Coventry City – SciFiFootball

Look! A Lower League Week!!

September 18, 2013 David Stringer

Going up tonight, the latest Lower League Week, covering events in Leagues One and Two, is now live.

Northampton have had a surprisingly bad start to League Two given their playoff finish last season; Hartlepool and Carlisle have their first wins of the season; Sheffield United are struggling in League One; I’ve covered the latest, (relatively) mundane developments for Coventry; Leyton Orient can’t stop winning even if they wanted to (though I assume they don’t); Notts County can’t win at all; and there’ve been a load of goals in League One, now officially* the best league in the world.

*It’s at least as official as Sky Sports’ insistence that the Premier League is the best league in the world.

So how can you say no to all that? Be honest, you can’t, can you?

Click here to read Lower League Week: Northampton Are Cobblers And Sheffield United Still Blunt

FootballOpinion

This Fortnight in Football

September 14, 2013September 13, 2013 David Stringer

I wasn’t able to get a Lower League Week finished last week, so earlier this week a Lower League Fortnight went up.

It covered Celtic’s offers for Peterborough’s Lee Tomlin; some other interesting late transfer window action; Hartlepool’s 5-0 win over Bradford and the context to explain why this was so bizarre; Bradford bouncing back with a 4-0 win over Brentford; Tom Pope opening his account for the season; Greg Abbott being sacked by Carlisle; Sheffield United’s new Saudi Arabian owners; Coventry winnin to cancel out their ten point deduction; and the huge figures Portsmouth owe to their former players.

Click here to read The Lower League Fortnight – Pay Up Pompey

FootballOpinion

Goals Galore for Coventry and Peterborough

August 29, 2013 David Stringer

Today at Bornoffside.net, the latest Lower League Week is up.

Carlisle’s results this weeks have been less bad than previously; Bradford’s Nahki Wells has broken a club scoring record; There’s been lots of goals for Coventry and Peterborough but few for Hartlepool; Wycombe have had a double financial boost; Mark Cooper has started well at Swindon but still has a few problems ahead.

Peterborough are binging on goals - any chance one or two could be spared for Hartlepool? — Peterborough are bingeing on goals – any chance one or two could be spared for Hartlepool?

Plus, there’s been a few upsets in the second round of the League Cup.

Click here to read The Lower League Week – Posh Peterborough Slaughter the Royals

FootballOpinion

Mistakes Made at Coventry

August 21, 2013October 1, 2013 David Stringer

At Bornoffside.net, the Lower League Week has gone up today.

There’s some bits on the Football League and governance in general (it’s more interesting than it sounds); a large section on Coventry; Carlisle and Greg Abbott; Swindon’s new boss Mark Cooper; Oldham’s kitman doing a runner; and Bobby Moore, Leyton Orient legend.

It takes a lot to be a legend at a club you never played for.

Click here to read The Lower League Week: Michael Knighton’s Bloody Awful Poetry

FootballOpinion

Wolves v Blades… And a Tale of Two Coventries. Coventrii?

August 15, 2013 David Stringer

Today my latest Lower League Week went up at BornOffside.

It featured stories on Wolves trying to clear out unwanted players so that they can take a star player from Sheffield United, one of their rivals; Exeter have decided to expand their fanbase by appealing to Brazilians; Walsall have started surprisingly well and Carlisle surprisingly badly; there’s some brief thoughts on Hartlepool; and two different versions of Coventry City were playing at ‘home’ at the same time on Sunday.

We have a saying here in England - home is where the dangerously amateurish and visually repulsive DIY is. — We have a saying here in England – home is where the dangerously amateurish and visually repulsive DIY is.

Basically, it’s just another ordinary, bizarrely colourful week in the lower leagues!

Click here to read Lower League Week: Wolves at Sheffield United’s Door

FootballOpinion

Later than Wished, Last Week’s Lower League Week

August 10, 2013 David Stringer

The Football League has returned, and that means that, during the week, so did the Lower League Week.

On Wednesday, for Born Offside, I wrote about the Coventry fiasco; the media’s lazy reporting of the Coventry fiasco; a Crawley fan being banned for being mean to Ian Holloway; Northampton beginning pre-season with a bonfire; the opening weekend’s matches; and an Accrington employee being naughty and breaking some betting laws.

