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.
Iain Dowie was the latest man tasked with getting the Sky Blues back into the Premier League as the 2007/08 season began but did so against a worsening financial picture which severely hampered his efforts in the transfer market.
An opening day hammering of Barnsley at happy hunting ground Oakwell set the tone for a solid start to the campaign, City going top with a comeback win against Preston at the beginning of September.
League form had dipped however by the time the Sky Blues took on an under-strength Manchester United in the League Cup and provided a rare moment in the spotlight for the club with a fine 2-0 win, Michael Mifsud becoming an overnight sensation by scoring both goals.
‘gloom’
Off the field however the black clouds of financial gloom were gathering over the Ricoh Arena and Dowie was hit by a transfer embargo. Against this backdrop and talk of the club going into administration or even worse, City pulled off a quite unbelievable win at West Brom.
Ray Ranson rode to the rescue with his SISU partners and the club was saved but if Dowie was expecting some backing in the transfer market he was to be rudely interrupted in his thoughts when his new chairman wielded the axe in favour of former Fulham boss Chris Coleman.
Like so many before him Coleman found out the hard way what a task it would be to restore the Sky Blues` fortunes and was left shaken by a relegation battle that ended with City being battered at Charlton on the final day of the season and being saved only by results elsewhere.
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