Stats the way to do it as City serve up season to remember
JIM BROWN.
Coventry City’s season may be a thing of the past but it’s a good time for reflection, to analyse the detail and look what went well and where the team can significantly improve. Here is the first part of a comprehensive round-up of all the key stats, facts and figures from the 2023/24 campaign, compiled by club statistician and historian
COVENTRY City gave their supporters another memorable season in 2023-24 with their best FA Cup run for 37 years, ending with a heartbreaking VAR decision at the end of extra time in the semi-final at Wembley.
The Championship season saw the Sky Blues go close to reaching the play-offs again after a rollercoaster campaign.
They were well in contention until the last few games but missed out on a second successive play-off place and finished ninth.
After reaching the play-offs in 2022-23 expectations were obviously higher amongst the fans but the more realistic felt that the loss of the two star players and the high turnover in the squad would take some time to overcome. The standards in the Championship were as high as they have ever been and were boosted by three relegated clubs with seriously strong squads and several others still in receipt of £45 million-plus parachute payments.
The busiest transfer summer in the club’s recent history saw the departure of Viktor Gyokeres and Gus Hamer in record breaking transfers. There was also the exit of loan players Doyle, Panzo, Mcnally, Wilsonesbrand and Norton-cuffy with other out of contract departees Maguire, Dabo, Rose, Walker and Waghorn.
In came just one loanee, Luis Binks from Bologna plus Brad Collins and Liam Kitching, from Barnsley, Bobby Thomas from Burnley, Jay Dasilva, from Bristol City, Joel Latibeaudiere, from Swansea, Milan van Ewijk from Dutch club Heerenveen, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto from Belgian club Oostende, Ellis Simms from Everton and Haji Wright from Turkish side Antalyaspor.
In summary ten out and ten in, better quality, lesser dependence on loans and an overall younger squad.
Early season form was good but not reflected in results with only one win in the first eight games but only two defeats.
Two good wins over Blackburn and QPR lifted the team to mid-table before a run of four defeats left them just above the relegation zone.
The first of those defeats, at Bristol City, was an excellent away performance and only lacked better finishing.
The fourth defeat, at Preston, was a poor defensive performance and prompted changes. Collins came in for Wilson and Mcfadzean was given compassionate leave following the death of his mother. Robins switched to a back four and the results were transformed and the legendary but ageing Mcfadzean’s Coventry career was over. There were other factors in the improvement, Sheaf was back up to speed after an early season injury, O’hare came back after a long absence and Kitching was finally given his opportunity.
From early November the side lost only two league games in 18, at Ipswich and Norwich, and lifted themselves to sixth in the table by mid-january. After indifferent beginnings Simms and Wright started to score goals and the new formation allowed Sakamoto to play in his favourite right-wing position, in front of the speedy Van Ewijk with Wright playing on the left side. O’hare had a golden period, adding goals to his already impressive repertoire. The away form was especially good with strong wins at Sunderland and Middlesbrough and a fine draw at Leeds. The comeback home win over Leicester in January ending the Foxes 11 game unbeaten run was the CBS
Arena highlight. The consistent and exciting form carried over into the FA Cup but as the games came thick and fast there were signs of weariness and with Sheaf again injured Preston gave City a lesson in finishing at the CBS Arena. March saw Sheaf return and four successive wins, including the Molineux FA Cup victory, made City many pundit’s favourites for a play-off place. The quarter-final tie will go down in the club’s history as one of the greatest games with two goals in added time sealing a rare and thoroughly deserved victory over a Premier League side.
There’s no question that the Cup run then affected league form and although Leeds United were put to the sword that turned out to be City’s
From early November the side lost only two league games in 18 and lifted themselves to sixth in the table by mid-january.
last victory and five defeats in six games meant the play-off hopes slipped away. The semi-final was a special occasion and with few expectations many Sky Blues fans were just happy to be back for the fourth time in seven years. City’s timid performance saw United look virtually home and dry at the hour mark but a battling display after some inspired substitutions saw three goals in the last 20 minutes to force extra-time.
