, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance. All we had to after that was keep the ball out of our half, which given the lack of threat from Coventry, didn’t seem too difficult a job to do, but Glenn Hoddle made what seemed a ridiculous substitution, taking our best player, Colin Cameron, off instead of Seol, who had done nothing all game. How disastrous that would prove to be when in injury time, Seol failed to stay with his man, or even bother to put in any sort of tackle when Stern-John danced through our defence, and poked home a shot from inside a crowded area with only 20 seconds remaining. Although the home side hadn’t exactly done anything of note, it was what they deserved, after we had failed to capitalise on our chances, so when the referee blew for full-time it was frustrating more than anything, even though the game meant nothing, with us having already all but booked ourselves a space in the Championship for 2005/06.

After leaving the ground, we had a fairly long wait for a bus back to the city centre, but once there it was straight back to the station, and onto a train homewards.

Overall it had been quite a good day, result aside, the only downside was the attendance, we hadn’t sold all of our tickets, taking about 3000, but more disappointingly, for what was the penultimate game at their ground, I had expected Coventry to sell out, but the crowd was well short of capacity, at 19,412. It’s a shame we wont be going back there, but all things must come to the end, and even accounting for it's inevitable familiarity, it will be good to see a game at the Ricoh Arena next season.