1990–91 Coventry City F.C. season

Football team season June 2017 June 2017 Coventry City 1990–91 John Sillett (until 14 November) Terry Butcher (from 14 November) John Poynton Highfield Road First Division 16th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Quarter finals Full Members Cup Second round(Northern Area) Player of the Year Kevin Gallacher Gallacher (11) Gallacher (16) 22,731 vs Tottenham Hotspur (26 Dec 1990, First Division) 6,193 vs Bolton Wanderers >(26 Sep 1990, League Cup) 13,794 _lightblue_stripes _lightbluestripes _lightblue_stripes _color_2_stripes_blue 003366 00ddfd 1989–90 1991–92 The 1990–91 season was Coventry City's 24th consecutive campaign in the Football League First Division, following their promotion from the Second Division in 1967. The club started the season with John Sillett in charge, three years after he and George Curtis had managed the club to victory in the 1986–87 FA Cup. Sillett left the club in November after a run of poor results, and was replaced by Terry Butcher who arrived as a player-manager from Rangers. Coventry's league form in the season was a contrast between a solid home record and poor away form, as they recorded only one win away from Highfield Road. In the FA Cup they suffered a defeat to Southampton in the fourth round, but the highlight of the season was their run in the League Cup. They beat holders Nottingham Forest 5–4 in the fourth round, before losing to Sheffield Wednesday in the quarter-final. Background The 1990–91 season was Coventry City's 24th consecutive campaign in the Football League First Division, following their promotion from the Second Division in 1967.Brown 1998 161 The club had achieved its first major trophy a few seasons earlier, with victory in the 1986–87 FA Cup Final under the joint management of George Curtis and John Sillett,https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/football-news/coventry-city-1987-fa-cup-11336205 Coventry Telegraph Coventry City's 1987 FA Cup final victory over Tottenham Hotspur 32 years on Andy Turner 16 May 2019 17 March 2020 and Sillett remained manager at the beginning of 1990–91. Their league form in the seasons following the cup win was solid with tenth, seventh,Brassington 1989 125 and twelfth-place finishes,Brown 1998 161 although the 1989–90 season finished disappointingly as they won just one of their final nine games.Brown 1998 116–118 They failed to defend the FA Cup in 1987–88, exiting in the fourth round,Brown 1998 108 and they suffered one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history in 1989–90, as they lost 2–1 to non-league Sutton United in the third round.https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jan/03/vault-sutton-united-coventry-city-fa-cup-1989-giantkilling The Guardian 3 January 2014 Paul Campbell From the Vault: Sutton United knock Coventry City out of the FA Cup in 1989 They suffered another embarrassing FA Cup defeat the following season, this time to Third Division Northampton, but fared better in the League Cup, reaching the semi-final with a 5–0 win over Sunderland before losing to eventual winners Nottingham Forest in the semi-final.Brown 1998 116–118 Sillett did not buy or sell very heavily in the summer of 1990, before the start of the season. Supporters were calling for a strong midfield player to be bought to bolster the team, but defender Andy Pearce was the only major signing, bought from Halesowen Town for £15,000. Greg Downs, who had been part of the Cup winning squad, moved to Birmingham City on a free transfer. Despite this lack of transfer activity and the poor finish to the previous season, Sillett was optimistic that the club could challenge for a top six finish or even the league title.Brown 1998 121 Season summary Football League First Division The season started poorly, with a win against a struggling Everton side the only highlight of the opening games. Under pressure to change something, and with regulars Dean Emerson and Lloyd McGrath injured, Sillett signed players from Europe to add depth to the team. Winger Zoltán Csucsánszky came from Hungary for a trial, but sustained an injury in his first game, a friendly.Brown 1998 121 Uruguayan José Perdomo had more success, arriving on loan from Genoa and impressing Sillett in six games for Coventry. The club were unable to sign him permanently, however.Brown 1998 122 Results did not