What On Earth Has Happened To Coventry City?

What On Earth Has Happened To Coventry City?

Coventry City have come crashing back down to Earth following their record-breaking start to the 2025/26 season. The Sky Blues were knocked out of The Emirates FA Cup Third Round by Stoke City on the weekend thanks to a late strike from Lamine Cisse. It means that Frank Lampard’s men are now winless in their last four games in all competitions.

When Did Coventry Start To Show Signs Of Weakness?

With the benefit of hindsight we can now pinpoint the exact moment where Coventry’s downfall began. And that moment was on 6th December 2025 when the Sky Blues travelled to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town.

The Tractor Boys ended the away team’s five game winning streak and set in motion a period of turbulence that still exists over a month later. The following game week Coventry travelled to Preston North End, and despite the home side being reduced to 10 men in the 39th minute, only came away with a point.

Coventry looked to have restored their form when they won two of their next three games, however Ipswich returned to end Coventry’s unbeaten home record. The Tractor Boys went on to complete the double over the current Championship leaders, winning the tie 2-0 to accumulate a 5-0 aggregate scoreline across both league games.

Coventry are yet to win a game in any competition since their second matchup with Ipswich, losing two of their following three matches. The FA Cup defeat to Stoke has only compounded the situation, with Lampard’s men facing pressure from both Middlesbrough and Ipswich for the Championship title.

🚜 A statement of intent from @IpswichTown - @Coventry_City lose their unbeaten home record!#EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/duekOkgSig

— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) December 29, 2025

So Where Has It Gone Wrong For Coventry?

Coventry Struck With Injuries

There are a couple of factors at play that have significantly affected Coventry’s results over the last month. However it seems blindingly clear that Brandon Thomas-Asante's hamstring injury at the end of November has sent reverberations throughout the whole Coventry team.

The Sky Blues forward picked up the hamstring injury in the first half of the game against Middlesbrough on 25th November 2025. The Ghanaian international has been an instrumental piece to Coventry’s success this season, netting 10 goals before his injury.

Thomas-Asante remains the club’s top goalscorer this season despite being unable to play since the end of November. His versatility and consistency have certainly been missed, with the Ghanaian able to occupy any attacking position across the front four.

This is what gave Coventry such attacking fluidity in the early stages of the season as Thomas-Asante has the ability to lift the performances of his teammates around him. However since his injury Lampard’s team have been toothless upfront, scoring 10 goals in the 10 games Thomas-Asante has missed. It’s hardly a coincidence that Coventry score fewer goals when their star player is sidelined, therefore directing the attention onto the lack of quality within the entire squad.

Victor Torp has also missed the Sky Blues’ last three games through injury and is another vital player in Lampard’s system who is unavailable for selection. As a result of this Coventry’s lack of squad depth has been exposed, their first real sign of weakness all season.

Frank Lampard hopes to have both Brandon Thomas-Asante and Victor Torp return to training this week ahead of Saturday's M69 derby against Leicester City.#PUSB #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/e0oAUaSszb

— BBC Sport Coventry & Warwickshire (@BBCCWRSport) January 10, 2026

A Lack Of Discipline

With Coventry setting the bar so high so early on, it was almost impossible to continue the ridiculous run they had been on. Therefore when results started to dip, frustration kicked in. What’s even more telling is that Coventry’s only two red cards all season have both come within the last month, highlighting the recent lack of discipline within the squad.

The first major sign that Coventry were unable to contain their emotions was the game away to Southampton on 20th December 2025.

Elation turned to enragement as either side of the half-time interval created a moment of pure juxtaposition. Ephron Mason-Clark gave Coventry the lead minutes before the break, however 90 seconds into the second half Jay Dasilva received a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Welington.

That wasn’t all the controversy that ensued in the game, as tensions boiled over after the match with Lampard starting a chain reaction of pushing and shoving between both sets of teams. It’s obvious to see that the club’s frustrations are being let out in the wrong way, which in turn is damaging their performances on the pitch.

Coventry still haven’t managed to contain the issue, as Bobby Thomas was also shown a straight red card in the club’s most recent league game against Birmingham City. However this time round Coventry were reduced to 10 men due to an off the ball altercation, a needless act by Thomas which was totally unnecessary.

After challenging for the ball with Birmingham’s Phil Neumann, Thomas kicked out at the defender and then proceeded to throw his hand at Neumann. As mentioned earlier Coventry’s squad depth doesn’t have enough quality within it to plug the holes left by the absence of senior players.

Thomas’ red card has only added to a long list of issues that Coventry are currently having to navigate their way through, with an end to the suffering looking out of sight for the time being.

"You can't raise a hand like that"

Coventry are down to 10 players as Bobby Thomas is shown a straight red card 🟥 pic.twitter.com/oNENpTEjLv

— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 4, 2026