A Word On… The Midfield (2025-26)

Moving up the field following on from the defenders, it’s time to look at the cogs that comprise the engine room.

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Starting every league match, and only being taken off for the sum of fourteen minutes across two of those matches which were well-won; a rare feat at Championship level. It’s a sign of how vital Matt Grimes is to this side. Conversely, it’s hard to get a measure of how much the team misses him when he isn’t playing. You’d have to go back to the previous campaign, before Grimes’ January arrival, to realise what he brings to the table. As stated last year:

There had been too many times prior to Grimes’ arrival, where our defence would simply pass across their line from one side to the other and back again, with little support from the players in front of them. Grimes instead always makes himself available, and has the presence of mind to know where he want to progress the ball to next.

Always an option for a pass from the defence, and able to control even the heaviest pass from Bobby Thomas, Grimes allows this Coventry side to play out from the back with far greater composure than before. He has enough intelligence as well, to be able to keep things moving; knowing when to play more progressively or when to keep it ticking over. When he is at his best, the team is always a level above as a result. Take for example his assist for Liam Kitching’s first goal away at Middlesbrough; returning a cleared corner attempt with a volley straight onto Kitching’s head. It’s borderline ridiculous and a terrific example of the quality he brings to the side.

Of course, he had a dip in form in line with the rest of the team post-Christmas. Seemingly a bit too passive, or too deep – it’s hard to play out from the back through him, when he’s the furthest man back – he even seemed to lose a bit of quality in his passing and touch. That said, he was never guilty of any truly horrendous individual performances; they were just at a lower standard to what fans have come to expect from him. Perhaps that is another mark of his high quality overall. On a personal level, my only real nitpicks with him are his corners (something which Frank Lampard seems to have finally realised with Jack Rudoni being put back on duty), and his incessancy to return cleared balls straight back in with a whipped cross that usually clears the back post. These things are very minor, mind.

As he is the conduit through which this team lives, you hope that he transistions nicely to Premier League football. Otherwise, the hope would be that the team can suddenly find another way of winning in spite of Grimes’ form. From what we’ve seen, you would expect the former.

Season Rating: A
Premier League Squad Level: Starter

[Oh, and another personal note: ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries is a good song. It does not, however, make for a good chant. While contextually suitable when we played Swansea, let’s not use that song as Grimes’ primary chant. KC & The Sunshine band’s tune makes for a better song, and that’s the way I like it.]

It has been another season of development for Victor Torp. Finding himself as a starter for the first half of the season, Torp was heavily involved in the team’s goalscoring escapades. The second half of the season found him on the bench, where he struggled to make an impact until the final few weeks.

Torp is in his element when the whole team is in attack mode.

As Coventry City set the Championship ablaze in the opening four months of the season, Torp flourished. Seven goals and four assists from sixteen matches is fantastic form for a player mostly playing in central midfield. It wasn’t just his output that was impressive, it was his general play too. Torp was finding great success when receiving and giving passes to Milan Van Ewijk and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto down the right flank, providing both with an option and creating triangles to execute slick passing moves.

Torp has a tendency to either deliver in spades, or go missing for large portions

As the team started to calm down, so did Torp. December brought forward only one more goal contribution from the Dane, while January saw him start in only two of the six matches played. Once Frank Onyeka arrived, Torp was firmly relegated to the bench. It was clear at this point that he does not offer the doggedness required from a midfielder when a team is needing to battle. Not to say that he doesn’t try to do so when called upon, it is just that such a thing is not in his wheelhouse. Even when put in a more advanced role away at Hull, Torp was largely anonymous, as he was unable to get anything going as the team huffed and puffed to little avail.

As the season wrapped up, and the shackles & burden of expectation were lifted, Torp was able to remind everyone of what he can do. A free-kick against Wrexham, and a rasping strike at Watford, were goals that summed up Torp in a nutshell. He is capable of some truly good things with a football; he just needs the team to be on the front foot in order to showcase his talents.

Season rating: B
PL Squad Level: Squad Player

Another January; another signing in midfield to make a difference to the side. Like Matt Grimes before him, Frank Onyeka’s arrival in the winter helped arrest a wayward side, and allow the team to make the steps forward that were needed at a crucial juncture.

Brought in to provide the physicality that was lacking in the middle of the pitch, Onyeka’s tenacity and strong tackling helps the team break up attacks through the centre. He also enjoys a forward foray, and has decent enough feet to create half a yard of space further up the pitch, and isn’t afraid of taking a shot.

