Soccer
Are Coventry already in trouble just three games into their Premier League return?
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The Premier League season may not even be a month old yet, but it won't stop the concerns already brewing around Coventry City's return to the Premier League.
It's taken twenty-five years for the Sky Blues to get back to the big time, in which time they've been removed from the stadium, plummeted down to League Two, and at one point faced a bleak future.
However, like a phoenix, the Midlands club rose back up the league and, thanks to the efforts of first Mark Robins and last season, Frank Lampard, are back among England's elite.
Celebrations were rife at the club when promotion was secured at a canter in May, but just weeks into the season, is their return already spiralling before it's even started?
Summer recruitment drive
For any promoted team, getting the summer transfer activity right is difficult. You want to reward the players that got you to the promised land with a crack at the big league, but also make sure the squad has enough to compete at that level.
Ipswich showed two years ago that relying too heavily on their promoted squad and only adding up-and-coming Championship players didn't ultimately pay off. Yet on the other hand, Sunderland recruited practically a whole new team last season, and it blended ideally with the key names already in place.
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Coventry went somewhere in the middle in the window. Twelve names came through the door in all, ranging from those with that top-flight experience in Ethan Pinnock and Taiwo Awoniyi, two Championship standouts like Dan Bently and another crack at the Premier League for Gustavo Hamer.
Their transfer record was smashed too with the signing of Caleb Yirenkyi, one that will hopefully pay off, having come from Norway's first division.
However, when you compare their summer shopping to the other promoted clubs, it doesn't feel on par with the names that have come through the door at Ipswich and Hull. Both in terms of quality and the experience that the others have added to their squads in a bid to survive.
The pointless start
That questionable recruitment has come under further scrutiny with the start that Coventry have made to the season.
Lampard's side were given a true baptism of fire on their return with games against Arsenal and Manchester City in their first three, but as they head into Matchday Four, they are yet to secure a point or even score a goal in 2026-27.
True, it may be harshly judging the side that's had to face last season's top two, but in between, a home defeat to Hull City was a damaging way for the club to celebrate a first Premier League game.
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"That game was unfortunate because it was a huge game," former Sky Blues boss Gordon Strachan exclusivly told DAZN News thanks to Grosvenor Sport.
"And I've got to say, they've been so unlucky with the fixture draw in the league. You get Arsenal away, then Man City away, and in between you get Hull. They should have won. If you get the three points, then you play three games, you've got three points. That's more than acceptable.
"But actually, if you go all three games and you've got no points, no goals. Mentally, that's a huge problem. That is a huge problem. It won't be a physical problem; it'll be a mental problem. And it's got to be a real battle because the club is basically behind everybody after three games."
The mental factor will be the issue for Lampard, despite more than matching Manchester City last weekend in what was a narrow defeat. Yet having seen Hull's fast start to the campaign and Ipswich having already picked up a victory, it already feels like Coventry are playing catch-up. Not an ideal place to be just three games into a triumphant Premier League return.
A must-win game?
What the situation creates is that Sunday's meeting with Brighton has already become a must-win game for the Sky Blues.
Of course, time is still way on their side in this Premier League season, but the longer they wait for a win - and a goal - the bigger the discourse and concern will become.
By and large, wins become a premium for any promoted side in their first season back, and last term aside, the recent record of teams coming up from the Champions doesn't make for pretty reading.
"I would say it's a real struggle for them," Strachan added.
"Obviously, I want them to do well, for a lot of things, because I was a manager there, and I like the people in the area, and I still live in that area.
"I think they'll be in the relegation battle, but fingers crossed they can hang in there.
"They can do it if they can hang in there till Christmas, and then they may have a look at it again and see what they can do."
To be hanging anywhere, they'll need to get their season up and running, starting with a positive result against the Seagulls this weekend.
Another defeat and those celebrations from last May will soon seem a lifetime ago, and the struggle to catch the rest will make for a real slog of a season.
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