You might argue that Mark Robins has enjoyed the benefits of low expectations. Between 1970 and 2017, Coventry City went 47 years without ever recording a top-six league finish despite being relegated three times during that period. A club that was used to treading water, make-do-and-mend in the Midlands, eventually succumbed to the law of averages and the ravages of civil war. Coventry City sank without trace.
In Robins’ first full season back at Coventry, the club were in the fourth tier for the first time in 59 years. He had taken over in March 2017 with Coventry bottom of League One and 13 points from safety. Relegation was a certainty; between November and February, they had taken two points from 14 league games. Finishing sixth in his season, ending that long barren run, was only deemed a success when Robins’ side beat Exeter City in the play-off final at Wembley.
Three-and-a-half years later, Coventry are fourth in the Championship having won the League One title after a Covid-19-curtailed 2019-20 season. Progress through the EFL’s tiers has always been possible – Wycombe Wanderers, Luton Town and Blackpool are three current Championship clubs that have gone “bottom to top” in recent years – but you can make a clear argument for Robins as the most over-performing manager in the country over the last five years.
Win percentage is an unideal judge of any manager, but it stands up to scrutiny here. Of Coventry City’s last 11 permanent managers, a run stretching back to 2004, Robins sits first and second on the list. Having gone to Huddersfield Town and Scunthorpe United in between his spells and left both after 18 months, he has found a home back at Coventry and clearly enjoys the sanctity of familiarity. Like Eddie Howe with Bournemouth and Burnley, there’s a clear benefit to living where you’re loved most.
Being back at the Ricoh (most supporters still refer to the Coventry Building Society Arena by its old name) helps. Coventry’s most symbolic fixtures in recent years have taken place in the courtroom, owners SISU burning their bridges with supporters over alleged unhelpful stubbornness that took the club to Northampton and Birmingham. This is the only club for whom being “sent to Coventry” is a blessing not a curse.
The unease for the owners has not dissipated; far too much trust was lost for far too long for the majority of fans to ever forgive and forget the wilderness years. But being back at home offers a helpful distraction and a symbolism of Coventry City rebuilding again. They have the best home record in the Championship this season, taking 19 points from 21 available. Season ticket sales are at their highest for more than 50 years.
During Robins’ tenure, Coventry have become a club of contradictions. While the non-football issues have continued to swirl around whichever stadium they called home, they are a statue of stability on the pitch. Recruitment, overseen by Chris Badlan (ex-Wolves and Norwich City) in conjunction with Robins, has been extraordinarily successful. Coventry have spent less than £5m in five years on transfer fees. The few players who have cost a significant sum (Matty Godden, Gustavo Hamer, Viktor Gyokeres) have seen their values increase significantly during their time at Coventry.
Coventry’s model is to target unwanted young players from higher-profile clubs, attracted by the stability Robins guarantees and the free-flowing football he prefers to implement. The starting XI last weekend contained Ben Sheaf (signed from Arsenal), Gyokeres (Brighton), Callum O’Hare (Aston Villa), Fankaty Dabo (Chelsea), Jake Clarke-Salter and Ian Maatsen (both on loan from Chelsea). Kyle McFadzean, Simon Moore, Liam Kelly and Martyn Waghorn provide the experience, but this is a young squad that is low on big names but high on potential.
Robins is the glue that holds it together. His preference for three central defenders and wing-backs that look to service Gyokeres and Godden allows the prodigious O’Hare the freedom to play as a roaming No 10. The Villa connection makes the comparison seem a little trite, but there is something of the Jack Grealish in his appearance and his swaggering style.
But more than individual talent, Coventry’s strength lies in their resilience; again that is passed down from Robins. No club in the Championship club have taken more points having conceded the opening goal this season (Coventry have taken 24 points despite only leading for 297 minutes) and they have already scored three crucial goals in second-half injury time. The home game against Fulham was the perfect example, 1-0 down at half-time having lost their last match 5-0 with suggestions that the wheels were coming off. They scored four times after the break without reply.
This may not last; no Coventry City supporter is taking anything for granted. There is a natural ceiling in the Championship when the strongest squads have the biggest budgets thanks to parachute payments. The solidarity revenue handed to Fulham and West Brom this season is more than 10 times Coventry’s wage bill.
But that only demands that everyone at Coventry makes sure to enjoy their current period of tranquility; goodness knows they have waited – and worked hard – long enough for it. Those supporters are happy to be home and happy to have a team of which they can be truly proud. Whether they are proud of the club is a question loaded with historic tension but, for now, it is one they can put to one side. That is Mark Robins’ greatest achievement: making Coventry City feel normal again.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3Cl9FZ3
Post a Comment