Former ace Jay lifts lid on time with Sky Blues
FORMER Coventry City striker Jay Bothroyd has spoken about his time at the club.
The 37-year-old was just 18 when he signed for then Premier League Sky Blues for £1 million from Arsenal – a weighty price-tag on his young shoulders.
His move came off the back of controversy after the temperamental teen had thrown his shirt at Gunners’ youth coach Don Howe and the bench after being substituted in the 2000 Premier League Youth Cup final against West Ham.
Making a fresh start at Coventry, the highly-rated striker made his league debut in a 2–1 Highfield Road defeat to Manchester United.
“Gordon Strachan was always really good with me,” said Bothroyd, speaking exclusively to 888sport
“He was really honest and blunt and I liked that about him.
“For me, I don’t want ‘yes people’ around me but those who say it like it is without dressing it up.
“He guided me and it was difficult for me because it was the first time I left home and went to live in the Midlands with no-one with me. It’s not easy.
“But he tried his best to get me along and I always say that Coventry City started going downhill the day that Gordon Strachan left. He was the one who galvanized them. He was the one who made good signings. He was the one who made Coventry a mid-table team.”
He added: “It was a shame though that when I first went there Robbie Keane was there in preseason. And I was thinking there was a possibility we could be playing up front together. Then Inter Milan came for him and he ended up leaving.”
Joining at a time when City boasted star quality in its ranks, Bothroyd – whose other clubs included Perugia, Wolves and Cardiff City before ending his playing career in Japan – also missed out on playing with one of the best midfield maestros to pull on a Sky Blues shirt.
“Gary McAllister was the best,” he said of the former Scotland captain, who moved to Liverpool the same summer he arrived from Highbury. “He was a fantastic player. He had great vision and even though he was in his mid-thirties he was still pulling the strings; free-kicks, corners. “He inspired some of the younger players. He was someone to look up to.” From the sublime to the ridiculous, Bothroyd recalls a training ground incident involving one of the club’s less talented players of the day. “We had a player called Runar Normann who had really quick feet and was a skilful player but he didn’t play much because he was a good left-back and a good leftwinger but he wasn’t great at either,” he said. “He ended up coming off the bench a lot but in training he was amazing. In one training session Paul Williams was playing rightback and Runar was left wing. “Runar was tearing him up and doing double step-overs and obviously Willo was getting upset and saying what he was saying. Runar started “At the swearing time football back at was him. different and you had to respect your elders. You couldn’t run your mouth off unless you could back it up because otherwise something was going to happen. “So after training we were all in the changing room and Willo went up to him and said ‘what have you got to say now? Because you’ve been talking a lot on the pitch.’ And Runar put his finger in his face. “We had to pull Willo off him but obviously all the boys were laughing. It was like that scene in The Hangover when Mike Tyson punched that guy. “It was funny for me but it was probably terrible for him.”
Gordon Strachan was always really good with me. He was really honest and blunt and I liked that about him. Jay Bothroyd