Football Season Guide

Coventry City were very fortunate to stay clear of relegation issues towards the back end of last season. The Sky Blues started the season with genuine hope of a playoff finish under Aidy Boothroyd, but a dramatic loss of form over Christmas and into the New Year saw Boothroyd fired and replaced by Andy Thorn. Although Thorn may be described as a ‘cheap’ option by the Coventry board, he appeared to galvanise the team in the closing stages, playing some neat, enterprising football in the process. Nevertheless, City are likely to struggle in 2011/12 due to a lack of finances available to Thorn to strengthen the squad. Leading scorer Marlon King refused a contract extension to sign for Birmingham City, while star keeper, Kieren Westwood also moved onto pastures new with a Bosman switch to Premier League Sunderland. A lack of goals is likely to be the main concern, as Thorn was at least able to replace the departing Westwood with the able Joe Murphy from Scunthorpe and youngster, Chris Dunn.