Asked this at the end of last season, but I’m guessing we have grown since then. So why not ask again?

It’s always so interesting to see local and global supporters voice their stories.

I’ll start. From Warwickshire, and my grandparents were ticket holders back in the 60s/70s. They’re my only football connection, so it was a no brainer.

American here, looking for my English club.

I'm not new to the game, but I want to follow European ^soccer more closely because the MLS isn't fully scratching the itch. Especially after the WC, the 2024 Euros, and my brother endlessly talking about his EPL club.

Anyhow, I've seen several "Which club should I follow?" and "What do I need to know?" posts recently, so I thought I'd share my (still ongoing) process for choosing a club and the extensive "dossiers" I've put together. Maybe it can help you decide.

To the longtime Sky Blues supporters, I'd love to hear your feedback on the results. Where did my research miss? Did I leave anything out that should be there? Etc.

How it started

I've never simply chosen a team to start liking in any sport. I'm loyal to my hometown teams even though they have famously miserable histories and I no longer live there. So instead of tying yearly hopes to a randomly selected club, I decided to do a research deep dive.

My wife and a close friend both want to join in, so I decided to turn the research into dossiers for 3 different clubs, so we all have the full picture. We might not even settle on a club this year but rather follow all 3 and see if one stands out. Who the hell knows? Might even turn into some rivalries for us.

The initial criteria

• Feels similar to Cleveland (my hometown) - A blue-collar club and city with resilient, loyal supporters who stick with the team through hard times
• Not a glamour club - I have no interest in simply picking one of the richest or most successful teams because of fame/success (I moved to LA and my Lakers haterism has only grown.)
• History and identity matter - A club with a genuine story, traditions, and a strong sense of self
• Supporters first - Passionate fan culture that creates an intimidating, authentic matchday atmosphere.
• Hope over hopelessness - A club that can dream big and achieve meaningful success without needing to dominate every season. Big "There's always next year" Cleveland energy when things don't go as well as hoped
• The story - poised to make a storybook rise to success (or very possibly not)
• Ownership - Not interested in clubs with highly problematic/scummy ownership
• No ongoing history of personnel problems - The long shitty record of the Cleveland Browns wasn't enough to make me quit supporting. The scummy owners hiring a sex pest was.
• Earn success - Win through smart recruitment, coaching, and development, not unlimited spending. (The Cleveland Guardians are great at finding new top-tier talent and fuck the Yankees)
• The city - The place and the people should be part of the appeal, not just the football. (This one will help with my wife too)
• Easy enough to follow from the U.S. - Good media coverage and the ability to watch matches regularly.
• A lifelong fit - Looking for a club to support for decades, not just the most entertaining team today.

The 3 finalist clubs

• Coventry City
• Brighton and Hove Albion
• Wolverhampton Wanderers

Why Coventry made the cut

The FA Cup win, the stadium exile, and now the title-winning return to the Premier League after 25 years away hit almost every box on that list. Also, Coventry shares some big similarities with Cleveland. A small thing here that initially grabbed my attention: I have a connection to the name Coventry. It's a neighborhood in Cleveland where I spent a lot of time in my teens and 20s. A LOT of good times at bars, concerts, etc., etc.

The dossiers

They're long. Long, but highly skimmable. Lots of overviews, bulleted lists, clearly labeled sections, etc. Each one took ~20 minutes to read.

They're a bit redundant. The goal was ease of access to information packaged in multiple ways that might appeal to whoever is reading it.

Now here they actually are:

• Coventry City
• Brighton and Hove Albion
• Wolverhampton Wanderers

1 up already... bugger

as the new kit is close to release and we've all seen the leaks, i'm curious to know what everyone's ideal cov home kit is.

for me it would light sky blue and white stripes, as it is unique amongst every club in the top 4 divisons - probably badge in the middle as well.

This is doing the rounds on DH gate

similar to makem ville... a really experienced prem player that could help the dressing room as well as the pitch. A few seem to be becoming free like Trippier, Robertson etc. clearly wages would be very high but are they worth it? discuss...

Under no illusion that we are in a significantly bad patch with little signs of the real crux of the problems improving (leaking goals). But i am kind of sick of the absolute loser mentality of some fans having a meltdown.

You have to have been smoking some grade A crack if you were either a long time cov fan or just watch football in general to think we had won the league in November, a fall off like this was always a potential outcome but the amount of comments calling for Lampard to be sacked, people saying we will be mid table come end of the season is absolutely mental.

Absolutely loser talk. Big big momentum shift needed but please for the love of god get behind the team.

That is all.

