Coventry City came within a whisker of Premier League football last season, losing on penalties to Luton Town in the playoff final at Wembley. However, as Fankaty Dabo skied his spot kick, not only did the Sky Blues have to succumb to another season in the second tier, they had to resign themselves to losing some key players.
Viktor Gyökeres departed for Sporting Lisbon for a club-record fee, having netted 43 goals in 116 appearances at Coventry. Not too far behind the Swede towards the exit door was Gustavo Hamer, who joined newly-promoted Sheffield United.
As Mark Robins’ side pocketed sizeable sums for such talented individuals, it led to a rebuilding project for the Midlands side. Numerous new recruits arrived in the summer. With a host of new players, it wasn’t too surprising that time would be needed to allow the new crop of players to gel.
A slow start to the season ensured that the Sky Blues spent most of the first period of the season in the bottom half of the division. A run of four straight defeats in Autumn proved to be the catalyst for change as Coventry have since gone from strength to strength, currently sitting just outside the playoffs.
In this tactical analysis and scout report, we will provide a brief analysis of last season to identify the key players for the Sky Blues and how the summer upheaval impacted the start of this campaign. We will also delve into Robins’ tactics to showcase how a change in formation has led to a revival in Coventry’s season.
Throwback to last campaign
It has been well-documented how important Gyökeres and Hamer were to Coventry’s promotion bid last season. Collectively, they provided the greatest attacking outlet for Coventry as Gyökeres registered 31 goals and assists; Hamer contributed 20 goals and assists.
Hamer was given flexibility in the attacking phases last season, operating in a box midfield, often linking up with Gyökeres. The Swede was a physical presence up front, who would hold play up but would also use his pace to his advantage, allowing Coventry to quickly transition from defence to attack.
However, Coventry was more than just two individuals last campaign and had one of the strongest defences in the division. Only the eventual three promoted sides conceded fewer goals over the course of the season.
The image shows a typical Coventry line-up from last season, which often consisted of a back three of Luke McNally, Kyle McFadzean, and Callum Doyle. McFadzean led the defensive line as captain in the centre of the back three. His presence at the back gave his central defensive counterparts more license to support the attacking play.
McNally and Doyle were both comfortable in possession and looked to play progressively, dribbling out from the defensive line. McNally, in particular, excelled at intercepting the play, averaging 2.47 per 90 – the top rank in the division for players to feature at least five 90s.
Both players’ performances caught the attention of other clubs, and with both loanees returning to their parent clubs, Burnley and Manchester City, Coventry would lose out in bringing both players back for this campaign. McNally opted for a move to Stoke, while Doyle is currently on loan at league leaders Leicester.
Several players were brought in over the summer to replace last campaign’s talent. Ellis Simms, who had enjoyed a successful loan at Championship rivals Sunderland last season, and Haji Wright were brought in to replace their attacking options.
Numerous defensive options were also recruited, including Burnley’s Bobby Thomas and Barnsley’s Liam Kitching. Moreover, defensive options arrived from abroad, including centre-back Luis Binks and right-back Milan van Ewijk. However, as the next part of this analysis will show, it wasn’t plain sailing for the new arrivals.
Struggling for form
To say it was a slow start to the season for Coventry is an understatement. The Sky Blues only won once in their opening eight league fixtures and registered five draws during this period. They would go on to win only three of their opening 15 games in England’s second tier.
It was inevitably always going to be a difficult period considering the vast changes in personnel. However, the Sky Blues were worryingly inconsistent at the beginning of the campaign. At times, Robins’ side looked devoid of ideas in front of goal, finishing games with an expected goal value of less than one.
However, there were also occasions early doors where the Sky Blues were able to create good goalscoring opportunities but were wasteful.
This is testified in the above graphic, as Coventry’s two forwards, Simms and Wright, were both underperforming in front of goal in the first 15 league games. It shows how Simms, particularly, would struggle to find space in the penalty area. The forward was subsequently restricted to efforts from wider, more acute angles with lower goal expectancies.
However, it wasn’t the same story for Wright as the previous graphic showed the American often missed big opportunities near the six-yard box. Within the opening 15 league fixtures, Wright went on a seven-game goal drought, and his lack of confidence was evident.
In the match still, Wright is played through and is able to get the ball ahead of the defence but despite the 1v1 situation, the American fails to find the back of the net.
Although Coventry showed flashes of potential, a lack of understanding among the players pointed to a squad of players full of potential rather than a unified team. A lack of unity was also evident in the defence as the Sky Blues conceded 1.4 goals per game in the opening 15 league matches – a 40% increase from last season’s overall goals conceded per match.
Coventry’s formation was flexible, but they would generally line up with three at the back in possession and five at the back without the ball. The Midlands side, though, lacked pace at the back, and teams would find ways to break through their defensive line.
Such an example is shown above as West Brom’s Brandon Thomas-Asante leaves the Coventry defence chasing shadows to double his side’s lead.
With an inconsistent attack and shipping goals at the back, a run of four straight defeats signaled that something had to change.
Thriving with four at the back
Coventry’s change of tact came in their defensive line, switching to four at the back from their usual hybrid three or five. The new backline dropped slightly deeper from what was the norm at the start of the season. This was a positive influence, particularly given the lack of pace at the back, as previously alluded to.
Although the four at the back has been a more permanent fixture since the run of four straight defeats, the overall formation for the Sky Blues has tended to fluctuate between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-1-1. The change in tact has proved dividends, though, as Coventry has only lost two in their last 18 league games, winning 10.
