What Coventry City’s manager stated about the hesitant trial as a ‘blistering’ game changer returns

Although he initially replaced Liam Kitching in the back three, the centre-half pushed forward into the middle of the park minutes later when Luis Binks was introduced to the game in place of Allen at a time when City were pushing for an equalising goal. And the former Swansea player did really well in front of the back three, with his manager admitting: “We have spoken about Joel in that position but I put him on at the left side of the three and then changed that again, a two step change, and he actually did pretty well in there (in midfield). It’s good to see it live against a good side when we were in control and know that he can do that job. So that’s important.”

New partnership assessed

Fans have been debating it for weeks, and Robins finally took the plunge and played Haji Wright and Ellis Simms up front together for the first time. In the previous 10 games it had been a case of playing Matty Godden with one or the other – a dynamic that works because Godden provides excellent movement and so much energy, particularly pressing from the front to force mistakes in the final third, which complements a more physical front man.

The two big lads did OK and were a threat without really hurting Norwich in a combination that clearly needs a bit more work. There was one first-half attack when Wright broke free and was desperately looking to feed Simms, only for the angle of his pass to be blocked by a defender. But it felt like City lacked Godden’s work-rate in the press to stop the opposition playing out from the back, and the striker added a bit of a spark when he went on as one of three changes in the 71st minute.

It’s safe to conclude that the partnership is very much a work-in-progress, but, given the amount City paid for the pair, the manager simply cannot afford not to work on them as front two.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto got a rare start for the Sky Blues, again deployed at right wing-back where the biggest criticism that could be levelled at him is that he looked like he lacked the confidence to take on his man. That opponent was well know to Sky Blues fans, being former City wing-back Sam McCallum.

The Japan international is technically gifted and has the ability to drop his shoulder, cut one way and then the other to get round his marker – something he did brilliantly in the second half when he cut in from the corner flag to set up Yasin Ayari for a decent opportunity in front of goal.

The 26-year-old later showed his versatility by switching across to the left when Jay Dasilva went off, and very nearly snatched a winner with a late stooping header. Robins is convinced he has a talented player on his hands and it may well be that Sakamoto is a bit of a slower burner than some of his fellow summer signings.

Questions have been asked about the defensive side of his game, but we have to remember that his natural position is as a winger, not a wing-back, so that’s a new skill that he’s having to learn to master, as well as the language.

The Dutchman then almost scored himself minutes later in what was a welcome return to the pitch after sitting out three games with a quad tear. Robins was understandably delighted with his contribution, saying: “I thought Milan was blistering and he was really unfortunate not to score when the goalkeeper made a great save from him at the end after he managed to get himself into a goal scoring position.

City take “significant” step forward

Robins is convinced that his players have taken a “significant” step forward this week after going so close to making it three wins in the space of eight days. In the end, of course, City had to settle for seven points from their heavy schedule leading into the second international break of the season. But the manager clearly believes his new-look side is getting better and better with every week that passes, and took a great deal away from the positive performance against one of the promotion favourites.

His side created an impressive 20 attempts on goal, albeit only four hitting the target, and enjoyed 57 percent of the possession, limiting the Canaries to just six attempts themselves, only two of which were on target. The Sky Blues are now unbeaten in their last four league games and have only lost twice in their opening 11 Championship matches, which is a reasonable return given the calibre of players they lost and the significant turnover in staff over the summer.