improve significantly as the autumn progressed, and morale was poor. Star striker David Speedie was dropped from the team after a run of poor performances, and by November the club were in sixteenth position. In November, the club announced that Sillett was leaving his post as manager. Historians do not know if he resigned or was sacked, although he was not working due to sickness at the time and had been planning to leave at the end of the season anyway. The club appointed Terry Butcher as Sillett's replacement.Brown 1998 122 Butcher was still an active player for Rangers at the time, and had been captain of the England team during their World Cup semi-final against West Germany in the summer, so he arrived as player–manager and the club had to pay a transfer fee of up to £450,000 for him. His first game, at home to Liverpool, ended in a defeat.https://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/2019/november/supremos-a-look-at-the-career-of-terry-butcher/ Coventry City F.C. SUPREMOS: A look at the career of Terry Butcher 20 November 2019 18 March 2020 Despite success in the League Cup, Butcher had to wait more than a month before the club won a league game under his management and supporters feared that the club would be dragged into a relegation battle. Butcher bought Ray Woods from Wigan Athletic, but was forced to sell the promising young players Steve Livingstone and Tony Dobson, who both left for Blackburn Rovers. Speedie was also sold, moving to Liverpool for £675,000, following a series of sub-par performances and a poor relationship with Butcher. Butcher then signed Kenny Sansom and Stewart Robson, and the club began to record some better results,Brown 1998 123 recording home wins against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Chelsea, amongst others. By mid-April, with three games remaining, Coventry had moved up to ninth place in the table, but two defeats from their last three games, including a 6–1 defeat at champions Arsenal in the final game, saw them finish in sixteenth. The league season had been a contrast between excellent form at Highfield Road, where the side won ten of nineteen games and were unbeaten after the November defeat to Liverpool, and a poor away record with just one win,Brown 1998 123 at Sheffield United early in the season. The player of the year was Kevin Gallacher, who scored eleven league goals.Brown 1998 307 As a player, Terry Butcher had only started seven games, six in the league, as a result of injury. Cyrille Regis played well throughout the season, but did not score heavily and was released by Coventry at the end of the season, moving to rivals Aston Villa F.C.Brown 1998 123 FA Cup Following defeats to lower-division and non-league opposition in the previous two seasons, Coventry faced the possibility of another upset in the third round against Wigan Athletic.Brown 1998 122 Wigan had some future top-flight players in their team including Peter Atherton, who later signed for Coventry, but were having a poor season, being in seventeenth place in Division Three. The first match, played at Highfield Road on 5 January 1991, ended in a 1–1 draw as Micky Gynn's opener in the 66th minute was cancelled out by a last minute equaliser by Wigan's Darren Patterson.http://www.cockneylatic.co.uk/match-reports/1990-1991/943-coventry-city-1-wigan-athletic-1 1990-1991 - Coventry City 1 Wigan Athletic 1 John Patrick Heeley Cockney Latic 18 March 2020 The replay at Springfield Park was four days later and was won 1–0 by Coventry courtesy of another Gynn goal.18 March 2020 11v11 https://www.11v11.com/matches/wigan-athletic-v-coventry-city-09-january-1991-216384/ Wigan Athletic v Coventry City, 09 January 1991 In the fourth round in late January, a few days after their defeat in the League Cup quarter final, City again drew 1–1 at home against Southampton with Alan Shearer equalising after Brian Kilcline's opener.Brown 1998 306 In the replay at The Dell City had eight players out through injury,Brown 1998 123 and lost Steve Ogrizovic after 24 minutes. Southampton went on to win 2–0.Brown 1998 306 Football League Cup After reaching the semi-final in the 1989–90 season,Brown 1998 300 Coventry again performed well in the 1990–91 Football League Cup, also known as the Rumbelow's Cup. The campaign began in September with a two-legged second-round tie against Bolton Wanderers, in which City won both