History of LAST

The year was 1996 and there was this exciting new thing around called "the internet". You could go to things called search engines named Alta Vista or Netscape and look up your favourite subjects and these things called websites would appear that had lots of information on. It was like an episode of Tomorrow's World. I realise I've lost most people under about 40 at this point.....

Anyway, it looked kind of fun and I thought I'd build one of these website thingies. Might as well do it on one of my favourite subjects and City seemed like a good idea. So I used a Microsoft programme called Frontpage, found some free hosting at Currantbun and the first incarnation of LAST was born at www.letsallsingtogether.currantbun.co.uk.

The first match report on LAST was a 1-1 draw with Southampton at home (not sure if they spied on us back then). Le Tissier scored for Saints and Dublin equalised in the last minute for City. Things sort of snowballed then and as one of only a couple of City websites around at the time I ended up writing Terrace Verdict in the Coventry Evening Telegraph once a month, 442 magazine, MOTD magazine and the Observer among other places. I did Fanzone commentary on Sky Sports for the 4-2 loss at Man Utd in relegation season in April 2001. That involved a trip to their studios and I watched some of Soccer AM live.

Relegation came that season though and the next season didn't start well. I remember writing after 0-1 home loss to Grimsby that this website was firmly behind change at Coventry City and 2 days later Gordon Strachan was sacked. Not sure LAST had that much influence! City toddled along, going nowhere in the Championship. We then broke the news in 2002 before anyone in the country that Gary McAllister was being appointed as manager. I'd had a tip off from a friend who knew someone high up in the echelons of City. I actually applied for the managers job at this point but was turned down (see photos below). City took it in good spirits and replied.

Macca had to leave City to be with his family in early 2004. This led to one bright spell for City in the drudgery of the 00's, McAllisters assistant Eric Black was put in charge. Black's sides were entertaining and it felt like we were heading in the right direction. Then after a 5-2 win at Gillingham, he was inexplicably sacked in favour of big name Peter Reid. I was fuming as a lot of City fans were. Eric Black lived just round the corner from me and we'd say hi and he helped me with some coaching stuff, a very knowledgable and decent man. I had 100s of messages in support of him through LAST and I printed them all out and took them round to him and he was very touched by everyones support.

I was invited to Ryton along with some other fanzine and website writers to meet Peter Reid. He seemed a nice guy and said all the right things. It didn't work out for Reid at City though and the clubs hopes of him doing for City what he did at Sunderland never materialised. The club were getting further into financial difficulties and in December 2007 the club were saved from administration at the last minute by a hedge fund called SISU. A couple of years earlier a few people from the forum on LAST (The LAST Post) had clubbed together to buy 2 shares in City. SISU gave us 1p each for our shares. I had my suspicions at the time but never did I think it would turn out quite how it did. I lost my LAST mojo at this point and with 2 small kids on the scene, it was time to put LAST to bed.

There was always fun along the way though at LAST. We had match reports with Muppet of the Match. Big Mo Konjic was awarded that once and I heard he allegedly asked his hairdresser what muppet meant. He didn't get it again. Gratuitous Kylie Minogue pics, a game of Championship manager running alongside the real season, crowdfunding the LAST brick at the then Ricoh , Greg's Sweet of the Match, the LAST Webcam ,baiting Nigerian 419 scammers to hold up Coventry signs, TimTalk with rumours of Dele Adebola's obsession with British cult sitcom Terry and June, Birmingham Post asking people to send in questions for Villa manager Remi Garde and a LASTer getting the headline one (see photos below, good work Brunty!), City wallpapers for Windows, that bloody Badger Badger Badger song which is still in my head, the mysterious but genius graphic designer called Scooby (never did find out who he was), the John Hartson's Dog scandal on the forum which led to a rather explicit image being accidentally posted, LAST T shirts which some people still have to this day, Mr GregoryHead where you could move the pieces of Mr PotatoHead onto Villa Manager John Gregory, a LAST flag going round the country to different grounds then Italy, Great Wall of China, Wembley, a LAST team playing in one of the last ever games at Highfield Road and possibly the most popular of all, Arena Lego. Everyone was fed up of how long the Arena was taking to build so we built our own fictional one out of LEGO but it always seemed to run into the same problems as the real one.

I really wish I had some of the archives to put on here but I lost most of them in The Great Hard Drive Crash of 2009. If anyones got an old wallpaper sitting in an old back up somewhere please send it over. If you have any memories I've missed out above please message me so I can add them.

Anyway, enough of me waffling on. Enjoy the new LAST, its good to be back.