Joe Cole, Joe Cole, Joe Cole. The former England, Chelsea and Liverpool man recently joined Coventry City on a short-term loan deal from Aston Villa, if one of the most surprising lower league moves in recent memory.
Things are looking up the Sky Blues. Now firmly back in the Ricoh Arena after a year away, under the stewardship of a solid manager in Tony Mowbray and of course, signing Joe Cole.
The team are also performing well in the league, sitting in a loft 4th position and only six points behind table toppers Gillingham.
Two consecutive goalless draws against Blackpool and Rochdale will be a cause for concern no doubt, but former Celtic and West Brom boss Mowbray has steadied the ship and provided a solid base from which to launch a promotion push.
The squad, however, still needs a bit of tinkering with if the Sky Blues are to remain competitive at the right end of the league.
Here are five Sky Blues to axe ahead of the January sales…
JIM O’BRIEN
Following Steven Pressley’s departure as manager, former Celtic and Motherwell man Jim O’Brien has lost his place in the starting line-up.
The likes of Ruben Lamieras, loan signing Ryan Kent and John Fleck seem to be ahead of him in the pecking order, and a change of system limits the amount of wingers Mowbray wishes to deploy.
Former Republic of Ireland under-21 ace O’Brien could easily be disposed of in order to help fund a replacement.
CONOR THOMAS
Despite a rather bizarre loan move to Liverpool, yes Liverpool, back in 2011 – Conor Thomas’ Sky Blues has not really been much to write home about.
The former England youth international is well down the pecking order at the Ricoh Area, with a raft of midfielders seemingly preferred over him.
Granted, he is just 21-years of age, but not the required standard for a team plotting a promotion push.
JACK FINCH
Always an obvious risk when selling young players, particularly home grown talents. How many times have we seen that come back to bite teams?
It’s hard to imagine Jack Finch coming back to bite the Ricoh Arena outfit. Not even assigned a squad number for this season, the 19-year old couldn’t look further from the starting eleven.
Ryan Haynes
Like Finch, Ryan Haynes shows little sign of dislodging any of the current first-choice defenders.
The 20-year old showed some initial promise, which had reportedly attracted the watchful eye of Premier League sides that must now seem a world away.
Chris Stokes appears to be the main man at left-back and shows no signs of letting his high level of performances drop. Perhaps a loan deal away would suit all parties.
AARON MARTIN
Former Southampton youngster Aaron Martin provides decent cover for Sam Ricketts and Reda Johnson, but that’s about it.
No doubt, he has improved as he grows into his Sky Blues career, but with margins so tight in League One, any fee received from him should be pounced upon to help strengthen the squad.
By the time the New Year rolls around, he will be entering the final six months of his deal and should be shipped before he is able to move on for free.
