News

DULIEU IS NEW CHAIRMAN

The club have confirmed today that Ray Ranson is no longer Chairman, but will be staying with the club - at least for the time being - as a 'Football Consultant'.

Ken Dulieu, only appointed to the board last November, will become our new Chairman, and will be focussing on commercial rather than on-pitch activities, while a new full-time Chief Exec is also to be appointed soon.

There have been many boardroom changes in recent months, with Ranson said to be unhappy with the restrictions imposed on management by owners SISU. Recent appointment John Clarke was confirmed as a Vice President last week, and the musical chairs behind closed doors has angered many supporters hopeful for transparency and a sense of direction.

Dulieu has previously been Chairman of Southampton FC - which, ironically, Ray Ranson tried to take over shortly before taking charge of us - and presided over them during a difficult spell which saw them suffer relegation to League One.

Our priority has to be staying in the Championship this season and rebuilding with a new manager in the Summer, but the feeling of uncertainty is making that task all the more difficult.

Things haven't been this bad since 2007 when we were saved from Administration and SISU and Ranson stepped in to steady the ship, but the stability promised really hasn't yet materialised and we face a worrying immediate future.

WESTWOOD MAKES COMPETITIVE INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Keiren Westwood has made his first appearance in a competitive international as the Republic of Ireland beat Macedonia 2-1 on Saturday in their Euro 2012 qualifier.

Meanwhile, Aron Gunnarsson played a full 90 minutes for Iceland as they drew 0-0 in Cyprus, while Sammy Clingan was in the Northern Ireland side that lost 2-1 to Serbia.

Freddie Eastwood was not selected for Wales as they lost 2-0 to England in Cardiff.

RANSON NEXT TO GO?

Chairman Ray Ranson is believed to be leaving the club, following the departure of manager Aidy Boothroyd.

Ranson - a former footballer himself of course - has been the figurehead for owners SISU, but there has long been a sense of frustration as managers have been denied funds to strengthen the side or offer players contracts lucrative enough to retain them.

He came close to resigning earlier in the season, and the recent appointment of new board members might have been the first steps in a bigger plan to change things around.

A formal statement from the club is expected soon.

BEST FAN IN THE LEAGUE!

If he'd stayed fit all season, Ben Turner could possibly have picked up the Championship Player of the Season award - after all, he was leading the ACTIM index at one stage before suffering his injury.

That was not to be, but Sky Blues fan Kev Monks has won the 'Fan of the Season' award, which certainly requires far more commitment and hard work!

Kev attends every Sky Blues game, come rain or shine. pre-season friendlies, midweek Carling Cup trips to Morecambe, even some Academy and Ladies fixtures - you'll see him there.

His commitment is even more remarkable when one considers that Monks suffers from Parkinson's disease, but that doesn't stop him supporting us - and it's not like supporting us brings much light relief to life.

THE NORTH-END IS NIGH

A late, late winner denies us a point at Preston, and as our bogey side complete a league double over us, seemingly en route to relegation, we drop to a worrying 20th place in the table.

There's now a two week break, and Marlon King will be back when we play Watford at the Ricoh, which will give us hope, but we still wonder where the last couple of wins we need to guarantee safety will come from.

Our other remaining home games are against Millwall, Scunthorpe and Reading, and our away trips are to Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Derby and Norwich. On paper you'd think we'd be able to pick up enough points from these games, but in our current dire form, it's not something you'd bet on, and if a couple of teams beneath us suddenly hit form, we'll be in trouble.

RELEGATION WATCH: 8 GAMES TO GO

Today's result keeps us looking nervously over our shoulders on 42 points, but we are still seven points clear of the bottom three, with a better goal difference.

For Preston, a second successive win keeps alive their feint, feint hopes of survival. They are on 31 points but have a game in hand on second-bottom Scunthorpe who lost 2-0 at Ipswich and are now only two points off the bottom.

The team that now looks like they might just get out of trouble, after a long winless run, is Micky Adams' Sheffield United who beat Leeds 2-0 in the Yorkshire derby. They are now on 35 points, having played the same number of games as us.

The buffer club between ourselves and the bottom three is Crystal Palace who have 39 points and a far worse goal-difference than us. They drew 2-2 at home to Derby County, with a late equaliser from the penalty spot that also keeps the Rams in the equation.

Derby are one of a trio of clubs on 44 points after Middlesbrough beat our next opponents Watford 2-1, and Doncaster lost 0-1 at home to leaders QPR.

With games running out, everybody else can probably breathe easy now as 45 points or so will probably be enough to stay up this year.

DI MATTEO IN THE FRAME

Form West Brom and MK Dons manager Roberto Di Matteo has become the first big name to be linked with the Ricoh hotseat, following Aidy Boothroyd's departure this week.

Di Matteo left West Brom earlier this season, following a bad run of results, but guided them to automatic promotion to the Premiership last season with an attractive and effective brand of football. As a Chelsea and Italy player in the late 1990s, the Swiss-born midfield maestro was at one stage, one of the best players in the world, before suffering injuries that ultimately ended his playing career.

Other (currently out of work) names to be linked with us include Pablo Sousa, Chris Hughton and Kevin Blackwell, though current caretaker Andy Thorn seems to be angling for a permanent role too, while Steve Harrison has set his stall out and clearly prefers to stay in the backroom and on the training ground.

