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Van Nistelrooy, Lampard, Carsley: The pros and cons of each contender to become Coventry manager
Doug King will soon make the season-defining choice of who succeeds Mark Robins as Coventry City manager.
The Sky Blues owner claims to have received ‘a huge amount of CVs from high-quality people’. King and his confidants are whittling down those CVs to create a shortlist and there’s every chance a new manager will be in place for the game against Sheffield United after the international break.
Chelsea legend Frank Lampard is expected to be among those interviewed, but he isn’t the only high-profile manager in the running. Current England interim boss Lee Carsley ranks well with most bookmakers and Ruud van Nistelrooy is on the lookout for a job after leaving his coaching role at Manchester United.
READ MORE: Coventry City candidate Ruud van Nistelrooy has outlined his next step after Man Utd exit
READ MORE: Cover, sparkle and loans - Doug King spells out Coventry City plan ahead of January transfer window
There are lesser known names in the frame, including Wycombe’s young manager Matt Bloomfield who has guided the Chairboys to the summit of League One. Here, we take a look at the pros and cons of four of the leading contenders for the job…
READ: Coventry City candidate Ruud van Nistelrooy has already outlined his next step
READ: Championship manager breaks silence on Coventry job as King accelerates search
Frank Lampard
Pros: When you look at Lampard’s first two jobs in management it is hard not to be impressed. He guided a relatively young Derby County side to a Championship play-off final and forged the careers of Mason Mount and Harry Wilson. Lampard’s Rams side played entertaining football and achieved some eye-catching results, and his experience of the Championship can only work in his favour.
Lampard’s first spell at Chelsea was successful. He guided them to a fourth-placed finish with a significantly reduced budget and blooded some of the club’s academy graduates. Chelsea were by no means in disaster territory when Lampard was sacked midway through his second season but his replacement Thomas Tuchel refined things and led them to Champions League glory.
Cons: It is impossible to ignore Lampard’s last two jobs. The interim stint at Chelsea, where he lost eight of his 11 games in charge, can’t be overlooked. Stamford Bridge wasn’t an easy place to manage at the time, but Lampard’s results weren’t befitting of the squad at his disposal.
Lampard’s year at Everton gives King a larger body of work to judge. Everton averaged roughly a point per game under Lampard and he kept them up in his first season before the second spiralled out of his control. What Lampard will point to is that his last two jobs saw him work under ownership groups that rarely offered stability to him and the team.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Pros: In the age of the coach, van Nistelrooy’s experience should be commended. He didn’t leap into management like many of his peers, instead taking time to build up a portfolio by coaching his way through the ranks at PSV Eindhoven.
Van Nistelrooy worked on his craft away from the first team spotlight before stepping up in 2022. PSV won two cups and finished second in the Eredivisie during van Nistelrooy’s only season at the helm. Like Lampard, his name undoubtedly works in his favour and players – particularly strikers looking to hone their skills – will want to play for him.
Cons: Van Nistelrooy’s experience as a number one is limited. The way his PSV tenure ended might also put King off. "Van Nistelrooy told the first-team squad and coaching staff that he would be stepping down with immediate effect, due to a lack of support within the club," PSV said of van Nistelrooy’s departure in 2023.
Lee Carsley
Pros: No applicant will come with greater coaching acumen than Carsley. The 50-year-old Brummie is renowned for being an excellent coach and has risen through the ranks at The FA. Carsley’s high point came last year when he guided England’s under-21s to the European Championship title.
A stint as England manager has elevated Carsley’s profile and jobs will be open to him if he decides to finally go down the club route. Up to now, Carsley has always been reluctant to manage at club-level on anything other than an interim basis.
Also working in Carsley’s favour is his knowledge of the Sky Blues. Having played for the club on two separate occasions and managed it in a caretaker capacity, no candidate will know Coventry better than Carsley.
Cons: Carsley’s reluctance to take a managerial position will probably count against him at this stage. Why has he never become a number one at club level?
He doesn’t have the profile of Lampard or van Nistelrooy and wouldn’t draw in the media. That is something more and more clubs crave nowadays.
Matt Bloomfield
Pros: The job Bloomfield has done at Wycombe is very impressive. They are currently leading big-spending Birmingham City in League One after a 12-game unbeaten run which has included 10 wins.
Bloomfield is the obvious lower league candidate for Coventry. The 40-year-old is an exciting left-field option.
Cons: Like Carsley, Bloomfield isn’t high profile and his playing career would also count against him. Bloomfield’s entire career was spent in the lower leagues with Wycombe, whereas the other candidates were all Premier League regulars.
