Soap Opera Part 2

So onto the second saga that has took place this summer at Coventry. Kieren Westwood, widely regarded as the best goalkeeper outside the Premiership and one of the most important players at the club, has recently refused to sign a new contract. His existing deal is up at the end of the current season, and despite alleged efforts from both sides, it now appears that we will lose one of our most sellable assets at a fraction of what he is worth.

Now this has been going on since Aidy Boothroyd became City manager back in early June, with Boothroyd stating that number one priority once he returned from his holidays would be to tie the Irish international - five caps now for his national team - down into a lucrative, long term contract. Then, as pre season became shorter and shorter, us fans were promised that talks were ongoing, with the extension imminent.

We are now 7 games into the new season, and as previously stated Westwood has announced he will not sign a new deal, so it now looks like a cut price move in the January window or risk losing him for nothing at the end of the season. The rejection of an alleged £3m offer from Celtic now doesn’t look so much of a good move.

During a recent international game, Westwood broke his silence, stating that a deal had only been on the table for 4 weeks. A deal that he said he wouldn’t be signing. He also went on to say that 6 months ago he would have signed, 12 months ago he asked for a new contract and 12 months before that he actually asked for a new contract. Now if everything that he said is true, you can understand why he is frustrated, trying to get a deal for 2 years, then one being offered only a week or two before the start of the season in which his current one would run out.

So if this is true, you have to ask yourself, why have the club been saying all summer that a deal is being discussed and that they hope he would agree to it? To please the fans maybe. But why would they leave it so late to tie down the best player in his position in the Championship, especially as he asked for a new deal the previous summer? Or maybe Westwood is bending the truth, not to make himself out to be another greedy player after a move to a bigger club. Either way the club have not publicly responded to Westwood’s comments and duly dropped him for the next game, a 3-1 defeat away to Millwall, before returning for the following game against Leicester. At the full time whistle of that game against Leicester, Westwood made his way to the fans behind his second half goal and had words with a fan in the front row. What was said only those two know, but both clearly had a point to get across.

Now, us fans just have to wait, more than likely until January when Westwood will be expected to move for a cut price fee. Both parties agreed to draw a line under recent incidents and concentrate on what is important, Coventry City’s season. For now, all we can do is believe exactly that, and hope above all, that it doesn’t affect on field results, because what actually happened during the pre season saga, is anybodies guess.

Soap Opera Pt 1

Listen to most people in and around Coventry City Football Club, and they will tell you that Ray Ranson is a good chairman, with the clubs best interests at heart. I don’t disagree with that, but I do ask what on earth is going on at the minute regarding two important players for Coventry.

First of all is the potential signing of Marlon King. The deal was all set to be wrapped up on Friday 11 September, but for whatever reason, there was no signatures on the dotted line. Then, in a national newspaper over the weekend, King’s agent was quoted as saying “A deal has been agreed, all that’s left now is to sign.” So what was the hold up? Anyone who supports Coventry, or indeed lives in Coventry, can tell you quite confidently that manager Aidy Boothroyd desperately wants to sign the striker that he worked with at Watford back in 2006. Boothroyd has made no secret in his desire to get his man, not least because of the current injury problems his squad is facing. So King wants to sign, the manager wants him but why still no deal? One of the club directors is rumored to be against the deal, holding the whole thing up. One can only imagine that the anonymous opposer isn’t a fan of King’s controversial past.

A good goal scorer that he is - 121 career goals in 383 appearances equates to a goal just over every three games - it has always been his private life that takes the limelight. A total of 14 convictions consisting of driving bans, theft and assault has earned him 2 separate prison sentences. The most recent, well publicised incident involving a young woman whilst on a night out in the Soho area of London earned him an 18 month sentence. A sentence that he has only just finished, travelling to Coventry to train under Boothroyd almost immediately after his release. Other incidents involve several fall outs with managers and an alleged head butting, involving team mate Dean Windass.

The deal was set to be signed (again) today - Thursday 16 September - before an announcement around midday stating that it would now be signed on the Friday. The fact that Boothroyd is “praying for a deal to be struck before the weekend” suggests that there is something or someone that is currently holding up the deal. Me, I think he could do a good job for us. He could be exactly what we are missing, someone who can stick the ball in the net. But we need to get it sorted sooner rather than later. Either sign him up, or let him go.