:00:03. > :00:12.Hello and welcome to a new series of the show which puts Midlands
:00:13. > :00:26.
:00:26. > :00:29.A club on a life support machine? Can Coventry City pull through?
:00:29. > :00:32.Does the colour of your skin make a difference to your chances of
:00:32. > :00:42.becoming a club manager? One former Derby, Notts County and Birmingham
:00:42. > :00:44.
:00:44. > :00:52.player thinks so. In lot of high- profile black players have tried it
:00:52. > :00:54.and walk away. -- a lot. And have the Blues found a cure for their
:00:54. > :00:56.away day blues? My guests this evening are the
:00:57. > :00:59.Burton Albion defender Darren Moore and the former Coventry full-back
:00:59. > :01:02.Marcus Hall. And we start in Coventry. Who'd be
:01:03. > :01:05.a fan of the Sky Blues? It's now 11 years since the they were relegated
:01:05. > :01:08.from the Premiership, but any thoughts of a return have long
:01:08. > :01:11.since dimmed. Now, survival in the Championship is the only objective
:01:11. > :01:14.on the field, and maybe survival as a professional football club is the
:01:15. > :01:21.focus off it. So what has gone wrong and what will happen next?
:01:21. > :01:25.Laura May McMullan has been trying to find out.
:01:25. > :01:30.This season has been one of the most traumatic in Coventry city's
:01:30. > :01:35.history. The Sky Blues are deep in the relegation zone and there is
:01:35. > :01:40.little sign of investment. Fans won the owners out. They fit the
:01:40. > :01:49.writing is on the wall. We are just sick of the lies and lack of
:01:49. > :01:53.investment. Either start investing or get out. It will be operation
:01:53. > :01:57.championship again next season. There is no hope at this club at
:01:57. > :02:06.the moment and we need it. It has been the same for years, according
:02:06. > :02:12.to one former manager. My journey to find out the owners of Coventry
:02:12. > :02:16.City has brought me to Greece. You must have arrived at Coventry full
:02:17. > :02:26.of hope. It was a sleeping giant, but it was not what it promised to
:02:27. > :02:28.
:02:28. > :02:32.be. It came to nothing. We sold all our best players and not
:02:32. > :02:42.reinvesting the money, which was difficult for us. What are Coventry
:02:42. > :02:51.City like to deal with? I never ever met the top brass. Over the
:02:51. > :03:01.course of my contract, which was three and a half years, �10 million
:03:01. > :03:06.was spent on players. I got the feeling in the end that their
:03:06. > :03:13.motives had to be questioned. men promised to turn Coventry
:03:13. > :03:23.city's around. Three have already gone. The one man up fans want
:03:23. > :03:27.
:03:27. > :03:37.answers from his Onye Igwe way. -- is Onye Igwe. I had a long list of
:03:37. > :03:38.
:03:38. > :03:48.questions I wanted to put to Sisu, but he declined to comment as well.
:03:48. > :03:52.
:03:52. > :03:59.Relationships with the fans have broken down. The one high-profile
:03:59. > :04:04.Sky Blues fan is urging Sisu to sell. I do not know how we finance
:04:04. > :04:09.the running of the club on a week- to-week basis. Debt are accruing at
:04:09. > :04:14.a frightening rate and I do not understand why Sisu would wish to
:04:14. > :04:20.continue in the ownership of the club. Were there no realistic
:04:20. > :04:27.purchases, they have got a problem. There is, there was. Why they did
:04:27. > :04:31.not do the deal in August when they had a chance I do not know. Sisu
:04:31. > :04:36.did save the club from administration in 2007, but five
:04:36. > :04:42.years on, fans fear that history could be repeating itself. The club
:04:42. > :04:50.has been on a life-support machine for the best part of 15 years. It
:04:50. > :04:56.has never been as bad as it is now bow and I think there is a more big
:04:56. > :05:02.race on now for which comes first, administration or relegation.
:05:02. > :05:07.Strong words there. Marcus, you have played for Coventry and seen
:05:07. > :05:16.the highs and lows. What do you make of what is going on there?
:05:16. > :05:19.is desperate yet -- it is desperate this year. You can understand the
:05:19. > :05:24.frustration of the fans. They had a protest at the Southampton game
:05:24. > :05:31.last week and it is understandable. There had been so many layers over
:05:31. > :05:38.the last few years. Sisu has not changed anything. We need answers.