The table highlights the solid foundations that the back four has brought to Robins’ side as their goals conceded per 90 has dropped by 35.7% in the previous 18 matches compared to the opening 15 league encounters. Moreover, during this 18-game period, Coventry has kept an impressive seven clean sheets.
Occupying the full-back positions in Coventry’s new defensive line is van Ewijk on the right and Jake Bidwell on the left. The new shape complements both players, who are strong tacklers.
For instance, van Ewijk ranked in the 86th percentile for a percentage of defensive duels won compared to others in the same position for tier-two sides last season whilst plying his trade at Heerenveen. Bidwell, meanwhile, ranked in the 82nd percentile for the same statistic as well as within the top 13% for percentage of aerial duels won.
Both players are currently excelling in their positions, and van Ewijk is much more so compared to his previous wing-back role from earlier in the campaign. When playing at wing-back, the Dutchman would be much higher up the pitch, looking to influence attacking phases to the detriment of his defensive duties.
The more attack-minded a wing-back, the more inevitable it is that when faced with a counterattack, they have to cover a greater amount of ground to help in defensive duties. This was exactly the case in the example shown as more pressure was then put on the back three, and van Ewijk was left having to cover more ground. Despite his best efforts, it was to no avail, as Watford went on to score.
However, since changing to full-back, van Ewijk has been more influential in defensive duties to the benefit of the team. Van Ewijk’s interceptions per match have increased from 0.7 per match to 1.3; he is also strong, winning a high percentage of tackles against dribblers – an important quality to consider in a full-back.
Ironically, despite playing in a more conservative role in a back four, van Ewijk has been more influential in the attacking phases compared to when at wing-back. The former Heerenveen defender has completed more progressive carries as well as passes into the final third when in a back four.
Furthermore, a partnership with Tatsuhiro Sakamoto is brewing on Coventry’s right-hand side, with the Dutchman looking to make overlapping runs on the right channel to provide crosses into the area. Coinciding with Coventry’s turn-in form, van Ewijk has completed 22.6% more successful crosses than in the earlier stages of the campaign.
However, it is undoubtedly the Dutchman’s strong defending credentials that stand out and they have played an important role in the Sky Blues revival. As Coventry has been known over the years to adopt a box midfield, it has made it harder for opponents to attack through the central areas. Coventry would then look to suffocate teams near the channels.
That being said, Coventry lost their way a little at times this season, as exemplified in the graphic below.
It is shown how direct Rotherham was in their victory against Coventry during the Sky Blues rot, looking to engage in attacking movements in the central areas of the pitch. This is in contrast to Coventry’s victory over Millwall recently, where Robins’ side penned the opposition in the wider areas of the pitch, using the touchline as an extra defender.
This is the case in the above image, as the touchline acted as an extra man ensuring Millwall was hemmed in. The off-the-ball movement from Coventry ensured Millwall were unable to progress the ball forward and instead had to work possession behind then across the pitch at a slow pace.
As hinted in the previous defensive graphic, Coventry’s more resolute defence has been aided by a more structured press. Whilst Coventry’s press is quite modest compared to their Championship rivals this campaign, since their upturn in form, they have completed 3.5 dangerous recoveries per match, in all competitions. This represents an improvement from 2.9 per match earlier in the season.
Simms often leads the press from the front, angling his runs in anticipation of forcing the opposition to one side of the pitch.
In the above, Simms angles his run, turns, and accelerates towards the goalkeeper. This, in turn, puts pressure on the keeper, and because of Simms’ positioning, the only playable options are to launch the ball or pass toward the right-back. However, with advanced Coventry players just behind Simms in the press, the ball is played long and goes out for a throw-in.
By winning the ball back in dangerous areas, Coventry are then able to execute their direct play which they have been synonymous with in recent seasons. In the attacking phases, the Midlands side averages 1.92m/s direct speed upfield, which is bettered only by Huddersfield.
A key figure in Coventry’s attack is Callum O’Hare, whose return to the side following a sustained spell on the sidelines coincided with Coventry’s change of fortunes in attack. As previously shown, Coventry’s goals per match have improved since the beginning of the Championship season.
O’Hare has been the most influential figure to the front line, as the highest performer for goals and assists per match, averaging 0.68 per 90. This exceeds Hamer’s 0.52 goals and assists per 90 last season and is only marginally short of Gyökeres’ 0.69 average.
The attacking midfielder has an aptitude for linking up with the likes of Simms, finding pockets of space. Moreover, as shown in the graphic, an ability to make line-breaking passes into dangerous areas either into the box or down the channels.
There is no doubt how crucial O’Hare is to Coventry right now and is proving to be somewhat of a luxury. There are murmurs of comparisons to the likes of Hamer, but unlike the now-Blades midfielder, he is certainly a talent that Coventry fans will be hoping to cling on to. They will have a greater chance of doing so of course if they can continue their trajectory up the league and make strides for the Premier League.
Conclusion
In this tactical analysis and scout report, we have shown the summer upheaval of player personnel led to a difficult opening few months of this campaign. Whilst there were promising signs from an attacking perspective at times, the Coventry squad didn’t have the feel of a well-drilled team.
However, the progression of time and the return of O’Hare from injury has proved crucial in turning the tide in the Sky Blues attacking fortunes. However, this analysis has also shown that a change of tact in the backline has turned Coventry’s season around. They have become a stronger unit in defence, shipping goals less often, and have been more dominant in dictating the positioning of defensive duels.
In parallels to last season, Robins has architected a revival in the Midlands, turning a struggling side into genuine promotion contenders. He will be hoping, though, that his side can go one step further this time around.
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