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Coventry promoted back to Premier League as Frank Lampard ends 25 years of pain

Coventry City have been promoted back to the Premier League after 25 long years after needing just one point on Friday night to secure an automatic spot on Friday evening

[Frank Lampard after Coventry City secured promotion to the Premier League]

Frank Lampard has steered Coventry City to the Premier League(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Coventry City, after 25 years of pain, are once again a Premier League football club after Friday's 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers.

City netted a late equaliser to get the point they needed when Bobby Thomas headed home in front of a packed away end just six minutes from time. The promotion party was in full swing at Ewood Park but the mood was dampened by Ryoya Morishita's goal nine minutes after half-time for the impressive hosts.

Now, the Sky Blues are back in the big time and what a journey it was.

It was 2001, and after 36 years of top flight football, the unthinkable happened and the Sky Blues were relegated from the Premiership. They had staged many great escapes on the final day, but it was a season too far for Gordon Strachan and his side.

At the time, only Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool had been in the top flight for a longer consecutive spell - and little did any Coventry fan know, on that day, it would be 25 years before they would breath the rarified air of the Premier League again.

[Bobby Thomas and Coventry City's players celebrate]

Bobby Thomas scored the goal that secured Coventry City the point they needed(Image: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock)

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It was the beginning of a slow, strung out, downfall. They would spend 11 years in the Championship - and, during that period, only finished in the top half three times.

And by the time they dropped into the third tier, the club was battling financial issues. In 2005, they had moved from Highfield Road to the newly-built Ricoh Arena.

Coventry sold its 50 per cent share in the part council-owned stadium to repay debts, and they ended up on the brink of administration in 2007. However, they were saved an 11th-hour takeover.

[Frank Lampard celebrates after Coventry City's promotion]

Frank Lampard celebrates after Coventry City's promotion to the Premier League(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

Selling their stadium did result in a dispute with the owners of the Ricoh Arena during the 2013/14 - meaning they had to groundshare with Northampton.

Fans at the time said the "clock was ticking" - believing the end of the club was near. And while the stadium dispute was resolved, Coventry tumbled into League Two. However, the Sky Blues found their knight in shining armour in the form of Mark Robins.

Robins led Coventry back into League One before mounting a charge for the Championship. Once again they were cast from the Ricoh Arena, due to Wasps ownership, but mounted a title charge from St Andrews.

[The Coventry City team celebrate their promotion to the Premier League]

Coventry City are back in the top flight(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)

They looked set to return to the Championship, but covid brought the world to a grinding halt. There were moments of uncertainty, but the Sky Blues were were deservedly awarded promotion.

Coventry's stadium problems continued, in 2022 they were forced to postpone their opening match as the Ricoh Arena was being used for Rugby 7s at the Commonwealth Games.

And it would get even more embarrassing when they were served an eviction notice from the new owners of their stadium, before eventually managing to secure an agreement to play there until the end of the season.

[Bobby Thomas celebrates scoring for Coventry City]

Bobby Thomas scored a crucial goal for Coventry City(Image: Ryan Browne/Shutterstock)

Robins, however, had them firing - largely thanks to Viktor Gyokeres, and they came within moments of a Premier League spot after losing out on penalties to Luton Town.

When that penalty was missed, Doug King, a local businessman and Coventry fan, had completed his takeover of the club. Robins was controversially sacked in late 2024, after a downturn in results.

King turned to Frank Lampard, a man with a proven track record in the Championship. There was backlash, but Lampard silenced the doubters when he Coventry from 17th to finish in the play-offs.

And they have gone from strength-to-strength this season. Aside from success on the pitch, Coventry completed the acquisition of the CBS Arena - becoming home owners once again.

"Today is a defining day for Coventry City Football Club," club chairman King said. "For too long the question of stadium ownership has cast uncertainty over our future."

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