If I had to go over all the things that have happened since I last unleashed a rambling on this site, I would either have to rival Leo Tolstoy, or rework Billy Joel’s 1989 pyro-denial mantra ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’. Actually, that sounds like fun.
Big Vik, Gus as well,
Dabo’s pen, bloody hell!
Semi-final goal denial, Haji Wright’s big toe.
But I won’t subject you to that.
If we overlook the two Wembley heartbreaks, the enjoyment of Gyokeres and Hamer taking the piss out of just about everyone else in the division, the highs and lows of Ben Sheaf, and the mystique of the Sean Maguire signing; then the biggest thing above all else that has happened in the 4-ish years of my accidental sabbatical is of course the sacking of Mark Robins and everything that has happened surrounding it. Of course, if I had to go over all the things that could be said about that, I would either have to rival George R.R. Martin, or rework R.E.M’s 1987 apocalypse acceptance speech ‘It’s the End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)’…
Oh, go on then.
That’s great, it starts with a divorce
Viveash gone, loads through the door
And George Boateng’s been here before.
And so on. In many ways, it was the end of many a Cov fan’s world as we knew it, and strangely enough, I for one quickly felt fine. The reasons for which again are too numerous to go over right now, so if you want to know, then hunt me down and ask me.
Right, enough preamble. It’s time to talk about the here and now. Or at least, the last few weeks’ worth of matches anyway, and the little things that are worth mentioning.
Purple Patch
Following the 2-1 sucker punch of a loss to Norwich, Frank Lampard’s Coventry City (as we are currently known), went five matches unbeaten in all competitions. Coinciding with this were the change in shape – enforced in part by the loss of Ephron Mason-Clark out wide, who had really hit his stride before being set back – and the return from the wilderness of Jamie Allen. Allen’s role as the transitional player between defence and midfield suits his attributes and those of the players around him; he runs around a bit and plays simple short passes. This meant he was getting the ball from the backline and quickly laying it off to either of his dovetailing partners in midfield, or an advanced wing-back. Furthermore, his energy meant he was often in positions when out of possession, to disrupt opposition moves or win the ball back outright.
Behind Allen, Liam Kitching returned to the fold and impressed many with his aggressive defending and passing range. It has been rare this season to see one of our defenders successfully play forward passes through the lines of the opposing team, but Kitching since his return has done so on a regular basis, which is refreshing.
Further back, Oliver Dovin has done nothing but impress, with a series of eye-catching saves, improved distribution, and a quiet air of confidence that has been missing while Brad Collins returned to the fold over December.
Up front, the pairing of Ellis Simms and Brandon Thomas-Asante has started to bear fruit, in a modern take on the classic Little ‘N’ Large pairings of yesteryear. Simms in particular seems to have pushed on again to give us hope that he can end the season in a similar vein to this time last year. However, he seems to have added an extra level to his forward play. Lately, his first touch and layoffs have been noticeably better, and this has helped the team keep the ball moving on occasions where we haven’t played it out through the defence. Next to him, Thomas-Asante has buzzed around and worked as hard as he can to make an impact, and has been rewarded with three goals across those four fixtures. However, he can still be a very frustrating player to witness, as his ability to control the ball or dribble seems to desert him at times, or sometimes he chooses to try and do that little bit too much with the ball only to ultimately lose possession. The fact that he can score goals like the ones he managed against Bristol City and Swansea City, as well as provide the assist for Simms’ goal in the latter game, shows that he is a player who is probably better acting off of instinct, and would benefit from having less time on the ball in some cases. Perhaps this shows off his value as a player who would be better at the very end of moves rather than in the build-up, or as a player who can make an impact off the bench if we are chasing a game and throwing caution to the wind.
Knocked Down a Peg
It would be easy to argue though, that in that run of games, we have come up against sides who have been off-colour at the time we’ve faced them. Whilst a very valid point – and it’s one I’ve been quick to make myself – at the end of the day, you can only beat what’s in front of you.
I suppose Leeds and Ipswich could say the same.
If Leeds’ high energy and quick tempo in the opening half of our midweek encounter shellshocked us into making two mistakes leading to goals and throwing us completely off of our rhythm, then we managed to inflict a couple of doses of it upon ourselves in FA Cup defeat to Ipswich Town. Any intent to keep things tight in the latter match were dashed within a minute, and then thrice more after equalising. One mistake can cost you a goal, but several mistakes can cost you a match (or many).
There was a hint of naivety in our approach to both matches. Rather than attempting to quieten Leeds’ attacking play, we tried to take the game to them, leaving us open on multiple occasions for the pace of Leeds’ wide players to exploit. Even after a chaotic opening period during which we went behind, no-one either on the pitch or on the side of it deemed it necessary to change tack. Yes, both goals in the game were borne of errors, but if they were taken out of the equation, Leeds probably would have won the game anyway, such was the nature of the game and the chances we presented to them. Yes, we had a better game of it in the second half, but that was owed partly due to Leeds shifting down a gear or two and switching on cruise control. Had we scored from either the golden Simms or Kitching chances, I fear that they would have stepped it up a notch again to kill the game off for good.
The naivety in the cup game stems possibly from Lampard not changing the shape or personnel as quickly as he probably should have. After recalling Jack Burroughs from his loan, he probably deserved to be given a longer run out than what he was given, especially given the absolute dies horribilis that Joel Latibeaudiere was having; goal notwithstanding. Maybe throwing him in against a team currently playing Premier League football was deemed too much of a deep end, but we could all see what was happening out there. All 30-odd thousand of us. Why do we almost always disappoint a bumper crowd?
Looking Ahead
There isn’t much time to lick our wounds and screw our heads back on before Tuesday’s visit of Queen’s Park Rangers, who like Coventry have had a resurgence of late. They haven’t played over the weekend so should be feeling fresh coming into the game, and if we weren’t at the races in our last two games, we bloody well ought to be come QPR. The same goes for Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
The added fixture and disappointment of the last week has made fans and perhaps the team far more wary of these next two fixtures. The addition of Matt Grimes should add a new dynamic that hopefully allows the side to rise up to expectations once again, but it requires more than the efforts of one individual, or at least the eradication of mistakes in others.
Onwards and upwards.
Oh, and the fourth kit was quite nice. Now let’s never speak of games involving one-off kits ever again.
Biamou's Bike 
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