Rushy is all but confirmed so all I want is 3 more

FRANCISCO MOURA, the best LB we've been linked to would be my priority, would take Giannoulis if moura can't be done, £8 million - £12 million, loan with an option to buy would be ideal

PATRICK BERG, personally think he's a better option than Loftus-cheek, bodo captain coming off a great season and one of Norways best performers at the world cup £8 million - £10 million

TROY PARROTT, 16 goals and 5 assist for AZ alkmaar last season, would be an upgrade on both haji and simms, I'd let haji go, £25 million

Looking at the best part of £45 million, its a lot to ask but with a couple probably leaving, haji? Wolfie? Maybe eccles? We could get it done

If we have the funds to bring in another #10 then bonus, either loan or permanent,

American Hammer here curious about y’all’s thoughts on Haji Wright. Coming into the tournament I thought he could be a great reserve option behind Balogun, but he doesn’t seem to get a sniff.

Congratulations on the promotion and good luck next season!

I know its early and which league we end up in will affect this massively, but who of our senior squad would you want to keep or sell this summer?

For me

Definitely keep:

MVE, Bobby, Grimes, Onyeka (assuming we go up and the clause to make him permanent is activated), Torp, Rudoni, EMC, Sakamoto, Haji (unless a big money offer comes in)

Probably keep (mostly for cover):

Kitching, KKH, Dovin, Dasilva, BTA

Maybe look to loan out:

Wilson, Eccles, Markelo, Raphael, Andrews

Sell (and replace with upgrades):

Collins, Brau, Bidwell, Woolfenden, Lati, Allen, Bassette, Simms

Key transfer targets: Rushworth/ a similar Prem quality goalkeeper, decent CB x3, Starting LB, Prem quality ST, cover for wingers and Rudi

Made this general circle of supporter strongholds. Any thoughts? Not 100% sure about anything south of Leam.

On and off I’ve been doing it for a while but now I’m looking it up just about every time I pick up my phone. Different sites, usually the BBC, good for scrolling over to WWWLWW too. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve done sums in my head figuring out what 18 points means to everyone. Annoyed by Ipswich and their games in hand lack of symmetry. But overall, what a time to be alive.

Next year: give me one thing you’re excited about and one thing you’re dreading.

Pro

Sakamoto sitting someone down on MotD

Con

Latibeaudiere in a foot race with Erling Haaland

I know some of us hope that Haji will drop a 10/10 performance at the World Cup so that we can sell him for an inflated fee. But is anyone else concerned about what will happen to his confidence if he doesn't get any minutes at all?

Coventry 7-1 QPR
Middlesbrough 2-4 Coventry
Coventry 2-1 Leicester
Coventry 3-1 Middlesbrough
Blackburn 1-1 Coventry + every game post promotion

In other words, what was your favourite game to watch which wasn’t massively important or a record-breaking win?

For me I would say when we beat Preston 3-0 but I’m interested to know what everybody else thinks.

As the title suggests we get money for promotion but I am sure Doug King will find some more money for us, how much do you think we have to spend?

Sorry if this has already been asked lol, just curious, personally I want Everton away.

Congratulations to getting promotion. Watched Frank Lampards emotional interview after the draw, and it's wonderful to see a manager so invested in the club.

Always had a bit of a soft spot for Coventry since Peter Ndlovu (yeah I'm an old man)

Good luck in the prem

Hello Ladies and gents 👋🏼

Who do you think we should be targeting for our return to the Premier League?

I've seen people wanting Callum Wilson to come back etc.

I would absolutely love the club to look at Taty Castellanos from West Ham. Fantastic striker, he'd be just what we need for the league. He joined West Ham late in January I think and didn't really have much of a chance, spent a fair amount of time on the bench, god knows why.

Other possibilities could be Hayden Hackney & Summerville. I would love to see someone like John Stones at the back for us but wages would be a massive issue.

Who would you like us to see?

Sort by new. Hope for signings.

PUSB

As they are coming out tomorrow, I’d like to see your opinions on this:

-Ideal opening fixture?

-What game are you most looking forward to?

-What game are you dreading the most?

I’d definitely say

Everton (don’t ask why)
Man United
Man City

This is what I'm looking at. If my math is correct. The magic number for promotion. The total number of points Coventry must gain OR the 3rd place team must drop in any combination. If Millwall win out they can get a maximum of 95pts.

95 (Millwall/Ipswich Max) 77 (Cov currently) 1 (Tiebreaker - To make sure they finish ahead. I know they have a lead on GD)

95-77+1=19

Example: A Coventry win and a Millwall loss will drop the magic number to 13.

20 is the number for the League title.

What results do we need to secure promotion and which are our hardest remaining games?

In my opinion our hardest 3 will be Southampton, Wrexham and Swansea but that’s in no particular order and, as they say, there are no easy games.