By Jim Brown
Coventry City’s third season in the Football League saw the club continuing to struggle in Division Two. Despite a 5-0 thrashing at Fulham on the opening day, City started well with home wins over Rotherham and Fulham extending the unbeaten home run to 10 games, the latter game attracting a record 25,000 crowd to Highfield Road. Home wins over Wolves and West Ham and a rare away win at Barnsley pushed City briefly into the top six. Disaster however was around the corner and the team suffered five straight defeats and a run of 10 games without a win. Manager Evans had few options to change the team with a small squad and rumours of financial difficulties circulating.
During the miserable autumn City did manage to win an FA Cup tie, knocking out Rotherham County in a home replay, only to fall to Third Division Southport Central in the final qualifying round.
The team’s league form improved after Christmas but it was the goals of Sammy Stevens which kept City in the division – he scored 16 goals in 22 games and became the new hero of the City terraces. His goals won crucial away games at Port Vale and Bradford and home victories against Leeds and Hull kept City’s head above the relegation waters and the relegation battle was decided in a hectic Easter week. On Easter Saturday City got a big point at Notts County before a double header with fellow strugglers Bristol City. On Easter Monday before a large crowd of almost 19,000 City grabbed a vital 2-0 win at Ashton Gate both goals coming from Stevens. The following day the teams fought out a 1-1 draw at Highfield Road, leaving City with the advantage. On the following Saturday a 4-2 home win over Notts County before a full-house of 25,000, ensured City’s safety and condemned Bristol to the drop to the Third Division with Bradford Park Avenue.
Behind the scenes the rumours of financial problems grew apace. The Supporters Club tried unsuccessfully to discover the true situation and the club’s shareholders called for an Extraordinary General Meeting. The move prompted action in the form of chairman David Cooke, who up to this time had been the sole guarantor of the club’s debts, cancelling £13,835 of debt owed to him and persuading the other directors to cancel all loans due to them. At the same time the whole board of directors resigned. Cooke’s gestures undoubtedly saved the club from financial disaster and he was appointed President of the club with Walter Harris, the Chairman of the Supporters Club, forming a new board of directors. At the time of his appointment to the board Cooke had said: ‘What money I possess I have made in Coventry, and if I can do anything to further the interests of Coventry City I feel I should do it’.
The new board decided that what was needed to change the club’s fortunes was a new image. In place of the old blue and white came red and green ‘in harmony’ with the civic colours. A new kit of red and green halves was introduced for the 1922-23 season and during the summer the club’s offices and stands were repainted in the new colours.
