Under the guidance of Mark Robins, Coventry City has a theme: they improve every season.

Article by Charlie Bass:

Journalist for the Lynchy's

Even more impressively than the recruitment of Hamer, Viktor Gy?keres has to be considered the crown jewel in Coventry City’s recruitment efforts. Initially joining on loan in January 2021, Robins and his team discovered a gem. The decision to make the loan move permanent in the summer for around a million pounds was a turning point.

What followed was remarkable. Scoring 17 goals in his first full season as a Sky Blue was considered an excellent return. He then improved even further in the following season, reaching double figures for assists and scoring 21 times in the league.

As expected, interest in the Swede surged, and he informed Robins just hours after their Playoff Final loss to Luton Town that he had decided to seek new opportunities.

Champions League club Sporting Lisbon secured his signature for just over ￡20 million (including a sell-on clause of 10 to 15% for the Sky Blues). Gy?keres has improved even further in the Portuguese capital, scoring 36 times in 39 appearances so far this season, along with achieving double figures in assists—an astounding performance.

He is arguably the most sought-after player in world football at the moment, and with a release clause of €100 million, Coventry's insight in including this in the deal appears likely to secure them an additional €10 million. If this release clause is met, Coventry will receive a 3,000% return on their initial investment in Gy?keres.

Despite all the success Coventry City had been achieving at the start of the current decade, one issue remained prevalent at the Ricoh Arena. SISU Capital still held a controlling stake in the club, and trouble was never far away.

The decade began with them playing 'home' games away from the Ricoh Arena due to legal issues, yet this didn't stop their League One title charge. Thankfully, they moved back to the Ricoh Arena (renamed the Coventry Building Society Arena) in the summer of 2021, and it seemed the drama might be over.

However, the drama continued. The 2022-2023 season started with challenges off the pitch. The playing surface at the CBS Arena, after its use in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was deemed unplayable, leading to the postponement of the club's first three home league games.

Their League Cup game against Bristol City had to proceed to avoid expulsion from the competition. Yet, the CBS Arena pitch was still not ready, and the game had to be played at Pirelli Stadium in Burton-on-Trent.

Oh, and I've coined the term "a Robins' Run." ??