After being unsuccessful in the Championship play-offs last season, Coventry City are back to try and make it third time lucky, but do they have what it takes to make a dream Premier League return?
Within the last three season’s Coventry City have been one of England’s standout non-Premier League clubs, having secured two top six finishes in the Championship as well as reaching an FA Cup semi-final under new owner Doug King.
Despite a quieter summer transfer window, Frank Lampard’s side have managed to (so far) retain all key assets as well as strengthen in key areas and are counting down to their opening day clash with Hull City.
How did Coventry City fare last season?
Coventry are usually a side that struggles to get going in terms of their first half campaign, with their 2019/20 League One title winning season being the last time the Sky Blues actually started strong.
With the Sky Blues hovering just above the bottom three, they made the difficult decision to part ways with legendary manager Mark Robins, replacing him with Premier League legend Frank Lampard.
After a period of trying to find his feet, January saw the Sky Blues undergo the start of an extremely impressive run of form, winning ten out of 12 between the new year and March, putting them firmly in play-off contention and all without top scorer Haji Wright due to injury.
Victory against Middlesbrough on the final day secured a fifth-placed finish for Coventry. They lost their opening play-off match against Sunderland, but recovered well in the second leg before a freak ending saw the opposition reach Wembley.
The Sky Blues ranked as the fifth-best side in the Championship at home, but it was their difficulties away from home that caused a lot of problems.
Summer activity:
After their play-off semi-final defeat, Coventry wasted no time in releasing their retained list – which saw the likes of Fabio Tavares (Burton Albion), Jamie Paterson (Plymouth Argyle) and Jack Burroughs (Northampton Town) move on.
Hard-working midfielder Jamie Allen signed a new contract too, though his future could be uncertain following the rise of 18-year-old Kai Andrews.
The Sky Blues leaked a lot of goals from left-back last season, and that issue was addressed first by Frank Lampard as Spanish defender Miguel Angel Brau arrived on a free transfer from Granada.
Aston Villa’s Kaine Kesler-Hayden was next to arrive after sweeping the end of season awards whilst on loan at fellow Championship side Preston North End. He adds much needed competition for Milan Van Ewijk and protects the club if he’s sold this summer.
With first-choice goalkeeper Oliver Dovin sidelined until 2026 due to injury, a number one was on the cards and that arrived in the form of goalkeeper Carl Rushworth from Brighton Hove Albion on a season-long loan deal.
On the exit front, U21s duo Harvey Broad and Isaac Moore have left on loan to Dagenham & Redbridge and Forest Green Rovers respectfully. The big exit thus far is defender Luis Binks who has signed for Danish side Brondby for roughly £2.6 million.
The current squad is as follows;
Goalkeepers: Carl Rushworth, Oliver Dovin (injured), Ben Wilson, Brad Collins
Defenders: Milan Van Ewijk, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Bobby Thomas, Joel Latibeaudiere, Liam Kitching, Jake Bidwell, Jay Dasilva, Miguel Angel Brau
Midfielders: Ben Sheaf, Matt Grimes, Josh Eccles, Jack Rudoni, Victor Torp, Jamie Allen, Kai Andrews
Forwards: Haji Wright, Ephron Mason-Clark, Raphael, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Ellis Simms, Norman Bassette, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Justin Obikwu
Where will the Sky Blues finish next season?
When Doug King brought the club officially in January 2023, he stated to Coventry Live that he wanted the club to take part in three Championship play-off campaigns in the next five seasons. So far, he’s got two from three – meaning the target once again for the Sky Blues will be a top six finish.
The issue that Coventry have once again is the strength off the division continuing to improve. Ipswich Town and Southampton will be very strong whilst rivals Leicester City are highly-likely to be in contention. The likes of Birmingham and Wrexham have gained promotion whilst teams like Norwich City and Millwall have all improved too.
Realistically, if Coventry are going to be in contention once again they need to be the best side in the division that isn’t in receipt of parachute payments. If they can do that, they will be almost guaranteed a top six finish and then it becomes a case of using the previous experiences to get themselves over the line.
The Sky Blues kick off the new season next weekend as they host Hull City at the CBS Arena.
