WHEN Coventry City were beaten at home 7-2 by Benfica in a pre-season friendly last week, manager Ron Atkinson quipped: 'As long as we score eight goals a game, we should be okay.' They say you need a sense of humour to support the Sky Blues. Actually, you tend to when you come from Coventry.
But having let Benfica off the hook, what of the coming season? New seasons always begin with the same old thoughts that this year could be our year.
Apart from the glorious FA Cup victory in 1987, its our year if our team avoids the drop. Mind you, what's the fun in being mid-table come the last few games of the season? Couched in those terms, this year could just be our year. Oh sure, we were never in the running for Alan Shearer, whose GBP15 million fee represents GBP3 million short of the entire sum 'Big Ron' has spent on players since taking charge at Highfield Road in February last year.
But I hear of a renewed buzz at the club this summer - well a buzz at least - mainly due to the purchase of Scottish captain Gary McAllister from Leeds which apparently has sent reverberations through the City of Coventry the likes of which have not been felt since Lady Godiva did her thing.
Midfielder McAllister spells ambition, promise, anticipation; expectation even. He may not be Vialli, Branco or Ravanelli, but unlike them, he has proven himself in the Premiership and was the key to Leeds' league title in 1992.
McAllister's reunion with Coventry coach and former Leeds' teammate Gordon Strachan, due to take over from Big Ron next year, shows the club is looking to the future, with the prospect of a Strachan-McAllister driving force in years to come.
This was the reason given by young Belgian attacking defender Reggie Genaux, reportedly the target of bigger clubs, on moving to Coventry from Standard Liege for GBP1 million last week.
