Gab Sutton weekly: Long live the (not Doug) King at Coventry

In his latest exclusive column for Odds Now, English Football League expert Gab Sutton (@GabSutton) takes a closer look at Coventry's shock axing of long-serving boss Mark Robins earlier this week...

Coventry City’s poor start to the season was a means for owner Doug King to part company with legendary manager, Mark Robins, rather than the motivation.

It’s understandable that King may have come to the Ricoh Arena in January 2023 with a specific operational vision for how he wanted to move forward, including a Sporting Director/Head Coach structure and a youth-based recruitment policy.

It’s equally understandable that Robins, having had so much autonomy over footballing operations in his seven years at the helm, may not have wanted that same structure.

Robins’ value to the club has so often been in his ability to oversee things and make good decisions from a distanced, big-picture perspective, while his right-hand men — Adi Viveash and Dennis Lawrence — did all the coaching on the grass, before that pair's respective summer departures contributed to a drop in form.

It’s not known for sure how big a factor any differences in operational preferences were behind the parting of company, but it seems plausible that they played some kind of part.

So, logically speaking, the decision makes some kind of sense I suppose, in allowing King to move forward with the model he truly wants.

On the other hand, the path to success looks a little bit different to each club, depending on their individual circumstances.

So, is there not a responsibility on King to hold fire on his vision — which may be perfectly sensible in most scenarios — based on the fact that Coventry already have a process that’s proven to work consistently?

Rather than jump in with a ‘one size fits all’ blueprint, would it have been better to see what’s already effective and amend from there?

For instance, Robins could have done with being backed to bring in one or two more experienced heads in January, as a compromise from King’s side on the recruitment policy.

He could also have done with an elite coach being recruited. Somebody like Brian Barry-Murphy, who just left Man City EDS, could have came in to be an assistant manager in name, but in practice take on the bulk of the first-team coaching.

Plus, it’s hard to believe that Robins wouldn’t have been prepared to make compromises on his side, too, in terms of recruitment processes and ceding some responsibility to others.

It’s hard to say for certain from afar, but it does seem as though there may have been compromise solutions available to King that were preferable to severing ties — especially in-season, in this fashion.

If Robins had been given until the end of the season, with a final game against Middlesbrough in May to say goodbye to everybody, that would have made it easier for supporters to process the loss and find some closure.

Plus, if he’d been notified of the decision in person, rather than over the phone as some have reported, that would have helped to.

Instead, it feels as if the timing and alleged handling of the decision are almost worse than the decision itself.

As such, King has put Robins’ successor in the unenviable position of being the outsider — the step-father figure, if you will. The one who stands where he stood.

And, from that starting point, only somebody with incredible people skills, PR nous and psychological expertise can thrive.

They will have to show enough empathy to the fans for the situation, a tiny hint of vulnerability in recognising their position within that situation, respect for their owner, the person who pays their wages, all while showing some authority and leadership as the new Head Coach — it’s a political minefield.

And, realistically, most coaches aren’t likely have the tools to handle such a delicate situation.

Coventry City had improved under Mark Robins every season for six years, and in the last two they’ve made different kinds of progress given the losses of Gus Hamer and Viktor Gyokeres, and the shift towards a more developmental brief.

So, yes, there may have been some kind of logic to the decision, but the technical advantages are massively outweighed by the political disadvantages that this decision has caused, and the feeling among supporters that borders on mourning almost the loss of a family member.

Long live the King. Unfortunately for City’s owner, it’s not Doug…