David Speedie - Coventry City

Coventry City

Having scored 64 goals in 205 appearances for the West London side, Speedie joined Coventry City for £750,000 in July 1987 following a disagreement with manager John Hollins. His first appearance was in the 1987 Charity Shield against Everton where he narrowly missed out on scoring on his debut. This statistic would be rectified just a week later however when in an effective replay of the 87 Cup Final at Highfield Road Speedie scored with a fine low shot past Clemence to set up a 2–1 win over Spurs. Whilst Coventry were hampered in their post Cup final season by a disintegrating pitch, Speedie earned the notable distinction of scoring a hat-trick whilst finishing on the losing side in a 3–4 defeat against Middlesbrough. Often in the thick of the action, and blessed with a useful attacking team, he combined with the aerial strength of Cyrille Regis and the wide options of David Smith, David Phillips, Micky Gynn and Brian Borrows to score some memorable goals. His chipped winning goal at Carrow Road a week after the Sutton Utd debacle, against a high-flying Norwich City side, was almost universally described in the press as 'sublime'. This became the Speedie trademark at Coventry and was used to great effect against the likes of Wimbledon and Southampton. He was a key component in an impressive Coventry City side in the 1988/89 campaign, beating the champions-elect Arsenal and riding as high as 3rd in the league as late as February. They would only lose 5 games on their travels that season-winning the same number away from home. Their 7th place finish was only the third time a top 8 place had been achieved. The latter half of his spell at Coventry would see him drop back into a deeper midfield role which led to a significant reduction in his goals tally. He enjoyed just under four years at Coventry, none of which were relegation battles, scoring 35 goals (Cup and league). This equalled his Chelsea strike rate and enabled him to maintain a presence in the Scottish international side. His indiscipline and habit of courting controversy was always a major weakness. Speedie left Highfield Road amid the turbulent and transitional autumn/winter period of 1990/91, which would see manager John Sillett replaced by Terry Butcher. Yet Speedie's indomitable fighting spirit, and his ability to convert spectacular chips and headers to win seemingly lost games, always ensured he was adored by the Sky Blues fans. He ranks as one of the most popular Coventry City strikers of the modern era.