Coventry hunt the big time again after journey to hell
The Independent|May 14, 2023
It's 22 years and counting since Coventry City last graced the Premier League - over two decades of ups and downs that saw a whole chapter and more of club history written outside of the game's elite
KARL MATCHETT
Coventry hunt the big time again after journey to hell

Once, the Sky Blues were synonymous with top-flight football, iconic Nineties names - if not always quite among the elite throughout the team. They lined up for the first Premier League campaign, in 1992/93, and stayed a part of that fledgling top flight for the first nine years, finishing in the bottom half each term but always there, always a tough opponent, always carrying players with a backstory, a big future, or both.

But an entire generation of football fans have never seen Coventry among the top clubs. A sea change has happened at England’s highest level since they were on the scene; they departed in 2001, two years before Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea and could now return one year after he sold it.

While billions were moved around in the transfer market and in broadcast deals in Coventry’s absence, they embarked on an altogether more painful journey; should they complete the comeback on 27 May and win the EFL Championship play-off final they will become the first team to go from the Premier League all the way down to the fourth tier... and come all the way back up again.

Before they can dream of all that, though, they must overcome Middlesbrough in a two-legged semi-final.

This story is from the May 14, 2023 edition of The Independent.

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This story is from the May 14, 2023 edition of The Independent.

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