A closer look at the Sky Blues and the Ricoh Arena.
Vital Statistics
Founded: 1883
Chairman: Ken Dulieu
Last Season: Championship - 18th
Nickname: The Sky Blues
Rivals: Aston Villa, Leicester City
Major Honours
FA Cup: 1987
Scheduled Matches
Portsmouth vs Coventry: Saturday, December 3rd (3pm)
Coventry vs Portsmouth: Saturday, March 24th (3pm)
Transfers In
Chris Dunn (Northampton - Undisclosed)
Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe - Free)
Transfers Out
Lee Carsley (Released)
Marlon King (Birmingham - Free)
Michael McIndoe (Released)
Keiren Westwood (Sunderland - Free)
Stephen O'Hallaran (Carlisle - Free)
Isaac Osbourne (Aberdeen - Free)
Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff - Undisclosed)
Probable Starting XI
GK: Joe MURPHY
RB: Richard KEOGH
CB: James McPAKE
CB: Martin CRANIE
LB: Chris HUSSEY
DM: Sammy CLINGAN
CM: Gael BIGIRIMANA
CM: Carl BAKER
AM: Gary McSHEFFEREY
CF: Roy O'DONOVAN
CF: Lukas JUTKIEWICZ
The Manager: Andy Thorn
An FA Cup winner as a player with Wimbledon in 1988, Thorn's playing career ended early due to a knee injury when he was 31.
Thorn joined Coventry as chief scout but was made joint manager of the first team with Steve Harrison when Aidy Boothroyd was sacked earlier last season.
He helped steer the Sky Blues to safety and was appointed on a full-time basis in April 2011. His lack of experience and Coventry's loss of key players will mean that he has a tough job this season.
The Fans
There's not really much to say about Coventry fans. They just seem to support one of those clubs that never do anything during a season and are simply just there to make up the numbers.
The most famous Sky Blues fans are disgraced ex-Sky TV presenter Richard Keys, Formula 1 supremo Eddie Jordan and impressionist Alistair McGowan.
Coventry fan Spence on the upcoming season:
I hope we'll finish around mid table as we've lost a number of key players who helped us a lot last season. Westwood and King being the main examples. I do however expect us to get relegated. Our time is up and we can't score or even create chances.
The Ground: The Ricoh Arena (Capacity: 32,600)
After 106 years at Highfield Road, Coventry moved to their new stadium which is your typical "new ground" with a slightly different look due to massive logos and the west stand which has a complex attached to it, complete with casino if you're the gambling type.
Pompey fans are sat in the corner of the South Stand which is steep but there is a good view of the pitch and the PA system is one of the best in the country. To the left is the Lloydspharmacy Stand (the different looking one).
The rest of the ground is symmetrical. This is the Telegraph North Stand.
And this is the Tesco East Stand. As you can see, the Ricoh Arena is very sponsor heavy but I suppose Coventry has to pay for the ground somehow!
This is the stand just before kick-off of the opening day of the 2010/2011 season. It's sparsely populated unfortunately and that could be said for the rest of the home stands too. It's a shame for them because if Coventry sold out regularly, they do have potential to become Premier League mainstays - they certainly have a stadium worthy of the top flight.
