In the Sky Blues’ 3-1 win over QPR, one of the club’s marquee summer signings made his debut.
Coventry City‘s new-look squad has struggled to gel in the first two months of the 2023-24 season, and the adjustment from the end of the previous campaign was never supposed to be easy.
With players like Viktor Gyokeres and Gustavo Hamer on their team, the Sky Blues advanced to the Championship play-off final before losing on penalties to Luton Town at Wembley.
Gyokeres and Hamer eventually left for Sporting CP and Sheffield United, respectively, with one year remaining on their contracts, leaving manager Mark Robins with a windfall to spend.
With Gyokeres on the verge of leaving, one of the first big signings in early July was Ellis Simms, with Coventry beating off competition from elsewhere to sign the 22-year-old, paying Everton an initial fee of £3.5 million in a deal that could be worth £8 million in the future.
How has Ellis Simms performed thus far for Coventry City?
Simms has struggled to make an impression for Coventry despite scoring seven goals in 17 games on loan for Sunderland last season, demonstrating that he is capable of being a good Championship striker.
Simms started three of their first four league games without scoring, but Robins benched him for the next three games, limiting him to cameo appearances.
Simms, who was back in the starting lineup with Matty Godden against Huddersfield, finally got off to a good start this weekend when City travelled to West London to face Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road.
Simms opened the scoring for the Midlands outfit early in the second half, pouncing from close range after Jay Dasilva’s free kick fell to him rather by chance.
And, eight minutes after Josh Eccles doubled Coventry’s advantage, Simms met Jamie Allen’s low cross at the back post to score his second and City’s third goal of the game, which they won 3-1 to earn just their second league victory of the season.
What did Ellis Simms say to Coventry fans after their 3-1 victory over QPR?
Simms took to Twitter after his two-goal salvo for Coventry, sending a message to the Sky Blues fanbase, particularly the travelling army who arrived on England’s capital to cheer the club on to only their second league victory of the season.
It took some time for the ex-Everton man to find his feet, with some rusty performances in his first few games and then some time on the bench, but this brace might be the start of a successful future for Simms at the CBS Arena.
City spent a lot of money on him and his strike partner Haji Wright, and it was about time for one of them to start repaying the money – they may now be able to strike up a successful partnership going ahead now that they have both struck the back of the net.
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