'47 years of pain, anguish and disappointment set to continue after Coventry City's gutless defeat to Colchester United'
Sky Blues supporter Josh Borthwick is emotionally spent after watching his side throw away their best chance of promotion in decades
Josh Borthwick
Sky Blues fans pictured at the Ricoh Arena
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Coventry City supporters last saw a top six finish at the culmination of the 1969/1970 season, when we finished in sixth position in the old First Division; and our wait for that elusive top six finish will now enter its 47th season, after yesterday's loss to Colchester United surely ended City's promotion hopes.
The Sky Blues are now eight points away from the League One play-off places after a demoralising, and typically below-par showing against the relegation threatened U's.
Being completely honest, when I watch my club lose I usually come away from the Ricoh Arena or whichever of the 92 Football League grounds we find ourselves playing at disheartened, upset and angry at the day's events, but last night for the first time I felt nothing.
No pain or despair, just emptiness. From a Coventry City perspective, my body is emotionally spent. Since Christmas, the grim reality is that we've witnessed the emergence of a sad, limp carcass of the once formidable Sky Blues team that was put together at the beginning of the season.
It is difficult to know where to begin when explaining the problems that have crushed our ambitions for this season, as even Dynamo would struggle to get his head round the sorcery playing a part in City's downfall.
While Mowbray has to be questioned for allowing a losing mentality to once again creep into City's mind-set, he is not to blame for results on the pitch.
A catalogue of injuries to key defensive players, a decline in the form of Armstrong, Maddison, Murphy, Fleck and Ricketts in particular, along with a string of shocking defensive displays are proven contributors to our downfall.
But what are we missing the most? A bit of heart. Where has the passion and fight in the side gone?
Gutless, uninspiring performances against the relegation fodder of Shrewsbury, Fleetwood and Colchester and average mid-table teams such as Rochdale, Swindon and Peterborough in recent weeks have brought our season to a premature end, when a place in the play-offs was there for the taking.
This is precisely why attendances will continue to drop and people continue to lose interest. The reason is that we've seen it all before.
For near on half a century, the club has stagnated, never threatening the upper reaches of any league table, and finally when Mowbray and co provide a sniff of success, it is yet again snatched cruelly away from us in a blink of an eye.
Watch Andy Turner on where Sky Blues go after Colchester defeat
Yet again, I'm struggling to see any spring light at the end of a long, dark, and painful winter tunnel.
I'll end where I began, with a sad yet nostalgic look back.
Coventry City Football Club finished the first season of the 1970s in sixth place, sandwiched between Liverpool in fifth and Newcastle United in seventh, with Manchester United hot on our tails in eighth place.
Fast forward nearly half a century to the 2015/16 season and we are positioned between Rochdale in eighth and Scunthorpe in tenth, with Port Vale trailing in eleventh.
Near on fifty years of pain, anguish and disappointment since the Noel Cantwell led Coventry City side took us into Europe. At some point, success will come to Coventry. Won't it?
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