Frank Lampard reveals IQ rivalry with TV presenter wife as Coventry City man handed boost after accident
Coventry City are gearing up for two eye-catching encounters that hold fascination for other reasons other than just the three points at stake.
First up this Saturday (12.30pm kick-off) we see the first return of former Sky Blues boss Mark Robins with his new club, Stoke City, and the opportunity for the fans and manager alike to say their official good-byes in whatever guise they consider appropriate on the day.
Then, next Tuesday (7.45pm kick-off) sees Frank Lampard’s first return to Derby County, where he started off his managerial career by guiding the Rams to the play-off final in his only season at Pride Park.
Meanwhile, here’s a round-up of what’s happening in and around the club, commencing with a humorous anecdote about the head coach.
Frank’s IQ exam
Frank Lampard always speaks very well and is a plainly well educated modern-day head coach and thinker on the game.
As well as having attained 11 GCSEs at school, including an A* in Latin, the Coventry City manager also has an IQ of 150, which places him in the top one to two percent of the country.
The Sky Blues leader disclosed he underwent the cognitive test after his former Chelsea and England team-mate John Terry suffered a concussion back in 2007.
“I just breezed it,” he said, bursting into a guffaw. “I was at Chelsea and it was in the aftermath of JT getting kicked in the head in the Carabao Cup final.
“Our doctor, who was Brian English at the time, made us do IQ tests to get us a base level of IQ so we could be registered again if you have a concussion or a head injury.”
sked how he felt at the time when his score placed him as one of the top one to two percent in the country, he said: “Other people were more interested in it than me, to be fair.
“I’m quite proud of it. It just defeated my wife, Christine, which was the greatest thing about it. She was just below me. I don’t know the precise figures. I think she’s around the same.”
He added, rather shrewdly: “But I think she’s smarter than me, to be fair. It feels that way in the house!”
Asked if it leads to some intriguing conversations at home, he joked: “Yeah, it does. She’ll dispute it, I suppose.
“It was a strange test. I’d never done one before. For whatever reason, I came out on top of it.”
The 46-year-old, however, has no intentions for a retest any time soon, explaining: “That was my one. I retired after taking one, just in case it was a false test.”
Justin returns to Action
Coventry City loan striker Justin Obikwu made his resumption to action after sitting out two games for Grimsby Town following a car accident.
The 21-year-old has scored seven goals since returning to the League Two for a season-long sojourn earlier in the campaign but was forced to miss a 2-1 victory over Fleetwood and 1-1 stalemate at Cheltenham after being “hurt” and “shaken up” in a collision.
But the player was back on the surface on Tuesday night, commencing the home game against Tranmere when he played the first 45 minutes of the 1-1 stalemate.
Statue Plans Presented
Plans have been submitted to Coventry City Council for the planned statue of Sky Blues FA Cup legendary management duo George Curtis and John Sillett holding the famous trophy that the club won in 1987.
The bronze statue will be 2.3 metres tall and will stand on a granite plinth, taking it to 3.5 metres tall in total, and is anticipated to be located near the club emporium near the rear entrance to the stadium where the players enter the ground on a matchday. The planning application has been submitted by the CBS Arena and is now ‘pending consideration’.
Vote for Bobby
Bobby Thomas has been nominated for the PFA fans’ player of the month for February. The Sky Blues defender is up against Sheffield United’s Anel Ahmedhodzic, Leeds United duo Junior Firpo and Joel Piroe, Portsmouth’s Josh Murphy and Burnley custodian James Trafford. To vote for Bobby, merely go to the website www.thepfa.com
Under-21s take points
Two goals from Rylie Siddall and one each from Tionne Critchlow-Woyo and Kai Yearn saw the Sky Blues Under-21s win 4-2 lead away at Barnsley.
City gained a 2-0 lead inside the opening half an hour at the Tykes’ training complex and held a comfortable three goal lead until just after the hour, after which the host side brought two goals back before Siddall netted his second to secure the points in the 90th minute.
Fixture modification
Coventry City’s Sky Bet Championship fixture against Sheffield United has been designated for live coverage by Sky Sports.
The encounter will now be contested on Friday 28th March, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm at Bramall Lane, rather than the original date of Saturday, 29th March.
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Football. Due to the TV selection, the event will not be available to broadcast on iFollow in a number of overseas locations.
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