Coventry City were one of the standout stories of the 2022/23 Championship season, finishing fifth and reaching the play-off final.
The Sky Blues have been on an incredible rise in recent years, comparable to previous season’s play-off winners Luton Town, and will only be promoted back to the Championship in 2020.
In fact, the Midlands club was in League Two as recently as 2018.
However, after reaching such tremendous heights the previous season, their 2023/24 campaign has been completely different.
Mark Robins’ team is 20th in the Championship and hasn’t won a game since October 4th.
The goalscoring exploits of hotshot Victor Gyokeres and the ingenuity of Gustavo Hamer, who is deserving of his current spot in the Premier League with Sheffield United, contributed to the Sky Blues’ triumph last season.
However, the departure of these two players cannot be blamed entirely for Coventry’s troubles this season.
There is a wider picture that should be considered.
The other key players in the Sky Blues’ 2022/23 machine
For the second half of the season, Mark Robins was fortunate to have Luke McNally on loan from eventual champions Burnley.
The Irishman played every minute of every game after making his Sky Blues debut on January 28th, including all 120 minutes of the play-off final.
The Sky Blues held a remarkable 9 clean sheets during Luke McNally’s 19 regular Championship season games.
So far this season, Robins’ club has conceded 21 goals in just 15 games, demonstrating McNally’s strong impact on their defence.
In a loan spell at Stoke City, the Burnley man is already delivering eye-catching performances.
Callum Doyle, another Sky Blues defender, was crucial to the Sky Blues’ promotion push last season.This season, his parent club Manchester City chose to loan him to Leicester City rather than Coventry.
Mark Robins will miss him as another rock in the back.
He was nearly always in the Sky Blues’ 2022/23 backline, starting 39 of 46 Championship games.
Only title-winning Burnley maintained more clean sheets last season, with 21, than Coventry’s 20.
