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Coventry City face pivotal summer but don’t bet against the Sky Blues rising again
“We’ll be back!” was the overriding message from a distraught Coventry City fan at Villa Park on May 5, 2001, when the club’s proud 34-year stint at the top table of English football came crashing to an end.
That dream has endured for 22 long and often painful years, and when referee Michael Oliver blew his final whistle after 120 energy-sapping minutes of football at Wembley Stadium on May 27, 2023, the possibility of the Sky Blues returning to the big time hung by a thread, to be decided by the lottery of a nerve-shredding shootout.
Mark Robins’ men were so close to triumph, the Championship play-off final trophy and the biggest cash prize in football within touching distance of skipper Liam Kelly’s grasp. And yet in one last, devastating kick of the game after eleven perfect penalties, sky blue hearts were broken to leave the club, once again, so far away from the chance to dine with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal once more.
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They put up a valiant effort, brushing aside an uncharacteristically poor first half in which they fell behind on the big stage to get themselves back in the game from a brilliant three-man move – a sublime pass down the line by Callum Doyle, a brilliantly timed powerful run by Viktor Gyokeres to beat the off-side trap, and a sublime side foot shot from Gustavo Hamer to beat the Luton goalkeeper.
As the ball nestled in the bottom corner in front of the Coventry end it sparked a tsunami of celebration from the sea of supporters jumping with joy, punching the blue smoke bomb filled air and waving their sky blue flags and scarves as their Dutch-Brazilian hero raced to join them.
Everyone knew how important Hamer would be on the day; a true match winner and class act that had done so much to drive the march to the Arch with five goals and four assists in his last eight games. And so when he rolled his ankle and was forced to limp off with 10 minutes of normal time remaining Coventry’s task became a lot harder, their chances of finding a second goal suddenly slimmer.
A game of two halves, it mirrored City’s season; a campaign in which they defied all the odds after a dreadful, disjointed start that had left them rock bottom by mid October, only to come strong with an incredible run of form that, the play-off final included, saw them lose just once in 20 games.
It speaks volumes for the quality of the side that they achieved all that despite several injuries to key players along the way, not least playmakers Callum O’Hare and Kasey Palmer – the latter being patched up for a late cameo after a 15 match absence with a hamstring tear.
The proud manager’s post match message was that the club will go again; endeavour to come back stronger next season and have another crack at promotion. That all hinges, however, on a potentially stressful summer in the transfer market.
Recruitment has been the key to City’s rise up the divisions over the last six successful seasons, from the depths of League Two to the brink of top flight football. But the reality is that 21-goal Gyokeres and the brilliant Hamer – who took his goal tally to 11 to further showcase his talents in front of the Sky cameras and watching top flight vultures – have probably played their last game for the club.
Although both still under contract for another year, they’re wanted men by a host of higher placed clubs and it’s difficult to see how City can keep hold of them. But that’s life and that’s the way it is for clubs like Coventry City. The secret is making sure they get the right price for the pair and use the money to make the squad stronger.
It will be near impossible to replace the irreplaceable, but City’s recruitment has to be spot on to add goals and midfield magic this summer. That’s the first challenge. The second looks just as daunting; the prospect of competing in an even more competitive division next season with more big guns dropping out of the Premier League and looking favourites to bounce straight back up amid a pool of clubs desperate to get back after falling from grace in recent seasons. The likes of Norwich, West Brom and Watford still buoyed by parachute payments and possessing the financial clout to give them the edge in what will be a pivotal transfer window for the Sky Blues.
But who would bet against Coventry City coming good again? This is a club that’s harnessed the passion of the fans to ‘Rise Together,’ to take the team to new heights, time and again, despite budgetary disparities. And there’s no reason why they can’t continue that upward curve and get ever closer to being back in the big time.
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