the times | Wednesday January 26 2022 63
Sport
Viktor Gyokeres ended a scoreless run
that was in danger of reaching the four-
month mark to rekindle Coventry
City’s hopes of making the play-offs.
The Sweden forward’s 68th-minute
strike sealed a deserved victory for
Mark Robins’s side, who leapfrogged
Stoke City to claim ninth place in the
Sky Bet Championship table.
Gyokeres started the season in sen-
sational form, scoring twice in a 4-1 win
at home to Fulham on October 2 to take
his goal tally to nine from the first 11
games. But there it remained until he
took advantage of some poor play at the
back from Stoke, who drop to 11th.
A game that was postponed in
December because Stoke had only ten
players began with the visitors forcing a
barrage of early corners and firing off
shots that were blocked at source.
Michael O’Neill’s side soon required
the goalkeeper Jack Bonham to get
behind Gyokeres’s low drive, however,
after the forward got the better of James
Chester, the Stoke captain.
Chester then gifted Gyokeres an
even better opportunity. Phil Jagielka,
signed this month, received a heavy
pass that he could not control and the
Coventry striker was quick to seize
possession just inside the Stoke penalty
area. Bonham was again equal to the
low shot that followed.
Bonham further enhanced his repu-
tation by tipping over Gustavo Hamer’s
swirling corner and then denying Gyo-
keres before half-time, this time with a
point-blank parry.
Any hope that Bonham had of a
quieter second period soon evaporated
when Jordan Shipley smashed a shot
that was deflected over before Josh Ec-in difficult circumstances. I’m sure
Grant will be successful in whatever
his next challenge is.”
Ilicali said a new head coach would
“be announced shortly”. The former
Rangers striker Shota Arveladze has
reportedly been lined up for the job.
Hull also confirmed that McCann’s
assistant, Cliff Byrne, had left the club
with immediate effect.Now, 3½ years after the board
fought so hard to keep Martial out of
the clutches of suitors such as Real
Madrid, they have loaned him to
Seville for free. The only financial
compensation that United will receive
from the deal is the removal of the
26-year-old’s wages from their bill
until the end of the season. There is
no option for Seville to make the deal
permanent.
Martial’s form has been patchy
throughout his 6½ years at Old
Trafford. He impressed in his only
year under Louis van Gaal but
regressed under Mourinho, scoring 13
Premier League goals in the
Portuguese’s two full seasons in
charge. In Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first
full campaign, in 2019-20, Martial
scored 23 goals, playing largely as a
centre forward. This season he has
scored only once, against Everton.
The France forward has not been
helped by the constant changes in
management but whenever he has
been challenged by a new signing,
whether that be Zlatan Ibrahimovic,
Romelu Lukaku, Edinson Cavani or
Cristiano Ronaldo, he has never really
seemed up for the fight.
It does not take much for Martial to
go into his shell and become
downbeat. Maybe that is not only his
fault; maybe he needs a coach who is
willing to give him an extended run in
the team. Julen Lopetegui, 55, the
Seville manager, is certainly willing to
do that.
With Seville only four points
behind La Liga leaders Real, Martial
has the chance to win the first league
title of his career, prove his doubters
wrong and kickstart a career that
promised so much but is in danger of
fizzling out.T
o those outside the club,
Manchester United’s
pre-season tours look like
glamorous affairs, but for
staff they are often stressful
experiences, and that was certainly
the case when the squad headed to
the United States in the summer of
2018.
As well as having to organise
flights, commercial events and media
appearances, the cohort of club
officials who travelled with the squad
had to deal with a very grumpy
manager. There were many reasons
why José Mourinho was unhappy.
The club’s reluctance to sign Harry
Maguire was one. Alexis Sánchez’s
failure to obtain a working visa for
the trip also irritated the United boss.
Another explanation for
Mourinho’s dark mood was his tussle
with the United board over the future
of Anthony Martial. Mourinho had
dropped the forward in the second
half of the previous season and was
not impressed by the Frenchman’s
application in training. “His head is in
the clouds,” one associate of the
Portuguese manager had said.
