Sideways Sammy

Jamie Allen

Appearances: 42, Minutes Played: 3,369, Goals: 7, Assists: 2

A player who has been in the crosshairs of potential expendability since the club were promoted to the Championship, Jamie Allen enjoyed his best season yet in a Coventry City shirt last year. Adding goals to his game, Allen’s ability to get into the penalty area made him one of the few players in the team last season to take advantage of the space opened up by Viktor Gyokeres in attack and Gustavo Hamer’s passing ability. While his technique with finishing and passing can be hit and miss, Jamie Allen’s relentlessness meant he constantly got in positions to score and he probably would have finished as the team’s second top-scorer had it not been for an injury in April.

One of the first players that Mark Robins looked to tie down on a new contract following Doug King’s takeover, it is clear that the manager adores Jamie Allen’s work-rate and ability to cover a few roles in midfield – primarily, a deeper, box-to-box role, or playing just behind the strikers. Heading into a season that will likely be without Gustavo Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres in the Coventry City team, the question hanging over Allen is whether he has the quality on his own to make a similar impact next year as he did in this most recent campaign. As good as this last season has been for Jamie Allen, he appears to be a player who requires quality around him in order to make an impact on games at Championship level.

Josh Eccles

Appearances: 37, Minutes Played: 2,846, Goals: 1, Assists: 2

Last season was the one that Josh Eccles had been waiting for. After a few years on the fringes of the first-team, with occasional runs in the starting line-up broken up by injuries or more senior players becoming available, this last campaign was when Eccles finally demonstrated he is capable of being a regular starter for Coventry City. Starting off at right wing-back, where he was the team’s best option in the position over the first half of the campaign, Eccles came into his own when allowed a run in his preferred central midfield position, where his energy and ability to nick the ball away from opponents provided a platform for the team’s attacking players to focus on what they do best.

Just how much more there is to come from Josh Eccles could become apparent over this coming season. He looks like someone who has more to offer both on the ball and towards the final third with a lack of confidence at senior level having seemingly hindered his attacking ambitions. However, until he demonstrates that, Eccles can only be perceived as a supporting player, rather than someone who can lead in their own right. If Gustavo Hamer leaves, this next season is likely to provide Josh Eccles with plenty of chances to make that next step in his development.

Gustavo Hamer

Appearances: 45, Minutes Played: 4,144, Goals: 11, Assists: 10

Two red cards in six games at the start of last season threatened to sour Gustavo Hamer’s time at Coventry City. The recklessness had been seen as a necessary element of his talent, but those early performances were far too reckless to be deemed acceptable. A goal and assist upon returning to the team, against Stoke City, served as a reminder of what Hamer could do at his very best. The midfielder soon redeemed himself with his best campaign ever in Sky Blue shirt, while impressively stamping out the indiscipline in the challenge that had dogged his game.

11 goals and 10 assists from a midfielder who spent a lot of last season in a deep position is absurd. Gustavo Hamer showed last year that he is literally capable of everything a team would want from a midfielder. Whether it’s dictating the play from deep, reading the game to cut-off opposition attacks, or pressing forward, scoring goals, hassling opponents in their third of the pitch, even playing as an auxiliary forward, as he did in the final months of last season, Gustavo Hamer did everything for Coventry City. Even more impressively, he turned things on under pressure in the final games of the campaign, scoring the goal that secured a top six finish, then won the play-off semi-final, and equalised at Wembley. Gustavo Hamer reached a new level last season, becoming one of the best players in the Championship.

Ryan Howley

Appearances: 5, Minutes Played: 214, Goals: 0, Assists: 0

Ryan Howley will surely be pleased with his progress at first-team level last season, having made his first appearance the year before in a pretty nervy and error-strewn late cameo against Nottingham Forest. Called into the team after a slew of injuries wiped out Mark Robins’ midfield options, Howley looked comfortable playing senior, Championship football. Deployed in an advanced midfield role, Howley’s physicality was his most notable quality, helping him win challenges to earn some time on the ball and show some good touches with it.

There is still precious little evidence to assess how soon Ryan Howley can expect to become a bona fide senior player at Coventry City, but he showed flashes of technical ability, physical edge and something of an eye for goal that could prove useful in carving himself out further game time in the years ahead. Time is definitely on Howley’s side, so there should be no pressure on him to make that breakthrough next year. It is clear, however, that he is someone Mark Robins has an eye on a first-team place somewhere down the line.