Some 36,000 City fans in the stadium plus thousands at home thought Victor Torp, a transfer window addition, had scored a fourth goal before VAR ruled out what would have been the winner. Then, again, hearts were broken in a penalty shoot-out and it is now five successive defeats by this
cruel method. Throughout the season the team continued to play attacking football and winning plaudits from opposition managers for their style.
The biggest ever crowds at the CBS Arena generated an amazing atmosphere which I’m sure inspired the team and the travelling Sky Blue Army regularly out-sang home supporters.
Off the field there were two significant departures.
After seven years as chief executive Dave Boddy left the club and firstteam coach Dennis Lawrence left in March after three years to become assistant manager to US MLS team Minnesota United.
Both have played major roles in the club’s resurgence. As the season came to an end two club stalwarts left.
Liam Kelly ended a seven-year spell at the club and deserves all the accolades he has received.
Simon Moore also left after three seasons. Another busy summer in the transfer market looks likely and the squad was strengthened in January with the signings of Torp and Masonclark (who remained on loan at Peterborough).
Let’s hope Mark Robins, Adi Viveash and the team can hit the ground running far better than in the past two campaigns and have a successful 2024-25.
STATS REVIEW OF THE SEASON 2023-24 Games:
ANALYSIS
Coventry City played 53 competitive games, 46 league, 6 FA Cup and 1 League Cup. This is two more than last season.
Points: From 46 league games the Sky Blues gathered 64 points, six less than the previous season and the same number as 2021-22. Home Form: 9 wins, 8 draws, 6 defeats. The team gathered 35 home points, only the tenth best in the division and surprisingly one less than relegated Birmingham. There were not enough victories and promoted Ipswich won 54 home points. The team scored 36 home goals, the fourth highest since we left the Premiership in 2001.
Away Form: 8 wins, 5 draws, 10 losses. 29 away points, the seventh best in the division. Eight wins equalled the best ever at Championship level, set in 2003-04 and the best since we returned to the division in 2020. The team scored 34 away goals, the third most in the last 60 years. Biggest win: The biggest league win of the season was the 5-0 home win over Rotherham. City also beat Maidstone 5-0 and Oxford United 6-2 in the FA Cup. The latter being the first time the team had scored six at the CBS Arena since a 6-1 win over Derby in 2006.
Biggest defeat: The biggest defeats were 0-3, at home to Preston and away to Birmingham. The defeat at St Andrew’s was the biggest away loss since the same scoreline at Norwich in September 2022.
Goals for: The total of 70 league goals twelve more than 2022-23 the seventh best in the division. This total has only been bettered twice in 57 years, in 1977-78 (75) and 2013-14 (74). In total they failed to score nine times in 46 games.
Goals against: City conceded 59 goals, 13 more than 2022-23 and the eighth best in the division and better than both Southampton and Norwich. Clean sheets: The team kept 12 clean sheets, eight less than 2022-23. Ben Wilson kept four and Brad Collins eight including six in his first nine games.
Final position: The final position of 9th was pretty good considering they were 20 th in midnovember after 17 games. Then, a run of 11 games with only one defeat took them to sixth place in January. The team never got higher than sixth place.
Leading scorers: In his first season in England Haji Wright topped the league scores list with 16 goals. In 15 seasons of tier two football only Viktor Gyokeres has scored more in a season than Wright.
Runner-up was Ellis Simms whose 13 would have made him top scorer in 10 of those seasons! Seventeen different City players were on the scoresheet in league games. Simms’ six FA Cup goals equalled the post-war record set by Jimmy Whitehouse in 1962-63 and as it stands is joint top scorer in this season’s competition with Blackburn’s Szmodics however Haaland is on five and may overhaul the two Championship players. Wright’s 19 goals is the best by a US player in the English game since Clint Dempsey in 2011-12.