Neville Hadsley laments the evaporation of long-held dreams for fans of Coventry City.
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Just over 20 years ago John Sillett, then manager of Coventry City, declared his intention at the start of the 1987-88 season to win the old First Division Championship.
While it was always going to be a tall order, his ambition was a little more than bluster. Coventry City were the newly-crowned FA Cup winners, and had invested heavily to bolster an already successful squad.
Yet, with Aston Villa relegated to English football's second tier at the end of the previous season, and Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers all on a long sojourn away from the top flight, there was perhaps a little showboating going on at Highfield Road.
So it proved. While the Sky Blues had a reasonable season finishing seventh, the title was never a realistic prospect.
Even so, the future looked good. So how is it, 20 years on, that Coventry are on the verge of administration?
As with all businesses, the best place to look for the reasons for success or failure is at the top. Since 1994 Coventry City have been under the effective control of one man - Geoffrey Robinson.
The MP for Coventry North West, former chairman of Jaguar, former postmaster general, lender of last resort to Peter Mandelson - an episode which led to the latter's first resignation from the Cabinet - and holiday-home supplier to one Tony Blair, Robinson is an extremely well-connected man.
For all his wealth, Robinson's record at Coventry makes gruesome reading. In his 13 years as the major shareholder in the club, the Sky Blues have been relegated from the top flight after a 37-year tenure, lost their ground and run up a debt a little more painful than Mr Macawber's celebrated sixpence.
In all, it amounts to £38 million. Quite how this can be baffles most Coventry fans. Coventry City have been a selling club for the last decade or so.
In 1999, for example, they made a £6 million profit on the sale of Robbie Keane. Sales of such players as Dion Dublin, Mustpha Hadji, Darren Huck-erby and Craig Bellamy also brought in cash. In 2001 alone, Coventry made a profit on player transfers to the value of £18.4 million.
And the sales went on; in 2002, Lee Hughes was flogged back to West Bromwich Albion at a loss, but the sale still contributed to a £5 million transfer profit for the season. Even as late as last season, £2.3 million was raised from the disposal of Gary McSheffrey to Birmingham City.
In addition, there were substantial proceeds from the sale of Highfield Road. All of which makes the size of the debt baffling to many Sky Blues supporters.
At the root of Coventry's problems is the disastrous move to the Ricoh Arena. When the scheme was first mooted in the mid-1990s by then chairman Bryan Richardson it was sold as springboard to financial and sporting rejuvenation. In effect, the project became a yoke.
The original plans included space-age facilities such as a removable pitch and retractable roof. But the plans remained drawings for years and began to become a drag on the club.
I can remember speaking to Richardson around 1998, at least two years after the plans were announced, and without a brick being laid.
He told me that around £7 million had been spent on the site of the Arena in preparation for building to start. A few months later, it emerged that the club did not even own the land on which the arena was to be built.
By the time the Ricoh Arena opened - nine years and two re-designs later - the world had changed. Coventry were no longer in the top flight, and 32,000 seats suddenly seemed a little superfluous.
Worse, the club had lost control of the project, and ownership had passed to a consortium headed by Coventry City Council.
Still carrying a debt, Robinson decided to sell up. But who would want to buy a club with no assets, no ground and a gargantuan debt? The answer is obvious.
Administration, when it comes, will make it very hard for Coventry to stay in the Coca-Cola Championship. For that, the club's owners have no-one to blame but themselves.
