In hindsight, Coventry City’s £1.5m agreement with …
Leon Best being sold by Coventry to Newcastle looked a poor decision at the time, but went on to be great business by the Sky Blues.
Selling Leon Best solved Coventry’s short-term problems, balancing the books and helping tove avert a financial disaster.
Best, a popular player at Coventry, left for Newcastle but failed to shine in the Premier League, making the deal now seem wise.
Despite the potential he showed, Best’s career post-Coventry was marred by injuries and lack of form, turning the deal in Coventry’s favour.
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Coventry City had several issues off the pitch that surrounded them for years to come but selling Leon Best would go on to solve some problems in the short term.
The Sky Blues moved to the Ricoh Arena in 2005, but after that, the club went progressively downhill financially. In 2007, the club faced the prospect of potentially going out of business, but it was averted after the club were bought by hedge fund owner Sisu Capital.
However, they reduced their investment in the club from 2009 onwards, with debts mounting. On the pitch they were also falling, accumulating multiple bottom-half finishes as they flirted with relegation for a number of years.
So the club needed to sell players for as much as they could to balance the books and the departure of Best, who joined Newcastle United, was finalised. Luckily for Coventry, it looks like they got the better of the deal in the end.
Leon Best was Coventry’s talisman before his departure
Best had arrived at Coventry in July 2007, with the then 21-year-old joining from Southampton for a fee of £650,000, a fee set by a tribunal.
The striker was not the most prolific goalscorer for Coventry but he still became a fan favourite.
That was best illustrated after he fractured his cheekbone in 2008 and was forced to wear a protective mask. This led to him being nicknamed “Zorro” by the Coventry faithful, named after a fictional character who wore a black mask on his face.
Upon his return to the side with his mask, he scored three goals in as many games, and in tribute, some Coventry fans wore masks in the stands.
He would start well in the 09/10 season, scoring nine goals and getting four assists in 27 games. His form would then attract plenty of interest, and Championship league leaders Newcastle United would sign him for £1.5 million, after he rejected a new contract to stay at Coventry, with his deal set to expire at the end of the season. Losing their top scorer at the time was a big blow with many thinking he would have gone on to do very well for Coventry.
Leon Best’s lack of impact in the Premier League suggests the deal to sell him was a good one by Coventry
Leaving at the age of 23, Best had the potential to go on to become a regular Premier League striker but he failed to hit those heights.
Helping Newcastle win the Championship in 2010, he would find his game time limited at St James Park, becoming a backup striker despite scoring a hat-trick on his first Premier League start in a 5-0 win over West Ham United.
He would depart in 2012, having made 28 appearances and scoring ten goals across two seasons in the top flight.
He left for Blackburn Rovers, which ended up being another unsuccessful spell, as he was loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County and Brighton & Hove Albion. His time at Rovers ended with his deal being terminated by mutual consent in July 2015.
Short and disappointing spells at Rotherham United, Ipswich Town and Charlton Athletic followed, leaving Best without a club after his release from the Addicks following a knee injury.
A combination of injuries and a lack of game ties meant Best never quite lived up to the potential that many thought he would, and whilst it looked like a bad deal for Coventry at the time, has turned out to be good business by the club.
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