This was on the first page of searches for 'betting' and I'm too lazy to look further. — This was on the first page of searches for ‘betting’ and I’m too lazy to look further.

There was also some lovely sarcasm from Torquay United, and Notts County tempting fate.

You can read all that and more at The Lower League Week: Coventry’s Ten Points and Northampton’s Bonfire of the Memories

FootballOpinion

The Sun Still Shines in the Lower Leagues

August 3, 2013August 2, 2013 David Stringer

The Football League is set to start again today, so it’s about time for me to get round to linking to a couple of articles I wrote during the week for Bornoffside.net, summing up the events concerning the teams of League One and Two.

This stadium was as packed during the summer as it will be during Coventry's matches. — This stadium was as packed during the summer as it will be during Coventry’s matches.

Wolves have been named as the favourites for League One after being relegated for two years in a row, but haven’t done all that much in the transfer market; Coventry have been in deep financial trouble, and have made the deeply unpopular decision to move the team 30 miles from home, with only 300 fans following them (seriously). Swindon and Walsall have stripped their team away, while Exeter have arranged to follow the example of Arsenal, Manchester United and others by jetting off around the world for a pre-season tour next summer. But in there case, there is a justification beyond ‘we like money’.

Click here to read Lower League Summer: League One
Click here to read Lower League Summer: League Two

FootballOpinion

Last Week of the Season

June 2, 2013June 2, 2013 David Stringer

This is a late link yet again, with the final, double-sized edition of the Lower League Week going up on Bornoffside.net during the week.

Some of the bigger stories were Coventry’s stadium apparently being on fire; the playoff finals; new managers for Doncaster and Hartlepool; Wolves and Sheffield United still searching for bosses (at the time of writing); the effects and to an extent the morality of parachute payments; early summer transfers; Bury’s financial troubles, and Billy Sharp being playful. Probably.

Click here to read The Lower League Fortnight – Preparations for Next Season

FootballOpinion

A Little Late Lower League Week

May 20, 2013May 21, 2013 David Stringer

The second last Lower League Week went up late in the week last week, so appropriately enough, the link to it is going up late as well.

This edition covers John Hughes’ sacking by Hartlepool, James Beattie’s appointment as Accrington manager, and former Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler announcing his intent to return to management… and his belief that he would also have taken them up this year.

After two years of spending heavily, Swindon have announced their intention to make massive cuts for next year. Portsmouth will probably not be able to pay a transfer fee for a few years, as a result of being required to pay ‘football debts’ in full, and there’s the potential for a Coventry buyout by Preston Haskell IV, and investment as a result.

An Oxford supporters’ group, OxVox, have helped force the club’s ground to be designated as a ‘community asset’, protecting it against owners who want to sell it for a quick profit.

Aldershot and Wycombe have had financial problems, while a Yeovil fan has been denied the chance to take a flag into the playoff final… unless he paid £1500 for eight people to help him.

Yeovil manager Gary Johnson, immediately after having his flag yoinked from his fist. Possibly. — Yeovil manager Gary Johnson, immediately after having his flagpole yoinked from his fist. Possibly.

Click here to read Lower League Week – Managers and Money

FootballOpinion

More Late Drama Than Sky Atlantic’s Through the Night Programming

May 12, 2013 David Stringer

On Friday BornOffside published my latest Lower League Week.

It begins with a summary of the events in the League One and Two playoff semi-finals, which were pretty dramatic.

I also covered the smaller, end of season stories.
Bury fan favourite Efe Sodje is in conflict with manager Kevin Blackwell, refusing to sign a new contract unless he leaves. Steve Fletcher has finally retired at the age of 40, not because decades of centre-forwarding have taken their toll on his body, but simply because he’s pretty far down the pecking order now.

Coventry were locked out of their stadium again after continuing to refuse to pay the rent (what are they like!) and Martin Ling, who’d been on sick leave, has been replaced as Torquay manager by Alan Knill.

Having narrowly survived relegation, Dagenham caretaker manager Wayne Burnett has been appointed as permanent manager, while Brian Flynn has decided against continuing as Doncaster boss despite their last minute title win.

And Luke McCormick has returned to Plymouth, the club that terminated his contract after he was convicted of causing the death of two young boys. Yeah, it’s not all sweetness and light.

Click here to read The Lower League Week – The Stoppage Time Equaliser Edition