3 years after having to play Home games at Northampton, they now have to travel 40 miles next season for home games at St Andrews Birmingham.
What a carry on for them,and what are the EFL doing about it?
Dear old Jim the Chin will be turning in his grave
I wasn't aware of this, can someone explain what has happened at Coventry.
It is fxxxing disgusting that club owners can cause this grief for supporters,clubs ,the EFL & the FA still allow these directors in to clubs.
Quote from: filham on June 08, 2019, 12:41:16 PM
I wasn't aware of this, can someone explain what has happened at Coventry.
Wasps who own the ground,once again demanding too much rent I'm told,might be other factors.
I just live outside Coventry and the bottom line is Coventry owners sisu are continually taking wasps to court over the sale of the Ricoh stadium ,sisu says that is was undervalued by the council.While the court actions was going on wasps said they wouldn't enter talks in extending there lease ,sisu have lost all there court actions and the last one at the appeal court wasps said they wouldn't enter talks while court action was taking place,and this has dragged on for years and has seen the demise of the club ,what a lot of cov fans want to know what happened to the money what they got for high field road there former ground,hope this kind of helps
Oh dear, poor Coventry,
Well we need to stop complaining about the Khans and thank our lucky stars that we have an owner with the interest of the club at heart.
Quote from: stokesy on June 08, 2019, 02:26:34 PM
I just live outside Coventry and the bottom line is Coventry owners sisu are continually taking wasps to court over the sale of the Ricoh stadium ,sisu says that is was undervalued by the council.While the court actions was going on wasps said they wouldn't enter talks in extending there lease ,sisu have lost all there court actions and the last one at the appeal court wasps said they wouldn't enter talks while court action was taking place,and this has dragged on for years and has seen the demise of the club ,what a lot of cov fans want to know what happened to the money what they got for high field road there former ground,hope this kind of helps
Thanks for that Stokesy.
Pity EFL can't help out in some way,bet if it were one of the big boys they'd be rallying round.
Coventry City will groundshare at Birmingham City's St Andrew's for the 2019-20 season after failing to agree a deal to stay at the Ricoh Arena.
They had hoped to remain in Coventry but said the deadline for an agreement with Ricoh landlords Wasps has passed.
A club statement said a groundshare was necessary for Coventry to retain their place in the English Football League.
"We know full well that this is a very sad day for Coventry City and Sky Blues supporters," the statement added.
"This decision was our last resort and was made to ensure the club can fulfil its fixtures next season.
"We are incredibly disappointed and extremely frustrated that continuing differences between our owners Sisu and Wasps, and also Coventry City Council, could not be set aside to allow for a deal to play the club's home games at the Ricoh Arena.
"The Ricoh Arena is the stadium built to be the football club's home, and our fans should be able to watch their team play in the city that we are proud to represent.
"However, in order for a deal to be agreed between landlord and tenant, the conditions for the deal need to be deliverable by the tenant. What the landlord requested of CCFC's owners and ultimately, the club, was simply not deliverable."
How did we reach this point?
Coventry City's owners Sisu are in dispute with the city council over the 2014 sale of the Ricoh Arena to Premiership rugby union side Wasps.
Sisu claim the Ricoh was undervalued by £28m and they have been appealing against the decision not to allow a judicial review into the sale.
After losing their Supreme Court appeal in April, they took their complaint to the European Commission, with Coventry later saying the dispute is only with Coventry City Council and does not involve Wasps.
However, the move prompted Wasps, who had asked Sisu to cease all legal proceedings, to suggest that the "conditions" for discussions had "not been met", stating "the ball is back in the court" of Coventry's owners.
Having been threatened with expulsion from the EFL if they did not resolve the issue, Coventry subsequently looked at other options and have now come to an agreement with Birmingham for the 2019-20 season.
The EFL said the league had "reluctantly agreed" to the groundshare despite being placed in an "unenviable position" after previously suggesting Coventry needed to find a solution in their hometown.
"This is a decision that has not been taken lightly and it is regrettable that the parties involved have been unable to find a suitable and sensible solution," said the EFL statement.
"The EFL board calls on all parties to resolve this matter at the earliest convenience for the benefit of the city of Coventry, the club and people living in the local community.
"The EFL remains firmly of the view that its member clubs should play in the towns and cities from which they take their name.
"A number of conditions have been placed on the club to ensure progress is made in regard to finding a solution to getting the club back playing in Coventry at the earliest opportunity including the payment of a £1m bond and a quarterly review in order for the board to be updated on developments ahead of season 2020-21."
Coventry previously shared Northampton Town's Sixfields Stadium during the 2013-14 season before agreeing a return to the Ricoh in August 2014.
A Birmingham City statement said the club had "every sympathy" for the plight of Coventry and their supporters.
The Blues' statement added: "We always felt it important to try and help and support our neighbours, as part of the wider footballing family in this region, however we could."