their home and away games by scores of 4–2 and 3–2 respectively. In the third round, on 31 October, they played at home to Hull City. The visitors dominated the first half but were unable to score, and then suffered the set-back of losing former Coventry player Dave Bamber. Coventry improved after half-time, and won the game 3–0 with goals from Speedie, Livingstone and Regis.Brown 1998 306 In the fourth round on 28 November,Brown 1998 306 Coventry faced Nottingham Forest, in Butcher's third match as manager. Forest had won the tournament in both of the previous two seasons, beating City on each occasion, and started the match as favourites. After 35 minutes, Coventry had moved into a 4–0 lead with Gallacher claiming a hat-trick and Steve Livingstone also scoring. Forest responded, however, and Nigel Clough, son of manager Brian Clough, stunned Highfield Road with a hat-trick of his own, scored in just seven minutes and leaving the score 4–3 at half time.https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/sport/football/football-news/flashback-coventry-citys-famous-5-4-8194722 Coventry Telegraph Flashback: Coventry City's famous 5-4 League Cup victory over Nottingham Forest on this day in 1990 22 March 2020 28 November 2014 Aidan McCartney Forest levelled the match through a Garry Parker goal after half-time, but Livingstone's goal with half an hour remaining won the game for Coventry by a 5–4 scoreline.Brown 1998 124 City had to wait almost two months for their next match in the competition, the quarter-final tie at home to Sheffield Wednesday of the Second Division. Coventry created few chances in the game, with player-manager Terry Butcher sustaining an injury as well, and Nigel Pearson's 9th-minute goal was enough to win the tie for Sheffield Wednesday.Brown 1998 306 Final league table 1990–91 Football League COV Results summary 10 6 3 30 16 1 5 13 12 33 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094021/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1990-1991/table/ 4 March 2016 http://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1990-1991/table Statto.com Coventry City 1990-1991 live 18 March 2020 January 2026 Results by round table b Round Ground A/H/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/H/A/A/H/A/H/H/A/A/H/A/H/H/A/H/A/H/A/H/A/A/H/A/H/A Result L/W/D/L/D/L/W/L/L/W/L/D/L/D/L/L/D/L/W/W/D/L/W/L/D/W/L/W/L/W/D/W/D/D/W/L/D/L Position 19/8/7/11/15/17/12/14/16/12/16/14/15/16/17/18/18/18/16/16/16/16/15/15/16/16/17/14/16/15/15/12/11/11/9/14/14/16 Home Away green2 Win yellow2 Draw red2 Loss 1st 2nd 3rd red1 http://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1990-1991/results Coventry City results for the 1990-1991 season Statto.com 18 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122829/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1990-1991/results 4 March 2016 live dmy-all October 2015 Results Coventry City's score comes firsthttp://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1990-1991/results Coventry City results for the 1990-1991 season Statto.com 18 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122829/http://www.statto.com/football/teams/coventry-city/1990-1991/results 4 March 2016 live dmy-all Legend WinDrawLoss Football League First Division DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 25 August 1990 Manchester UnitedA0–246,715 29 August 1990 EvertonH3–112,902Dobson, Gallacher, Speedie 1 September 1990 Nottingham ForestH2–212,630Borrows (pen), Kilcline (pen) 8 September 1990 Aston VillaA1–227,001Borrows 15 September 1990 WimbledonH0–08,925 22 September 1990 Luton TownA0–18,336 29 September 1990 Queens Park RangersH3–19,897Livingstone (2), Gynn 6 October 1990 Manchester CityA0–226,198 20 October 1990 SouthamptonH1–210,040Borrows (pen) 27 October 1990 Sheffield UnitedA1–017,978Borrows (pen) 3 November 1990 ArsenalH0–215,336 10 November 1990 SunderlandA0–020,101 17 November 1990 LiverpoolH0–122,571 24 November 1990 Leeds UnitedH1–116,183Gallacher 1 December 1990 Crystal PalaceA1–217,052Regis 8 December 1990 EvertonA0–117,472 15 December 1990 Manchester UnitedH2–217,106Regis, Gallacher 22 December 1990 ChelseaA1–216,317Gallacher 26 December 1990 Tottenham HotspurH2–022,731Gynn, Gallacher 29 December 1990 Norwich CityH2–012,039Borrows (pen), Speedie 1 January 1991 Derby CountyA1–115,741Regis 12 January 1991 Nottingham ForestA0–318,344 19 