What have Coventry done differently to us?

I think Mark Robins is a very underrated manager and is doing an admirable job at Coventry, would I swap him for Michael Carrick ?
Absolutely not and I also believe without the worst injury list ever this season we would be in the top 6 now with everything to play for.
 
Thats football.
What have Millwall done different to where they were this time last year?
 
exeterboro said:
Mark Robbins is really street wise when it comes to getting a result from a match, hes willing to play a different system more often than MC if he thinks there is a weakness in the other team and he thinks he can exploit it, he will not adhere to a style no matter what.
Click to expand...
Well you'd expect him to be a bit more streetwise, he's vastly more experienced than Carrick. And there are signs Carrick is learning that lesson, which will make him a better manager.

In fact although not how we'd want the season to end, it's been a steep learning curve this year and yet he's generally come through all the tests that have come his way, even if he has made mistakes at times.

He's not been perfect, but for a rookie manager I think he's done very well all things considered.
 
Muttley said:
We made the semi final of the League Cup.
Click to expand...
Yes. We did. I'm just stating that they haven't dropped off this season despite losing their best players and they have improved if anything because they are going to hit slightly higher points total and they've done better in the cups. It's really just making a point that the criticism of Coventry is unwarranted.
 
Nano said:
Yes. We did. I'm just stating that they haven't dropped off this season despite losing their best players and they have improved if anything because they are going to hit slightly higher points total and they've done better in the cups. It's really just making a point that the criticism of Coventry is unwarranted.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure points total alone is enough to validate an improvement, that depends on the relative opposition strengths. League position is a better relative indicator and they appear to have dropped a touch.

I expected us to drop a touch due to losing so many key players, with far less compensation. I think longer term, our position looks better. But time will tell.
 
Nano said:
It's really just making a point that the criticism of Coventry is unwarranted.
Click to expand...
I wasn't criticising Coventry, I'm making the point that six weeks ago Coventry were held up as an example of what we had got badly wrong. Yet, here we are six weeks later, one place and two points behind them, we've both been (or are going) to a cup semi final and it is likely that both of us will miss out on the playoffs and promotion. I think we've had a more difficult recruitment job than them and I don't think they have had the injury problems that we have.

So all in all my message was that we have done pretty well with a rookie manager and a new recruitment model and perhaps we are better positioned for next season? Did we make mistakes? Of course we did but hopefully we've learnt the lessons.
 
Muttley said:
I wasn't criticising Coventry, I'm making the point that six weeks ago Coventry were held up as an example of what we had got badly wrong. Yet, here we are six weeks later, one place and two points behind them, we've both been (or are going) to a cup semi final and it is likely that both of us will miss out on the playoffs and promotion. I think we've had a more difficult recruitment job than them and I don't think they have had the injury problems that we have.

So all in all my message was that we have done pretty well with a rookie manager and a new recruitment model and perhaps we are better positioned for next season? Did we make mistakes? Of course we did but hopefully we've learnt the lessons.
Click to expand...

6 weeks ago, we'd played a game less and were 7 points behind them.
We won the game in hand, so it was cut to 4 points when we'd played the same number of games.

Now we're 2 points behind them and they have the game in hand, win that and they're 5 points ahead of us.

We're in the best form we've been in for months and I don't think we've really improved our position relative to theirs from 6 weeks, it's just they've played fewer games because of the cup run, as we had in February.

If any of the chasing pack are going to make the play-offs, it's most likely to be Coventry.
 
TalkSport interviewed Mark Robins a few weeks ago, when they reached the FA Cup Semi final beating a very good Wolves team on their patch.

He was saying, during the summer a lot players left the club, and with many new incomings, it took time to blend them in and make them understand the way he wanted them to play, hence their poor start to the season.
However he has managed to turn it around and the team is playing well again, Mark Robins is a top manager.

Carrick came in last year when we were playing awful football under a deluded Chris Wilder,
The resurgence of Chuba, the introduction of local lad Hayden Hackney, players playing with smiles on their faces and enjoying their football, followed by two top loan players arriving in January Archer & Ramsey just boosted the team again to another level. "Roll on when Carrick has a full season in charge"

Skip forward to the summer, Chuba gone, Archer Ramsey gone, together with the other loan players leaving..
Several new signings arrived, only Dieng with any Championship experience, the team was very much weakened, and it has shown over the course of the season.
Dieng ...VDB have been good additions
Engel Bangura Silvera Gilbert (poor signings) not sure they will improve next season.
Azaz, Latte lathe (will they be first choices next season? not sure)
Greenwood, Thomas (poor loan signings)

We can blame injuries, and yes we've had many so called 1st team players missing this season,
However our poor start to the season with no win in seven, we had then a nearly fully fit squad to choose from, so what was that excuse when we sat second bottom in the league with 2pts, we only started picking wins up, when so called first team players went out of the team through injury.

