Coventry City: Destined Never to Escape the Merry-Go-Round

Today, Coventry fans up and down the country (that is, if there are many left) were devastated by the news that manager Mark Robins has all but been confirmed as the new boss of Huddersfield Town. It is a hard pill to swallow; having recently been dealt a cruel blow in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Northern Division Final losing 0-3 to Crewe Alexandra, and slipping up further in the race to the play-offs in losing 0-1 to Yeovil, the news that Robins was to leave for pastures new has been the bitter icing on top of the stale cake that has been this past week.

What actually rankles more than Robins leaving is the fact that it has not been long since he stated his desire to build on the early success that he has tasted at the club. A meeting with SISU officials just last week was said to be about discussing long-term goals for the club that would help aid the rise through the league system that is so badly yearned for at the RICOH arena. The question now is whether Robins left because he was not given assurances about the changes he wanted to implement, or whether his head was turned by a more lucrative offer from Yorkshire. It seems until there is transparency from both parties, supporters will be left none-the-wiser about who to aim their ire at.

The shame for the Sky Blues is that the current situation shows no sign of ending; without a manager with a sense of loyalty and love for the club, chances are that higher-placed clubs will have no problem in plucking their man from the depths of League One. The buy-out clause remains a devastating Catch-22 situation as well: any manager who sees Coventry as a stepping-stone will insist on a smaller buy-out clause. If this condition is not met the manager will not sign; yet if it is, the risk of him being poached by a wealthier club if he performs well increases manifold.

And this is unfortunately the situation that Coventry have found themselves in with Robins. Huddersfield stumped up the offer at the second time of asking, and that has resulted in the Lancastrian clearing his desk at the club's training ground. No doubt when the next manager is chosen (and there may not be many interested in taking the job), if he starts to outperform within his meagre surroundings, the vultures of the Championship, or even higher, will come-a-calling.

While we sing together, we will never lose. It seems that until we get a manager who is prepared to sing with us, and for us, we are destined to remain an ever-present stop on the managerial merry-go-round.