Don Goodman spoke more in his interview with OLBG about Coventry City…
On if Adi Viveash leaving Coventry is a worrying sign and what they need to do to reach the top six: “The only people who will know what impact Adi Viveash’s departure might have on the club are Mark Robins and those at Coventry City. It’s (Viveash leaving) a bit of a mystery considering how long they’ve been together and the success they’ve had.
“Adi was hugely influential when it came to the day-to-day coaching, the tactics and was someone Mark Robins could bounce ideas off. He wasn’t a ‘yes man’ and would bounce ideas back.
“You’d think he’s going to be a miss and can only assume this decision has been made by Mark Robins, who’s decided he wants to move in a different direction. That’s all that we can go off at the moment.
I don’t know too much about Rhys Carr who’s come in from Wolves alongside George Boateng, but it’s one of those calls that could either be a masterstroke or a disaster. We won’t know until the season kicks off.
“Last season, they got off to a really slow start and finished really poorly. They were brilliant during the middle part of the season and had a great run in the FA Cup, where they scared the life out of Manchester United.
“There’s no doubt that there’s quality in the squad. I like their additions and expect Ephron Mason-Clark, who’s a really dynamic player, to do well. If they can get Ellis Simms and Haji Wright firing right from the start, as opposed to taking a while to settle in as they did last season, then I don’t envisage any problems when it comes to scoring goals. I also really like the signing of Jack Rudoni, too.
“The biggest difference between 2023/2023 Coventry City, when they finished fifth, and them missing out on the play-offs last season, was the respective defensive records. They conceded just 46 goals in 2022/2023, which gives you a chance of finishing in the top six, whereas last season they conceded 59. That’s the difference, they made individual errors which proved costly.
“They’ve already made some impressive acquisitions but you’d suspect they’ll have to tidy up defensively. Losing Callum O’Hare will, obviously, be a blow as he’s not only a fantastic player but a great character around the squad and was popular with fans.
“But I’ve got no worries about Coventry City in forward areas and that they will score goals, it’s just defensively improvements will be needed.”
Asked who do you fancy for promotion and relegation from the Championship, he said: “Last season was one of the easiest Championship seasons to predict in terms of who would be at the top as Leeds, Leicester and Southampton all retained a plethora of Premier League-quality players They were always going to be competing at the top end of the league.
“However this season I’m not so confident in the relegated clubs. For Burnley and Luton, it depends on what their squad looks like when the transfer window shuts. Will Burnley keep the likes of Lyle Foster, Luca Koleosho and Sander Berge? If they do, you fancy them to be a force. Will Luton keep the likes of Alfie Doughty, Elijah Adebayo and Carlton Morris? If they do, you’d also tip them to be competing at the top.
“But Sheffield United look like a club in disarray and are coming down from the Premier in a very weak state. A massive overhaul is required for Chris Wilder and his backroom staff. I’m not saying they can’t do it, but he’s up against it at the moment.
“You’d expect Leeds to be towards the top, with the sale of Archie Gray possibly meaning they’ll be able to keep hold of the attacking force that tore apart Championship defences for 80% of the season before falling at the last hurdle.”
“Then with some teams, you don’t really know what to expect from them. You cannot rule out West Brom with Carlos Corberan in charge still, Coventry’s FA Cup semi-final proved a hindrance to their promotion hopes last season, and Middlesbrough ended the campaign very strongly.
“The upcoming Championship season will not be as strong as last season’s, which had the best top-four that I’ve ever seen. That’s going to give an opportunity for some teams to surprise us.
“At the bottom, Des Buckingham has a huge job on his hands at Oxford as play-off winners are notoriously the teams that struggle the most. It’s just brilliant that they’re in the Championship.
“Derby County remind me of Sheffield Wednesday last season as they have one of the oldest teams in the division. Wednesday struggled with the physical side of things early on last year, so it’s interesting to see Paul Warne move on a number of 30-plus-year-olds and bring pace and energy into the club. That gap still needs to be bridged, though.
“I would expect Portsmouth to be the strongest of the relegated clubs and, therefore, I’m looking at the clubs that just about survived. John Eustace has a big job on his hands at Blackburn after they relied so heavily on Sammie Szmodics, it would be some achievement if he could replicate such performances. I’m not sure about Plymouth, and that’s not because of Wayne Rooney, it’s just the nature of them being in the Championship.
“Even Sunderland finished the season winning just two of their last 15 games. They’ve got a new manager in Regis Les Bris, whose background is in developing young footballers but this is the Championship so it’s very difficult for a whole group of young players to succeed and they didn’t have any strikers capable of performing at that level and struggled for goals. Those would be the clubs I’d be concerned about.”
Coventry – Fixtures
Sat 10 Aug (A) Stoke City – 12.30pm
Fri 16 Aug (H) Oxford United – 8pm
Sat 24 Aug (A) Bristol City – 12.30pm
Sat 31 Aug (H) Norwich City – 12.30pm
Sat 14 Sep (A) Watford – 3pm
Sat 21 Sep (H) Swansea City – 3pm
Sat 28 Sep (A) Leeds United – 3pm
Tue 1 Oct (H) Blackburn Rovers – 7.45pm
Sat 5 Oct (H) Sheffield Wednesday – 3pm
Sat 19 Oct (A) Preston North End – 3pm
Tue 22 Oct (A) Queens Park Rangers – 7.45pm
Sat 26 Oct (H) Luton Town – 3pm
Sat 2 Nov (A) Middlesbrough – 3pm
Wed 6 Nov (H) Derby County – 7.45pm
Sat 9 Nov (A) Sunderland – 3pm
Sat 23 Nov (H) Sheffield United – 3pm
Tue 26 Nov (A) Burnley – 7.45pm
Sat 30 Nov (H) Cardiff City – 3pm
Sat 7 Dec (A) Millwall – 3pm
Wed 11 Dec (A) West Bromwich Albion – 7.45pm
Sat 14 Dec (H) Hull City – 3pm
Sat 21 Dec (A) Portsmouth – 3pm
Thu 26 Dec (H) Plymouth Argyle – 3pm
Sun 29 Dec (H) Millwall – 3pm
Wed 1 Jan (A) Cardiff City – 3pm
Sat 4 Jan (A) Norwich City – 3pm
Sat 18 Jan (H) Bristol City – 3pm
Tue 21 Jan (A) Blackburn Rovers – 7.45pm
Sat 25 Jan (H) Watford – 3pm
Sat 1 Feb (A) Swansea City – 3pm
Sat 8 Feb (H) Leeds United – 3pm
Tue 11 Feb (H) Queens Park Rangers – 7.45pm
Sat 15 Feb (A) Sheffield Wednesday – 3pm
Sat 22 Feb (H) Preston North End – 3pm
Sat 1 Mar (A) Oxford United – 3pm
Sat 8 Mar (H) Stoke City – 3pm
Tue 11 Mar (A) Derby County – 7.45pm
Sat 15 Mar (H) Sunderland – 3pm
Sat 29 Mar (A) Sheffield United – 3pm
Sat 5 Apr (H) Burnley – 3pm
Wed 9 Apr (H) Portsmouth – 7.45pm
Sat 12 Apr (A) Hull City – 3pm
Fri 18 Apr (H) West Bromwich Albion – 3pm
Mon 21 Apr (A) Plymouth Argyle – 3pm
Sat 26 Apr (A) Luton Town – 3pm
Sat 3 May (H) Middlesbrough – 3pm
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