# 2007–08 Coventry City F.C. season

The 2007–08 season was Coventry City's 88th season in The Football League and their 7th consecutive season in the Football League Championship. Along with competing in the Championship, the club also participated in the FA Cup and Football League Cup. The season covers the period from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008.

## Review and events
### Monthly events

This is a list of the significant events to occur at the club during the 2007–08 season, presented in chronological order. This list does not include transfers, which are listed in the transfers section below, or match results, which are in the results section.
August:
* Iain Dowie is named Championship Manager of the Month.
September:
* Tribunal sets the prices for Gary Borrowdale and Leon Best.
** £650,000 upfront for Best, rising to a maximum of £1,200,000.
** £400,000 upfront for Borrowdale, rising to a maximum of £650,000.
October:
* Managing Director Paul Fletcher announces his resignation.
* Acting Chairman Geoffrey Robinson MP stands down with Joe Elliott taking his place.
* Transfer embargo installed due to failure to pay installment on Leon Best transfer.
November
* Potential takeover by Ray Ranson fronted SISU consortium hits an alleged financial stumbling block.
December
* With less than an hour before deadline, takeover by Ray Ranson fronted SISU consortium goes through.
* Club and new owners SISU file intent to go into administration as a precaution.
January
* Transfer embargo imposed in October is lifted.
February
* Iain Dowie is sacked as manager, with John Harbin and Frankie Bunn taking over as caretaker managers.
* Chris Coleman is appointed as new manager, with Steve Kean coming in as his assistant
* SISU acquire the 90% ownership of the club required to complete their takeover.
March
* Scott Dann and Daniel Fox are both called up into the England Under-21 squad for first time.
April
* Jay Tabb is voted the official Fans' Players of the Season, while Leon Best picks up Young Player Award.
May
* Coventry City escape relegation on the last day of the season despite 4–1 defeat to Charlton Athletic.

## Season statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | League Cup | League Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | GRE | Dimitrios Konstantopoulos | 23 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | NED | Arjan De Zeeuw | 19 | 0 | 16+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Marcus Hall | 21 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | WAL | Rob Page | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Daniel Fox | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Elliott Ward | 42 | 7 | 35+2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Stephen Hughes | 41 | 2 | 32+5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Wayne Andrews | 7 | 0 | 0+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | EIR | Michael Doyle | 49 | 7 | 42 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | NGA | Dele Adebola | 31 | 6 | 15+11 | 4 | 2+1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Zavon Hines | 7 | 1 | 0+7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | SCO | Kevin Kyle | 14 | 2 | 7+6 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | TRI | Chris Birchall | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | NED | Ellery Cairo | 8 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Leon McKenzie | 11 | 2 | 9+2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Isaac Osbourne | 49 | 0 | 37+5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | MLT | Michael Mifsud | 47 | 17 | 34+7 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| 18 | DF | SCO | David McNamee | 15 | 1 | 12+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Stuart Giddings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | EIR | Colin Hawkins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | EIR | Jay Tabb | 49 | 6 | 40+2 | 5 | 3+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | EIR | Leon Best | 40 | 9 | 29+5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 23 | GK | AUS | Danny Ireland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | ENG | Robbie Simpson | 34 | 2 | 10+18 | 1 | 1+3 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | ENG | Julian Gray | 29 | 3 | 20+6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Scott Dann | 16 | 0 | 14+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | NIR | Michael Hughes | 20 | 0 | 16+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Gary Borrowdale | 26 | 0 | 20+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Kevin Thornton | 20 | 1 | 9+10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | ENG | Liam Davis | 7 | 0 | 2+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | ENG | Donovan Simmonds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | GK | DEN | Kasper Schmeichel | 9 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Andy Marshall | 21 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | ENG | Ben Turner | 23 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ENG | Lee Hildreth | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Liam Francis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | WAL | Richard Duffy | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Player substitutions are not included.

### Goalscorers

* 14 players have scored for the Coventry City first team during the 2007–08 season.
* 66 goals were scored in total during the 2007–08 season.
** 52 in the Championship
** 8 in the League Cup
** 6 in the FA Cup
* The top goalscorer was Michael Mifsud with 17 goals.
| Name | Championship | League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| Michael Mifsud | 10 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
| Leon Best | 8 | 1 | 0 | 09 |
| Elliott Ward | 6 | 0 | 1 | 07 |
| Michael Doyle | 7 | 0 | 0 | 07 |
| Jay Tabb | 5 | 1 | 0 | 06 |
| Dele Adebola | 4 | 1 | 1 | 06 |
| Julian Gray | 3 | 0 | 0 | 03 |
| Robbie Simpson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 02 |
| Leon McKenzie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 02 |
| Kevin Kyle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 02 |
| Stephen Hughes | 1 | 0 | 1 | 01 |
| Kevin Thornton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 01 |
| Zavon Hines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 01 |
| Daniel Fox | 1 | 0 | 0 | 01 |

