There is a lot to debate about what Coventry City need to get right this summer. There is just as much to say from our collective experience over the last few years about what not to get wrong, the pitfalls to avoid and mistakes they can’t afford to repeat.
It is Doug King’s second summer transfer window in charge, as it is for head of recruitment, Dean Austin, and his team and there is a lot of trust being placed in them to pull everything together. So, with two signings already in the bag and talks well underway about the rest, here is the anti-bible for the next two-and-a-half months to take us up to deadline day.
No-one is expecting the Sky Blues to spend as much as last summer, when ten new signings came in amid 14 departures, but manager Mark Robins has stated that City’s business will ‘not be insignificant’ as he looks to add strength, quality and a few more bodies to his squad.
It goes without saying that the players you bring in have to be good but a big signing gone wrong in particular is a millstone for everyone.
A big signing that goes right – even like spending a relatively modest £1.2m on Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, in the context of a Championship club without parachute payments, perhaps – fills everyone with hope and optimism as the club strives to get to the next level and bridge the gap to the Premier League.
Numbers game
Mark Robins made no secret of the fact that his squad lacked strength, depth and numbers when it mattered most at the tail end of last season when injuries and a congested fixture list brought about by a sensational FA Cup run conspired to derail the club’s push for the play-offs.
The squad, which regularly included a couple of untried youngsters making up the bench, struggled to pick up points in routine league fixtures that should have edged them closer to a top six place as the campaign reached its climax. That cannot be allowed to happen again.
Sometimes luck plays a part and a mounting injury list can be crippling, but in this case City were just short on bodies. There’s a balance to be struck, of course, and Robins won’t want too many because that can bring its own problems with keeping quality players happy. But he must have enough quality cover to get through every eventuality, including a sustained push for the play-offs.
No gaping holes
Last summer’s high turnover of players saw the club forced to act in a reactive way in the market. Losing star quality like Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer enabled City to reinvest and restock a new-look squad with added quality, and that was certainly done with the arrival of Ellis Simms and Haji Wright – both of whom hit 19 goals in all competitions to fill the goal void left by the Sweden international.
