VENUE #69 COVENTRY The Ricoh Arena

SKY BET LEAGUE ONE

19th December 2015

@ The Ricoh Arena

Ground Capacity:-  32,500 

Kick Off:-  15:00

Entry Fee:-  £10

Programme:-  £3

                                                                    Ground #69

COVENTRY CITY ... 1   OLDHAM ATHLETIC ... 1

    Not only was it a dull, wet and miserable day at the Ricoh but it was also a sad one for as I took

my seat in the East stand the news was announced that Jimmy Hill once manager and Chairman of Coventry City football club had passed away.  I'll never forget Jimmy, the unforgettable face of the BBC football programme  match of the day from the early 70's to the late 80's he caused much controversy in many a footballing household throughout the UK but love him or loath him you can't help feeling that football has lost one of it's great characters today.  There was a fitting minutes standing ovation before the kick off for the man and his name was chanted throughout the game for he will be missed the most here.  His statue stands proud outside the main stand at the Ricoh where tributes were laid in his memory before and after today's game.

   

Gael Bigirimana my home side man of the match

 The game started brightly with Coventry in the ascendancy and Oldham looking to defend and hopefully snatch a point in fact the latics made only one real attempt on the Sky Blues goal in the first half when Liam Kelly's effort flew over the bar.
     It was looking to be Coventry's game all the way in the first 25 minutes but then an injury to City defender Ben Turner forced Tony Mowbray to make a change and bring on Ryan Haynes which seemed to allow Oldham to gain confidence and come into the game a little more but saying that I feel the Latics were very lucky to go into the half time interval level.
     Four minutes into the second half and the Latics were behind a perfect through ball by my home player of the match Gael Bigirimana forced the Oldham defence to give away a corner.  Joe

Has the referee got his hand down his shorts?  What is  he doing?

Cole took the corner and curved an out-swinger to the far post which Romain Vincelot met with his head only to see the effort cleared off the line by Mark Jones and scrambled out for another corner.  Cole repeated his first effort but with a deeper ball which was inch perfect for the incoming Aaron Martin who had the easy task of heading home from close range.
     Coventry seemed as though they were going to hold out and claim a massive festive season three points until the third minute of injury time when a Mark Jones corner found the head of Danny Philliskirk who headed home from the centre of the box and snatched what could be vital point for the Latics at the death.
   
     

The Ricoh Arena is a fully enclosed stadium with all corners filled which holds around 32,500 spectators.  Coventry moved to the Ricoh when re-housed in 2005 leaving their former home, Highfield Road after just over a century of football there.  If travelling by train it's best to either take a bus to the stadium or taxi as the ground is 3.5 miles away from the train station and not even I would attempt to walk such a distance.  You can catch the number 8 service from outside the station to Coventry Pool Meadow bus station where you take the number 4 or 5 to the Arena Park which is adjacent to the Ricoh Stadium.  Otherwise, jump into a taxi which will cost you around around £15 to the Stadium.  A taxi is OK if you've got the money to do this, today was going to be a cheep day out for me my ticket, train fare, scarf and match programme cost me a total of £30 but my taxi to and from the stadium cost me a total of £30 also, stick to the buses if you've got sense not like me. 


     The main feature of the stadium is the West stand which runs along the side of the pitch and is two tiered with hospitality boxes running along the back of the lower tier.  There is also a exhibition centre attached to the stand which gives it an unique look and makes it a focal point as the other 3 stands are somewhat bland affairs for all are single tiered, fully covered conventional looking (boring), nothing much to right a blog about.


     
   

 The East stand is where I watched the game from right at the front with the rain coming down at times, not the best of position's in wet weather in fact it was the first time I suffered with a wet bum from the rain that settled on the light blue plastic seat, I can honestly say that I was not at all a happy bunny.
     There is a large concourse at the back of the stand with lots of food and drink outlets.  I tried the fish and chips outlet but had a chicken balti pie with my fries and they were very nice at a cost of £5.50 but the only gripe I have is that I wasn't offered a fork or serviette and of course the pie broke in the box it was presented in and things got rather hot and messy for my poor fingers.
     The toilets are a disgrace, as soon as you walk in you see several rusty "not so stainless steel" troughs scattered around a cramped area which have seen better days and are not a good hygienic sight at all. 


   
     Behind the goal to the left of the East stand is the South stand and is where the away supporters are housed or rather to right hand side of the stand as you look from the pitch.  Pete, an Oldham supporter says that the view of the game was unobstructed and excellent and all had a great day out.

      Pictured right is the North stand not really used for this particular game as the main stand and the East is where most of the fans were housed.

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