The Sky Blues have been on an incredible rise in recent years, similar to last season’s play-off winners Luton Town, and will only be promoted back to the Championship in 2020.
In fact, the Midlands club was in League Two as recently as 2018. However, after reaching such great heights the previous season, their 2023/24 campaign has been very different. Mark Robins’ team is 20th in the Championship and hasn’t won a game since October 4th.
The goalscoring exploits of hotshot Victor Gyokeres and the creativity of Gustavo Hamer, who is deserving of his current place in the Premier League with Sheffield United, contributed to the Sky Blues’ success last season.
However, the departure of these two players cannot be blamed entirely for Coventry’s struggles this season. There is a bigger picture that should be considered.
The other key players in the Sky Blues’ 2022/23 machine
For the second half of the season, Mark Robins was fortunate to have Luke McNally on loan from eventual champions Burnley.
The Irishman played every minute of every game after making his Sky Blues debut on January 28th, including all 120 minutes of the play-off final. The Sky Blues kept an impressive 9 clean sheets during Luke McNally’s 19 regular Championship season games.
So far this season, Robins’ team has conceded 21 goals in just 15 games, demonstrating McNally’s positive impact on their defence.
McNally was unable to be retained by Coventry.
In a loan spell at Stoke City, the Burnley man is now producing eye-catching performances.
Callum Doyle, another Sky Blues defender, was crucial to the Sky Blues’ promotion push last season.
This season, his parent club Manchester City chose to loan him to Leicester City rather than Coventry.
Mark Robins will miss him as another rock in the back. He was almost always on the Sky Blues’ 2022/23 backline, starting 39 of 46 Championship games. Only title-winning Burnley kept more clean sheets last season, with 21, than Coventry’s 20. Along with stalwart Kyle McFadzean, Doyle and McNally formed an almost impenetrable defensive duo.
Coventry is missing more than just centre-halves.
Brooke Norton-Cuffy joined the Sky Blues in January after a successful loan spell at Rotherham in the first half of the season.
His pace and trickery on the ball from the right wing-back position provided the perfect complement to both Hamer and Gyokeres.
He also offered something different to the more traditional approach of Jake Bidwell on the left-hand side.
Just like McNally and Doyle, Norton-Cuffy is also on loan in the Championship.
The ace has made 12 second tier appearances for Millwall so far this season.
Championship fans are correct to point out that Mark Robins and co really have suffered due to the losses of Gyokers and Hamer.
However, it would do a disservice to McNally, Doyle and Norton-Cuffy to forget the contributions of three youngsters who were instrumental to Mark Robins’ side last season.
