The Boothroyd freefall threatens Coventry
When writing about Coventry's televised trip to QPR on Sunday, it dawned on us that this is the third successive campaign in which a team managed by Aidy Boothroyd has started a season spectacularly well - by which we mean exceeding all expectations - only to then slump even more dramatically.
Some Sky Blues fans were initially sceptical about the choice of Boothroyd to replace Chris Coleman in the summer yet he led the club to their traditional encouraging start and then enjoyed a strong autumn to see the west midlands outfit occupying a play-off place at the halfway stage.
Coventry's chances of achieving what would incredibly be their first top-six finish since dropping out of the Premier League a decade ago have faded to [9.4] recently though following a run of seven games without a win which makes them the worst performers in the Championship over that period.
Spirits were raised last weekend when they improved to hold Sheffield United at the Ricoh Arena, but a point at home to a struggling side is hardly a momentum-shifting result, and supporters should perhaps be concerned by their boss' record for overseeing numerous post-Christmas collapses.
In his final full season at Watford, the recently relegated Hornets took 32 points from their first 13 matches and, after a brief dip in form, recovered to lead the way in February, before they stalled completely to wind up sixth, losing both legs of their play-off semi-final for a 6-1 aggregate defeat.
Boothroyd rebuilt his reputation at Colchester in League One last term, however a similar pattern emerged, with the Essex club four points off table-topping Norwich with 14 fixtures remaining then somehow conspiring to miss out on even the top six by an eight-point margin.
Is history repeating itself? If you think the theory has substance then a back-to-lay investment on the Sky Blues going down is worth considering at [24.0]...
Published: 20 Jan 2011
Coventry Fan (January 20, 2011 3:39 PM) said:
Since when has Coventry been in the East Midlands?
LittleMo (January 20, 2011 3:44 PM) said:
Boothroyd's tactics generally improve thumping the ball as high and far down the pitch as possible.
Opposition players are often dazzled by constantly having to stare at the floodlights during the winter months, but once the afternoons get lighter, those neanderthal tactics are a bit easier to deal with.
There's your explanation.
Betfair Football (January 20, 2011 4:20 PM) said:
You're quite right, we must have been holding our compass upside down when writing that. Apologies for relocating your club!
Very droll, LittleMo.