Meet the opposition | Coventry City
As Swansea City get set to host Coventry City at the Swansea.com Stadium, we take a closer look at the Sky Blues.
What’s their story?
Singers FC was formed in 1883 by a group of men at the Singer Factory Gentleman’s Club, and five years later they changed the team name to Coventry City. After 11 years competing in the Southern League, they were elected to the Football League in 1919.
Between 1925 and 1958 Coventry spent their time between non-league and the EFL but, under the guidance of manager Jimmy Hill, they manufactured a meteoric rise in the early 1960s and reached the top tier for the first time in 1967.
The Sky Blues remained there for 34 years before suffering relegation in 2001. They dropped to Sky Bet League One just over a decade later and, in 2017, they were relegated to League Two.
The appointment of Mark Robbins as manager (for the second time) proved to be a shrewd one. They spent just one season in the fourth tier under him before earning promotion via the play-offs in 2018. The Sky Blues went on to become champions of the curtailed 2019-20 League One season on a points per game basis.
They have impressed since returning to the second tier and were beaten play-off finalists when they lost to Luton Town back in May, and they will be hopeful of being in the promotion mix once again this term.
Coventry's only major trophy came in 1987 when they defeated Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 to win the FA Cup, with Keith Houchen's diving header proving one of the iconic Wembley goals.
How’s their form?
The Sky Blues lost to Leicester on the opening weekend of the season, although they could consider themselves unfortunate having led 1-0 and spurned chances to extend their lead at the King Power Stadium.
They lost to AFC Wimbledon in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
Who’s the gaffer?
Mark Robins. The 53-year-old came through the ranks at Manchester United and made around 50 appearances for the club before moving on to Norwich City. He played more than 400 games in a 17-year playing career, but is best known for time with the Canaries and Leicester City.
The striker scored more than 100 career goals and took his first steps into management in 2007 when he took the reins at Rotherham United on a caretaker basis. After picking up three wins in six, Robins was given the role permanently and went on to have two successful campaigns with the Millers.
He left to join their south Yorkshire rivals Barnsley before heading to Coventry for his first spell in charge of the Midlands club. He helped turn the side from relegation battlers to promotion contenders, but soon departed for another Yorkshire side in Huddersfield Town.
In 2014, he took over at struggling Scunthorpe United but was dismissed after only eight games in charge.
He returned to the Sky Blues in March 2017 and guided them to an unexpected EFL Trophy win less than a month later, but he was unable to prevent relegation to the fourth tier.
However, Robins galvanised the club and led them to promotion via the play-offs with a 3-1 win over Exeter City at Wembley the following campaign.
Two seasons later, he led Coventry to the League One title during the curtailed 2019-20 season to make a return to the Championship, where they have performed strongly.
Who’s the captain?
Scottish midfielder Liam Kelly was named club captain in February 2019, however, he has been among the substitutes in the Championship this term.
In his absence, Kyle McFadzean has been wearing the armband, as he did with distinction through much of last season.
The 36-year-old joined Coventry from Burton Albion in 2019, and has made over 150 appearances.
McFadzean previously had spells with Sheffield United, Alfreton, Crawley and MK Dons.
Who are the key men?
Ellis Simms has been the headline summer acquisition for the Sky Blues, sealing a permanent switch from Everton.
Simms had spells in the youth ranks at Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City, before joining the Toffees at the age of 16.
Simms went on to sign his first professional deal when aged 19, having enjoyed an impressive goalscoring record coming through the academy at Goodison Park.
His first exposure to senior football came with the club’s under-21s in the EFL Trophy, before a successful loan spell with Blackpool saw him net 10 goals in 24 appearances as the Seasiders secured promotion from League One via the play-offs.
Simms went on to make his first-team debut for Everton in a draw at Chelsea in December 2021, before spending the second-half of the campaign on loan with Hearts, where he scored seven goals in 20 appearances in all competitions.
He started last term on loan at Sunderland, scoring seven goals in 17 outings for the Black Cats before being recalled to his parent club.
Simms made 11 top-flight appearances over the remainder of the campaign, and scored his first Everton goal with an expertly-taken finish to secure a valuable point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Former Arsenal player Ben Sheaf is industrious in the middle of the park, keeping them ticking over and sweeping up play to allow the flare players ahead of him to cause problems.
As technically gifted as you would expect of a Gunners' academy product, he made his senior debut against Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League back in 2017.
Loan spells with Stevenage and Doncaster followed, before he made the initial loan move to the CBS Arena in the summer of 2020.
His showings convinced manager Mark Robins to make the deal permanent the following summer and he has been a regular ever since.
Former Chelsea youth player Jay Dasilva is another summer recruit at the CBS Arena, having left Bristol City following the expiry of his contract.
The midfielder did not make a first-team appearance for the Blues, but impressed during a pair of loan spells with Charlton before joining the Robins on loan in the summer of 2018.
He made 32 appearances and his performances were such that a full-time switch was sealed ahead of the following campaign.
Dasilva went on to be a key figure at Ashton Gate, racking up a further 112 appearances in all competitions.