Blackburn 1-1 Coventry (Morishita 54′ | Thomas 84′)
EWOOD PARK – They arrived into Blackburn unspeakably early, but then when you have waited a quarter of a century, what difference does a few hours make? On the way up the M6 had a cup final aesthetic, scarves billowing out of windows and supporters chatting through open windows in stuck traffic. They piled into the Fenhurst for afternoon pints when they got there, Bolton Road their own Wembley Way.
It was hardly pretty. Blackburn were the better side for long periods and fully merited a lead. Frank Lampard went for a risk-averse back three that barely worked at all until it was changed. The away end occasionally groaned and griped, a symptom of superfluous nerves. It does not matter. Another set-piece goal, blue flare smoke hanging over 7,100 supporters and three blasts of a whistle shortly before 10pm. That was what they came for.
This promotion is for St Andrews and Sixfields, two stadiums that were never home and where Coventry City should never have been on repeat. This for the 48 years from 1970 onwards, when Coventry never finished in the top six of a division. This is for November 2016, when only 2,175 supporters watched Coventry play a home FA Cup tie. This is for those four straight games in 2017 in League Two when they didn’t score: Barnet, Accrington, Forest Green, Colchester.
There is always a misguided supposition that broken football clubs will just come back via some nostalgic world order. Nothing is guaranteed and Coventry City were given nothing for free. It takes non-ending fight against regimes that have become counterproductive to your recovery. It takes campaigning without thanks and when some of your peers can’t believe that there is even a point.
It takes the right owner and goodness knows they understand that here. Doug King never claimed to be perfect, but he is a local guy who used his business success as a platform to save something dear to him. In the context of their previous experiences, Coventry City won the lottery when he arrived.
I was fortunate to sit down with King at the start of last season, his first exclusive national interview. He spoke of the Premier League and transfer investment, but his greater focus was on the legacy projects that he believed could make a lasting impact. On 23 August, 2025, King was able to bring the stadium back under club ownership. It was the best news of all.
In hindsight, the seeds of this promotion were fed and watered last summer. Without the luxury of parachute payments and after the last-gasp playoff semi-final defeat to Sunderland, the club could have chosen to back away a little. Instead they sold only Luis Binks and Ben Sheaf and invested £7m in two players and signed the best goalkeeper in the EFL this season on loan.
And when January brought a wobble, signing Frank Onyeka was a significant statement and Romain Esse added unpredictability on the wings. Haji Wright stayed, and has been their top goalscorer. Milan van Ewijk stayed and has provided the most assists. Jack Rudoni stayed and is capable of changing any Championship match.
Coventry’s domination has been the most extraordinary aspect of this Championship season, almost unprecedented for a non-relegated club. They have scored the most goals and kept the most clean sheets, had the most shots on target and scored the most set-piece goals. They lost one league game before December and from that point everyone else was effectively playing for second place.
Lampard has been a revelation, a reputation restored after his Premier League experience. The tactical principles are fairly simple but make complete sense: make the most of your greatest strengths, rotate players for form within a deep squad, rely upon a magnificent goalkeeper and have your central midfielders create a solid platform that allows your full-backs to attack. It has worked a charm and Lampard will be linked to other jobs this summer.
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One of the phenomenons of Premier League promotion is how it warps your reason. Be a Sunderland not a Southampton, as if it is as easy as choosing. Those loyal servants that got you promoted – we must improve upon them. We need to buy half a new squad. We need to show some ambition. It’s so easy for universally positive situations to take on a negative spin. Welcome to the Premier League; it’s a jungle up here.
My only advice to Coventry supporters: park all that for as long as possible. The weeks between now and June are the best of your football life: watching the play-offs not gripped by fear; watching your own side on multiple laps of honour; re-remembering multiple times a day that your team got up and you feel a tangible part of the movement.
Those fans deserve it more than most. This is for the 25 years away. Back then, English football wondered when Coventry would be back. Over time it began to consider that they might never be. Never take what they have been through for granted. This is a monumental victory for resilience. For so long it was storm clouds and rain. Now the sky and their whole world is blue.
