One or two of the more ignorant sports reports classed this result as a 'cup shock' - I can only presume that if said journalists were amongst the record low attendance for a match at the Ricoh, they didn't atually make it out of the bar! Seven changes were made to the team that scored an impressive victory against fairly-fancied Ipswich, with most of the Coventry City side that finished this fixture getting into trouble with their parents for getting home so late! This wasn't even a second team, as Coventry City do not currently have one, this was the Youth Team. And, such was the lack of depth in the squad, with injuries, cup-tied players, and international call-ups, that Chris Coleman was not even able to name a full substitutes bench! The games only goal came as Coventry City were once again re-jigging their defence after an injury to Clarke, though there seemed so little power in Boyd's effort that it looked like Konstantopolous should have saved it anyway. He didn't, and Coventry City crashed out of the League Cup at the first hurdle. Not that many home supporters seemed to care particularly....

Team: Konstantopolous, Wright (Wilson 106), Clarke (Cameron 104), Turner, Grandison, Cain, Osbourne, Walker, McIndoe (Morrison 76), Eastwood, Jeffers. SNU: Quirke, Blackwell, Grogan.

v Barnsley (a) W2-0

Possibly one of our favourite away fixtures! (Let's hope if we ever need to win our last fixture of a season to gain promotion, it's Barnsley at Oakwell!). A top quality free-kick from Leon Best and a Clinton Morrison goal helped put Coventry City at the top of the Championship, with the home side rarely threatening a come-back. New signing Martin Cranie made a solid debut at the heart of the Coventry defence (Organising those around him, which can only have supporters questioning why he has since mainly been played elsewhere), though he was replaced by Grandison - having picked up an injury - with twenty minutes left, while van Aanholt again impressed at left-back. Kozluk was sent off for the home side for two yellow card offences in the second half, while youngster Shaun Jeffers was also given a run-out with ten minutes left, replacing Leon Best. He should have made the scoreline 3-0, but failed to beat Luke Steele in a one-on-one situation.

Team: Westwood, Wright, van Aanholt, Cranie (Grandison 71), Turner, Osbourne, Clingan, McIndoe, Gunnarsson, Morrison, Best (Jeffers 80). SNU: Cameron, Quirke, Clarke, Cain, Walker.

v Doncaster (a) D0-0

This was Coventry City's seventh away fixture versus Doncaster, which as of yet has brought about zero victories! (Though this result was a vast improvement on the 8-1 scoreline recorded in the first meeting!). Coventry were lucky to escape after a Doncaster free kick hit the post in the first half, and created very little by way of a threat to Sullivan's goal. Gunnarsson's long throw found Morrison seconds from the end of the match, as Coventry threatened to steal all three points, but his effort was cleared off the line. Michael McIndoe was booed throughout by the Doncaster supporters he used to play in front of (Something which would stand him in good stead for a few months down the line as a Coventry City player), while the referee (Who lived far to close to the home side for some people's liking!) constantly riled away supporters with some poor decisions. There was little on the bench by way of making much of a change for Chris Coleman, with possibly the youngest selection of substitutes ever available to a Coventry City manager.

Team: Westwood, Wright, van Aanholt, Cranie, Turner, Osbourne, Clingan, McIndoe, Gunnarsson, Morrison, Best. SNU: Konstantopolous, Walker, Grandison, Clarke, Jeffers, Cain, Cameron.

v Swansea (h) L0-1

Sammy Clingan's penalty miss proved costly as Coventry City's home record was once again surrendered far to early in the season, and Swansea recorded the first win of theirs (Which turned out to be their only Championship win in their opening eight fixtures). Coventry's long-ball game was easily dealt with by the Swansea defence, while Nathan Dyer caused problems for the home side that they weren't dealing with quite so well. This fixture saw Chelsea loanee Jack Cork (Not Joe Cole, as was farcically rumoured on some websites!) make his debut as a sixty-fourth minute substitute, with Swansea making a change at the same time (Bringing  Morgan on for Bond), and it was the visitors that took the lead soon after with Westwood's save onto the bar being turned into the net by Williams. As a final throw of the dice Chris Coleman sent on Leon McKenzie, for what turned out to be his last match in a Sky Blue shirt, though his introduction failed to have the desired effect.

Team: Westwood, Wright, van Aanholt, Cranie, Turner, Osbourne (Cork 64), Clingan, McIndoe (McKenzie 85), Gunnarsson, Best (Eastwood 84), Morrison. SNU: Konstantopolous, Clarke, Grandison, Cain.

v Blackpool (a) L0-3

Over 1,500 away fans made their way up to the seaside to watch a shambolic display by Coventry City, against a team once again expected to struggle to stay in the Championship. Blackpool won thanks to goals from Adam (A thirteenth minute penalty, conceded by Clingan), Burgess (On 59 minutes), and a Taylor-Fletcher goal (On 71 minutes), while Coventry City's over-use of the 'hoof-ball' style that suits neither Best or Morrison meant the home sides defence was rarely troubled. Unsurprisingly, Coventry City were booed off at half-time, while a fair few of those that had vented their anger at the break were long gone before the final whistle had been blown.

Team: Westwood, Wright, van Aanholt, Cranie, Turner, Cork, Gunnarsson, Clingan, McIndoe, Best, Morrison (Eastwood 61). SNU: Konstantopolous, Clarke, Grandison, Osbourne, Cain, Walker.

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