A true tragedy that the GOAT has never won the Ballon d’Or.

After the Fulham game, I honestly think the Sunderland match has become massive for us. I know it's still one game and the season won't be decided by a single result, but we can't keep dropping points in matches where we need to compete.

Does anyone actually know what we're trying to achieve at the moment?

I appreciate the step up in quality and I don't think recruitment has been anywhere near good enough, but surely we should be offering more than this?

We sit far too deep, seem obsessed with keeping our shape and when we do try to press we're always five yards off the pace. Then when we finally win the ball, we're so deep that we can't do anything with it. It just ends up being hoofed towards an isolated striker with nobody anywhere near him. Even when he does win it, we're straight back under pressure.

Grimes is a big part of the problem for me. Everything is so slow and predictable through midfield, yet he seems undroppable. The substitutions are just as predictable and we rarely seem to change the system, even when it's clearly not working.

And for those saying everything will improve when Wright comes back, I think that's wishful thinking. We're barely creating a chance as it is, and let's be honest, Wright isn't exactly clinical. We'd probably need to create ten chances for him to put one away. He's not going to suddenly fix a team that can't get the ball into dangerous areas.

I don't expect us to dominate Premier League teams, but I do expect us to have a go. At the moment we seem more concerned about not losing than actually trying to win, and it's not even working.

Is it a lack of quality, Lampard getting his tactics wrong, or both? Because something needs to change pretty quickly.

Hi all,

Well, that was wet, windy and incredibly disappointing, wasn't it?

I've just put 2,000+words of match reaction up on The Phoenix. The paywall is down for this because if I'm going to spend my Saturday evening writing about that performance then I want as many of you as possible to join the misery!

Seriously, a disappointing one. I felt that we just lacked the speed in transition needed at this level. Fulham are a possession team (they had 64% of the ball) so you have to be at them when you get the ball. We were too slow and often looked to take one touch too many.

The subs were also a worry. Like for like and didn't really improve anything.

Recruitment will come under question again, especially as Gboho didn't get off the bench in a match where we were looking for a moment of magic. If he threw a tantrum at not getting on for a 4-1 win over Newcastle, how must he feel this evening?!

Still, a win next weekend and things look much bright again.

Anyway, full match reaction is here: Fulham expose familiar Coventry failings on a day devoid of quality

Take a look if you fancy it. Or go and do something enjoyable with your Saturday evening.

Full-time: Fulham FC 1, Coventry City 0

Fulham FC 1 at Coventry City 0

Match Info

Competition/season: Premier League 26/27

Date: Sat, Oct 24, 2026

Kickoff: 3:00 PM GMT+1

Venue: Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry, England

Status: Full-time

Goals and Cards

80': Goal Bobb, Oscar, King, Joshua (FUL) 1-0 Oscar Bobb puts the ball in the net and the away team now lead 0 - 1. Fine assist from Joshua King to make the score 0 - 1.

36': Yellow card Charles, Shea (FUL) Shea Charles (Fulham FC) gets a yellow card.

82': Yellow card Robinson, Antonee (FUL) At Coventry Building Society Arena, Antonee Robinson has been yellow-carded for the away team.

Lineups

Match Statistics

Timeline

--: Match Ended Adam Herczeg blows to end the match. The final score is 0 - 1.

90'+3': Free Kick (FUL) Free kick for Fulham FC in the half of Coventry City.

90'+1': Injury Time Shown

89': Free Kick Rudoni, Jack (FUL) Free kick Fulham FC.

88': Free Kick Mason-Clark, Ephron (FUL) Adam Herczeg signals a free kick to Fulham FC in their own half.

87': Free Kick Mfuni, Stephen (FUL) Free kick for Fulham FC in their own half.

86': Substitution Sakamoto, Tatsuhiro, Hamer, Gustavo (COV) Gustavo Hamer is replacing Tatsuhiro Sakamoto for Coventry City at Coventry Building Society Arena.

84': Free Kick Tete, Kenny (COV) Coventry City are in shooting range from this free kick.

82': Free Kick Robinson, Antonee (COV) Free kick for Coventry City in their own half.

81': Substitution King, Joshua, Cairney, Tom (FUL) The away team have replaced Joshua King with Tom Cairney. This is the fifth substitution made today by Alvaro Arbeloa.

