Can Aidy stand out from the Sky Blue crowd?

Boothroyd, Cotterill, Mowbray, Irvine, Pearson.

All of the names mentioned seriously in connection with the Coventry City job were fairly indistinct from each other when looking from the outside, all with successes and failures on their CV's and all firmly established on the managerial merry-go-round.

As always the proof of the pudding will be in results on the pitch and that in respect the bar has not been placed too high for Aidy Boothroyd, who takes over a team that has finished 19th in the Championship for the past two seasons.

There is a danger that, as when Gary Megson took over at Bolton, Boothroyd's reputation for direct football will foster some negative thoughts among City fans before he even arrives.

But at 39-years-old, he is far from set in his ways and has spoken, while at Watford and since then, of a desire to play more attractive football.

Not that Sky Blues fans of course have been spoiled in that respect over recent seasons and if 'direct' football means long passes that actually find the strikers, a midfield that busts a gut to get in support of them and genuine wide men (Ashley Young blossomed under Boothroyd at Vicarage Road) delivering quality balls then few will be complaining.

At Vicarage Road he managed to achieve promotion with a significant core of the players at his disposal when taking over and Ray Ranson has been looking for someone to do something similar at the Ricoh Arena where the general feeling seems to be that the squad already assembled has been underachieving rather than being in need of drastic surgery.

As always, eternal gratitude awaits the man who gives City fans even a sniff of a return to the top-flight.

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