Coming back from AFCON before being thrust into action at home to Middlesbrough, Onyeka, despite maybe not getting a proper rest for a good month afterwards, ran himself into the ground. This, accompanied by him carrying the odd small knock, meant that he had a couple of leggy outings where he wasn’t fully effective, though his commitment could never be questioned. Due to the nature of the role asked of him in this side, he is prone to a yellow card, and his passing can be hit-or-miss, but it hasn’t been at any risk of truly harming the team.

With the club having a clause to make his loan deal permanent now that promotion is sealed, it looks as though Frank Onyeka will be back at the club, and back in the Premier League, where his prior experience should prove useful. Hopefully with a good rest and full pre-season under his belt getting him to a higher level of fitness than what we’ve yet seen, he should prove a vital component in achieving our aims next season.

Season Rating: B+
PL Squad Level: Starter

Josh Eccles has been living the dream. Year-on-year he has grown in stature among the squad, and has managed to overcome the difficulty he seemed to face in having to prove himself to a new manager when Frank Lampard took over. Now, he has been at the forefront of the celebrations as his boyhood side clinched promotion.

Eccles has been used almost exclusively this season in an attacking midfield role, and has seemed to enjoy the freedom to try and influence the game in the final third. Despite never really providing truly outstanding performances, Eccles has improved in his consistency, and is more likely to give a 7 out of 10 performance than a 5 these days. One aspect that Eccles has improved significantly is the physical side of his game; learning to use his body more effectively to draw fouls, and is less prone to shirking challenges. His heading has become a surprise asset too, with a couple of good goals scored with his head.

There are still improvable qualities. One notable thing is that Josh has a tendency to get frustrated with himself when turning over possession to the opponent, rather than getting his head down and trying immediately to get back and recover. One could chalk it up to his passion, but it ultimately boils down to the mental side of his game that, while improving every year, still needs sharpening. Also, he can be quite one-footed, and this can limit his game when trying to unlock a defence in that no. 10 role.

Josh Eccles deserves an opportunity to represent his hometown on the big stage. If he can iron out a couple of kinks in his game, then he has enough technique to hang out with the big boys. However, I still see his best position as being one of the two deeper midfielders, where his current skillset would best be utilised. How close he is to his skill ceiling remains to be seen, and it is a question of whether he can reach that ceiling at a higher level.

Season Rating: B
PL Squad Level: Squad Player

Alongside Ben Wilson, Jamie Allen is the last surviving member of the squad that saw the team promoted from League 1. In spite of the club’s continual progression in the division, Allen has been able to keep himself a viable squad option.

Very much a part of the furniture, Jamie Allen has been like that old chair in the corner of your room. You have newer, comfier chairs, but when you’ve needed to use it, it’s never let you down.

A hard-working midfielder who has always given his full effort whenever called upon, Allen’s remit of doing the basics and never doing them wrong has at times been just what was needed. Often brought on in the closing stages of matches this season, Allen’s running and ball-winning has carried the team over the line in many matches. What Allen is not, is a player who will catch the eye with his dribbling or an outrageous pass, but he has never needed to be. One hopes that any incoming replacement for him will at least be able to match his positive attributes.

There weren’t many more popular goal scorers this season, than when Allen bagged with his volley at home to Watford. There weren’t many more popular assist-makers either, than when Allen’s doggedness allowed him to set up Victor Torp; this time away at Watford, interestingly. In all, Jamie Allen’s swansong with Coventry City sees him depart as a modern-day club legend, and he does so playing his part in seeing us achieve our goal. Go well, Jamie.

Season Rating: C+
PL Squad Level: N/A

After a stellar breakthough campain last time, Jack Rudoni’s second season with the club has proven to be one of overcoming adversity. Despite scoring a brace in the massacre of Queen’s Park Rangers, it would take Rudoni another five months before finding the net again, thanks to a combination of injury, and a long road to finding full fitness and form.

With his qualities already fully evident, all that was needed of Rudoni was to carry on as he had previously. As the rest of the team stepped up to his level from last season, Rudi was struggling to match them. Fortunately the team flourished in spite of Rudoni’s struggles, but it was clear that he was beginning to hamper the side. Guilty of overplaying the ball when in possession, and often coming too close to the wingers and not offering enough in the middle, Rudoni was becoming something of a conundrum in terms of getting him back to his best.

Interestingly, it took the team’s slump in form to give Rudoni the chance to climb back into form, and although the improvement was gradual, the signs were there. With an assist in the statement victory at home to Middlesbrough, the next game away to West Brom saw Rudoni explode back onto the scene with his contribution to the Goal of the Season competition. This was the first goal in a run of five in four matches (albeit with another month on the sidelines in between). His final two goals were crucial in seeing the team overcome an unjust 2-1 deficit at home to Derby, coming out as 3-2 winners. Starboy was back.

