Sky Blues await their former King

He arrived in controversial circumstances, endeared himself to (most) Coventry City fans and then, as quickly as he came Marlon King had left the building, off down the road for Birmingham while the newspaper headlines heralding his stay at the Ricoh Arena were still being digested.

Marlon King will be back in CV6 this weekend for a crucial local derby against the Blues in which both sides are in desperate need for three points to fulfil ambitions at opposite ends of the table.

Andy Thorn spoke of being 'betrayed` at the time after being given a verbal agreement that King would sign a new contract at the club where he had picked up the threads of his career after being sent to prison.

Reading the Coventry Telegraph reports from the summer however and King`s departure becomes more understandable.

'stuck'

'Thorn will waste no time in switching his attention elsewhere to plug that gap and is understood to have already lined up a suitable high-profile replacement,` read the story confirming his exit.

The 'high-profile` replacement never came as the vacuum in leadership surrounding the club left Thorn stuck in the stalls while the transfer market sprint thundered off without him.

In the context of everything that has happened at CCFC since then no-one can doubt that King made the correct decision on a professional level. Whether he owed the club something on a personal level is open to debate.

King`s importance to Birmingham means he has been rested on a number of occasions in cup competitions this season as Blues have been battling on a number of fronts. In the Championship he has a very healthy 10 goals from 28 appearances plus a further 5 assists.

Asked about his former teammate, Gary McSheffrey said on Thursday: "He's a great player, so obviously you're going to miss him in the squad. We lost three or four who are going to obviously improve any squad, not only Marlon but a couple of the other lads.



He's a top player so I think we have missed him."

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