January 1991 Aston VillaH2–115,751Gynn, Speedie 2 February 1991 WimbledonA0–14,061 23 February 1991 SunderlandH0–010,453 2 March 1991 Crystal PalaceH3–110,891Kilcline (2), Peake 9 March 1991 Leeds UnitedA0–228,880 13 March 1991 Luton TownH2–19,725Borrows (pen), Pearce 16 March 1991 Queens Park RangersA0–19,510 23 March 1991 Manchester CityH3–113,198Regis, Gynn, Gallacher 30 March 1991 Tottenham HotspurA2–229,033Smith, Gallacher 1 April 1991 ChelseaH1–014,272Gynn 6 April 1991 Norwich CityA2–211,550Gynn, Gallacher 9 April 1991 LiverpoolA1–131,063Gynn 13 April 1991 Derby CountyH3–011,961Gallacher (2), Woods 20 April 1991 SouthamptonA1–215,461Gynn 4 May 1991 Sheffield UnitedH0–017,254 11 May 1991 ArsenalA1–641,039Gallacher FA Cup 1990-91 FA Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR35 January 1991 Wigan AthleticH1–110,802GynnR3R9 January 1991 Wigan AthleticA1–07,429GynnR426 January 1991 SouthamptonH1–114,013KilclineR4R29 January 1991 SouthamptonA0–217,001 League Cup 1990-91 Football League Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR2 1st Leg 26 September 1990 Bolton WanderersH4–26,193Livingstone (2), Gynn, GallacherR2 2nd Leg 9 October 1990 Bolton WanderersA3–2 (won 7–4 on agg)5,222Regis (2), GallacherR331 October 1990 Hull CityH3–07,708Regis, Livingstone, SpeedieR428 November 1990 Nottingham ForestH5–416,304Livingstone (2), Gallacher (3)QF23 January 1991 Sheffield WednesdayH0–120,712 Full Members Cup 1990-91 Full Members Cup +RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersNR219 December 1990 Derby CountyA0–17,270 Players First-team squad http://www.11v11.com/teams/coventry-city/tab/players/season/1991 All Coventry City players: 1991 11v11.com 2015-10-18 yes yes ENG GK Tim Clarke yes ENG GK Steve Ogrizovic yes ENG GK Steve Sutton on loan from Nottingham Forest yes ENG GK Keith Waugh yes ENG DF Peter Billing yes ENG DF Martyn Booty yes ENG DF Brian Borrows yes ENG DF Terry ButcherButcher was born in Singapore, but was raised in England and represented England at U-21 level before making his international debut for England in May 1980. player-manager yes ENG DF Tony Dobson yes ENG DF Paul Edwards yes ENG DF Brian Kilcline yes ENG DF Trevor Peake yes ENG DF Andy Pearce yes ENG DF Kenny Sansom yes ENG DF David Titterton yes ENG MF Howard Clark yes ENG MF Dean Emerson yes yes ENG MF Terry Fleming yes ENG MF Micky Gynn yes ENG MF Lee Hurst yes SCO MF Kevin MacDonald yes ENG MF Lloyd McGrath yes ENG MF Craig Middleton yes URU MF José Perdomo yes ENG MF Stewart Robson yes ENG MF David Smith yes ENG MF Keith Thompson yes ENG MF Ray Woods yes ENG FW Kevin Drinkell yes SCO FW Kevin Gallacher yes ENG FW Steve Livingstone yes ENG FW Cyrille RegisRegis was born in Maripasoula, French Guiana, but was raised in England from the age of 4 and represented England at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for England in February 1982. yes ENG FW Robert Rosario yes SCO FW David Speedie Transfers In DatePosNameFromFee22 October 1990GKENG Tim ClarkeENG Halesowen Town£25,00030 January 1991FWENG Ray WoodsENG Wigan Athletic£200,000 Source:https://www.11v11.com/transfers/1991/t38/ 11v11 18 March 2020 Premier and Football League transfers - Coventry City 1991 Out DatePosNameToFee1 July 1990GKENG Dean KielyKiely was born in Salford, England, and represented England at U-15, U-16, and U-18 level, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally and represented the Republic of Ireland at B level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in November 1999.ENG York CitySigned3 August 1990DFENG Greg DownsENG Birmingham CityTransfer17 January 1991FWENG Steve LivingstoneENG Blackburn Rovers£450,00017 January 1991DFENG Tony DobsonENG Blackburn Rovers£300,000January 1991FWSCO David SpeedieENG Liverpool£650,000 Source:https://www.11v11.com/transfers/1991/f38/ 11v11 18 March 2020 Premier and Football League transfers - Coventry City 1991Brown 1998 121Brown 1998 123 Transfers in: £225,000 Transfers out: £750,000 Total spending: £525,000 Notes Notes notes 2 References Brassington David 1989 2 Singers to Sky Blues: The story of Coventry City Football Club Sporting and Leisure Press Limited Buckingham 9780860234524 Brown Jim 1998 Coventry City: The Elite Era : a Complete Record Desert Island Books Westcliff-on-Sea 9781874287032 https://books.google.com/books?id=g-L-PQAACAAJ Category:Coventry City F.C. seasons Coventry City