Coventry and West Brom impressed me more than Norwich, Blackburn, and Bristol City so I'll opt for them for 5th & 6th. I have a feeling Sunderland will tail off badly.
I think West Brom and Blackburn probably fall out and are replaced with us and Cov. For us it's mostly about keeping a certain couple of players fit. In the 16 games Sargent missed (14) and didn't start (2) we lost 8 times. In the 18 games he's started we lost 3 times. Nunez is similar with us only winning 3 of the 12 he's missed. Half of these did overlap with Sargent's injury. We do go to Blackburn next so I might not be as confident after that.
Promotion hopefuls - how do you feel about the possibility of going up? It probably feels like a stupid question but it's starting to look like the 2nd season in a row where the 3 promoted teams are going back down and you can't help but feel the gap is widening. Even Wolves in 17th would probably absolutely walk the Championship. It's an absolutely awful situation for English football in my opinion that I'd even need to ask the question. But once the novelty wears off and you're getting battered each week it soon wears thin. We got lucky really two seasons in a row.
Most teams will get smashed including ourselves. We lost to Bournemouth 5-1 in the cup ? Prem has to be the aim just because of the financial side to being there. Yes being smashed week in week out is not nice. We've seen it ourselves dropping out from the prem and being poorly run and being in a dire situation financially.
We aren’t “promotion hopefuls” I wouldn’t say (the table would suggest otherwise, but after the January window we had I think the reality is that it’s not the case) but it’d be laughable if this side managed to sneak into the playoffs and win them. We would genuinely need 9 new starters. The only players in the squad that would be capable of playing PL football are Jason Knight and Rob Dickie. We’d be losing 6 and 7 every single week.
It's a crazy thing to say after our start and not just because of results, Robins being sacked and my initial reaction to what I believe was an underwhelming appointment of Lampard. I think we'll get play offs. I always thought we had the quality but mentality & confidence was our downfall. We are in a purple patch and have won 7/8. Which includes other play off hopefuls QPR, Watford, Bristol, Sheff Weds, Blackburn. Also wins over bogey teams Swansea & Preston. With 3 players who would be in our first XI in Wright, EMC & Sheaf that have returned recently or are close, sets us up nicely for the end of the season. We played Leeds a few weeks back who were a different level but I don't think the 3 chasing are as strong. We'll find out though as we have Sunderland, Sheff United & Burnley in consecutive games. That will give us an idea if we are serious contenders.
I had quite a few discussions with people outraged that Coventry had sacked Robins. He had your squad underperforming in the league last season and again this season. For all the good he did at Coventry I think it was definitely the right decision.
An optimist would say look at yourselves, Bournemouth, Brighton, Fulham and Brentford. All been Championship in the not too distant past and whilst money has obviously been spent they are clubs mostly doing it through being smart with their spending. It used to be second season syndrome but the finances now mean that once you've got a good chance of establishing yourself if you make it over the first season hurdle. Our ownership has changed since our recent Premier League 'attempts' and the feeling is that we are now much more competitive financially. That being said if you offered our management promotion this season or promotion next there would be strong arguments for next.
Most teams going up need a bit of luck and will have a tough time. It’s easy to forget even Brighton had a number of very close calls with relegation initially. Ultimately the financial situation means you would always take a promotion even if you don’t enjoy the PL. It’s very difficult to build a side down here because you’re losing money and have to accept bids for your best players.
Last season we should have got to the FA cup final. Our season only fell apart after the semi, small squad was exhausted and we had 4 games in 9 days. If you look at our form pre Man Utd and we were averaging around 1.9 PPG over the Christmas period (after our usual slow start). Our slow start is understandable considering we lost Gyokeres & Hamer and had to rebuild. Last season was the only time he had not improved our league position (but got to a semi at Wembley instead). There is more to it than just results for Robins going, the fall out with Viveash, the coaches he brought in. Ultimately, it has/could turn out to be the right decision but I still think it was premature and the method still leaves a bad taste. I don't want to be a club with no loyalty. It was a special era and Robins was great but also think he had a great team around him. Lawrence and Viveash had gone, different owners, no longer us against the world, underdogs. Everything comes to an end.
We won't go up but would take it for the financial boost and the remote hope that owners that care and have a sensible plan would actually have an offer considered by the current lot who I fail to see just what they get out of owning us. We'd get battered but most will.
Out for a few weeks with a hamstring. Only just come back from injury. A blow as we aren't stacked at cb. Think we will release him end of the season.
VAR robbed us of what would have been one of, if not the, greatest FA cup results of all time. One of the few times I’ve actually been gutted at a decision that didn’t involve millwall or England
Lampard seems to be doing something right there. Has he won the fans over now? There was a lot of mocking about him going there but he seems to be restoring his rep.
I was just thinking the other day that he seems to have kept his head down (I've hardly heard or read the phrase "Frank Lampard's Coventry City") and lifted them up the table. I did wonder if it's something he's doing differently with the squad/team to Robins, or whether he's kept things the same and Robins would have had them up there if he'd not been sacked.
