iPad-Gate Strikes Again Tom Cleverley’s Bold Confession About Coventry City

Coventry City match analysis from CoventryLive as Sky Blues reporter Andy Turner looks at some of the key talking points from the 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road.

Poor defense allowed Watford to earn a point at home to Coventry City, with the visitors leaving Vicarage Road disappointed that they did not take all three points in what should have been their first Championship win on the road this season. The Sky Blues began determinedly, evidently eager to avenge their humiliation to Norwich the previous week, and Ellis Simms’ early headed goal set the tone for a tremendously optimistic first half.

However, a reorganised Hornets rallied back after the break with a well-deserved equaliser in the 67th minute, before Mark Robins’ side regained momentum, only to waste perhaps the biggest chance of the day. Here are some of the key talking points from the 1-1 draw.

Wasteful City Although ultimately disheartening, fans can take heart from the number of chances the players generated, especially given that they were away from home and against a team that had previously won five of their six games this season in all competitions. City’s stats showed a total of 17 efforts on Watford’s goal, five of which were on target and five of which were blocked, leaving seven off target.

The biggest disappointment, however, was the profligacy in front of goal, as Ephron Mason-Clark and Haji Wright squandered golden opportunities, leaving Robins frustrated. When asked about Wright’s close range header that hit the post, he said, “We took the hardest chance and missed the easiest one. We must be ruthless; it is as simple as that.”

iPad gate, part two Rookie Watford manager Tom Cleverley stated he was utterly taken aback by Mark Robins’ team selection, racing around from 2pm when he received the teamsheet until five to three, trying to figure out what the opposition were going to do. He clearly hadn’t done his homework, because if he had looked back at last season, he would have noticed that Milan Van Ewijk had filled in for Sakamoto on the wing on several occasions, as well as Joel Latibeaudiere being deployed at right-back, rather than in a back three with Van Ewijk as a wing-back, as he had expected.

One of the more high-profile occasions was the historic FA Cup comeback win over Wolves, which also threw Wanderers’ manager Gary O’Neil off, causing him to have his goalie pretend to be injured in order to gather his players around his iPad to reorganise his team’s structure. So it was interesting when Cleverley performed the same trick with Daniel Bachmann, who dropped to the deck for physio treatment. Making no apologies for the strategy, the 35-year-old admitted: “Yeah, that sort of stopped the flow of the momentum, but the main changes were done at half-time.”

‘Doing a job’ for Rudoni The most significant alteration he made was to essentially man mark Jack Rudoni, the player he had picked prior to the game as the one to stop.

We matched them up in midfield in the second half, and (Yasser) Larouci did an excellent job on Rudoni, which helped us gain a foothold in the game, as is usually the case when you dominate the midfield.”

Rudoni, on the other hand, came agonisingly close to snatching victory in stoppage time when he cut inside his marker in the area and struck an angle shot that was blocked by the goalkeeper’s good reaction save. Cleverley praised the former Huddersfield forward after the game, while Robins said he thought he had performed well, “although probably not as good as he has been.”

Perfect tonic and platform. City’s first four league games had left many fans disappointed, with early ‘through the roof’ hopes severely dashed by two defeats, a draw, and a last-minute win. So a strong away performance was just the thing to boost morale in the camp. There was sadness that they did not win the game, but any point on the road in a really tough division has to be considered as a plus, and the whole performance, however frustrating the finish, is a definite step back in the right direction and a foundation on which to develop.

Of course, that only works if the players back it up in their next Championship match, at home to Swansea, given that Wednesday’s glamorous Carabao Cup tie is a bit of a bonus against Premier League opposition, which City will not necessarily be expected to win but, all the same, is an opportunity to restore some faith in the side.