Coventry City Fans To Boycott First League Game In Northampton
according to the Daily Telegraph. Several thousands are expected to attend a legends match at their former home, the Ricoh Arena, instead of travelling to see Coventry take on Bristol City. It is understood that the club have sold a mere 1,000 tickets for the Sky Bet League One clash on Sunday, a game that marks the first since leaving their former home following disputes over rent with the stadiums owners, despite the fact that Coventry have laid on free coach travel. Spokesman for the Sky Blues Trust Jan Mokrzycki said: Most people will be making their protest by going to the charity game at the Ricoh rather than going to Northampton. We want to send a powerful message in a legal and lawful way." Coventry's first league match last weekend at Crawley Town was overshadowed by crowd trouble, and things went from bad to worse when they were condemned to a second defeat inside a week as they fell at the hands of Leyton Orient in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday. A crowd of around 10,000 is expected for the legends match tomorrow, but many supporters are choosing to boycott the club altogether. Much of the animosity between the supporters and the owners largely centres around the failure to secure a compromise with the stadium's owners, this despite the fact that over 15,000 Coventry City fans signed a petition against the move to share with their League Two counterparts. This then led to an agreement to move their home fixtures to Northampton - 34 miles away - for the next three seasons, a decision which understandably was met with much anger and dismay. The situation reached a new low last week when the club faced liquidation and were immediately deducted 10 points by the Football League. It is believed that the travelling Bristol City fans may even outnumber Coventry fans, with around 400 tickets of the away allocation already sold. With financial problems off the field and their future far from certain, this season looks to be a real struggle for the Sky Blues. Coventry City were plying their trade in the top flight only a decade ago, now they will have to fight to not only retain their League One status but their future existence too.