The Opponent: Coventry City
Darn Gremlins. Here we go again. So Coventry, the city that was the 3rd most bombed city by the Luftwaffe in WWII, are today’s opponents. A good following from Warwickshire is expected today with the Arkells corner sold out but heavy rain is forecast which could make the journey back quite soggy for some of the visitors today. It seems to have been a fairly quiet week all things STFC, with recent weeks in mind, hopefully this is a positive thing as today will undoubtedly be a test against a decent Coventry outfit. Its fair to say Coventry have had their fair share of struggles over the last few years and currently find themselves playing their home matches at Northampton Town’s ground, Sixfields. Maybe its just me but I can’t think of Sixfields without thinking of the mad Italian running across the pitch.
Interestingly, Coventry has a large ethnic minority population, making up 33.4% of the population as of the 2011 census. The ethnic minority population is concentrated in the Foleshill and the St Michael’s areas and Islam is the largest non-Christian religion, but the composition of the ethnic minority population is not typical of the UK with significant numbers of other South Asians. Coventry is well known for the legendary 11th century exploits of Lady Godiva who, according to legend, rode through the city naked on horseback in protest at high taxes being levied on the city folk by her husband Leofric, Earl of Mercia. According to the legend the residents of the city were commanded to look away as she rode, but one man did not and was allegedly struck blind. He became known as Peeping Tom thus originating a new idiom, or metonym, in English. Leaked documents claiming Sam Cam is planning a similar protest have so far proved to be thankfully unfounded. Coventry has a rich manufacturing history with such motor giants as Peugeot, Jaguar and Triumph although the last Coventry machine tool manufacturer was Matrix Churchill which was forced to close in the wake of the Iraqi Supergun (Project Babylon) scandal. It had been owned by the Saddam Hussein government, via front companies, and closed amidst much controversy and bad feeling. It seems Coventry is fairly popular on an international basis being twinned with no less than 26 other cities.
Where the opposition gather – http://www.skybluestalk.co.uk/threads/40232-Swindon-Pubs-*non-made-up-new-stadium-thread-alert*
One of a few uninteresting threads regarding today’s match. Apparently The Merlin is pricey.
Last 6 – WDLLWD (Currently 11th on 20 points)
They have served us both – Dave Bamber, Ernie Hunt, Miles Storey, Abdul Said, Trevor Benjamin, Tim Flowers, Jake Findlay, Frank Peters, Danny Ward, Paul Trollope, Graham Oakey, Arthur Beadsworth, Ady Williams
The Odds - Swindon 6/4 Draw 9/4 Coventry 9/5 The return of Leon Clarke sees him priced at 11/2 to score the 1st goal, the same as Nicky Ajose and Dany N’Guessan. My long shot of the day has to be with Coral. Ryan Mason to score 2 or more goals is priced at 14/1. I reckon he is due some goals, why not today?
The Son Says – The last time we met Coventry at home it was his birthday party at The County Ground and we had a good look behind the scenes, followed by a decent result. 2-0 today I am told.
The Prediction – I sense a big performance today. 3-1 win with a Mason double and 1 from Ajose. Crowd will be 9’487 with 1423 from Coventry.
And Finally – A minor planet, 3009 Coventry discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1973 is named after the city!
