Unhappy Memory of Coventry

28th of November, 1970. I woke up from an appendix operation with my concerned parents standing over my hospital bed. Still fighting the general anaesthetic, with my head groggy and my eyes feeling like huge pebbles were pressing them upon down, I looked for some sort of loving reassurance. Instead, my father muttered, "Bloody West Ham lost 2-1 to Coventry!"

The team that day tugs at many a nostalgic nerve in my body:

Ferguson

McDowell, Taylor, Moore, Lampard

Holland, Eustace, Howe

Best, Hurst, Greaves

Those were the days when 4-3-3 meant 4-3-3! Can you imagine any of Best, Hurst or Greaves working the flanks and tracking back opponents?

It's easy to see why we lost that day. That has to be one of the poorest midfield line ups I have ever seen. Eustace was nicknamed Useless for a reason and Bobby Howe was never a first choice player. Patsi was a wonderful player on the ball but was not the sort to get stuck in and mix it! Presumably Brooking, Redknapp and Bonds were injured! Mind you, Brooking was not an established player at that stage and Redknapp, at the other end of the footballing career, was probably more focused on building a business empire.

We finished third from bottom that season and, because of my operation, I have harboured an irrational hatred of Coventry ever since. How I hope we stuff them today!