Sideways Sammy

Given the nature of many of the goals that Coventry City conceded over the final months of last season, an improvement in the defensive area of the pitch over the summer has looked a key priority. The addition of the young Swedish goalkeeper, Oliver Dovin, is the first, and could well be only, move the club has made to address that issue. On the face of it, adding a 22 year-old who hasn’t experienced English football before is a risky move to add to an already naïve, inexperienced back-line. The hope is that Oliver Dovin is a talented enough player that a lack of experience won’t matter much, with the upside being that he can then improve further and grow with the club over the coming years. Until he’s started playing a significant number of games for the Sky Blues, it is difficult to tell how smart this signing really is.

In Oliver Dovin’s favour is that he has already played quite a lot of first-team football for a goalkeeper of his age, with just under 100 senior appearances, plus two Sweden caps under his belt. Having been a key part of Hammarby’s build-up play under current Queens Park Rangers boss, Marti Cifuentes, Dovin is decent with the ball at his feet, which is clearly something Mark Robins wants from his goalkeepers. Where Dovin excels is in his shot-stopping, capable of some brilliant reflex saves, which, although is something that the team shouldn’t want to rely upon, could win valuable points over the course of the campaign and inspire confidence in the defenders ahead of him. Where Oliver Dovin reportedly needs to improve is in his command of his area, which could be an issue given the lack of an authoritative central defender currently on the books.

Looking set to be the first-choice goalkeeper, Oliver Dovin doesn’t necessarily guarantee the defensive improvement at Coventry City that had been hoped for heading into the summer but could prove a smart gamble if he can adapt to English football quickly. Playing regular football in a pressure atmosphere at one of Sweden’s biggest, and most passionate, clubs, in Hammarby suggests that Oliver Dovin may well have the character to establish himself as a key performer for Coventry City. While Dovin may not be the individual defensive leader to improve the back-line on his own, he may well represent a step towards the reliable defence that the Sky Blues need if they want to challenge for promotion this coming season.