Magic of the cup in short supply for CCFC

Coventry City host Southampton on Saturday in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup but, in the 25th anniversary year of the Sky Blues famous Wembley triumph, the magic of the famous old competition will be little in evidence at the Ricoh Arena.

A tie against another Championship side was always going to attract a low gate even if the home side had been going into the game in a better league position than they are. Saints are unlikely to bring as many supporters as they did in November given their focus is on promotion while the game is an extra cost to City season ticket holders just after the festive period.

Factor in the main CCFC stories of the week which have been the nature of a fans' protest against owners SISU and Andy Thorn's admittance that Lukas Jutkiewicz is likely to be sold soon and it adds to up a game that perhaps both teams would want to get out of the way quickly.

City's upturn in form over Christmas may slightly have dampened down the potential protests but the planned boycott of the first 15 minutes has attracted plenty of media attention over the past couple of days.


The protests are born of the massive frustration that comes with being a Sky Blues' fan and no-one can doubt the passion of those organising them. Whether they affect SISU's thinking is a big question mark as is whether it will bring forward a credible, open and transparent bid for the club from anyone else.

The Cup may have made a thousand and one dreams come true in its time but it will be hard pressed to work its magic on this particular tie.

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