Nick Eastwood took over as Wasps chief executive in 2012 and played a key role in the club's purchase of the Ricoh Arena
In their own statement, Wasps described the situation as "frustrating" and "damaging to the city as a whole".
"Despite significant progress being made in the discussions, we have unfortunately been unable to reach an agreement with the owners which, putting aside the complaint to the European Commission, would deliver the fundamental principle that there would be no further proceedings about the ownership of the Ricoh Arena," said the rugby club's chief executive Nick Eastwood.
"We have talked to Coventry City supporters' groups to underline our position and our desire to keep the club at the Ricoh Arena.
"We would be prepared to continue discussions at any time if the owners are prepared to agree to the principle on which we began these discussions.
"The club wanted to stay at Ricoh Arena, we wanted them to remain here and all supporters' groups wanted to secure their future here. This is a very sad day for Coventry."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/48557082
Its very sad and once again what happens when people buy football clubs when they know nothing about hothead British game.
I still regard Coventry as a big club. Well above their position in the league
Gotta laugh, the efl firmly believes clubs should remain in the area of their name, and support,,,quote,,, unless it's in Wimbledon when the efl will let you pick it up and move to Milton Keynes and they will even help.......hypocrisy or what.
On the European complaint it was against the local council not WASPS and how a ground in agreement with the said council after selling Highfield road the RICOH arena was for the football club for purpituity,not a few years.
One thing that unites supporters of all clubs is when a particular club is going through really hard times because of the owners. What a nightmare the last few seasons have been for Sky Blues fans. Good luck to them.
Lovely new stadium and they are playing at st andrews again
The management did not know what it was doing
I think you will find the villains here are Sisu. What the hell they are doing owning a football club is anyone's guess. They are a hedge fund and that means everything they do is to their own ends. They mismanaged the opportunity to purchase the stadium (which is what they really want) and have been obstructive ever since. Wasps pulled the rug from under them, purchased at an agreed price and became their landlord. Not really surprising that they (Wasps) are not too keen to enter into an agreement with a bunch of shysters who take them to court at every opportunity.
It's a tragedy for Coventry City but the culprits are their clueless owners.
Lots of their fans stating will not be attending the games played at St Andrews in protest.
But they will take large amounts to away fixtures to support the players.
Quote from: hovewhite on June 08, 2019, 12:43:24 PM
It is fxxxing disgusting that club owners can cause this grief for supporters,clubs ,the EFL & the FA still allow these directors in to clubs.
When the club suppprters give the club owners grief about not being in the Premier League, you can understand why the owners come up with a strategy of "Premier League or Bust". Well, that's what Coventry's Owmers did and Coventry Bust. If suppprters won't accept staying in the league they are in, owners male incredibly risky strategies.
In deference to previous comments I would argue that all parties - Sisu, Wasps, and Coventry Council etc - are mired by the facts of the case and it isn't simply a matter of one party being wrong or having to back down from their mighty loft to get things moving. The original use of the Ricoh for Coventry City FC was stated to be 'in perpetuity' by the Council when they sold it to Wasps, but it now seems that the agreement was for 'four years' only, and, if so, that is a misunderstanding to eclipse all misunderstandings. Sisu seem to be wanting a short term solution with Wasps to use of the Ricoh whilst, at the same time, pressurising the Council (via legal action) to come up with a 'new' stadium for football use alone and in Coventry. Wasps are heavily in debt and clearly see Coventry FC's co-use as additional income. Meanwhile the Council would wish to protect themselves from embarrassment and the further expense of funding the development of another stadium.
Nothing, it seems, is straightforward, but what is clear, is that Sisu do have a point in regards to the sale of the Ricoh to Wasps.
Dodgy officials on all sides I think and it's football supporters of clubs everywhere that suffer .
Quote from: hovewhite on June 09, 2019, 10:30:02 PM
Dodgy officials on all sides I think and it's football supporters of clubs everywhere that suffer .
The Coventry City supporters i know spent the late 90s saying "finishing 16th, 16th, 17th, 15th and 14th in Premier League is not good enough" and wanted new owners. Well, they got it. Owners want to please their fans, some clubs have supporters with unrealistic expectations and unsurprisingly the owners of those clubs often end up making decisions that drive their clubs bust.
Quote from: Mince n Tatties on June 09, 2019, 08:12:54 AM
Lots of their fans stating will not be attending the games played at St Andrews in protest.
But they will take large amounts to away fixtures to support the players.
Exactly what happened when they ground-shared with Northampton Town...
Interesting to note that the Ricoh Arena is a multi-use stadium with a capacity of 40,000 for concerts and 32,000 for football and rugby, has its own railway station and is close to motorway access. Wasps are c.£55m in debt and currently under investigation by FCA, and Coventry City FC group are c.£48m in debt. Just goes to show that sometimes non-sport related income isn't as easy to come by when push comes to shove.