:05:39. > :05:43.As a fan and a former player, there is nothing. No transparency. The
:05:43. > :05:48.ball do not give any answers. It is just really difficult. The silence
:05:48. > :05:52.is deafening from the boardroom. They have lost nine players over
:05:52. > :05:57.the summer and I suppose the nail in the coffin is losing your top
:05:57. > :06:04.scorer at two Middlesbrough. What do you make of that now? Andy Thorn
:06:04. > :06:10.must be tearing his hair out, if he had any. It is ridiculous. They
:06:10. > :06:20.needed to improve on goalscoring. Their defence isn't that bad. Now
:06:20. > :06:24.
:06:24. > :06:28.they have sold their top goalscorer. It is ridiculous and I don't see
:06:28. > :06:33.much light at the end of the tunnel. No-one will buy the club with so
:06:33. > :06:41.many decks. It is heartbreaking. The fans deserve better than what
:06:41. > :06:45.they are getting. From the fans' point of view, a lot of clubs are
:06:45. > :06:52.spiralling down. If they are not careful, you are looking at the
:06:52. > :06:56.allegations. It is a possibility, isn't it? Yes. We have had seasons
:06:56. > :07:00.at Coventry where there had been on the brink of being relegated, but
:07:00. > :07:03.we have been at the bottom most of the time. There is a real
:07:03. > :07:13.possibility and it is a shame because there are a lot of good
:07:13. > :07:15.
:07:15. > :07:25.young players in the squad. It can be demoralising if you are losing
:07:25. > :07:25.
:07:25. > :08:16.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds
:08:16. > :08:26.every week. On Saturday the Sky Five wins for Derby County. They
:08:26. > :08:28.
:08:28. > :08:38.are doing well. They are. The main thing for Derby is they have
:08:38. > :08:40.
:08:41. > :08:50.conceded one in five. They have a steady back line bow and it is the
:08:51. > :08:56.
:08:56. > :09:06.strength of the team. -- back line. They have reached the 40 point mark
:09:06. > :09:13.
:09:13. > :09:19.quite early. Yes. They are knocking on the door of the play-offs and
:09:19. > :09:22.that shows the tremendous work that has been done their.
:09:22. > :09:24.Still to come - the rest of the weekend's goals from the
:09:24. > :09:28.Championship, League One and League Two, including Nottingham Forest
:09:28. > :09:32.drawing a blank again. They have only scored in one of their last
:09:33. > :09:35.ten games. But first, as racism continues to
:09:36. > :09:39.cast its ugly shadow over football, a former Premier League player has
:09:39. > :09:43.told Late Kick Off that he believes the colour of his skin could be the
:09:43. > :09:45.reason he can't get a job as a coach. The ex Derby, Birmingham and
:09:45. > :09:48.Notts County defender Michael Johnson has strong words for those
:09:48. > :09:58.in charge of the game and says English football's reputation HAS
:09:58. > :10:07.
:10:07. > :10:15.been damaged by recent incidents of It is great to see the memories,
:10:15. > :10:19.but I am at sad. I do not want the memories to stop as a player.
:10:19. > :10:25.Michael Johnson feels let down by the sport he served as man and boy.
:10:25. > :10:33.This is a game I have loved for the last 20 years. Football is all I
:10:33. > :10:38.know. I would not say the game is racist, but there are elements of
:10:38. > :10:45.racism in the game. He is scared to say it, but it seems the colour of
:10:45. > :10:54.his skin is stopping him coaching. Just finishing the last part of the
:10:54. > :11:03.professional licence now. With all that in place and a glowing CV,
:11:03. > :11:10.Michael is left wondering. If you Goodenough, give me the job. If you
:11:10. > :11:16.have a good CV, you would like to pin you had an opportunity.
:11:16. > :11:20.have done everything, but coaching, a great CV. Yes, but it is not
:11:20. > :11:30.happening. Has it left you wondering that it is down to the
:11:30. > :11:36.colour of your skin? I'd do not want to make that any excuse. Do I
:11:36. > :11:43.feel as if I had been kicked in the nuts because of it? Yes. He knows
:11:43. > :11:49.it is a long journey, but he is disillusioned that he has applied
:11:49. > :11:52.for 27 jobs in eight months and has not had one interview. A lot of
:11:52. > :12:01.high-profile black players have tried it and walked away. Some have
:12:01. > :12:11.not bothered because they realise that the opportunities are few and
:12:11. > :12:15.
