Coventry owner Doug King makes plea to fans who left with 10 minutes to go in defeat to Ipswich

Coventry owner Doug King makes a plea to fans who left the stadium with 10 minutes to go in the 2-0 defeat to Ipswich.

One of the talking points in his message reflecting on the year, King expressed disappointment at those leaving early, urging supporters to stay until the end and commit fully.

Ahead of 2026, with 11 home games remaining, he called for three New Year resolutions from season ticket holders to attend all games, list unused tickets on the exchange, and stay to the final whistle.

A message to all Sky Blues fans from Doug King as he looks ahead to 2026. 📝

— Coventry City (@Coventry_City) December 31, 2025

STATEMENT:

It has been an incredible 2025 for our football club. On the pitch, we have accumulated a remarkable 92 points from 46 games this calendar year!

Our home form, despite the recent setback on Monday, has been nothing short of extraordinary, winning 18, drawing 2 and losing only 3 games. To put that into perspective, the club suffered 9 defeats at home in 2024.

I am often quoted in the media on my extreme dissatisfaction with the distortion in the Championship caused by the parachute payments made to the relegated Premier League clubs (approximately £45m-£55m per season to each relegated club over two or three years).

It is frankly anti-competitive and must be modified by the new football regulator. For the record, if Coventry City ever became a Premier League team my view would remain the same, this distortion must be reduced. I welcome the ability for our great cities and towns to have a fairer chance to reach the Premier League without running huge, financially unsustainable risks to compete.

We have 4 clubs that continue to receive parachute payments in our league this year (just to remind you) and therefore our achievements are unprecedented. As a supporter, I don’t think it really gets much better…

Speaking candidly, it was disappointing for us all at the club to see our home supporters exiting in droves as we conceded that second goal on Monday with 10 minutes still to go. Aren’t we all in this together to the end?

As we move into 2026, the club is going to need our supporters like never before. This is our moment to drive the team onto the success that we know is there for us to grasp. We have an incredible opportunity to reach the Premier League for the first time in a generation and with 11 home games remaining we need to make our home a stronger fortress than it already has become.

On that note, it is a good moment to remind everyone of the current configuration post ownership.

We have reduced the Away Fan allocation to around 2,000 (from 3,000) to allow more home supporters to be part of this.

When we sell out our match day home tickets, we open the ticket exchange to encourage those season ticket holders who cannot be present to allow others to be present and support our team in person. The season ticket holder currently receives a food and beverage voucher to encourage participation. This has worked moderately well with the highest number of tickets being exchanged at close to 500 for the recent Swansea fixture.

However, there is always more demand for tickets than tickets put on to the exchange and despite having this facility, nearly 10% of season ticket holders do not post (on sold out games) or physically attend each home game!!!

So, versus Ipswich for example, with an official attendance of 31,213, over 3,000 less were present in the Arena supporting our team…….

If our exchange was utilised fully, a further 3,000 tickets would have been posted and available for purchase for this game, covering those who could not attend.

On that note, as we move into 2026, can I ask for three New Year resolutions?

All season ticket holders clear their diaries for those 11 home games. We need you there. This is our moment. It will probably not get better than this.

If, on the off chance, you just cannot make it (and I do understand the TV schedules), once the exchange opens, put that ticket up for sale. Make it a priority. Put an alarm reminder on your phone (if you have one).

Stick with us in your seat to the end of each match. Win, lose or draw. It really matters.

From the club side, we will continue to strive to improve your experience with the fan zone and other initiatives.

We will commit that after the Leicester A+ (local derby game) and Millwall midweek C game, all other home games until our last home fixture against Wrexham will be set as B games. We want you physically there at the stadium cheering on our incredible team to give us the best chance of fulfilling our dream.

We will assess again the benefit to season ticket holders for posting their tickets on the exchange (if they cannot make it) to improve uptake.

All those lucky enough to have a season ticket though at this moment, I urge you to play your part in getting our stadium full and driving the atmosphere that inspires our boys to reach the heights needed to succeed.

Thank you for all your incredible support for our club. A lot has been achieved in the last few years, and I hope 2026 is a year to remember for each and every one of you in your own lives and one to remember for our great Football Club.

Happy New Year

Doug

– STATEMENT ENDS –

Here’s how Twitter users reacted after Coventry owner Doug King makes plea to fans who left with 10 minutes to go in defeat to Ipswich…

@SkyBlueBull: I’m well trained in this matter, I’ve explored every avenue & alleyway, if I leave on the 84th it takes me 15 mins to get home, if I stay for the fist pumps & try to leave after it takes me over a hour. I’ll continue to decide which one I do on a game by game basis cheers DK.

@fingerbandaged: No build up before the players come out anymore just a load of shitty dance music that’s why the atmosphere’s gone downhill.

@Ethan_Fletcher7: Spot on. What message does it send to the players when everyone leaves 10 minutes early?

@Chivsy123: If the car parks opened earlier we would have stayed. Takes me over an hour longer to get home if we stay to the end. Monday night at 2-0 we made the decision to try get out. We support the team and club regardless….7 mins leaving early doesn’t change that #PUSB

@RF5PUSB: Great message, should try fixing the traffic though

@cov_t0: Genuinely the best owner we could ask for 👏 thank you Doug

@stutaylor2020: Whether you agree/disagree with his opinion, at least he’s clearly passionate about the club and wants us to do well. He’s stating that home fans are the priority and he’s recognising just how great the season has been so far #PUSB

@dave__spencer: Speaking to an Ipswich fan, they have a ticket exchange and receive 1/23rd the value of their season ticket. Seems better and fairer than a £10 drink voucher #PUSB

@CoventryKing: Maybe stop punishing fans for making noise then might help just a suggestion lads

@SkyBluesSteve: Sorry Doug, but I always have and always will leave when I want. Travel out of the ground is atrocious and I’d rather choose home in a timely manner vs endure 5 more minutes of bad football. Respect paying fans on the pitch and people will stay, Monday was rare, no need to cry.

@Gilberss84: Fair play Doug. Feel awful for leaving early now, wont happen again. PUSB

@TheSkyBlueLine: Brilliant message. Important one too.

@itsnotallwalkin: Well said! That abandonment on 80 mins was embarrassing, thank you for speaking out on this. We’re in a once in a generation season and I want to experience every remaining minute! 100% behind you, Frank and the boys 🩵

@mrtjnss: Great words and he is right about supporting til the end, however the HUGE issue is still the complete closure of roads around the stadium. Funnelling traffic out of carpark A side and make them all go towards M6 wouldnt be an issue? We built the stadium there for accessibility?

@bobbydodo74: Well said Doug. It’s a real pleasure supporting your/our club. We let the club down as supporters on Monday, in many ways, booing, leaving and not putting seats up for resale. We can only improve and hope collectively we get where we want to be. Happy New Year SBA 🩵🩵🩵

@JazzH3121: Spot on that, didn’t expect the fans leaving to be mentioned but it was and I hope those that left read this. Our song end we will fight til the game is gone, not leave when the game isn’t won.