Source: FOOTYMAD
Boothroyd to base the future on the past
The Boothroyd plan is to follow the 1987 team style Coventry City manager Aidy Boothroyd has a radical plan to turn his new team into a winning team. The magic formula is to copy the 1987 FA cup winning template. Boothroyd explained that he had looked at the best team in the club's recent history and concluded that the team under John Sillet and George Curtis that won the 1987 FA cup in style and finished in the top ten three consecutive seasons. Boothroyd played with Brian Kilcline, the Coventry skipper in those glory years, after he had left the club and plied his trade at Mansfield Town during the 1995/6 season and learnt much from the big defender. Boothroyd explained, “When I go to a club I always look at their best team ever, so let’s take the 1987 FA Cup winning team for Coventry. They had steel and they had guile, they scored goals and they kept clean sheets." “You had a great goalkeeper in Steve Ogrizovic and Brian Kilcline in the middle of the back four. Every team needs a horrible centre-half and although I played with Brian at Mansfield he doesn’t know where I live so I can say that." // '); // ]]> “You had Dave Bennett and Micky Gynn, jinky little players and Keith Houchen who was a fantastic goal scorer. They had it all, really. Now as I see it so far we have not got all of those common denominators in place here. We have got a creative midfield player but we haven’t got anyone who can score any goals at the moment and we really haven’t got any pace in wide areas yet." “I think you need pace and you need footballers as well, people who can come in off the line and open things up. We don’t do any of those on a consistent basis, but with three or four players we might just do that and I believe we can do that." “I know the chairman has got a plan to get into the Premiership and I want to get there, too, because I haven’t come here to be mediocre. I know the league, I know the players we have got and I am under no illusions as to what we need." "I’m looking forward to putting those little round pegs into round holes to add to what we have already got because I think we could surprise a few people next year. The league is as good or as bad as you want it to be and I have been fortunate enough to be successful in it." "I know what it takes to get out of it and luckily, in Ray Ranson, I have got a good chairman who understands it too. He is a football man but he’s not bothered about coming in the dressing room and picking the team." "He just wants to enjoy it and see the revenue and league position improve, and if we can do that then I think it is a really exciting place to be. I think it’s our time, it’s got to be our time.”