Having undergone surgery on that problematic shoulder, Rudoni will be salivating at the thought of being a key component in this side as we embark on our Premier League adventure. If fully firing, Rudi should be a difference-maker for us going forward.

Season Rating: C
PL Squad Level: Starter

Everybody loves Tatsu. It’s even getting to the point where opposition fans are raving about him. Having taken a while last season to get up to his best form after returning from a bad injury, this season saw Sakamoto consistently turn in good performances.

Always able to work a crossing angle, and with the delivery to match, he also has the pace and a killer work ethic that means he is effective at both ends of the pitch.

One thing that Tats seems to have added to his game since my assessment last season, is an increase in his ability to be more direct in his wing play when needed. Not only does he keep full-backs guessing with his trademark chop and switch to his left, he can now also take it on his right to the byline and get a cross in, should the situation demand it.

On his off-days, he isn’t necessarily bad; just ineffective.

He still has had his quiet days. When play isn’t coming down that side, he struggles to get involved at all. This isn’t to suggest a lack of work ethic – that would be ridiculous – it’s more just the nature of his role in the side. Sometimes things just don’t come off for him, and in games where chances with the ball are at a premium, Sakamoto can occasionally struggle to make things happen. He’s more effective getting the ball frequently so he can torment his opposite number over the course of a game; wearing them down to the point of submission or drawing cynical fouls.

When in full-flow, there are fewer players as enjoyable to watch as Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. Committed, scrappy, effervescent; when combined with his dribbling and technique it makes for a beloved player. He may be a bit lightweight against stronger defenders next season, and his on-the-ball abilities may be less of a necessity than his work off of it, but he’ll enjoy the challenge, and we’ll enjoy watching him make the step up.

Season Rating: B
PL Squad Level: Starter

It’s been a season of real quality for Ephron Mason-Clark. It’s a shame for him in a way that Carl Rushworth has with the club, because if he wasn’t then Mason-Clark would be a genuine contender for many of the Player of the Season accolades. Building on a promising previous campaign where one particular rich vein of form was an indicator of his talent; this season has seen Mason-Clark consistently turn in strong performances.

During the teams decline in form, Mason-Clark was a rare beacon of hope. In December, as the rest of the squad tired, he was the player scoring the goals to scrape wins against Bristol City & Swansea, and to earn a point at St. Mary’s. Even when the team stopped winning, he was still performing at a level above the rest, even when he was showing signs of fatigue. The knock picked up away at QPR gave him the chance to sit the next match out, and he came back into the fold at home to Middlesbrough, and made the remainder of the season effectively his own.

If I had to give any sort of criticism, it would be that he doesn’t offer Jay Dasilva the same level of defensive cover that Sakamoto provides to Milan Van Ewijk, but given what he has contributed at the business end of the pitch it doesn’t seem to matter that much. I believe that on current form, Ephron Mason-Clark can certainly make the step up to the Premier League, and develop even further. An exciting season awaits.

Season Rating: A
PL Squad Level: Starter

Brought in during the January to provide some cover for a flagging Sakamoto while usual deputy Brandon Thomas-Asante was out injured, Romain Esse’s maverick wing play was held-back a little by a lack of match fitness. However, life in a Sky Blue shirt for Esse got off to a good start with two goals in his first three games. If you’ve ever seen those videos of cows going back out to pasture after a winter of being kept inside, that was the vibe being given off by young Esse; back out in his natural habitat, free from any shackles and just being allowed to do his thing.

It’s that doing of this thing that both makes and breaks Romain Esse. His willingness to try a fancy flick or pass instead of keeping it simple can be useful in certain scenarios, and could even be the difference-maker in particularly tight matches. In most other scenarios though, it ends up being infuriating. Perhaps it is just the joie de vivre of a prodigious young winger doing his earnest best to impress his onlookers, not sullied by over-officious coaching, or maybe it’s just a sign of a player who needs to sharpen up his decision-making. Either way, it offered something different in this side, for better or worse.

Esse’s initial impact faded as his loan spell wore on, and he saw little else by way of positive contributions. There’s no denying that there is a good player there, but he will need to get some serious experience under his belt in order to harness his true potential. As he returns to Crystal Palace, I can’t see him getting that experience either here or at his parent club. The Championship beckons again.

