Sky Blues review 2005/06 - part one

After the euphoria of the last game at Highfield Road and City's escape from relegation, manager Micky Adams began the task of assembling a squad to compete in the Championship against a tight financial background.

The late opening of the new Ricoh Arena meant that the first three games of the season were to be played away while financially, the lack of a glamorous friendly to open the ground and the early restrictions placed on capacity increased the burden on the already cash-strapped Sky Blues.

Adams though persuaded nearly all of the club's out-of-contract players to accept new deals, including Stephen Hughes and Gary McSheffrey, while signing James Scowcroft from Ipswich, defender Matt Heath from Leicester and goalkeeper Clayton Ince from Crewe over the summer.

Richard Duffy was re-signed on loan from Portsmouth for the whole season and West Ham goalkeeper Stephen Bywater joined on loan just before the start of the campaign.

The season kicked off with draws at Norwich and Millwall before a 4-0 defeat at Burnley that saw captain Hughes sent off, the start of a frustrating campaign for the previous season's player of the year.

Then came the moment that many thought would never happen as the Arena finally opened.

A restricted full house of 23,000 watched the opening game and went home happy after a 3-0 win against QPR, Claus Jorgensen scoring the first goal at the Sky Blues new home.

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