Threesy does it for Kyle!
SKY BLUES STAR PROVED RIGHT ABOUT ROBINS’ FORMATION THIS SEASON
WHEN Coventry City kicked off the 2019/20 campaign Mark Robins set up his side in a system to suit the strengths of his new-look squad. The Sky Blues boss deployed a 4-3-3 formation with wide men Wesley Jobello and Jordy Hiwula either side of a main striker, initially Amadou Bakayoko before Matty Godden took over at the top.
The midfield saw Liam Kelly hold with Zain Westbrooke and Jordan Shipley either side before Liam Walsh arrived on loan from Bristol City at the end of August, sharing duties with the skipper in an either/or situation that continued until early November when the manager sprang his box midfield on Colchester United in the FA Cup.
That paired the outstanding duo together for the first time and City never looked back.
The defence, meanwhile, had switched from a back four to three centre-halves and wing-backs a few weeks earlier with an inspired halftime change against Fleetwood Town.
Up until that point, Robins had been spoilt for choice with his centre-halves as summer recruits Michael Rose and Kyle Mcfadzean, and the previous season’s player of the year, Dom Hyam, vied for the two central defensive slots in between the full-backs.
The subject sparked a huge amount of debate among fans and pundits as to which was the best central defensive pairing.
But as far as Mcfadzean was concerned, there was always going to be one outcome in the end.
He and Rose were the men in possession in August but a slight hamstring strain to Rose against Blackpool gave Hyam his chance in early September, and he grabbed it with both feet, keeping the swiftly recovering Scot on the bench until Mcfadzean got sent off at Rotherham.
That resulted in Rose and Hyam partnering each other for a few games until Joey Barton’s Cod Army came to St Andrew’s in late October.
Trailing at the break to a ninth minute Paddy Madden goal, Robins made two changes for the second half with Mcfadzean, crucially, joining Rose and Hyam to form a back three, while Max Biamou replaced Hiwula to partner Bakayoko.
The switch paid almost instant dividends as Bakayoko got City back on level terms before the hour ahead of a late Westbrooke penalty that handed the ‘home’ side the full three points. From that point on the Sky Blues never looked back and the trio were virtually set in stone until the season came crashing to a halt due to the coronavirus – a tactical switch the former Burton Albion defender predicted from day one.
“Do you know, when I first came in to the club in the summer I said to the two other lads that I thought we’d end up going to a back three because the quality of those two,” Mcfadzean said.
“You could see the team developing into a back three because it’s quite
You could see the team developing into a back three because it’s quite strong. We had injuries and then it changed. Kyle Mcfadzean
strong. We had injuries and then it changed against Fleetwood at half-time and it has been the same since.
“Full-backs are like wingers in this day and age anyway and they can defend as well, which is a bonus.
“We have got that many midfielders and we have been able to put them all together as well, so it’s been good.”
Asked what impresses him about Rose and Hyam, he said: “They can both handle the ball well, both are good defenders and both good in the air.
“They have both got similar attributes really. In fact we’re all a bit similar. I think I’m alright technically as well.
“Sometimes I get a bit of stick because I kick it now and again, but my job is to keep the ball out the back of the net but I play in a footballing team so I have to do that as well, and I enjoy that side of the game.”
Mcfadzean is typically quick to point to a team effort rather than take credit for himself and his two trusty sidekicks for being part of the tightest defence in League One, having shipped just 30 goals from their 34 games to date – 11 at their St Andrew’s groundshare ‘home’ and 19 away – to help Robins’ title chasing side to top spot in the division.
“I’ve been very happy with the defence but it starts from the front,” he said. “You see how hard they work up top with the likes of Godders and Callum O’hare. There’s also Kels (Liam Kelly) and Walshy in midfield and the full-backs, it starts from them really and then gets to us in the back three.
“It helps that we’ve all kept fit all season and been playing together week in and week out, and long may it continue.”
Hyam chalked up his 100th City appearance last time out against Ipswich Town.
“He’s been class, hasn’t he!” said Mcfadzean. “I think he was player of the year last year and it looks as though he’s carried that form on.”