A Media view of Coventry's chance this season

[briggcov]

Championship - Countdown: Coventry City
Eurosport - Sun, 20 Jul 10:32:00 2008

Eurosport.yahoo.com continues its countdown to the Championship season with a look at Coventry City, relegation candidates last season.

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COVENTRY

Manager: Chris Coleman

Last 10 seasons in the Championship (2007/08 to 1998/99): -/-/-/11/20/12/19/8/17/21

POSSIBLE STARTING XI:

Keiren Westwood

Stephen Wright - Elliott Ward - Scott Dann - Daniel Fox

Michael Mifsud - Jay Tabb - Michael Doyle - Isaac Osbourne

Leon Best - Freddy Eastwood

BACK-UPS FROM:

Andrew Marshall

Ben Turner - Arjan De Zeeuw - Marcus Hall

Aron Einar Gunnarson - Julian Gray - Kevin Thornton - Guillaume Beuzelin

Clinton Morrison? - Leon McKenzie

POSITIVES:

Chris Coleman is well thought-of in football circles after his spell at Fulham and will be looking to move the Sky Blues up the table after dicing with relegation last season. Indeed, he is so far impressed by the work of chairman Ray Ranson off the field. His optimism is given credence by the close season capture of Wales striker Freddy Eastwood from Wolves and goalkeeper Keiren Westwood from Carlisle among others. Former Crystal Palace hit-man Clinton Morrison is another potential arrival as he seeks to re-jig his squad, although he has had trouble getting rid of some of the dead wood.

NEGATIVES:

There is a basic team available to Coleman from last season which should never have been fighting relegation - but fight it they did, right until the final day. Which poses a problem: with so many apparently good players in the side - they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford, for goodness sake - who do you omit? He will have to be brave if he is to forge a team in his own image.

VERDICT:

Coventry fans have seen their club - so recently one of the longest serving in the top division - struggle almost every year since the initial relegation. The fans believe they have the man to drag them out of that slump, and they may be right: potentially they are play-off material, but it may take a while longer to establish them as a force in the Championship.