English Suppprters put more pressure on their club owners and country managers than almost any others. Insane supporter expectations seems to be often meet by club owners with insanely risky decision making from club owmers and by England managers by constantly trying young unproven premier league players in the national team.
@TRF
Once upon a time, before the advent of media coverage and broadcast rights and contracts with their heavily interested and invested counterparts in sponsorship and advertising, the sport's supporter (it isn't just football or in England) was the key component of professional survival i.e. no audience=no revenue. Most supporters just want to attend games at reasonable prices, see their club do as well as possible, and have as good a chance as any other club of doing so. As you tell us all too often and all too well it is the ambition of 'the owner(s) of a club' and their decision making prowess plus the real potential of that club to be or become 'bigger', that determines how big or small their debt will be, unless they already happen to fall into the elite group who actually show a profit. The story of Coventry City FC is really a tale about how badly things can go wrong if poor decisions are made, not by supporters, but by the owners of the club they support.
Quote from: The Rational Fan on June 10, 2019, 11:53:27 PM
English Suppprters put more pressure on their club owners and country managers than almost any others. Insane supporter expectations seems to be often meet by club owners with insanely risky decision making from club owmers and by England managers by constantly trying young unproven premier league players in the national team.
There is a lot of truth to this. Supporters want wins and not balanced books. Wins cost money. So trying to win often leads to insolvency.
Fulham has been blessed with its owners. The rich can manage losses better than the non-rich. Fulham could easily be a club like Charlton, Bolton, or Portsmouth without exceptional owners.
Quote from: Lyle from Hangeland on June 12, 2019, 01:52:58 PM
Quote from: The Rational Fan on June 10, 2019, 11:53:27 PM
English Suppprters put more pressure on their club owners and country managers than almost any others. Insane supporter expectations seems to be often meet by club owners with insanely risky decision making from club owmers and by England managers by constantly trying young unproven premier league players in the national team.
There is a lot of truth to this. Supporters want wins and not balanced books. Wins cost money. So trying to win often leads to insolvency.
Fulham has been blessed with its owners. The rich can manage losses better than the non-rich. Fulham could easily be a club like Charlton, Bolton, or Portsmouth without exceptional owners.
Since watching Malcolm McDonald's Fulham, I always dreamed of the club being owned by someone that i) loves the club, ii) gets involved with the club, iii) has the money to grow the club long-term, iv) has financial intelligence and v) has football intelligence. Tony Khan seems to have the four of five qualities in abundance and while he was hopelessly lacking the fifth quality a few years ago he is making every effort to acquire football intelligence.
And, while Fulham Fans over reflect on the owners son lack of Football Intelligence, its clear to me "The Khans" other qualities are keeping Fulham as a Yo-Yo Club. I am honestly surprised, that we aren't worse off than one year after MAF sold the club, I think that is a indication the ownership is at least overall average and i suggest we are improving very slowly, which is good. Much better than Malcolm McDonald days, when there was no money to keep the great players Malcolm McDonald was getting for free (like Paul Parker and Ray Houghton).
I will never forget clicking on ceefax and reading the headline of....'Al Fayed buys Fulham...more to follow'...there certainly was 'more to follow'. How fortunate were we that he came along and not some mob like the lot at Coventry now?
092.gif
Quote from: The Rational Fan on June 16, 2019, 08:18:26 AM
Quote from: Lyle from Hangeland on June 12, 2019, 01:52:58 PM
Quote from: The Rational Fan on June 10, 2019, 11:53:27 PM
English Suppprters put more pressure on their club owners and country managers than almost any others. Insane supporter expectations seems to be often meet by club owners with insanely risky decision making from club owmers and by England managers by constantly trying young unproven premier league players in the national team.
There is a lot of truth to this. Supporters want wins and not balanced books. Wins cost money. So trying to win often leads to insolvency.
Fulham has been blessed with its owners. The rich can manage losses better than the non-rich. Fulham could easily be a club like Charlton, Bolton, or Portsmouth without exceptional owners.
Since watching Malcolm McDonald's Fulham, I always dreamed of the club being owned by someone that i) loves the club, ii) gets involved with the club, iii) has the money to grow the club long-term, iv) has financial intelligence and v) has football intelligence. Tony Khan seems to have the four of five qualities in abundance and while he was hopelessly lacking the fifth quality a few years ago he is making every effort to acquire football intelligence.
And, while Fulham Fans over reflect on the owners son lack of Football Intelligence, its clear to me "The Khans" other qualities are keeping Fulham as a Yo-Yo Club. I am honestly surprised, that we aren't worse off than one year after MAF sold the club, I think that is a indication the ownership is at least overall average and i suggest we are improving very slowly, which is good. Much better than Malcolm McDonald days, when there was no money to keep the great players Malcolm McDonald was getting for free (like Paul Parker and Ray Houghton).
I totally agree.
