 |
 |
| BY KEV MONKS COVENTRY CITY 0-0 NOTTINGHAM FOREST Well, what I can I say after that. Not the result that we wanted and the Sky Blues support in the 18,467 crowd left Highfield Road again totally disappointed with the Sky Blues. City had controlled the match but failed to put away the numerous chances they created against a Forest side that was reduced to nine men. Stern John, who had put the ball in the net in the fourth minute but saw his effort ruled out for offside, was red carded for a foul on the impressive Roland Nilsson and encroaching at a free kick and Mattieu Luis-Jean was also dismissed for two bookable offences. Both were bad challenges and Louis-Jean could have no complaint for his dismissal. However, as soon as Forest were down to nine men, you knew City would struggle, they always do when the opposition has one or two players red-carded. City, playing a 3-5-2 formation, created plenty of chances throughout, with the impressive Roland Nilsson and Mo Konjic pushing forward to feed Thompson,Chippo and O'Neill with the balls to get forward. However, these were wasted with some of Thompson's efforts either too high or nowhere near the intended person. The City fans finally turned on Thompson and he was replaced by Edworthy with seven minutes left. Three of the best chances fell to Keith O'Neill who fired just over in the 14th minute,saw his shot tipped over by Ward in the 43rd minute and had a shot kicked off the line two minutes from the end. Jay Bothroyd again battled hard but he still has a lot to learn about football in the Nationwide League and would not be playing had the Massinga deal gone through , whilst Lee Hughes seems less of a threat with every game he plays for us. Even playing with two defenders when the out of sorts Paul Williams was replaced did not do the trick against a Forest side that was desperately clinging on to a point. The crowd in the City areas of the ground had been getting more and more restless as the game went on and with three minutes left the "Strachan Out" chants started to appear. The numbers demanding a new manager seemed to increase on the final whistle as those still in the ground made their views known whilst the Forest players celebrated with their fans. With the club still in a financial mess, there is currently no way that City can afford to pay off Strachan if Richardson does decide to make the change that the fans are calling for. Then there is the matter of who is going to replace him and how much of a budget and money to spend on players a new team boss would require. So unless Strachan decides to quit, it looks like we are stuck with him and his side-kick Gary Pendry. What we really need is someone who can stick the ball in the net, there must be someone out there who has the height in the air and the finishing skills to bag twenty goals a season. At this point in time, this is what City should be looking to spend what money they have, rather than paying off someone they don't want. TEAM 13 Hedman,24 Nilsson,4 Williams (17 Zuniga 74),22 Konjic,3 Hall,16 O'Neill,11 Chippo,7 Thompson (2 Edworthy 83),8 Carseley, 9 Hughes,21 Bothroyd SNU 30 Goram,5 Shaw,15 Quinn RATINGS 13 Hedman 7/10 Not really tested, did ok. 24 Nilsson 8/10 Good solid game 4 Williams 6/10 The hoof merchant was at it again,Should have played Shaw instead 22 Konjic 8/10 Good Solid game, won everything in the air and might have scored 3 Hall 7/10 Tried on the left, but not one of his better games 16 O'Neill 8/10 Good performance and unlucky not to score 11 Chippo 7/10 Had a better game,but some of his passing was poor 7 Thompson 6/10 If he is our main hope of creating goals, well... 8 Carseley 6/10 Pretty anonymous for most of the match 9 Hughes 6/10 Is he the goal-scoring machine we thought he was or a poor imitation 21 Bothroyd 8/10 Battled hard and unlucky not to score 17 Zuniga 6/10 Did not do a lot in the few minutes he had. 2 Edworthy 6/10 Ditto |