This season had too much upheaval,with too many average players arriving at the club, next season is the real test , lets see if the club goes down the Quantity over Quality route again, (hope not).
 
Alwaysaborolad said:
However our poor start to the season with no win in seven, we had then a nearly fully fit squad to choose from, so what was that excuse when we sat second bottom in the league with 2pts, we only started picking wins up, when so called first team players went out of the team through injury.
Click to expand...
same as them, we had lots of players to integrate. They won 1 in 8 or 3 in the first 16. Both teams struggled to get up to speed due to the number of changes. We then got hit by massive injury issues, they didn't which has allowed them to stay ahead.
 
Alwaysaborolad said:
This season had too much upheaval,with too many average players arriving at the club, next season is the real test , lets see if the club goes down the Quantity over Quality route again, (hope not).
Click to expand...
We had to go quantity last year, losing 6 loanees, we have only got 4 loanees this season, and they're not as important, and more importantly if we want to sign them permanent we probably can - Ayling is available on a free, Thomas also, O'Brien won't be more than a couple of million, and Greenwood is 1,5m if we want him. So it's really in our hands, if we want that continuity.

Lath, Dieng, Rav, are integrated into the first team and Azaz will have had 6 moths so should hit the ground running. We could make less changes if we wish, certainly to the first XI.

This seasons major changes are in caps, obviously some have been injury enforced.

...............DIENG
RAV/AYL........RAV........clarke.....ENGEL
.........Barlaser..........Howson
Jones.........ROGERS/AZAZ.......GREENWOOD
.........................LATH

7 of the first team roles changed from the year before.

Next year we could get away with 4 major first team changes and better backup options:

................Dieng
Ayling......Rav.......Lenihan.....LB
.......CDM.....Hackney
Jones.......10..........LW
..................Lath
 
Muttley said:
I wasn't criticising Coventry, I'm making the point that six weeks ago Coventry were held up as an example of what we had got badly wrong. Yet, here we are six weeks later, one place and two points behind them, we've both been (or are going) to a cup semi final and it is likely that both of us will miss out on the playoffs and promotion. I think we've had a more difficult recruitment job than them and I don't think they have had the injury problems that we have.

So all in all my message was that we have done pretty well with a rookie manager and a new recruitment model and perhaps we are better positioned for next season? Did we make mistakes? Of course we did but hopefully we've learnt the lessons.
Click to expand...
What they got right, and we got wrong, was they used their income from selling their best players to buy new ones. They have been able to relatively perform exactly the same as last season for no additional cost. We have got worse but our bank balance got better. If we had spent our income we might have been able to maintain last season's performance then we'd be looking at potential promotion again.

The mistake being made in this thread is using Coventry as the benchmark and not our performance last season.

BoroMart said:
I'm not sure points total alone is enough to validate an improvement, that depends on the relative opposition strengths. League position is a better relative indicator and they appear to have dropped a touch.

I expected us to drop a touch due to losing so many key players, with far less compensation. I think longer term, our position looks better. But time will tell.
Click to expand...
I think we look the same as we have for a long time. A midtable team with potential to break into the playoffs, like about 6 other teams (including Coventry). Our situation will look very different if we sell Hackney and RVB and don't replace them and going by the new model of buying "projects" expecting to buy projects that can be successful enough from day one to mount a promotion challenge seems unlikely. So we're probably going to be in the same place as Coventry next season, paying more for our tickets, and having more money in the bank.

Comparing ourselves to a team that have been in the 4th tier recently, spent most of the last decade in the 3rd tier, have had massive financial troubles and don't even own their own stadium is not exactly a ringing endorsement of success either. We might be better than Coventry but that might still mean finishing 8th.
 
Nano said:
Comparing ourselves to a team that have been in the 4th tier recently, spent most of the last decade in the 3rd tier, have had massive financial troubles and don't even own their own stadium is not exactly a ringing endorsement of success either.
Click to expand...

Wait till you see where Luton are! :)

We compare ourselves to them as we both finish in the playoffs last season, and they knocked us out. Where they, Luton or Ipswich were 5 years ago isn't important.
Ultimately I think they had an easier job of rebuilding as our "success" last season was built on very shallow foundations.
 
