10 years in the Championship: 2004/05

Coventry City will be the Championship`s longest serving club next season following the relegation of Preston North End, the 2011/12 campaign being their 11th in a row in the second tier of English football.

Peter Reid faced an uphill battle to win over Coventry City fans having been parachuted in to replace the popular Eric Black but never in his short time in charge did it look as though he was the man to revive the Sky Blues ailing fortunes.

As with Black and Gary McAllister, Reid had to contend with the perilous financial situation at the club which saw Youssef Safri sold in the summer and Calum Davenport on the eve of the transfer window closing. The central defender`s final game, a home win against West Ham, was probably the high point of Reid`s brief reign, coming as it did just two days after a thumping win at Nottingham Forest.

'mugged'

Central to the manager`s plans for the season was the signing of Tim Sherwood, seen as a coup for the club given his experience. In his 11 games for the Sky Blues however Sherwood rarely left the centre circle and was way past his best, consistently being mugged in possession by the opposition.

Heavy away defeats at QPR, Middlesbrough, Wigan and Leicester spelled the end for Reid, who walked away at the turn of the year. With the new stadium set to open for the following season the club knew that the right man had to be appointed to prevent it hosting third-tier football and listened to the fans` views when making Micky Adams their choice.

A host of shrewd signings followed with Robert Page and the returning Marcus Hall tightening up the defence while Adams got the best out of Gary McSheffrey and Dele Adebola up front. In its final few weeks, Highfield Road became a hard place to get a result and survival was sealed in a glorious farewell to the stadium as Derby were hammered 6-2.

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