Gaffer is bringing the steel that City will need
FIRST Concrete Rod, now the man his former team-mates call ‘Mr Angry’ has joined Coventry City.
Add to that the steely determination of the proverbial Captain Fantastic, Michael Doyle, and you’d like to think Mark Robins’s new-look squad is starting to take shape.
And what’s more, it appears to be perfectly geared up for the rigours of League Two football – a division where brawn and brains are needed in equal measure to plot a way out, rather than sink further into the abyss.
Recruitment is always has been.
Get it right and Robins’s Sky Blues will give themselves a chance of bouncing straight back.
Get it wrong and we all know how that ends. The reality of playing fourth tier football next season is bad enough, but the thought of becoming a non-league outfit key. It just doesn’t bear thinking about and should be the driving force for the powers that be to ensure they support the manager sufficiently this summer and, crucially, again in January if the team requires additions to kick-on and get them over the line.
Fortunately, Robins appears to know exactly what he’s doing. He knows what he wants, the types of characters needed to get the job done.
That’s why he’s drafted in two captains already in Doyle and Liam ‘Mr Angry’ Kelly, and possibly a third on the way if he can get Carl Baker; every one a leader, all with experience, a never-say-die work ethic and a desire to win.
In ‘Concrete Rod’ McDonald, we can only assume he does what it says on the tin – a hard as nails, no nonsense defender not afraid to put his head where it hurts.
Dominic Hyam, too, we’re told is an aggressive and competitive centre-half who is still developing but has all the raw ingredients to grow with the club. And in striker Marc McNulty, City have an energetic predator in the box, a real goal poacher with pace, enthusiasm and the potential to be a top scorer in the division. Throw in a 6ft 4 inch tall goalkeeper, Liam O’Brien, who is hungry to establish himself as a No.1, and the promise of another half dozen more new faces to come and there is plenty to whet the appetite ahead of the new season.
There’s steel, bite, energy, work-rate, ambition and leadership everywhere you look.
And what’s more they’re coming in thick and fast and it’s still only May.
Sky Blues’ fans had to wait until July 1 for their first summer signing last year when Kwame Thomas dropped in midway through a long, frustrating and, ultimately, disastrous transfer window.
The contrast between then and now couldn’t be starker.
It doesn’t make the disappointment of relegation any easier but it certainly paints a more positive outlook as we begin to contemplate life in League Two. A TRIO of Coventry City supporters witnessed a poignant occasion as they made the journey from Wyken to Stockholm to attend the Europa League final between Manchester United and Ajax.
Sky Blues fans CJ Joiner, Joe Entwistle and Danny Morrison (pictured above) made their way to the Friends Arena by flying from Birmingham to Hamburg, taking a nine-hour ferry to Malmo before a seven-hour drive to Stockholm.
And they positioned the Sky Blues flag inside the ground so it sat pride of place in view of millions of European football fans.
Speaking to the Coventry Telegraph, CJ said: “We’ve been to quite a few games on the continent and sat with Liverpool fans in Basel for the Europa League final last season.
“We made the flag last summer for Euro 2016, and this was the first time we have put it out since the tournament in France.”
The City fan described the way fans from both clubs came together in unison in the wake of the Manchester terror attacks.
Asked what the atmosphere was like in the ground, and around the city, CJ said: “The atmosphere did seem to be a bit subdued, which is understandable given what had happened, but the United fans were great.
“There was supposed to be a minute’s silence which turned into a minute’s applause, and was well observed.
“Obviously as neutral supporters, we were given a warm welcome and allowed to put our flag out, and there were even Manchester City fans sat near us.
“Everyone was well behaved, and it was nice to see supporters from both clubs getting along both inside and outside of the stadium.”
Robins appears to know exactly what he’s doing. He knows what he wants, the type of characters needed to get the job done