By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions. We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
The Sky Blues return to the Ricoh Arena against Blackpool, as they look to make amends for defeat earlier in the season.
City boss Mark Robins has said how it was a disappointing result against the Tangerines last time, but it was a turning point in their season.
“It was turning point for us because since then we have been really good, we have had some really good performances, it is a work in progress.
“I don’t like saying that in fairness, so what it is at the moment, is we are playing some really good football and it is good to watch, we just need to put everything together and finish of the chances.
“Good team Blackpool, they are a team that works hard, and they’ve got some good players.
“They’ve added one and think they are trying to get one more, whether that is before tomorrow or not, we have to wait and see.
“We know they give us a tough game and they defend well and don’t concede to many because they stay in as a unit, again it is down to us to try and play in the manner that we have as late and go and enjoy it.”
Robins admits that he feels the supporters frustrations in recent weeks, with the amount of chances being converted in recent weeks.
However, the positives for the Sky Blues are those chances are being created and City are playing entertaining football which is good to watch.
The Sky Blues boss told how he won’t be changing the way City play, as they continue to show great signs week in week, as they come up against Blackpool.
He said: “This is the period of embedding philosophy’s and the way we play, things have evolved from last season to now.
“The recruitment in the summer and what we have evolved to and what we need to do in the future, continuing moving forward with signings in the summer and signings for now and see how close to the play-offs we can get.
“Walsall we were winning until late, Wimbledon we should have won and the game on the weekend we should have won.
“That is 8 more points there and we would be closer to where we want to be, but there is not a whole lot wrong, yes there is tweaks needed, can we make even better chances, and can we make them pay.
“There is still a lot of work to be done and still a lot of learning needed, we have got to continue in the same vain, it is good to watch there is no doubt about it, it is just frustrating as we are not turning the unbelievably good chances into goals, that is not saying the players aren’t capable because they are, we just need to make some changes and stay positive and true to who we are.
“We are playing really good football, with some great signs, we will continue in the same vein, but I share the frustration of others, even the players are frustrated with themselves at times, we just need to tweak that to make that side a bit better, but there is absolutely no reason to change anything, we are on a really decent journey and we will continue to do it.”
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
PREVIEW: Sky Blues Take On Blackpool at Ricoh Arena
Founded: 1887 Stadium: Bloomfield Road Capacity: 17,338 Address: Seasiders Way, Blackpool, FY1 6JJ Pitch Size: 112 yeards x 74 yards Club Nickname: The Seasiders Year Ground Opened: 1899 CCFC Kit Colour: Sky Blue
Famous Game: 1953 FA Cup Final
The 1953 FA Cup Final was held at Wembley stadium between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers after Blackpool beating Tottenham 2-1 and Bolton beating Everton 4-3 in the semi-finals. The game was considered the first major TV audience sporting event. The game got off to an exciting start with Bolton taking the lead two minutes in, Nat Lofthouse being first goal scorer. It took Blackpool until the 35th minute to equalise when Stan Mortensen got his first goal of the game. However, Bolton would retake the lead four minutes later, when captain Willie Moir scored, giving Bolton a 2-1 lead the break.
Bolton’s Eric Bell would double their lead on the 55th minute, making Bolton look in full control with 35 minutes to play. The lead would be brought back to one on the 68th minute when Mortensen got his second. The turn around would then be complete on the 89th minute when Stan Mortensen got his hat-trick which to this day is the only Wembley FA Cup final to feature a hat-trick.
The dramatic end to the game would not stop there though, as three minutes late Bill Perry bagged the winner for Blackpool. Despite the hat-trick from Mortensen, the final was actually named the Mathews final due to the performance by Stanley Matthews being a big instigator in Blackpool’s cup win.
Club Legend: Jimmy Armfield
Armfield started his career in 1954 at the only club he ever played for Blackpool and was part of the squad which to date is the highest Blackpool have ever finished, when in the 1955-56 season they finished 2nd in the First Division.
Armfield was voted young player of the year in 1959 and then Blackpool’s player of the year in 1966. After 17 years with Blackpool and making 569 club appearances, as well as 43 appearances for England.
Armfield played his last game against Manchester United at Bloomfield Road on the 1st May 1971. After retiring Armfield moved into management firstly with Bolton between 1971-1974 and then with Leeds between 1974-1978.
Armfield unfortunately passed away in Blackpool in January 2018.
Last Six Lost- Rochdale 2-1 Blackpool Drew- Wimbledon 0-0 Blackpool Lost- Blackpool 0-1 Sunderland Lost- Blackpool 0-3 Arsenal Won- Portsmouth 0-1 Blackpool Drew- Blackpool 0-0 Shrewsbury
Head-to-Head Sky Blues (W): 9 Draw:5 Blackpool (W): 16
Opposition:
Terry McPhillips side currently sit level on points on the Sky Blues but one place above due to goal difference.
