A thrilling few days in the Championship saw the teams chasing the four play-off places concertina after some surprising results. Luton and Middlesbrough have tied up third and fourth places but the race for the two remaining places still has seven clubs contesting for them with two others, Watford and Swansea, not mathematically out of the picture. It's crazy to think that with only three games remaining the Sky Blues could finish anywhere from fifth place to thirteenth.
The Sky Blues' dramatic finish at Blackburn kept them in the hunt for a play-off place and the team now have two home games to confirm their credentials for a top six finish. Whatever the outcome the team have performed beyond all expectations to still be in the race at this stage. One factor in the success has been the away form since February. Since losing at West Brom on 3rd February they are unbeaten in eight away games with four wins and four draws. This is the best unbeaten away run since 2020 when Mark Robins' team were unbeaten in eight away games from December through till the start of lockdown in March. You have to go back to 1988 for a longer run – John Sillett's team went ten away games unbeaten. The club record is 12, set by Jimmy Hill's promotion team in 1966-67.
Ben Wilson has to get a mention this week. Not only has he set a new club record for the number of clean sheets (currently 19) but also for his unbelievable equalising goal at Ewood Park on Wednesday evening. He became only the second Coventry goalkeeper to score a goal in a competitive game – the other was Steve Ogrizovic at Hillsborough in 1986. Ben's goal, nudged home at close range from a stunning Hamer corner, was very different to Oggy's 80-yard punt which caught the wind and bounced over Wednesday 'keeper Martin Hodge, but both goals earned their scorers a place in the club's history.
The 19th clean sheet at Loftus Road beat the club record for a season set by Harry Storer's mean defence in 1938-39 and equalled by Billy Frith's Division Four promotion team in 1958-59. The 1939 record was however set in a 42-game season.
Viktor Gyokeres' goals at QPR took him to 20 league goals for the season – the first City player to reach this target since Marc McNulty in the League Two promotion season in 2017-18. Gyokeres joins an elite list of City strikers to reach 20 goals in a Sky Blue shirt over the last 50 years. Bobby Gould was the last Coventry player to score 20 goals in tier two, in the 1966-67 promotion season, since then the following have reached 20.
Bobby Gould
1977-78 Ian Wallace (Division One) 21 goals in 41 games
2013-14 Callum Wilson (League One) 21 goals in 37 games
2017-18 Marc McNulty (League Two) 23 goals in 40 games (plus 2 subs)
2022-23 Viktor Gyokeres (Championship) 20 goals in 41 games (plus 2 subs)
When you consider the top City strikers who have donned the Sky Blue shirt in the period, for example Cyrille Regis, Terry Gibson, Dion Dublin, Gary McSheffrey, Viktor's performance is exceptional. He has now scored 40 league goals for the club a total which brings him level with Bobby Gould and Neil Martin in the all-time table of the club's leading scorers. Amazingly two more goals will lift him into the all-time top twenty.
I heard recently that former Coventry City 1960s youth team player Malcolm Knox had died in New Zealand. Malcolm came from Willenhall and attended Caludon Castle school and was signed as an apprentice by the club around 1963. According to Trevor Gould who was a year below Malcolm at school, Malcolm was a left back but had a strong right foot. He played in the FA Youth Cup team in 1965-66 alongside Mick Coop, Willie Carr and Pat Morrissey.
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