Middle row (l-r); Dennis Mortimer, Brian Hill, Bill Glazier, Brian Joicey, Eric McManus, Billy Rafferty, Jeff Blockley
Front row (l-r); Ernie Machin, Chris Cattlin, Roy Barry, Noel Cantwell (Manager), Neil Martin, Dave Clements, Willie Carr
By Jim Brown
As Coventry City fans eagerly awaited the European Fairs Cup draw in the summer of 1970 chairman Derrick Robins announced more exciting development plans for Highfield Road. The plan was to build a double decker stand at the Spion Kop end of the ground incorporating a sports complex. Robins announced: ‘within three years it is proposed to build an eight to ten thousand seater double-decker stand with standing room for 18,000 beneath it.’
One person who did not agree with the ground plans was director John Camkin, who resigned over ‘a matter of club policy’ in August 1970. A key person in the Sky Blue Revolution, Camkin’s departure signalled that all was not well in the camp – he believed the club needed to invest in players and hold fire with ground improvements.
Ironically, a few days after Camkin’s surprise departure City paid a British record fee for a full-back of £100,000 for Sheffield Wedneday’s Wilf Smith, fighting off a strong challenge from Chelsea for the England under 23 international.
Despite the lure of European competition there were signs in the early part of the season that City’s great tide of support was beginning to ebb – this probably influenced Robins’ decision not to proceed with his ground plans. Of the first half a dozen home games only one, against Wolves, attracted over 30,000, and that was over 7,000 down on the previous season. When Bulgarian side Trakia Plovdiv arrived for the very first European game at the stadium only 20,000 were at the ground and the European baptism was an unexpectedly tepid occasion. Admittedly City had as good as secured a second round place by winning the first leg 4-1 and interest in the game was low but there were other factors, not least the lack of goals scored by City and the poor quality of some of the football served up in an unimpressive start to the season.
The second round pitted City against Bayern Munich whose players Beckenbauer, Maier and Muller had been the backbone of the West Germany side which the previous summer made an impressive run to the Mexico World Cup semi-finals, and Bayern were on the verge of becoming one of the top European sides of the 1970’s. Without Glazier in goal (he was replaced by the unfortunate Eric McManus) City were thrashed 1-6 on a waterlogged pitch in Bavaria, so the home leg, originally earÂmarked as a potential 50,000 all-ticket extravaganza, was watched by just over half that number. The crowd, who roared the team on as though it wasn’t a lost cause, saw the Sky Blues regain some of their lost pride with a 2-1 victory over the Germans. For thirty minutes they pummelled the Germans and three world-class saves from Maier kept the scores level. David Clements had an inspired game, making goals from Neil Martin and John O’Rourke, and Bayern were relieved at the final whistle.
League form was patchy with goals hard to come by but in October the BBC Match of the Day cameras were perfectly placed to record City’s 3-1 home win over champions Everton. The highlight was a memorable free-kick goal by Ernie Hunt. Willie Carr stood over the free-kick on the edge of the penalty area at the West End. With Hunt lurking, Carr flicked the ball up between his heels and as it fell Hunt volleyed it over Everton’s bemused wall and past a scrambling Andy Rankin in goal. The ‘donkey-kick’, as it became known, remains one of the most remarkable goals ever seen at Highfield Road, perfect television with the images repeated for years as part of the programme’s opening credits.
In the League Cup, City had a faint whiff of Wembley in their nostrils after good home wins over West Ham and Derby, but were sunk on a wet night at White Hart Lane by a hat-trick from the striker of the season, Martin Chivers. Any thoughts of glory in the FA Cup were rudely quashed on a Monday afternoon in January at Spotland, home of Third Division Rochdale. City were humbled 1-2 in a game which ranks as one of their worst cup humiliations.
The defeat at Rochdale was something of a watershed. Before the season was over, Neil Martin had left for Nottingham Forest and other senior players were under threat from youngsters like Brian Alderson, Billy Rafferty, Bobby Parker and the increasingly impressive Dennis Mortimer. The final tally of 37 goals was the lowest for over 50 years and the team failed to score on nineteen occasions – late season home victories over Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle were reminders of how potent the side could be.
The unattractive fayre had its impact on crowds and the average fell again, by 6,000 to 26,039 – below Midland rivals Wolves and Aston Villa and the lowest average for five seasons. Looking back it is therefore something of a relief to find that the Sky Blues finished a comfortable tenth in Division One.
Away from the spotlight, City’s youth policy was generating a wealth of talent under the tutelage of Ron Farmer, so it came as a major shock when the youth team were knocked out of the FA Youth Cup by Arsenal. City’s young starlets, Mick McGuire and Alan Dugdale, joined Bobby Parker in England’s winning team in the Little World Cup.