LIFE AFTER AIDY BEGINS WITH DRAW

It's funny how these things always seem to happen, but the loss of Aidy Boothroyd breathed new life into our team tonight, as we turned in a solid performance, responded after going behind, and came close to taking all three points away from a playoff-chasing Burnley.

It's only a draw and we do need wins to ensure our safety, but the entire mood has lifted, and with Scunthorpe losing to bottom club Preston, we're now eight points clear of the club third from bottom with a vastly superior goal difference, so unless something goes disastrously tits-up in the run-in, we ought to be OK, especially if we can beat Preston on Saturday.

Backroom boys Steve Harrison and Andy Thorn might not seem obvious candidates for permanent management, but they've got a decent result from their first game as caretakers.

BOOTHROYD SACKED!

The club have announced today that Aidy Boothroyd has been relieved of his duties, following a run of 16 league games with just one win.

Boothroyd departs the club immediately, along with Assistant manager Martin Pert. Coach Steve Harrison and Chief Scout Andy Thorn will take charge for tomorrow night's game at Burnley.

After just nine months in charge, Boothroyd has been one of the shortest-serving bosses, even by recent standards which have seen us get through ten managers in as many years. Our full league record under Boothroyd saw us winning just 11 games out of 36, with eight draws and 17 defeats. We also lost 2-0 at Morecambe in the League Cup, and won a single FA Cup tie against Palace before defeat to Birmingham after being two goals up.

Many fans have criticised the style of football we have played under Aidy, though during the first half of the season this seemed acceptable because we were getting results that kept us in the hunt for promotion.

Given that there do seem to be three sides who will definitely finish below us, it's maybe a surprise that we didn't stick with him until the Summer, but SISU and Ray Ranson aren't known for hanging about when it comes to pulling the trigger.

Ultimately things haven't worked out, and the same problems that existed last season under Chris Coleman are still there under Boothroyd, only with less attractive football to show for it.

Who knows whether we make an appointment soon or wait until the Summer to decide upon a permanent successor? But it's time to get on with the Burnley game and try to earn some points.

MCLEAN RAISES HULL

It's another poor result at home, as defensive specialists Hull mastermind their latest smash'n'grab raid, and the games are now running out for us.

Before the International break we face trips to play-off contenders Burnley and rock-bottom Preston, and it might be a relief to not have to play at home, but if we do lose these games and other results go against us we could be deep in the dogfight this time next week.

Aidy Boothroyd seems to be bereft of ideas, we can't score goals despite having lots of chances, injuries have hurt us badly this season, and assuming we do narrowly survive because there are worse clubs than us, half the squad will leave in the Summer anyway.

It's hard to know where to turn, and we're badly in need of a result to boost confidence - without any games against Crystal Palace on the horizon!

DONNY DRAW

It's always gutting to concede a late equaliser but at least a draw at Doncaster allows us to steady the ship, and it's one more point towards safety and a Summer rebuild (how many times in the last few years have we said that?!?)

We were just minutes away from a first ever away win against Donny, but that will now have to wait until next season at the earliest.

Our next games will be crucial in determining our fate, as the teams around us have shown that they are all capable of picking up results - even Sheffield United who ended a 13 game run without a win tonight by beating high-flying Forest.

Palace beat Cardiff, and the other day Scunthorpe beat Swansea - it's criminally unfair, but the cold reality is that the teams below us are routinely beating the teams in the top six to whom we've already lost twice this season.

We're still some way clear of the drop zone, but there are warning signs aplenty that the points tally required to survive might be fairly high. Things would have looked much, much rosier had we held on for the win tonight.

FROM BAD TO WORSE

Just when it seemed as though we had hit our lowest point of the season and things would surely improve, we suffer a result that makes us all wonder why we bother supporting the Sky Blues.

Everything that could have gone wrong today went wrong right from the moment we went a goal behind against the run of play, and it's probably not just our worst defeat of the season, but a defeat that will assert a cancerous influence into the coming weeks, possibly even resulting in our relegation.

We've had more shots on goal than any side in the division this season, but boast by far the worst conversion rate, whereas Bristol City have struggled because they haven't created chances. When they get the opportunity to score, that's exactly what they do. Jutkiewicz played well and scored today, but the guy hadn't scored in his previous 17 appearances, and he's meant to be a striker.

Problem two: Marlon King has foolishly got himself sent off, for the second time this season, and faces a ban at a time when we really need him in the side.

Equally worryingly, Keiren Westwood and his replacement Danny Ireland both injured themselves during the game, leaving us facing a goalkeeping crisis just as the fixtures start coming thick and fast. It'll be a miracle if either are fit for the trip to Doncaster on Tuesday night.

Worst of all, it was obvious we wouldn't get anything as soon as the first goal went in. We've taken only two points this season after going behind - the worst record in the division.

The last time we came from a goal down to win was back in September 2009, over 18 months ago, and the last time we came from two goals down to win was over 15 years ago!

Surely we can't carry on like this? We're just six points clear of the bottom three, and if rapidly-improving Scunthorpe win the game against us, that'll be reduced to three. Worrying times.