Having come back from the abyss of the 2010s era, Coventry City looked like they had missed their shot at promotion. Mark Robins left the club under a relative cloud, having saved the Sky Blues from the depths of League Two and taking them all the way to the Play-Off Final, only to lose. His departure and subsequent replacement by Frank Lampard was met with dismay by Coventry fans.
Now? Not so much. They are flying at the top of the table and a favourite amongst the bookies, having scored a league-best 52 goals at the time of writing and dominating just about every metric that matters. Having gone on a masterful run to leave themselves clear at the top and the rest of the Championship chasing pack looking on in doubt, can they finally go one better than they could under the heroic Robins?
The Stars Of The Show
When Lampard arrived, people worried the club would ship off their beloved cast of hard workers and cast-offs from other clubs who had come good – likely in return for loanees from Lampard’s previous club, Chelsea. However, that’s not been the case at all.
Instead, he’s built a solid team with key players like Liam Kitching, Bobby Thomas, Jay DaSilva, Milan van Ewijk and Carl Rushworth being the key to a rock-solid back line. Midfielders and creators like Matt Grimes, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Brandon Thomas-Asante and Victor Torp add a mixture of guile and grit to the team, while up front, the goals are flying from the likes of Haji Wright and Ellis Simms.
Part of Coventry’s appeal – and why they look likely to go all the way – is down to the fact that there is no one star. This is a real team; everyone contributes, and throws their weight in with goals and assists. So far in the season, twelve players have scored, which is always the sign of a good team. Goals come from all over the park, too, meaning that the Sky Blues aren’t exactly reliant on one move.
Can Coventry Win The English Championship?
With a five-point lead over Middlesbrough and a twelve-point gap back to Preston, it would be a shock if they didn’t. Automatic promotion looks a near-certainty, though; Preston are closer to 16th placed West Bromwich Albion than they are to the Sky Blues.
If you fancy backing Cov to go all the way, they are currently 2/5 favourites for winning the league with Bet365 and Ladbrokes. The only real challenger is Middlesbrough (11/2 @ Bet365, 6s at Ladbrokes), with nobody else realistically having a shot at winning the title. Ipswich are at 7s and 6s respectively, and after that, it’s a long shot to see anyone else have a potential run at winning the title.
Nobody else in the league has the balance or the variety, even if other clubs have – on paper – deeper or better squads. After years of being derided as a ‘checkbook manager’, Lampard looks like he’s in position to put the doubters and naysayers in their place and get one of the Midlands’ fallen giants back into the top-flight for the first time since 2001.