### Yellow cards

* 24 players have been booked for the Coventry City first team during the 2007–08 season.
* 90 bookings were received in total during the 2007–08 season.
** 47 in the Championship
** 3 in the League Cup
** 2 in the FA Cup
* The most booked player was Leon Best with 11 cards.
| Name | Championship | League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| Leon Best | 10 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Michael Doyle | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Elliott Ward | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Stephen Hughes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Isaac Osbourne | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Arjan De Zeeuw | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Daniel Fox | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Jay Tabb | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Michael Mifsud | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Robbie Simpson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| David McNamee | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Kyle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Scott Dann | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Gary Borrowdale | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Dele Adebola | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Thornton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Michael Hughes | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Liam Davis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ellery Cairo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ben Turner | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Leon McKenzie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Marcus Hall | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Julian Gray | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Richard Duffy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

### Red cards

* 3 players have been sent off for the Coventry City first team during the 2007–08 season.
* 4 players were sent off in total during the 2007–08 season.
** 4 in the Championship
** 0 in the League Cup
** 0 in the FA Cup
* The most sent off player was Kevin Kyle with 2 sending offs.
| Name | Championship | League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| Kevin Kyle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Michael Doyle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Michael Mifsud | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Player | From | Date | Fee |
| Dimitrios Konstantopoulos | Hartlepool United | 25 May 2007 | Free |
| Arjan De Zeeuw | Wigan Athletic | 30 June 2007 | Free |
| Ellery Cairo | Hertha Berlin | 30 June 2007 | Free |
| Donovan Simmonds | Charlton Athletic | 1 July 2007 | Free |
| Robbie Simpson | Cambridge United | 1 July 2007 | £40,000 |
| Leon Best | Southampton | 6 July 2007 | £650,000 |
| Gary Borrowdale | Crystal Palace | 6 July 2007 | £400,000 |
| Michael Hughes | Crystal Palace | 6 July 2007 | Free |
| Julian Gray | Birmingham City | 10 July 2007 | Free |
| Daniel Fox | Walsall | 28 January 2008 | Undisclosed |
| Scott Dann | Walsall | 1 February 2008 | Undisclosed |

### Transfers out

| Player | To | Date | Fee |
| Arran Lee-Barrett | Hartlepool United | 25 May 2007 | Free |
| Andy Whing | Brighton & Hove Albion | 7 June 2007 | Free |
| Khalilou Fadiga | K.A.A. Gent | 1 July 2007 | Free |
| Che Bunce | Waikato FC | 1 July 2007 | Free |
| Don Hutchison | Luton Town | 26 July 2007 | Free |
| Colin Cameron | Milton Keynes Dons | 1 August 2007 | Free |
| Cameron Belford | Bury | 10 August 2007 | Free |
| Ryan Lynch | Crewe Alexandra | 17 August 2007 | Free |
| Andy Gooding | Rushden & Diamonds | 1 January 2008 | Free |
| Rob Page | Huddersfield Town | 21 January 2008 | Free |
| Dele Adebola | Bristol City | 31 January 2008 | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Player | From | Date From | Date Till |
| Kasper Schmeichel | Manchester City | 13 March 2008 | 5 May 2008 |
| Richard Duffy | Portsmouth | 21 March 2008 | 6 April 2008 |
| Zavon Hines | West Ham United | 27 March 2008 | 5 May 2008 |

### Loans out

| Player | To | Date From | Date Till |
| Stuart Giddings | Oldham Athletic | 10 August 2007 | 1 January 2008 |
| Chris Birchall | St Mirren | 31 August 2007 | 2 December 2007 |
| Andy Gooding | Burton Albion | 31 August 2007 | 18 November 2007 |
| Wayne Andrews | Leeds United | 1 October 2007 | 1 November 2007 |
| Dimitrios Konstantopoulos | Nottingham Forest | 25 March 2008 | 29 March 2008 |
| Kevin Kyle | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30 January 2008 | 20 April 2008 |
| Colin Hawkins | Chesterfield | 27 March 2008 | 4 May 2008 |
| Wayne Andrews | Bristol Rovers | 27 March 2008 | 27 April 2008 |
| Donovan Simmonds | Gillingham | 27 March 2008 | 27 April 2008 |

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