Sideways Sammy

A ponderous, sloppy performance from Coventry City away at Cardiff City was punished by a first defeat since the opening day of the season.

The Sky Blues were slow out of the blocks and still looked to be on the team bus when Cardiff’s Dimitris Goutas was free in the penalty area from a corner-kick to head past Ben Wilson. The away side laboured throughout the rest of the first-half and should have been two down, with the Bluebirds creating several decent chances to extend their lead. Instead, Coventry were level at the break thanks to a smart Matt Godden finish from a corner-kick routine.

The game became slow and scrappy in the second-half with Coventry City dominating possession but looking unsure what to do with it against a Cardiff City side that had too little of the ball to be much of a threat. However, Cardiff grabbed an important goal with a rare second-half attack, when Ryan Wintle had space to pick a cross that Karlan Grant ghosted past Tatsuhiro Sakamoto to convert.

With the Sky Blues pushing for an equaliser, they were caught flat-footed when Perry Ng lofted a simple ball over Kyle McFadzean’s head, leaving Kion Etete with all the time in the world to kill the game off for Cardiff. Matt Godden may have grabbed a consolation from a neat bit of play involving Ellis Simms, Yasin Ayari and Jay Dasilva, but it was too little, too late.

How Is This Team Trying To Score?

After scoring twice away from home and losing, it may seem strange that the question marks aren’t against the defence but the attack. However, this was a defeat for Coventry City borne of their utter purposeless in possession for the majority of the game. The Sky Blues may have had 65% of the ball but it was largely meaningless when most of that possession came via slow, ponderous passing between the team’s centre-backs.

There has been a move this season towards looking to play out from the back more than last season, but the problem that Coventry City have at the moment is in moving the ball into areas that can hurt the opposition. This was a performance characterised by the wing-backs receiving the ball in promising areas, only have to check back into midfield because there wasn’t a pass or cross further forward available to them.

By contrast, Cardiff City had a clear attacking plan, which meant they could be more efficient with their use of the ball and were the more dangerous team for much of the game. That plan was to get the ball quickly to their wide players, who could then cross, or play into a midfielder who had moved into space to get the ball into the box within their first two touches. While Cardiff didn’t create that much, their players knew what their objective was in possession, which meant they reliably had players in position to create and score chances while the Sky Blues were in a constant thought process about what to do with the ball.

A key issue for Coventry City is in this game was in midfield, where it wasn’t just that the passing ability of Ben Sheaf and Gustavo Hamer was absent but the starting three weren’t getting in positions to support attacking play. Josh Eccles and Liam Kelly were too deep for much of the game, meaning that Kasey Palmer, the two strikers and wing-backs were having to do things on their own when in promising areas.

Furthermore, Kasey Palmer was immensely frustrating in the crucial number ten role in this game. While it is his task to play risky passes that can create openings, nothing really came off for him and he was actively detrimental to the team’s attacking play with needless little flourishes or attempts to force openings that weren’t on. Furthermore, Palmer was looking to come towards the ball too often, robbing the team of a body in the penalty area – frustratingly, the one time he did so, he nearly scored.

Kasey Palmer’s struggles underlined that there wasn’t a clear approach to Coventry City’s play in possession. It was about individuals trying to force things to happen, whether that was Palmer attempting a backheeled pass that went out for a throw-in, Milan van Ewijk having to check inside for the fifth time in a row because there wasn’t a cross on, or Haji Wright being asked to beat two defenders before he could get a shot away. There needs to be a clearer idea about how this team is going to create chances, that would then allow Palmer to have someone making a run to get on the end of that backheel, Van Ewijk the ability to be more direct when carrying the ball, and Wright a clearer run at goal.

Expensive Strikers Are Under Pressure

Following on from that last point, Mark Robins really has to think of a way to get more out of expensive summer signings, Haji Wright and Ellis Simms than he currently has. The strikers, signed for a combined fee of anywhere between £11 million and £16 million, depending on who you believe, have just one goal and one assist between them to show across 14 league appearances thus far.

That those 14 league appearances equate to around seven 90 minute periods hints at the issue for Haji Wright and Ellis Simms thus far, they haven’t had the opportunity to build momentum. As valuable as Matt Godden’s goals this season have been, it means there is just one place in the side for the two big signings. While the hope is that Godden’s form mans Wright and Simms have to work for their place in the team, the concern is that these expensive strikers are being asked to play in a way that suits Godden, which may hamper their chances of success.

As far as this game was concerned, the pressure on Haji Wright’s shoulders only increased with what was an underwhelming display. The American international struggled to impose himself on the opposing centre-backs and also allowed promising situations to pass him by with heavy touches. Perhaps it was an off-night, perhaps that was because he was having to float into the channels in the absence of Matt Godden doing so. Either way, it wasn’t an encouraging display from the club record signing.

While there may be similarities between Haji Wright and Viktor Gyokeres it is becoming apparent that Wright cannot be utilised in the same way as the Swede. Wright’s best moment in this game came when Yasin Asari flicked the ball through to him in space where he could drive at a defender and get a shot away. For much of the rest of his time on the pitch, he was receiving the ball too far away from goal to be a threat, with his only other chance coming from a set-piece.

Whether either Haji Wright or Ellis Simms are good enough to justify their price tags, it is simply too early to tell. However, it is starting to get to the point where performances and goals are required before questions will be asked as to whether the club could have used that money more effectively on other players. It doesn’t help that the team doesn’t appear to be geared up at the moment in order to create chances for their strikers. As much as the players need to bear the responsibility for repaying the club’s investment in them, Mark Robins needs to tailor his approach to give Wright and Simms a greater chance of succeeding.

Ayari & Sakamoto Offer Hope

The late stages of this game pointed at a way forward for this Coventry City side. The team looked markedly more creative and dangerous once Yasin Ayari and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto were on the pitch. Perhaps this was driven by the urgency of being behind in the match, but Ayari and Sakamoto demanded the ball and drove at the opposition in a manner that hadn’t been happening earlier on.

Yasin Ayari, in his 27 minutes on the pitch, did everything in midfield that Josh Eccles, Liam Kelly and Kasey Palmer had not been. The Brighton & Hove Albion loanee not only played quick, dangerous and accurate passes into the final third, but he supported attacks by moving into the penalty area and got in space to have a header on goal. Ayari played with the kind of character and intent that the best creative midfielders do and has surely earned himself a run of starts.

As for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, the caveat with his performance in this game was that he was beaten to a cross by Cardiff City’s Karlan Grant that led to the crucial second goal for the opposition. However, that underlines that using him at wing-back is a compromise due to this team not having a role for a natural wide player. When Sakamoto received the ball in areas more familiar to a winger, he was a constant source of threat with his drive, penchant for a chop back and desire to get crosses in. Sakamoto overcame the team’s issue of not supporting its wide players by being able to beat opposing defenders and produce a final ball quickly.

While Yasin Ayari’s place in the team for the next few games looks a certainty, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s is less so due to the team’s starting formation not having a natural place for him. While Sakamoto can fill in at wing-back or attacking midfield, this could be another area where Mark Robins may have to tailor his tactics to get the best out of an individual player, rather than hoping to plug his new pieces into the existing system.