
Along with legendary George Hudson, Ian Gibson or ‘Gibbo’ as he was known, was the darling of City’s fans in the 1960s, although he was frequently injured, often at odds with the management and had a reputation for a gambling and drinking high-life. He was undoubtedly one of the most talented midfield players ever to appear in a Coventry City shirt. Jimmy Hill signed him from Middlesbrough for a club record fee of £57,500. Within weeks however he had a bust up with Hill and demanded a move. Hill left him out of the team but in his absence City’s promotion chances stuttered badly. The skilful, ball playing inside forward was recalled for a home game with Cardiff and given a freer role which saw him score two goals and dominate the match.
It was the start of an amazing run of 25 unbeaten games with Gibson’s scheming role one of the major reasons for the revival. City’s run took them to the Second Division championship with the highlight a 3-1 victory over Wolves, their biggest rivals in front of a record 51,455 crowd at Highfield Road. Gibbo scored the second goal when, despite being boxed in by defenders he skilfully pivoted and sent a curling shot past the Wolves keeper.
Injuries restricted his appearances in the first two seasons in the top flight, but enough was seen of him to realise that, had he been fully fit, the club might not have struggled so badly. He was one of the traditional Scottish ball players who seemed capable of keeping possession of the ball for minutes on end.
In 1969-70, despite another knee problem in mid-season he managed 30 appearances and was a strong influence in the City side that qualified for Europe. In the summer of 1970 however he was surprisingly sold to Second Division Cardiff City for £35,000 and the feeling was that Cantwell was fed up with his off-field antics.



































































































































































































































