The Incredible Sky Blues' Winning Run Continues
Another Away Win Extends the Streak
Another away win, the fourth in a row, extended the Sky Blues’ current run to eight wins in nine league games. The latest victims were Oxford United, who fought hard but could not stop the Coventry steamroller. As the media have pointed out, it is 55 years since Coventry had such a good run—an incredible record, especially considering where the team sat two months ago.
A Look Back to 1969-70
It’s worth looking back to 1969-70 when Noel Cantwell achieved an identical run. In mid-November 1969, after a 0-0 draw at Burnley in which center-half Roy Barry made his first start in a City shirt, the team sat twelfth in Division One. At Turf Moor that day, Barry replaced club legend George Curtis, who came on as an 87th-minute substitute in what would be his final appearance for the club.
The Rise of a Dream Team
Seven days later, another new signing, John O’Rourke, partnered stand-in striker Maurice Setters up front at home to Newcastle United, and a late Ernie Hunt penalty secured the points. After a strong Tottenham side were defeated 3-2 at home, City traveled to newly promoted Crystal Palace and, with two Brian Joicey goals, triumphed 3-0. A 3-1 Boxing Day home victory over Ipswich was followed by a 1-1 FA Cup home draw with Liverpool before Manchester City were put to the sword 3-0 with the striking partnership of Neil Martin and O’Rourke clicking into gear.
The Highs and Lows of a Record Run
The FA Cup replay at Anfield was lost, and five days later, the five-game winning league run was ended at Elland Road. City, however, returned to the winning trail with a 1-0 win at Hillsborough and a 2-0 beating of Arsenal. The eighth win in nine came in a night game at West Ham’s Upton Park with two Martin goals in a 2-1 win that took the Sky Blues to fourth place in the league table.
The run came to an end at Goodison Park when the league leaders Everton were held 0-0 in one of the finest away performances of the era. Against a rampant Everton side, Cantwell set up to frustrate the Toffees, with Roy Barry marshaling his defenders in style. The quality of the performance and the enormity of the result made the fans almost forget that the winning run was over. Fans began dreaming of a European place.
The End of the Streak and a Historic Finish
The 11-game unbeaten league run came to a shuddering halt seven days later when Chelsea visited Highfield Road. After Everton, Dave Sexton’s side was the outstanding English club team that season and would go on to win the FA Cup. An 18-year-old Alan Hudson and a dazzling Peter Osgood helped the Blues to a 3-0 victory, giving City a reality check.
There’s no question that the arrival of Barry and O’Rourke was a major factor in that incredible run, but tragedy struck two weeks after the Chelsea game when Barry suffered a broken leg against Sheffield Wednesday. In his absence, City never quite reached the heights of that nine-game run, but they still did enough to qualify for the UEFA Fairs Cup by finishing sixth at the end of an incredible season—the highest league position the club has ever achieved.
