Second row (l-r); Alf Wood (Trainer), Billy Tedds, Mike Golder, Bob Wesson, Arthur Lightening, Ken Batchelor, Ray Straw, Bob Allen, Ted Roberts (Trainer)
Third row (l-r); Peter Hill, Colin Holder, Stan Clarke, Billy Frith (Manager), Frank Kletzenbauer, Ken Satchwell, Brian Hill
Front row (l-r); Stewart Imlach, Bill Myerscough, Ron Hewitt, Alan Cowin
By Jim Brown
When the fixture lists for the 1961-62 season was published City had fixed thirteen of 23 home games for evening kick-offs with nine of them on Friday evenings, continuing the experiment from the previous season. Chairman Robins pointed out that it was purely financial – the club thought they could make more money at the gate when there were less competing attractions, on a Friday night.
On the pitch things went from bad to worse and a League Cup exit at Fourth Division Workington did not help manager Billy Frith’s cause. By October gates were down further with less than 7,500 at the Bradford home game and Friday night games not attracting many more. Team morale was low but the FA Cup seemed to offer a lifeline to a season rapidly going downhill as well as a financial boost. After a First round win over Gillingham, Frith greeted the home draw with Southern League Kings Lynn with confidence: ‘It looks as though our luck with the draw has changed’. His confidence was misplaced.
Defeat to Kings Lynn brought an end to Frith’s second spell in charge. Nemo in the Coventry Evening Telegraph described it as Black Saturday and ‘probably the most grim page in City’s modern history’. Despite City taking the lead through an own goal, the Linnets quickly bounced back with two goals. At the final whistle the ground was virtually empty, about 1,000 hardy souls watched to the bitter end.
Legend has it that Jimmy Hill was sat in the back row of the old stand, and four days later had been appointed City’s tenth post-war manager. Hill was offered the manager’s job, at a lunch at Derrick Robins’s house in Leamington, a week earlier, but deferred any decision until after he had seen the side against Kings Lynn. On the following day Hill telephoned a shocked Robins to tell him he had decided to accept his offer. Robins had assumed that the disastrous performance would have dissuaded Hill from taking the job. Thus began a partnership that would take Coventry City from Third Division strugglers to the First Division in five exciting seasons.
Most City fans found it hard to get too excited by the new manager and for Hill’s first game in charge against Northampton the crowd of 13,000 included 4,000 Cobblers’ fans. City’s 1-0 victory was the first of four wins in Hill’s first month in charge and bought him some breathing space but the first big impact of the changes was the club’s PR profile. A 10-year ban on players talking to the press was lifted and every night the CET seemed to carry a story as Hill strived to keep the club in the public consciousness. After the Boxing Day game with Grimsby the club invited young fans to have ‘pop and crisps’ and get the players’ autographs after the game. The club expected 100 youngsters but over 500 turned up and the players patiently signed for over two hours. An inexpensive idea generated masses of goodwill amongst the future fans of the club and many of City’s over-50 supporters still remember it with affection.
In the league the honeymoon was soon over and Hill realised the team needed a major overhaul. Despite beating the league leaders Portsmouth in April and a satisfying win at Peterborough, the form was patchy and the side finished 14th. Crowds dipped and before the end of the season there were two home crowds under 6,000. The final average was 10,256, the lowest since 1928. The Friday-night experiment had proved inconclusive but Hill made it clear that he wanted to revert to traditional Saturday afternoons.
The new team was taking shape and with several senior professionals eased out before the season ended a handful of youngsters got a chance but major surgery was required.
