Coventry have a five-point lead and are effectively six points ahead in the race for promotion after 15 games, such is their superior goal difference.
Teams have started fast and faded plenty of times, but this Sky Blues team feels different, with a blend of defensive stability, incredible attacking threat, and perseverance, which has seen them score the most goals, and boast the best goal difference, at this stage of the campaign on record.
It was 28 November, 2024, when Frank Lampard was named as Mark Robins’ successor as City manager, with the club 17th and just two points above the relegation zone.
Lampard has overseen 44 league matches since then, winning 26, drawing eight and losing 10, to earn 86 points.
The average points for teams securing promotion from the Championship to the Premier League is 89, although Hull City went up automatically in 2013 with 79 points.
A return of 1.95 points per game is by the far the best of Lampard’s managerial career at any club, and if they keep doing what they have been doing over the past 12 months the club will be on track for 94 points.
If they maintain their form since the start of this season they are on course for 104 points – just two shy of Reading’s Championship record set in 2005-06.
After 15 games Coventry have scored 40 goals and have a goal difference of +27 – both records since the Championship rebranded 21 years ago.
Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth’s seven clean sheets is the most in the division, while only Stoke and Charlton have conceded fewer than City’s 13.
Brandon Thomas-Asante has 10 goals, Haji Wright eight and Victor Torp six – that trio alone have more goals than 21 clubs in the division.
They have had seven other players on the scoresheet in the Championship too, one of whom, Ellis Simms, has quietly established himself as the premier impact sub in the division.
Two points to consider, though, which could quell some of the hype: of the current make-up of the division, they have only played four top-10 teams – beating Stoke, Millwall and Derby and drawing with Hull.
They have Middlesbrough, Charlton (twice), Ipswich (twice), Bristol City and Preston North End among the forthcoming block of 10 fixtures up to and including New Year’s Day, which should provide a greater insight into where this team is at.
They are also outperforming their expected goals, both in terms of for and against, having scored 40 against an xG of 31.1 and conceded 13 against 15.0, indicating that some regression is possible, if not likely.