81': Substitution Bobb, Oscar, Tete, Kenny (FUL) Fulham FC make their fourth substitution with Kenny Tete replacing Oscar Bobb.

79': Corner Kick Bobb, Oscar (FUL) Adam Herczeg has awarded Fulham FC a corner.

79': Corner Kick Bobb, Oscar (FUL) Corner awarded to Fulham FC.

74': Free Kick (FUL) In Coventry a free kick has been awarded the away team.

74': Substitution Garcia, Gonzalo, Muniz, Rodrigo (FUL) The away team replace Gonzalo Garcia with Rodrigo Muniz.

74': Substitution Iwobi, Alex, Palacios, Cesar (FUL) The away team have replaced Alex Iwobi with Cesar Palacios. This is the second substitution made today by Alvaro Arbeloa.

71': Corner Kick Rudoni, Jack (COV) Coventry City have been awarded a corner by Adam Herczeg.

69': Corner Kick Bobb, Oscar (FUL) Fulham FC have been awarded a corner by Adam Herczeg.

68': Substitution Thomas-Asante, Brandon, Mason-Clark, Ephron (COV) Ephron Mason-Clark is replacing Brandon Thomas-Asante for the home team.

68': Substitution Cherif, Sidiki, Awoniyi, Taiwo (COV) Frank Lampard (Coventry City) is making a third substitution, with Taiwo Awoniyi replacing Sidiki Cherif.

67': Substitution Yirenkyi, Caleb, Onyeka, Frank (COV) Frank Onyeka is replacing Caleb Yirenkyi for Coventry City at Coventry Building Society Arena.

66': Corner Kick Iwobi, Alex (FUL) Corner awarded to Fulham FC.

63': Substitution Larsson, Hugo, Berge, Sander (FUL) Alvaro Arbeloa is making the team's first substitution at Coventry Building Society Arena with Sander Berge replacing Hugo Larsson.

63': Free Kick Castagne, Timothy (COV) Free kick Coventry City.

62': Corner Kick Rudoni, Jack (COV) Coventry City have been awarded a corner by Adam Herczeg.

60': Substitution Thomas, Bobby, Mfuni, Stephen (COV) Bobby Thomas, who was grimacing earlier, has been substituted. Stephen Mfuni is the substitute for Coventry City.

59': Injury Thomas, Bobby (COV) Attention is being given to Coventry City’s Bobby Thomas and play has been suspended briefly.

57': Injury Thomas, Bobby (COV) Adam Herczeg waits before resuming play because Bobby Thomas for Coventry City is still down.

54': Free Kick Robinson, Antonee (COV) Coventry City are in shooting range from this free kick.

52': Corner Kick Rudoni, Jack (COV) Corner awarded to Coventry City.

50': Free Kick Robinson, Antonee (COV) Free kick in a good position for Coventry City!

45': Period Start 0-0 The second-half has just kicked-off.

45'+1': Corner Kick Bobb, Oscar (FUL) Fulham FC have been awarded a corner by Adam Herczeg.

45'+1': Injury Time Shown

43': Corner Kick Iwobi, Alex (FUL) Adam Herczeg has awarded Fulham FC a corner.

40': Free Kick Yirenkyi, Caleb (FUL) Free kick for Fulham FC in the half of Coventry City.

37': Free Kick Robinson, Antonee (COV) Free kick for Coventry City in their own half.

36': Free Kick Charles, Shea (COV) Adam Herczeg signals a free kick to Coventry City.

32': Free Kick Affengruber, David (COV) Free kick for Coventry City in the half of Fulham FC.

19': Free Kick Bassey, Calvin (COV) Free kick for Coventry City in the half of Fulham FC.

13': Free Kick Robinson, Antonee (COV) Coventry City awarded a free kick in their own half.

11': Free Kick Robinson, Antonee (COV) Coventry City awarded a free kick in their own half.

8': Free Kick Thomas-Asante, Brandon (FUL) Adam Herczeg signals a free kick to Fulham FC.

3': Corner Kick Sakamoto, Tatsuhiro (COV) Corner awarded to Coventry City.

: Period Start 0-0 The first-half is now underway.

0': Match Started

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Good morning all,

Looking for a little reading to dive into while this storm swirls outside? One of the first pieces that I wrote for The Phoenix was the story of Mustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo's time at Coventry. I've just made that piece free for all to read on the site.

