Coventry, grey, windy and wet. Ricoh, sky blue seats empty, it’s “buy one get one free” - that incentive isn’t good enough; the stadium is barely a third full.
Coventry grey, windy and wet, the football is greyer still. Motions replacing emotions, we turn attentions elsewhere.
In the stands, behind the goal, a swarm of stewards descend upon a flag. “SISU OUT” but it’s the Orange jackets that eject as boos abound. Bully boy tactics suppressing free speech.
No sooner had that ended than we were treated to a plethora of Police pouncing on one individual in the Tesco Stand.
It takes more than four to lead him away, and in the melee one supporter is sent tumbling down concrete steps by the strong arm of the law. Predictably it kicks off and the cops come under attack by the irate Coventry fans.
And in a nutshell if you treat your “customers” like that no wonder that less than 13,000 home supporters bother even at half price.
As the off field antics die down we are brought back to the match, two teams in need of a finishing school, a game with nil - nil written all over it.
Second half, the Sky Blues change keeper presumably due to injury or perhaps a bout of sleeping sickness having had so little to do in the first half.
Coventry, birthplace of Sir Frank Whittle creator of the jet engine, benefitted from Chris Foy’s jet whistle as referee relished his chance to become a talking point.
Richard Keogh going down as if shot in the back as Jason Shackell appears to win the ball.
Jutkiewicz rolls the resulting penalty into the net as if stroking a cat, coolly gently and with love.
Any thoughts of a comeback ended as Shackell took the "buy one get one free" mantra to his heart when he nodded a throw-in directly into the path of Carl Barker who in turn volleyed a cracking shot home as John Brayford watched.
Even the angular antics of Theo Robinson failed to lift the travelling crowd and the question on many lips turned to “Will it stop raining before we have to leave”.
The answer from a grey windy and wet Coventry was “Yes” but only just.
Nigel Clough afterward thought Derby had been consistent over the last few weeks and that we were unlucky. Having paid to watch yesterday, it’s us who were unlucky Nigel.