They have recruited better and look a better squad and team.
We sold Spence, Tav and Akpom for similar to they have received for the brilliant Gyokeres and very good Hamer. Massive boots to fill, but collectively they have churned that money well.
We haven’t.
Robins is also a very wily experienced skillful boss who improves players. At the moment he is stronger than Carrick.
I hope they do it this season, hats off to them.
 
They've got 2 more points than us. That's what they've done differently. You're making out like there's a gulf between us, there isn't.

As far as I know they've had a major injury to one key player, had we suffered similar misfortune I dare say we'd be around ten points better off.

Their fans may be grumbling too, in the play offs last year and don't look like making it this.
 
I don't think that Coventry have done significantly better than us this season as some seem to be suggesting especially given that their manager has far more experience. In fact given that we decided to start the season after 7 games our records points wise are identical from that point on.
I think the fact they are a jinx team for us is colouring people's judgement.
 
Alwaysaborolad said:
TalkSport interviewed Mark Robins a few weeks ago, when they reached the FA Cup Semi final beating a very good Wolves team on their patch.

He was saying, during the summer a lot players left the club, and with many new incomings, it took time to blend them in and make them understand the way he wanted them to play, hence their poor start to the season.
However he has managed to turn it around and the team is playing well again, Mark Robins is a top manager.

Carrick came in last year when we were playing awful football under a deluded Chris Wilder,
The resurgence of Chuba, the introduction of local lad Hayden Hackney, players playing with smiles on their faces and enjoying their football, followed by two top loan players arriving in January Archer & Ramsey just boosted the team again to another level. "Roll on when Carrick has a full season in charge"

Skip forward to the summer, Chuba gone, Archer Ramsey gone, together with the other loan players leaving..
Several new signings arrived, only Dieng with any Championship experience, the team was very much weakened, and it has shown over the course of the season.
Dieng ...VDB have been good additions
Engel Bangura Silvera Gilbert (poor signings) not sure they will improve next season.
Azaz, Latte lathe (will they be first choices next season? not sure)
Greenwood, Thomas (poor loan signings)

We can blame injuries, and yes we've had many so called 1st team players missing this season,
However our poor start to the season with no win in seven, we had then a nearly fully fit squad to choose from, so what was that excuse when we sat second bottom in the league with 2pts, we only started picking wins up, when so called first team players went out of the team through injury.

This season had too much upheaval,with too many average players arriving at the club, next season is the real test , lets see if the club goes down the Quantity over Quality route again, (hope not).
Click to expand...
Why are you calling them "so called" first team players?
These have all had, or are having, periods out due to injury. Are you suggesting they are not first team players?

Dieng
 VDB
McGree
Hackney
Coburn
Lathe
Jones
Fry
Smith
Lenihan
Forss
 
Rofesleg said:
Why are you calling them "so called" first team players?
These have all had, or are having, periods out due to injury. Are you suggesting they are not first team players?

Dieng
 VDB
McGree
Hackney
Coburn
Lathe
Jones
Fry
Smith
Lenihan
Forss
Click to expand...

Doesn’t suit his narrative.
 
Nano said:
Our situation will look very different if we sell Hackney and RVB and don't replace them and going by the new model of buying "projects" expecting to buy projects....So we're probably going to be in the same place as Coventry next season
Click to expand...
but that is massively speculative that a) we will sell them this summer we very well might not, and b) that we will just spend a fraction of the massive windfall if we do sell on 'projects'. If those two go we will have a 50m FFP positive balance. Instead of spending 700k on Silvera and 4m on Lath we can and probably will be shopping in the 6-10m category for those roles.

Nano said:
Comparing ourselves to a team that have been in the 4th tier recently, spent most of the last decade in the 3rd tier, have had massive financial troubles and don't even own their own stadium is not exactly a ringing endorsement of success either. We might be better than Coventry but that might still mean finishing 8th.
Click to expand...
They are a play off rival for next season, so that is why we are comparing to them because comparing to say Rotherham is pointless.

It's all very negative and speculative Nano, at this point in time our playing assets are increasing in value, and the ones that are being courted are on long contracts which gives us a good level of protection. Hackney is a local and loving it, Rav has already turned down massive clubs to come here and play and will be guaranteed starter next year. At 19 year old, this will all be miles in the bank for his long term career, and he clearly sees it that way. I don't see either leaving this summer, but if they do, it'll be for top dollar and give us the kind of investment power that Coventry won't have.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top