How Will Coventry City Fare This Season?

How will Coventry City fare this season? The 'experts' give their opinions....

THE INDEPENDENT

Coventry City: Key man: Keiren Westwood. Westwood must continue his excellent form to ensure safety. Title odds: 81-1. Last season: 17th. Prediction: 18th.

BBC SPORT

Who's the player to watch? City fans will be hoping striker Freddy Eastwood comes good after a barren first season. Defender James McPake and midfielder David Bell, both signed towards the end of last season, have yet to have a real opportunity to show what they can do. Ashley Cain, Jermaine Grandison and Curtis Wynter, all products of the City academy, will be hoping to have an impact too. "Unless some new recruits are captured before the kick-off of the new season it could be another difficult campaign for the Sky Blues and their long-suffering fans," says BBC Coventry and Warwickshire's Clive Eakin. Prediction: 18th.

THE SUN (Chris Kamara)

It must be soul-destroying for Chris Coleman seeing top stars leaving the club. Getting him to the Ricoh arena was a coup for Coventry. But every good boss needs tools to work with. Prediction: 12th.

DAILY TELEGRAPH.

Premier Class: Leon Best. Talented 21 year-old striker, whose sole goal knocked Blackburn Rovers out of the FA Cup last term. Championship fare:The Ricoh Arena often vibrates to the sound of the Sky Blues' anthem, which includes the lyric 'We will never lose, Tottenham or Chelsea, United or anyone, they shan't defeat us.' Mercifully, Coventry, who finished in 17th place in English football's second most competent division last season, didn't play Tottenham or United, but they did lose to Chelsea in the FA Cup. Prediction: Mid-table mediocrity or worse.

THE TIMES.

Chris Coleman started to reignite Coventry last season, their run to the last eight of the FA Cup and a glamour tie at home to Chelsea bringing the spotlight to a stadium built for the Premier League but still in need of a team to match. But now that Scott Dann and Danny Fox, the club’s best young players, have been sold, and replacements are still to be found, optimism has drained. The news that James McPake, the defender, will miss the beginning of the campaign with an injured shoulder adds to the general gloom. Coleman is unhappy with his squad and moved to bring in Michael McIndoe, the winger, from Bristol City over the weekend. Prediction: 19th.

SKYSPORTS.COM

Manager: Chris Coleman; Position last season: 17th; Ground: Ricoh Arena; Capacity: 32,609; Players in: Sammy Clingan (Norwich, undisclosed); Players out: Andy Marshall (released), Donovan Simmonds (released), Robbie Simpson (Huddersfield, undisclosed), Scott Dann (Birmingham, undisclosed), Michael Mifsud (released), Guillaume Beuzelin (released), Kevin Thornton (released), Danny Fox (Celtic, undisclosed); Key man: Clinton Morrison; Chances: There are certainly worse teams in the Championship than Coventry but Chris Coleman's side could find themselves struggling in the lower realms of mid-table this season. Clinton Morrison's form in front of goal will be crucial to the success of their campaign; Prediction: 18th. Sky Bet odds: 33/1.

BBC

How did they do last season? After much promise in the early part of the season, the campaign finished grimly as the Sky Blues tumbled towards an all too familiar bottom-half place. They finished 17th with 54 points, just one point more than they managed when avoiding relegation on the final day of the previous season. They did have a good FA Cup run though, losing in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Chelsea; Who's the gaffer? Former Fulham manager Chris Coleman starts his second full season in charge at the Ricoh Arena. He has brought in a new assistant in former Middlesbrough coach Steve Harrison; Who's the player to watch? City fans will be hoping striker Freddy Eastwood comes good after a barren first season. Defender James McPake and midfielder David Bell, both signed towards the end of last season, have yet to have a real opportunity to show what they can do. Ashley Cain, Jermaine Grandison and Curtis Wynter, all products of the City academy, will be hoping to have an impact too; How will they do? "Unless some new recruits are captured before the kick-off of the new season it could be another difficult campaign for the Sky Blues and their long-suffering fans," says BBC Coventry and Warwickshire's Clive Eakin.