It wasn’t ever going to be easy. But this wasn’t presumably what Frank Lampard was looking to find when he signed with Coventry City and, later, promoted the team to the Premier League.
I think that Frank Lampard’s tactics and methods employed at Coventry this season are fascinating. I want to look at those today in greater detail. I’ve been writing football tactics articles for nearly a decade and all hype aside, I think Lampard can be one of the British league’s finer managers.
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Career Prior to Managing Coventry City
Frank Lampard’s got one of the most famous biographies of any of the managers in the Premier League. The blessing and curse that he carries is that he was one of England’s finest players of recent decades.
Lampard made his professional debut in 1995 and played nearly 150 games for West Ham United. In 2001, he moved to a newly hyper-wealthy Chelsea and won Premier League and Champions League trophies. Along the way, he earned 106 caps for the England national team.
The weight of expectation was huge when he became a manager, first at Derby County, which he guided to the Championship playoffs. This led to a short stint as manager of his beloved Chelsea, where he encouraged positive change but failed to see massive results. He briefly managed Everton and Chelsea again before being appointed Coventry manager in 2024.
Lampard is a man with something to prove. Does he have the chops to do it?
Tactical Philosophy
Frank Lampard’s become a pragmatist. He’s had to, I think. When he first joined Chelsea as a manager, his idealistic possession-based football didn’t bring with it many great results.
To put it simply, Lampard’s Coventry is a team that doesn’t demand a lot of opportunities and tries to make the best of the ones they receive.
The team likes to press aggressively. The team doesn’t want a lot of the ball. Coventry tries to score through daring direct balls played onto the flanks.
Formations and Adaptability
While Lampard’s preferred formation early in his career was a 4-3-3, he’s adapted this in recent times. Last season, when Coventry won the Championship, the team was set up, mostly, in a 4-2-3-1.
This season, the team has adapted to its opponents and played a 3-4-2-1 formation quite often, as well as a 4-1-4-1 and 4-2-3-1 when in possession.
No, Coventry can’t play the same way as they did last season when they were bossing the English second tier. Still, they haven’t entirely ditched their brave approach either, something I think is commendable.
Lampard’s Coventry in Defence
Frank Lampard certainly has just as many critics as fans. There were some who were quick to call him naive when Coventry’s aggressive forward press resulted in the team conceding five times against Brighton and three times against Aston Villa.
Indeed, one thing that Lampard hasn’t altered from last season is the team’s aggressive press.
When defending, the team’s formation typically resembles a 5-4-1. The team looks to reduce the width of the pitch. Players crowd the central midfield area.
Coventry’s Build-Up Play
While Coventry is comfortable having little possession, they’re clear on what to do with the ball when they do have it.
Players don’t just blast it out. Mostly, they set up from the central defenders (Bobby Thomas and Aurele Amenda) with short passes. Typically, Matt Grimes will drop down to receive the pass at this stage in the build-up.
If they’re attacking in a 4-2-3-1, Coventry will move three attacking players up front, centrally and play direct passes toward them. Ideally, Lampard will also like to have his full-backs creating overloads on the flanks.
It’s a pretty brave approach, I think. Is it working though? Currently, Coventry is sat in 19thplace. However, if the team is to be relegated, it will do so playing bravely and, most importantly, playing its own style of football.
Technically, the only ways forward are either by dribbling your way through or passing above the defensive line. The latter is forcing goalie Carl Rushworth to quickly develop into a rushing sweeper-keeper.
Coventry’s players will often employ man-for-man pressing and try to block out passing lanes. The goal is to force a direct ball forward and the opportunity to win back possession on the second ball.
Coventry’s defenders (Amenda, Thomas, Pinnock) are tall, good in the air and up for a physical duel. Is this the classic English football of the 1980s? Lampard’s not shy about bringing those principles back.
Coventry in Attack
If Coventry’s defenders are tall and good in the air, its wide players tend to be short, slim and fast. Milan van Ewijk and Jay Dasilva are quick on the flanks and willing to cross from deep.
Is this how Coventry is supposed to score goals in the Premier League?
Yes! When the team does score (which has not happened often yet, granted), it usually happens by exploiting the flanks. To achieve this, Lampard has managed to get tremendous commitment out of players like Dasilva or Tatsuhiro Sakamoto.
What about upfront? Tall, strong striker? You bet! In fact, Coventry may have one of the best they could possibly get in their position. Taiwo Awoniyi, still only 29, with Bundesliga and EPL experience, is the team’s main attacking threat. Youngsters Sidiki Cherif and Ellis Simms deputise.
In my view, Awoniyi is a fantastic finisher. So far, he’s not had a tremendous amount of opportunities to work with, but things may change for the better once the team starts earning experience.
What Next for Lampard and Coventry?
I’m not going to lie. Earning just 3 points out of your first 5 games doesn’t exactly spell “EPL success.” However, I must remind readers that those 3 points were gained in Coventry’s last game (at the time of writing).
The team’s improving, and Lampard is proving a competent manager for this type of team.
And while Lampard’s style is, essentially, a version of 1980s long-ball play and aggressive tackling, I still see this working in the long term.
Realistically, Coventry is going to go down this season. But both the club and Lampard would be mad to give up on this partnership at this stage in the game.