Blackpool have only won one of their four games in 2019, however it was very strong win against league leaders Portsmouth.
Having drew their most recent game against Shrewsbury at Bloomfield Road, the Seasiders will be looking to match their last result against Coventry where they won 2-0 and push themselves closer to the play-off positions.
Last Time We Met:
The last time the two clubs met was back in August when they met for their first league fixture between each other in the 2018-19 season.
The two teams showed why they are so close in the table when a hard fought first half kept the clubs at stalemate at the break. However, minutes into the restart a header from Mark Cullen but the home side into the lead.
Coventry responded great to the goal and looked to be working their way back into the game shown with the overall 15 shots taken by the Sky Blues. However, with ten minutes to play the Seasiders doubled their lead thanks to Joseph Dodoo.
Sky Bet Odds:
The Sky Blues head into the weekend's clash as 6/5 favourites with Sky Bet, as they look to get back to winning ways.
Blackpool head into the game as underdogs at 23/10, whilst the draw is being priced at 21/10 tomorrow afternoon.
Conor Chaplin has been in good goal scoring form recently, and he can be backed to open the scoring as 5/1 favourite.
Elsewhere, the Sky Blues have conceded only 12 goals at home this season, and they are 5/2 to win to nil.
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Coventry manager Mark Robins could be without the services of midfielder Tom Bayliss for the home game with Blackpool.
Bayliss is struggling with a heel problem and is a major doubt for the visit of the Tangerines. In better news, right-back Dujon Sterling has recovered from the illness that kept him out of last week's defeat at Plymouth.
Fellow defender Jordan Willis was hoping to return to training on Friday after being forced to pull out of the Plymouth game at the last minute with an on-going knee problem.
New signing Elias Sorensen will go straight into the Blackpool squad for the trip to Coventry. The 19-year-old striker has joined on loan from Premier League side Newcastle until the end of the season.
Defender Oliver Turton is in contention for a first appearance since mid-December after enjoying a full week of training. Goalkeeper Mark Howard will be assessed following the groin injury he suffered during the FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, although replacement Christoffer Mafoumbi has not conceded a goal in the two games he has started in Howard's absence.
Opta stats
Coventry have won just one of their last seven league contests against Blackpool (D3 L3), a 1-0 victory in March 2016.
Coventry are unbeaten in their last six home league games versus Blackpool (W3 D3), although each of the last three have ended in a draw.
Coventry have lost just one of their last nine home matches in all competitions (W4 D4), a 1-2 defeat to second-placed Luton Town in December.
Blackpool have won just one of their last seven matches in all competitions (D2 L4), although it was their last away game against Portsmouth (1-0).
Coventry's Mark Robins has lost each of his last four league managerial games against Blackpool by an aggregate score of 9-0, doing so with three different clubs (Huddersfield Town, Scunthorpe United and Coventry City).
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Some pre-match comments from Coventry fans (generally lamenting their inability to score) -
"Same old story, play well, not score and be unlucky to lose a game in which we should have scored at least 6."
"This is the day our season turns, and our strikers begin to find their goal touch."
"Clarke-Harris to come on at 62 minutes 25 shots 1 on target Lose 1-0"
"They have just signed Elias Sørensen on loan. Newcastle Striker. Decent scoring record this season."
"We owe them one after the away game"
"2-1 to them, we batter them, they score one off Hyams arse and a penalty in the last minute."
"They are one of the few teams to have scored less goals than us. However, they have also conceded less than us. This points to a draw or a narrow victory, maybe 1-0 or 1-1. What this boils down to is if they score first, we won't win."
"I have no effing idea... we could score a bucket load, we could have the majority of the play and they score 3, we could play dogshite scrappy and nil nil, we could score early and they score 2 late on! Given up trying to predict what city get .... so I’ll go 2-1 cov"
"Given where we are in the table with Blackpool we must win this one. Eager to learn from last week I would suggest and not throw a game away. Fancy we finally will get a few. 3-0"
"Just looking into the future now... Another frustrating game, painful to watch. Beautiful passing moves, trying to walk it into the net, 7 shots on goal with only 2 on target and for us to come away with a 0-0 draw."
"Blackpool away this season was absolutely woeful and I still feel robbed having paid £10 to watch it on iFollow, so I'm hoping for a win and a good performance to go with it to make up for that."
"Really don't know what to think on this one. I'm guessing that we'll go largely unchanged apart from injuries as we dominated last weeks game and MR will feel they deserve another chance, but we've said that a few times this season. Home game, so I don't think we'll lose. It's just a matter of if we can get the ball in the net or not."
"Blackpool have won just one of their last seven matches in all competitions (D2 L4), although it was their last away game against Portsmouth (1-0)."
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Chris Long was due to start but he's now out of the squad altogether, leaving Pool with just 6 subs. There's no sub keeper either as Myles Boney has picked up a shoulder injury and Mark Howard is still out. https://t.co/hSyMnQf6Jc
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
