Coventry City v Ipswich Town FA Cup preview: Focus on the Sky Blues.
Ipswich Town resume their FA Cup campaign with a trip to Championship side Coventry City. Alex Jones takes a closer look at the Sky Blues.
For seven years, Mark Robins was Coventry City. You couldn’t think about the club without thinking of the manager, who achieved incredible things during his lengthy stint in the West Midlands.
He returned to the club in 2017, having had a brief stint in charge around five years earlier. The Sky Blues were on the brink of relegation to League Two, which Robins couldn’t prevent, but he did lead them to an EFL Trophy victory at Wembley.
They found themselves back in the capital 12 months later as they returned to the third tier via the play-offs. Then, in 2019/20, they won the League One title to return to the Championship.
It was a significant achievement given that they had major ownership issues and were groundsharing at Birmingham City’s St. Andrew’s Stadium at the time.
The amazing journey continued. Coventry reached the Championship play-off final in 2022/23, coming within a penalty kick from reaching the Premier League. Ultimately, they were beaten by Luton Town.
The following year, they were back at Wembley once again, this time for an FA Cup semi-final. The result was the same, however – a defeat on penalties, this time to Manchester United.
Promotion to the top flight felt like a matter of time under Robins. Nobody could have expected how his tenure would come to an end.
Frank Lampard is now in charge of the Sky Blues
Frank Lampard is now in charge of the Sky Blues (Image: PA)
Lampard’s comeback
Coventry’s start to the season was poor. Following a 2-1 home defeat to newly-promoted Derby County on November 6th, they sat 17th in the table. The following day, Robins was sacked.
Despite their disappointing form, it was a huge shock. He was the longest-serving manager in the EFL at the time of his departure, and the news was met with outrage from supporters while outsiders were left feeling puzzled by the decision.
Was there more to the decision? Probably. Speaking at a fans’ forum, owner Doug King revealed that a fall-out between the boss and assistant manager Adi Viveash was the blame for the club’s bad run. Now, Robins finds himself in charge of Stoke City and the situation feels like water under the bridge.
That’s because Coventry have Frank Lampard now.
Lampard’s pedigree is clear. As a player, he won every single trophy available at club level, including three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and one Champions League. His 13-year spell at Chelsea saw him become one of the best midfielders in European football, and he hoped that experience would transition into management.
It’s probably too early to judge his success. His tenure at Derby County saw them reach the Championship play-off final, ultimately fall short to Aston Villa. At Chelsea, he reached the FA Cup final, where his side were beaten by Arsenal. His time at Everton didn’t work, but the fans appreciated what he tried to do.
It meant that a lot was resting on his move to the CBS Arena.
How much Wilson Isidor earns a week at Sunderland AFC after big new development.
Sunderland moved during the January transfer window to sign Wilson Isidor on a permanent deal.
Last month, it was reported that finances could have got in the way of a permanent agreement being struck.
It was also revealed by Alan Nixon at the time that other clubs had taken an interest in the forward, but the Black Cats were able to come out on top in this race in the end and have tied the Frenchman down for the long term.
He could prove to be a vital asset for the club in their quest for promotion, with his goals playing a big part in guiding the Wearside outfit into the promotion mix.
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Not only is he scoring goals, but he is also matching his goals with excellent performances, and this may have persuaded owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus to invest a sizeable amount to secure his signature.
He wasn’t the only player to be signed at the Stadium of Light during the winter window.
Enzo Le Fee and Liverpool’s Jayden Danns have also arrived, with the former already showing his class in the red and white strips of the Black Cats.
What Wilson Isidor is estimated to be earning at Sunderland
Isidor was signed from Zenit St Petersburg, who are one of the more notable football teams in Russia.
However, he probably wouldn’t have been earning a huge amount there.
Even with this in mind, it may surprise quite a few people that he is only estimated, by Capology, to be earning £8,500-per-week at the Stadium of Light.
Having established himself as one of the most lethal forwards in this division, he arguably deserves to be earning north of £20,000 every week.
