Sideways Sammy

If the plan at Coventry City over the past two seasons has been to play inexperienced defenders until they become experienced, Bobby Thomas may have been the biggest beneficiary. The centre-back has been virtually ever-present for the Sky Blues since signing prior to the start of last season and has endured all of the highs and lows that would be expected from a young centre-back cutting their teeth in the Championship. Just whether Thomas is over the mistakes and dips in form that younger defenders go through cannot be known, but he is starting to play with the confidence and authority of an established centre-back at this level.

If there is a leader in Coventry City’s back-line, it is Bobby Thomas. A centre-back whose strengths are primarily his physicality and aerial ability, Thomas is the one expected to deal with the more rugged opposition forwards and head crosses away from the penalty area. That aerial ability has become especially useful this season, with the Sky Blues taking greater advantage of set-pieces, seeing him chip in with a handy amount of goals. Where Bobby Thomas is weak is in his lack of pace and tendency to commit himself to challenges high up the pitch that leave the defence exposed when he gets it wrong, a rash streak that seems to be calming down over time. Additionally, he can be sloppy on the ball and someone opponents let have time in possession in order to slow down Coventry’s build-up play or wait for mistakes.

Bobby Thomas is not the finished product yet for Coventry City but he is getting closer to being that authority figure at the back that it has been oft-mooted that this team needs. He is someone who has benefitted from the opportunity over the last two seasons to play a lot of Championship football and is starting to look like someone who can be relied upon for a certain level of performance. Whether he can get much better than he is now remains to be seen, but Bobby Thomas has now established himself as someone the team would be worse without.