:12:15. > :12:20.far between. So, is their racism in football, especially after the
:12:20. > :12:30.recent incidents which Terry, Suarez and Sepp Blatter? There is
:12:30. > :12:32.
:12:32. > :12:39.racist abuse. Not banter, abuse. What about on the terraces? In 2012
:12:39. > :12:48.police are treating these chance from Nottingham Forest fans as a
:12:48. > :12:53.hate crime. In the context of the entire fabric of the game, Brendan
:12:53. > :12:58.Batson says we have come a long way. He was part of the first trio of
:12:58. > :13:03.black players in the Premier League. At least football is trying to deal
:13:03. > :13:08.with it in a positive way. But his main concern is that players still
:13:08. > :13:17.feel that their skin colour is hampering their way into coaching.
:13:17. > :13:21.We do not have any proof, but we only have to black managers in hour
:13:21. > :13:30.professional structure. The numbers do not live. Back in Nottingham,
:13:30. > :13:35.Michael Johnson is volunteering as vice chairman of a non-League club.
:13:35. > :13:40.If I do not get a coaching job I will find something else to do, but
:13:40. > :13:44.I want to make sure my children get to do what they want, despite the
:13:44. > :13:50.colour of their skin. If it means I have to come out and say what I
:13:50. > :13:59.need to say, I might have to be a sacrifice so that youngsters across
:13:59. > :14:05.the UK can become managers, in the boardroom because they are good
:14:05. > :14:15.enough and there colour of their skin has nothing to do with it. --
:14:15. > :14:16.
:14:16. > :14:20.become of their skin. He could have burn his bridges, but he has
:14:20. > :14:25.applied for so many jobs and not got one. Is there racism at
:14:25. > :14:31.boardroom level? If you have applied for so many jobs and you
:14:31. > :14:35.have the qualifications, you are going to start thinking, is there
:14:35. > :14:40.something going on behind the scenes why I am not getting an
:14:40. > :14:45.interview? It is not as if he has come for top level jobs all the
:14:45. > :14:54.time. He has gone for mentoring jobs, coaching the reserve team.
:14:54. > :14:59.There must be something. You are doing your coaching badges. Does
:14:59. > :15:09.this discourage you? I would not say it puts me off, but it is
:15:09. > :15:14.
:15:14. > :15:24.worrying. Michael Johnson has had a wonderful career in the game. It is
:15:24. > :15:24.
:15:24. > :15:28.worrying. There is only 1% of black managers and 30 % of ethnic players
:15:28. > :15:36.in the game. The numbers do not add up. The fact that Michael has to
:15:36. > :15:43.say that means he feels he is not been giving a chance. Do you think
:15:43. > :15:53.we should have a raw where a quota of black candidates should at least
:15:53. > :16:03.
:16:03. > :16:13.get an interview? Yes. They need to be able to at least get an
:16:13. > :16:14.
:16:14. > :16:18.interview. The Wayne Rooney roar does work in the States. -- beat
:16:18. > :16:23.Rooney and Raul does work in the States. If he is good enough then
:16:23. > :16:29.he should get a chance. He is not saying, I am black, give me a
:16:29. > :16:39.chance. If he is not good enough then fair enough. He has a
:16:39. > :16:41.wonderful character, I know him well. He is a great person.
:16:41. > :16:44.Do you think that recent accusations of racism have
:16:44. > :16:47.tarnished the game? We'd love to hear from you here on Late Kick Off.
:16:47. > :16:50.The conversation continues seven days a week on Facebook. And if
:16:50. > :16:56.you're on Twitter you can continue the debate online now by using the
:16:56. > :16:59.hashtag #lkomids. A Wembley Cup Final, relegation,
:16:59. > :17:02.financial uncertainty - it's all happened to Birmingham City in the
:17:02. > :17:05.last 12 months. So, what price a return to the elite for Birmingham?
:17:05. > :17:09.Well, Blues' home form is rich in promotion promise - eight wins in
:17:09. > :17:12.12 games with no defeats. But away from St Andrews, the picture has
:17:12. > :17:15.been a good deal less promising with seven defeats in 12 games. For
:17:15. > :17:25.Late Kick Off Laura May McMullan travelled with the Blues to
:17:25. > :17:25.
