Got my mojo workin'
Got my mojo workin'
Got my mojo workin'
Got my mojo workin'
Got my mojo workin', but it just won't work on you
I got a gypsy woman givin' me advice I got a gypsy woman givin' me advice I got a whole lot of tricks keepin' here on ice
Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters
And on to the final game of the season and a trip to Goldington Road, Bedford, for what is always one of the most enjoyable away days of the season.
Bedford Blues - a traditional club in every sense of the word, similar in many ways to Cov and always warm and welcoming. I'm fortunate to have been there a fair few times and witnessed Cov get a couple of good spankings in years gone by. I remember one in particular, probably in the early 90s (?) when Bedford put 70 plus points past us - I think we got a consolation try (Mark Lakey?). Not the happiest of away days, that one.
Better memories were, as a very impressionable child, going to watch Bedford and being told by my dad to look out for a Bedford player by the name of Budge Rogers - I saw him a few times in what must have been the late '60s and early '70s, always popular with the Cov crowd and so charismatic on the pitch.
For anyone reading this post who's supported Cov since the turn of the century (that sounds so wrong), any mention of Bedford will inevitably bring back recollections of the merger-that-never-was between the two clubs back in October of 1999.
Keith Fairbrother, erstwhile Coventry Chairman, tried to buy out Bedford and merge them with Cov, then playing at Coundon Road, under the proposed new name of Coventry Blues.
It all sounds rather fanciful now, but it very nearly happened, with Bedford's fixtures in October suspended whilst the ERP (English Rugby Partnership) undertook a review of the proposals.
Bedford at that time were in the Allied Dunbar Premiership but were struggling financially, and Cov who were in Premiership Two (or at least Fairbrother with presumably the backing of the Board?) saw their problems as a potential way of buying the club a return to the top flight, rather than earning it by right as every other club was expected to do.
An obvious modern day parallel there, perhaps?
It all seems a bit surreal looking back on the events some 20 plus years later and I can well imagine what the response of most rugby supporters up and down the country would be were something similar to happen now, given all the shenanigans we've been witnessing over the last couple of seasons.
And rightly so - there was a real arrogance about it that perhaps I hadn't fully appreciated at the time. It would cause a real furore these days, for sure.
Surreal now and it probably felt much the same back then, too, if I'm honest.
Bedford had been dropped by its main investor, the boxing promoter Frank Warren, the season before and were in dire financial straits. Fairbrother's plan was to bring Bedford to Coundon Road where they would play under the new name of Coventry Blues in the top flight whilst Cov would also retain a side in the Allied Dunbar Premiership Two. Fairbrother had previously paid Bedford's outstanding wage bill for September, so it did appear a genuine attempt on his part to bring Cov a step nearer the Premiership (misguided as it was) and in the process, as I'm sure he would argue, looking after the welfare of the Bedford players.
In fairness Paul Turner, Bedford's coach back then, was apparently in favour of the plan, believing that it represented, 'the best chance his players have of a long term future'.
The week before the news broke, Cov had played Worcester over at theirs and for the first and last time I'd had my Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame, or 15 seconds in my case, as someone from BBC's Midlands Today, seeing my Cov scarf, poked a microphone in my direction and asked me what I thought of the proposed merger between the two clubs.
I have no memory of what I said and I never saw the clip, for which I remain extremely grateful. It's probably still lying on the proverbial cutting room floor...
Obviously, the merger never did materialise and Keith Fairbrother was eventually bought out as Chairman by one Andrew Green, 7 years later. I never quite understood all that went on behind the scenes back then, but it didn't always appear to be the happiest of times and there were a lot of disgruntled supporters.
I'm sure there are those who will read this and be far more aware of the background to what was arguably the most turbulent period in Cov's history. If that is the case, I can only apologise for such a brief and probably erroneous recap - at that time I was even less aware of the ins and outs of the game at that level than I am now.
I'm sure there are a few gaps to be filled.
So plenty of history between the two sides, as you'd expect of clubs that have played each other getting on for 190 times over the years. We've encountered them on three occasions already this season, winning two and losing the once ( a Cup game, away). At Goldington Road they're always an entirely different proposition and have the added benefit of a large and vocal crowd who'll be very fired up for this, the last game of what has been a decent season for them, too.
As the above table shows, Bedford have won more Championship games than any other club, 574 in total (I'm presuming they've played more than any other club, too). And their average points per match is pretty decent too, especially when comparing it to Cov's - although given we've been relegated on a couple of occasions, that's hardly surprising.
The 2019 encounter between the two sides down in Bedford, one that will sadly live long in the memories of those who were present back then, is the 8th highest scoring game in the history of the Championship, but with just one point separating the two sides it must surely rank as the most exciting of all?
No one-sided encounter that one, as so many of the others were.
Coventry appear twice in the 'All Time Points In A Match' table, the other being against Nottingham when the game saw an incredible 124 points scored, 19 more than in the Bedford game, although 105 of them were scored by Cov! (Jez Harris amassing 42 in total). Odd that the top two games that have seen the most points scored in a match were both on the same day...what are the chances, eh?
Below is one of the Cov tries from that Bedford game, scored by Tom Jubb.
A real blast from the past is Jubby. Bit of a crowd favourite as well I recall, but despite being a mobile second row who scored a few tries in his time with us (14 in 56 appearances - no mean return that), he often frustrated the coaches and was moved on after that first season in the Championship.
That pass from Peters is something special, too.
It should be a corker on Saturday. Both teams are secure in their current positions in the Championship, so defeat won't cost them a place in the table and with both Rayer and Rae very much encouraging their teams to attack, we could be in for another try fest.
(Quick question - I remember a conversation with Rowland Winter during a training session a few years back in which he said that clubs receive an additional bonus depending on where they finish in the table - it was only a nominal amount; I can't recall the sums involved but it wasn't much more than £1000 - £1500 a place. Is that still the case? Anyone?).
There's bit of Cov interest in the Bedford squad these days as well, with Jordon Onojaife, Alex Woolford and Will Maisey (the Championship's leading points scorer this season - although Pellegrini would surely be out in front by a distance had he played as many games?) all seeing plenty of game time. Add to the mix Jake Sharp's involvement in the coaching team, as an Assistant Coach, and it all adds a little extra spice to a game that seldom fails to disappoint.
Speaking to a few folk before the game on Saturday, it appears that in addition to the two Supporters' Club coaches, there will be a fair few Cov supporters making their own way to the ground. I booked my tickets early last week and the main stand was filling up even then, so it should be a sizeable crowd which will make for a decent atmosphere. Cov supporters always make themselves heard so doubtless there will be a bit of good-natured banter going on between the two sets of fans.
I remember the first time Sue came to an away game with me it was against Bedford and we were literally the only Cov supporters in the four rows in front and behind us. I was quite vocal and Sue kept apologising (she didn't really get the etiquette back then - or lack of it). Come the end of the game, we got invited to pop over for a cuppa with a couple who lived near by!!!
Which is precisely why I prefer to go with Sam or Josh these days...
Ok - a tenuous link for a song this one, but I didn't want to go down the 'Singing The Blues' as that's rather too predictable, even for me.
Muddy Waters was one of the great exponents of blues music in the 50s and 60s and 'Got My Mojo Working' is a classic Muddy Waters track.
And besides, Cov's mojo is going to have to be working, and working well, if they are to beat a strong Bedford side away from home.
So perhaps not so tenuous after all?
Okay, well maybe it still is, but it was worth a try.
Tim,
Budge Rogers was at the David Duckham Memorial Service and also at the BPA for the afterwards event, looking very sprightly I must say for an 83 year old. Just one of the many legends who were in attendance.