Liam Kelly

Appearances: 14, Minutes Played: 867, Goals: 0, Assists: 0

For much of last season, Liam Kelly looked set to end his Coventry City career out the backdoor as injuries and the progression of much younger team-mates limited his game-time. It was injuries to other players that provided Liam Kelly the opportunity to keep his Sky Blues career going, allowing him to start the three final games of the regular campaign, plus all three play-off matches, playing an important role in breaking up play before moving the ball on to more talented team-mates, that saw the club go so close to a Premier League return and earn himself a new contract in the process.

The decision to hand Liam Kelly a new contract was nonetheless a surprise, given Mark Robins track record in allowing players to leave before he runs out of a use for them. As well as Kelly played over those final six games, the likelihood is that he will struggle to get into the starting XI past Ben Sheaf, Josh Eccles and Jamie Allen, plus any midfield signings made to replace Gustavo Hamer. Of course, that is only judging from an outside perspective where Liam Kelly’s impact on the training ground is not apparent. If Mark Robins still feels there is a role for Kelly to play in this coming season, it would be foolish to doubt him.

Callum O’Hare

Appearances: 11, Minutes Played: 684, Goals: 0, Assists: 3

Was it better to have kept Callum O’Hare for an injury-plagued season or to have sold him off last summer, been able to keep Dominic Hyam and maybe have invested the money somewhere else in the squad? Given that the team made the play-offs largely without either O’Hare or the money he would have raised maybe goes some way to answering that question, however, the truer answer will come if and when O’Hare returns to full fitness next season.

When Callum O’Hare was available last season it was apparent just what a difference he makes to the team. The energy and moments of skill in the final third O’Hare provided allowed Coventry City to play front foot football in a manner that they just couldn’t for the majority of the campaign. That could well have seen the team finish higher, but it would have set a very different dynamic for Mark Robins to manage over the course of the season. The hope is that a fit Callum O’Hare could go some way to replacing the likely departures of Gustavo Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres next season, but that is a large burden to shoulder for someone who broke down so soon after his last injury and has always had a question mark hanging over his end product.

Kasey Palmer

Appearances: 32, Minutes Played: 2,086, Goals: 4, Assists: 3

Brought in off the back of some serious fitness issues and underwhelming performances at Bristol City, the one permanent addition to the squad last summer was a gamble taken by a club on limited resources. So much of Kasey Palmer’s first season at Coventry City has been spent getting up to speed, both in terms of fitness and integrating into the team, that it is not quite clear just how good he can be. There have been some promising moments, but they have yet to be strung into consistent enough performances for Palmer to have the team built around him in the manner that his style of play probably requires.

A number ten whose game is largely about neat touches and through balls in the final third, Mark Robins has looked to focus Kasey Palmer’s efforts in the attacking area of the pitch during his first season at the club. For someone with such a mercurial style on the ball, Palmer’s early performances were characterised by some frantic running and challenges out of possession, which were nice to see, but took him away from areas in which he could affect the game. The manager has clearly instructed the player to run less off the ball and play closer to the strikers, to focus Palmer’s skill in the most dangerous area of the pitch. However, Palmer’s impact has been hit-and-miss, characterised by being over-eager to play defence-splitting passes which can allow moves to break down. This next season for Palmer will be focused on further refining his efforts and physical fitness in order to make him a more essential player than he currently is.

Ben Sheaf

Appearances: 38, Minutes Played: 3,482, Goals: 3, Assists: 2

With Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’Hare out across the opening months of last season, it was Ben Sheaf who stepped up to provide both creativity and leadership in midfield. While he has tended to operate in a deep midfield role for Coventry City, Sheaf showed at times last year that he can contribute further forward. Whether that is something that can further develop remains to be seen, but Ben Sheaf is clearly one of the key tentpoles that Mark Robins will look to build the team around next season.

It was only a couple of injury absences last season that held Ben Sheaf back from being in player of the year contention, and that is probably what he should be targeting this coming campaign. It will be Sheaf’s composure and quality on the ball that the team is likely to lean heavy upon next year, that was apparent with the difference he made in the second leg of the play-off semi-final against Middlesbrough. Whether it’s alongside Josh Eccles or a new signing, Sheaf is not only going to be important for what he can provide the team as a footballer but as a leader figure.