:17:25. > :17:29.Millwall. Seven defeats on the road and just
:17:29. > :17:34.nine points out of a possible 36. Birmingham City fans were hoping
:17:34. > :17:42.the journey to Millwall was not going to be a blue one. The away
:17:42. > :17:46.form has been poor.-Geek Week and turn it around. It is entirely a
:17:46. > :17:54.confidence thing away from home. Yet confident at home is not a
:17:54. > :18:03.problem. With two goals from the towering centre-forward Nicholas
:18:03. > :18:08.Zigic, blues are only two points of a play-off place. And what a
:18:08. > :18:15.difference the next 90 minutes made in the lion's den. Millwall were
:18:15. > :18:19.the dominant side for the majority of the first half, but it was a
:18:19. > :18:28.goal from Curtis Davis at that started Birmingham on their way to
:18:28. > :18:38.it a fantastic victory. -- to a fantastic victory. It was never
:18:38. > :18:43.
:18:43. > :18:49.going to beat Millwall's -- to beat Millwall's day. In the second half
:18:49. > :18:59.things went from bad to worse for the home side. Another player was
:18:59. > :19:18.
:19:18. > :19:26.sent off and Birmingham, well, they It is five! Marlon King! Is there
:19:26. > :19:32.again. So an incredible 6-0 and Birmingham's biggest away win since
:19:32. > :19:42.1988. It was a happy trip homes for the Blues. We have a fantastic
:19:42. > :19:46.
:19:46. > :19:56.opportunity now. To win 6-0 at Millwall is amazing. It is great.
:19:56. > :19:58.
:19:58. > :20:02.We are in the top six for the first time this season. It is a tough
:20:02. > :20:07.place to come. Not everyone has got the money to spend on travelling
:20:07. > :20:13.and coming down, so when the fans come down and they create such a
:20:13. > :20:18.fantastic atmosphere, you enjoy it with them. We do appreciate them.
:20:18. > :20:28.Chris Hughton's men are right on the heels of the promotion chasing
:20:28. > :20:30.
:20:30. > :20:33.pack. Out of the lion's den and into the Wolves left. -- lair.
:20:33. > :20:35.Birmingham's victory lifted them briefly in to the top six until
:20:35. > :20:38.Reading's win at Watford on Saturday evening lifted the Royals
:20:38. > :20:40.above them. But at the start of the season, many pundits thought
:20:40. > :20:43.Leicester City would lead the Midlands' charge in the
:20:43. > :20:46.Championship. Instead the Foxes are a disappointing 15th in the table
:20:46. > :20:49.after a home defeat by Barnsley. A Leicester win would have given
:20:49. > :20:52.them their first back-to-back league victories of the season, but
:20:52. > :20:55.they were up against it from the moment Andy Gray gave Barnsley the
:20:55. > :21:01.lead after 12 minutes. The Foxes responded quickly and Matt Mills'
:21:01. > :21:04.pass was skillfully controlled and converted by Lloyd Dyer.
:21:05. > :21:13.Enouragement for Nigel Pearson, but it was short-lived. Before half-
:21:13. > :21:15.time Gray had scored his second, and the winner, for Barnsley.
:21:15. > :21:25.Nottingham Forest continue to struggle after a fifth successive
:21:25. > :21:28.
:21:28. > :21:31.Forest's task became significantly more difficult four minutes after
:21:31. > :21:41.half time when Like Chambers was sent off for what referee Eddie
:21:41. > :21:55.
:21:55. > :22:04.Ilderton decided was an elbow on A lot of space there. 3-0 to
:22:04. > :22:14.Southampton. There was not a lot we could do. They are a good side. You
:22:14. > :22:17.
:22:17. > :22:23.do not want to play the top-of-the- table team with 10 man. -- 10 men.
:22:23. > :22:33.What has gone wrong at the City Ground? Steve Cottrell is probably
:22:33. > :22:41.wondering himself, but we sat here last season talking about Forest.
:22:41. > :22:47.Their season cannot get going at the moment. There is a lack of
:22:47. > :22:52.confidence. The same players are making the same mistakes, week-in,
:22:52. > :23:02.week-out. On paper that is a fabulous squat and even the players
:23:02. > :23:08.
:23:08. > :23:15.will be the first to say that. Eight banks in nine. They have not
:23:15. > :23:21.seen a goal at home for a while. Yes, and if you think about the
:23:21. > :23:25.striker's they have. They are quality strikers, but for some
:23:26. > :23:35.reason confidence in any sport plays a huge park and at Forest it
:23:36. > :23:36.
