Supporters’ group the Sky Blue Trust has described confirmation of Coventry’s groundshare with Northampton Town as “a dagger blow through the hearts of thousands of Coventry City supporters”.
The Football League yesterday stated it had reluctantly approved the Sky Blues’ application to play their home games at Sixfields Stadium for an initial period of three seasons, although it could stretch to as many as five.
It comes after Coventry revealed plans to move into a new stadium claiming they had been given no choice but to leave the Ricoh Arena as their lengthy and bitter rent row with stadium management company Arena Coventry Limited (ACL) rumbles on, with the proposal to groundshare while it is being built.
It is a move which has been met with anger from the vast majority of Coventry supporters, who have vowed in large numbers not to travel to Sixfields.
And a statement from their leading supporters’ club today read: “The Sky Blue Trust is disappointed, dismayed and angry about the announced move for Coventry City to be uprooted and to play its ‘home’ matches 35 miles away in Northampton for up to five years.
“The dispute between Sisu, the ultimate owners of CCFC, and the Ricoh Arena operators, ACL, has gone on for an interminable time but this latest unnecessary move is a dagger blow through the hearts of thousands of Coventry City supporters.
“While Sisu insist this move is vital for the club to survive, the Sky Blue Trust maintains that exactly the opposite is true - this move could well destroy our club.”
The statement continued: “The most unpalatable aspect in all of this is the toothless and impotent stance of the Football League.
“Coventry fans have become sick and tired of the rhetoric and posturing between the two antagonists and the Trust continues to call for both parties to get together and negotiate properly, for the good of the supporters, the community and, ultimately, themselves.
“The Football League has simply watched and allowed this to spiral out of control and will be fully complicit in the death of our football club.”
The Football League has stressed it did not take the decision lightly and admitted “it remains a matter of deep regret” that Otium Entertainment Group Ltd - who last month completed their purchase for the assets of CCFC Ltd - and ACL could not come to an agreement.
The League urged both to continue to explore every opportunity to resolve the dispute, with ACL as recently as yesterday insisting it wants City to play at the Ricoh Arena and is happy to discuss terms.
But Coventry (Holdings) chief executive Tim Fisher insists that door was closed by ACL at the start of the year and the club have taken an irreversible decision to make new plans for the future.