For this one, I've brought together interviews with Hadji, Chippo, Richard Shaw and Carlton Palmer, as well as former Coventry scout Ray Clarke's account of how the club managed to bring the two Moroccans to Coventry in the first place.

There are some brilliant stories in there.

Richard Shaw remembers Hadji turning up at the pre-season training camp in Germany accompanied by a small army of agents, while Carlton Palmer explains how his role in midfield allowed Hadji the freedom to cause havoc further forward.

Hadji also reveals that he had opportunities to join Milan, Marseille and PSG, but Gordon Strachan convinced him to come to Coventry instead.

And there's a particularly bizarre story about Hadji playing with a broken toe by wrapping a piece of meat around it inside his boot.

It's a nostalgic look back at a wonderful, if ultimately frustrating, season. Twelve home wins, not a single away victory, the Boxing Day thriller against Arsenal and a team that really should have achieved more.

The full feature is on The Phoenix: Hadji’s Gonna Party Like It’s 1999: The Year That Morocco Came To Coventry

For those who watched that team, where does the 1999/00 side rank among your favourite Coventry teams? And who was your favourite of Hadji, Chippo, Keane and McAllister?

If you enjoy the feature, please do consider signing up to The Phoenix. For a fiver a month you'll get loads of content like this (there are 130 stories already on the site and usually at least five more added each week). You can also sign up to the free newsletter.

Lowkey remember the first couple games, not even trying to win, JUST A GOAL 😭 Look at us now, consistently creating chances every game, being much more competitive and comfortable going into every game, this may be to early to say, but are we back? Like spurs was a tough opponent, and like we still created a lot of chances, were a pain in the ass for De Zerbi, and I feel like most COV fans feel bad Abt the spurs game because we had high expectations, when we shouldn't have. In my opinion we have come a long way since the arsenal game, and the Brighton game, and genuinely are starting to show better form and fitting into the league better. Specifically Jack Rudoni and Bobby Thomas have shown incredible form lately, JDS as well, Tats too, just lampard needs to get his head straight and not start Matt Grimes every game, lowkey are we back?

Newcastle game shirt auction live now - was hoping to get a Torp shirt for up to £200 but its got pricey already!

CovetryCityFc

Hi all,

I interviewed Liam Walsh recently for ThePhoenix.news

We spoke about his season on loan at the club, winning the League One title, the COVID craziness, whether he had a chance to sign a permanent deal and lots more. The full written interview is coming to the site soon, but I thought I'd share this short video snippet - well, mainly because it gives us all the chance to enjoy his goal against Rochdale again.

I did also want to get some thoughts on Liam and his time at the club. I loved him while he was here, I thought he was perfect in that midfield. I would have loved him to have signed after his loan. Sadly, injuries disrupted his career after his time at Cov, but I'm pleased to see that he's playing a lot more regularly now with Luton. He was another one who spoke incredibly highly of his time in Coventry - so many of these players who I speak to arrive with no connection with the club and leave as fans.

Happy birthday 🩵🩵🩵

RUSHY

KKH

BOBBY

PINNOCK

JDS

YIRENKI

HAMER

RUDI

TATS

EMC

AWONIYI

Hopefully gboho back in the squad, get torp in off the bench

What do you guys think?

A few of them were right on the line. Do we have a closing down issue?

Hull - 1

Plymouth - 1

Newcastle - 1

Brighton - 1

And then all 3 goals from Spurs last night.

3 of the above goals came from defenders. Giving too much space has invited these players to take shots and a few have been great goals (Dunk, Botman)

I've found my self shouting "close him down" far too much this season

Anyone heard anymore about Gboho..?

I thought Coventry showed enough going forward to make that match uncomfortable for Spurs, especially when Rudoni brought us level. Losing 3–1 makes it look more one-sided than parts of the game actually felt.

The frustrating bit is that the team had a chance to put real pressure on them but couldn't sustain it. I'd take that attacking intent into the Fulham game, provided we tighten things up defensively.

These are the matches where you want someone capable of playing a difficult pass or producing a moment that changes the game. He has not had many minutes since coming back, but if Lampard can get him on the ball in dangerous areas, his ability to influence things in midfield could be important, as long as we do not lose control of the middle while attacking.

I'd like to see onyeki and hammer in the middle. Chekri starting. What you thinking?

Most notably, the former club of one Brandon Thomas-Asante. I’m feeling a 1-0 to Oxford City but…

National League North btw