:23:36. > :23:41.is lacking. They need a couple of wins. Nigel Pearson has said that
:23:41. > :23:45.major rebuilding needs to be done. But that is not what you need to
:23:45. > :23:50.hear after all beat signings. have spent a huge amount of money
:23:50. > :23:55.and the pressure is on from the start, but they have not produced.
:23:55. > :24:01.Sometimes if you have so much money to spend you think you can just buy
:24:01. > :24:07.another player. Are too many individuals not making the team?
:24:07. > :24:14.Exactly. If you are thinking, if I had a bad game, they will bring
:24:14. > :24:18.someone else in, it is unsettling. There is another half of the season
:24:18. > :24:23.to go and then need to step up their game. Nigel peer to knew what
:24:23. > :24:30.he was coming into when he took the job and I think he can turn it
:24:30. > :24:33.around. Freddie Mercury was riding high in
:24:33. > :24:36.the charts with Living On My Own and Colin Jackson and Sally Gunnell
:24:36. > :24:39.both set new world athletics records. It's August 1993, the
:24:39. > :24:42.month that Jimmy Walker made his debut for Walsall after joining the
:24:42. > :24:52.club from Notts County. On Saturday, he made a club record 530th
:24:52. > :24:54.
:24:54. > :24:57.It isn't everyday you get a kiss before the game, but then this
:24:57. > :25:00.wasn't an ordinary Saturday for Jimmy Walker. 19 years after making
:25:00. > :25:03.his debut, he was overtaking Colin Harrison's appearance record for
:25:03. > :25:07.the Saddlers. In truth, he won't have had many quieter games in the
:25:07. > :25:10.previous 529. Jamie Patterson bore down on the
:25:10. > :25:20.Brentford goal, but chances were few and far between. And when
:25:20. > :25:23.
:25:23. > :25:26.Brentford did threaten to break through, Walker was on hand.
:25:26. > :25:28.Notts County manager praised his team's efforts after their defeat
:25:28. > :25:38.at Bournemouth, but bemoaned "little errors" at either end of
:25:38. > :25:43.
:25:43. > :25:53.the pitch. Yet, the game started so Touched away by Nelson there. We
:25:53. > :25:58.
:25:58. > :26:08.Cheltenham remain our top team in League Two after stretching their
:26:08. > :26:16.
:26:16. > :26:26.unbeaten run to ten games by Into the back of the net for Luke
:26:26. > :26:29.
:26:29. > :26:30.Cheltenham are second in the table, three places above Shrewsbury who
:26:30. > :26:35.beat fellow promotion-chasers Gillingham, who certainly weren't
:26:35. > :26:38.pretty in pink. Defender Shane Cansdell-Sherriff broke the
:26:38. > :26:41.deadlock after half an hour. The Shrews manager Graham Turner
:26:41. > :26:44.thought his side was worth more than the two goals they scored and
:26:44. > :26:47.he and the supporters had to wait until three minutes from time
:26:47. > :26:49.before Mark Wright made sure of the victory. The Hereford manager Jamie
:26:49. > :26:59.Pitman declared that his team's performance at Dagenham and
:26:59. > :27:00.
:27:00. > :27:10.Redbridge was the best of the season so far. And he has scored. A
:27:10. > :27:10.
:27:10. > :27:14.lovely Pollitt header! -- Pollitt Burton's promotion ambitions
:27:14. > :27:19.suffered a setback when they lost at Plymouth who had started the day
:27:19. > :27:29.on the bottom of the table. more misery for Port Vale. They
:27:29. > :27:48.
:27:48. > :27:58.lost at home to AFC Wimbledon, There is Mark Richards to Scott!
:27:58. > :28:12.
:28:12. > :28:15.Wimbledon have turned this game And that's about it for this
:28:15. > :28:18.evening. Next Monday, Leicester go to Southampton for a game which
:28:18. > :28:21.will tell us much about the Foxes' hopes of gatecrashing the automatic
:28:21. > :28:24.promotion party. Late Kick Off will be at St Mary's for the game. My
:28:24. > :28:29.thanks to Marcus and Darren for their thoughts this evening and we
:28:29. > :28:32.will leave you with two players who couldn't keep their feet. Aston
:28:32. > :28:35.Villa's Shane Lowry, on loan at Millwall, won't want to see this