Season Rating: C-
PL Squad Level: N/A

The Curious Case of Yang Min-Hyeok. Spending the first half of the season at Portsmouth on loan from Tottenham, Yang did very little to grab any attention before being recalled by Spurs and sent back on loan to Coventry City, who needed some help in covering the flanks despite the form of Ephron Mason-Clark. It never seemed destined to work from the start.

It’s practically impossible and quite frankly unfair to say anything on what Yang brought as a player to the City side this season. Maybe he would have featured more had the club’s hand not been forced into the signing of Jahnoah Markelo, or had something happened to Mason-Clark. That he wasn’t included in the squad for the dead-rubber final match of the season away at Watford is a damning indictment on his time here, but I’m sure if the club had the benefit of greater foresight in the madness that was January, they would have spared him from this ordeal. Still I suppose it’s character-building for the guy. Poor bugger.

Season Rating: N/A
PL Squad Level: N/A

‘So you like wingers, eh? Well, have all the wingers in the world!’

Jahnoah Markelo was a signing made seemingly out of peer pressure. Based on testimony from Frank Lampard, the club had been monitoring Markelo’s situation and were probably going to make a move for him this coming summer had they had their chance. However, as word grew that other clubs were starting to put together offers for his services, the club had to act now to avoid letting what they deem a potential hot prospect slip through their grasp, as has so often otherwise been the case. Having just recruited the loan services of Esse and Yang, this signing – an expensive one for a player of his stature – seemed barmy to those looking from the outside in.

Markelo was thrust into action in the season-defining win over Middlesbrough. A baptism of fire, but one that was effectively wrapped up by the time he got onto the pitch. Markelo was able to make a couple more brief cameos where his crossing ability came to the fore, but again, we haven’t seen too much to remark truthfully on his full abilities. No doubt a loan will be lined up for him next term, but it’s hard to predict at what level that loan club will be at.

Season Rating: N/A
PL Squad Level: Last resort

Kai Andrews is on the threshold of becoming the latest academy player to break into the first team. Clearly well-liked by the management teams of both his club and country, Kai Andrews finds himself shouldering the burden of expectation. Given a few run-outs with the first team in the first half of the season, Andrews showed in flashes his talent without ever really being given a stern test. From what could be garnered from the cup tie at Stoke, Andrews needs to quicken up his decision-making, as well as his positioning. Otherwise, he looks very comfortable with the ball, and may develop a more aggresive side to his game. A second loan spell to the Scottish Premier League has given him a further taste of first-team football, without the pressure of needing to play a part in a title charge. Hopefully he can secure a loan at a Championship side willing to give him consistent minutes next season, and that he will perform well enough to become an asset to this City side in the future.

Season Rating: N/A
PL Squad Level: N/A

After seeing plenty of Raphael Borges Rodrigues the fashion model last season, we’ve come a little bit closer to finally witnessing Raphael Borges Rodrigues the football player. One tantalising performance in the League Cup win over Luton Town was the best both we as fans and he as a player have had it this season, before Raphael was shipped out on loan to League One Wigan Athletic, where he overcame a few early struggles to become a consistent starter for the Latics. It’s difficult however to see Raphael coming good in a Coventry City side on this trajectory however, and he seems to be a victim of circumstance as the club just continues to rapidly evolve past needing players of his current calibre. If he’s lucky he’ll spend another season out on loan.

Season Rating: N/A
PL Squad Level: N/A

I wanted to close out this post with a shoutout to Ben Sheaf, who you probably will have forgotten was with the club as the curtain raised on this past season.

Signed from Arsenal on loan as a player with high potential, who struggled initially before making his loan permanent and making huge strides in his development. There was a stage where Sheaf was considered one of the club’s best players, alongside at the time Gus Hamer, Viktor Gyokeres and Callum O’Hare. However, he would struggle with injury and by the time Frank Lampard came into the club, Sheaf was struggling to get back to full fitness and form, and his departure seemed likely.

At his best, Ben Sheaf is a quality player at this level, and that was evident throughout his time at the club. Perhaps not fancied as much by Frank Lampard, who maybe decided that Sheaf’s skillset was at odds with his vision for how he wanted the midfield to function; this has been mostly justified by the fact that there have been practically no occasions this season where we have been crying out for him. Overall, he was a great servant to the club and I for one wish him all the best.

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With the departure of Jamie Allen and some question marks over whether some of the players in the engine room and make the step up to Premier League football, it would seem likely that Frank Lampard will appoint at least one central midfielder, an attacking midfielder, and at least two wingers. Work to be done, but there is some genuine quality in the ranks.

All that’s left to talk about now is the front line.