AB-solutely Dire Transfers

With a predictability almost laughably depressing Coventry City are once again heading in the wrong direction in the table after a bright start. It seems the immediate impact of a new manager has again worn off and the team are settled into an easy routine, content to pick up their wages without providing the results on the pitch.

So where has it all started to go wrong under Aidy Boothroyd? He certainly hasn’t been helped by the Sky Blues board in recent times, being unable to make any signings (permanent or loan) during the transfer window. A loanee keeper wasn’t even provided when the first and second choice keepers were injured recently, leaving a rookie between the sticks (who acquitted himself well). Two central midfield players were also sent elsewhere during a recent injury crisis in the position, which didn’t help either.  

But AB has been given some funds to play with, and arguably hasn’t invested well. O’Donovan, although on a free, has hardly had a sniff at the first team and was unsuccessfully tried to be got off the CCFC wage bill during the transfer window. Fair play to the manager for spotting an error and trying to correct it, but it still shows poor initial judgement. 

Sadly Boothroyd doesn’t seem to believe the ability to trouble the opposition keeper to be an important requirement for a striker as  two others were brought in, Platt and Jukebox, both of whom are very similar – relying on their strength to hold the ball up for others. If funds are tight why bring in two players to play exactly the same role, especially when that role isn’t focused on putting the ball in the back of the net? The three of them may put in the effort but none look Championship standard. We've got no pace up front so look to fill that gap before signing two lumps.

The two full-backs Aidy brought in, Keogh and O’Halloran, have been mixed bags. They look decent enough getting forward and fit in with the style Boothroyd supposedly wants to play - getting crosses in from out wide, but defensively they’ve been very shaky at times, especially against pace and skill.

Most of the transfer budget has gone on wages though, to bring in some experience. Fine if those players have the quality to make a difference but you do run the risk that should these players get injured or suspended there’s no-one of sufficient quality to fill in, as there’s no spare cash for back-up. And given the age and/or history of the experienced players we’ve brought in the chances of them missing a few games was quite high.

Carsley is a perfect example. Getting on a bit, at some point he was probably going to need a rest, but his experience was so vital to his teammates we couldn’t afford to give him it. So his body succumbed and he picked up an injury, and results have got a lot worse since then. 

Gary McSheffrey, despite a purple patch early on, certainly isn’t the player he was when he left, having lost a yard of pace. Full-backs aren’t that frightened of him anymore, leading to him being dropped for a few games recently, and it’s arguably whether he’s still capable of making that match-winning difference. 

Marlon King does look like he’s capable of playing above this level, but thanks to poor service and often being isolated up-front he doesn’t look like a 20-goal a season man. Poor discipline has also seen him pick up two red cards and he hasn’t had any impact on results or performances, as since his signing results have actually got worse. 

AB hasn’t figured out any of the problems we had under Coleman or managers before him. We still lack pace and crossing ability from out wide. We still don’t have a set of strikers who look dangerous. We still have an overly defensive central midfield and we still have full-backs that consistently struggle defensively.