When the tour rolled into San José,
Mourinho let it be known that he
wanted Martial out. His anger had
been exacerbated by the player’s
request to leave the tour early to be at
his wife’s side in Paris when she gave
birth to their son, Swan.
The United board held firm. They
would not sell. If Martial left, they
feared that he could end up becoming
one of Europe’s best players. They
had held that conviction since they
made Martial the most expensive
teenager in the world when they
bought him from Monaco in 2015.
United paid an initial fee of
£38 million but with the potential for
the deal to rise to about £58 million.
One of those add-ons, worth
£8.4 million, would be payable if
Martial were shortlisted for the
Ballon d’Or. “If it does happen, we
would be happy to pay it,” a senior
United official said in 2015. It did not.So, can Seville unlock
Martial talents at last?
Paul Hirst on a player
who has so far failed to
justify Manchester
United’s belief he would
become world-beater
Coventry City (3-4-2-1): S Moore 6 — D Hyam 7,
K McFadzean 7, J Clarke-Salter 6 — J Eccles 6
(J Dacosta 90min), B Sheaf 7, G Hamer 7
(C O’Hare 65, 5), J Bidwell 6 — J Allen 7,
J Shipley 6 (M Waghorn 65, 5) — V Gyokeres 7.
Booked Sheaf, Clarke-Salter.
Stoke City (3-5-2): J Bonham 8 — T Harwood-
Bellis 6, P Jagielka 6, J Chester 5 (N Powell 75) —
T Smith 7, L Baker 6, T Ince 6, S Clucas 6 (J Allen
60, 5), J Tymon 6 — D Wright-Phillips 5
(J Philogene-Bidace 60, 5), J Brown 6. Booked
Jagielka.
Referee J Brooks.Sky Bet Championship
Jon West
Gyokeres ends Coventry lean streak
cles headed wide from the corner.
D’Margio Wright-Phillips, the son of
Shaun Wright-Phillips and grandson of
Ian Wright, had been kept quiet and
was replaced on the hour mark.
It was Coventry who made the break-
through and again Stoke were found
wanting at the back. Taylor Harwood-
Bellis, the defender on loan from Man-
chester City, was guilty of giving away
possession under pressure and Ben
Sheaf wasted no time in setting up
Gyokeres for a shot from 20 yards that
finally had the beating of Bonham.
Stoke swapped Chester, a defender,
for the forward Nick Powell for the final
15 minutes but it was the Coventry
substitute Martyn Waghorn who came
close to emulating Gyokeres’s opener
from a similar distance.
Another substitute, Jaden Philo-
gene-Bidace,who is on loan from Aston
Villa, squandered a late Stoke chance.Coventry City
Gyokeres 68Stoke City
1
0
Gyokeres is congratulated after his first
Coventry goal in almost four monthsDecision on Covid postponements
The Premier League has called a meet-
ing of clubs today to decide whether to
change the rules on postponements
after a series of controversial decisions
to call off matches.
Clubs are split over whether to alter
the rules, with some believing it would
be wrong to do so midway through the
season. Some believe that their rivalshave been gaming the system to have
matches postponed.
The meeting will decide whether to
bring in a minimum figure so that clubs
with high numbers of injury absentees,
suspensions or players on international
duty cannot wangle a delay to a key
match. There have been 22 postpone-
ments in the top flight this season
compared with one in Germany’s Bun-
desliga and none in Spain’s La Liga.Arveladze in line for Hull City job after McCann’s exit
Hull City have confirmed the
departure of Grant McCann, the head
coach, after 2½ years in the role.
McCann’s future had been in doubt
after the Turkish businessman and
TV personality Acun Ilicali completed
his £20 million takeover of the Sky
Bet Championship club last week.
Ilicali said in a statement: “Grant
has done an excellent job for this clubAt Seville, Martial can kickstart a
career that is in danger of fizzling outGeorginio Wijnaldum,
PSG, 31
Joined as a free agent
last summer after five
years at Liverpool and
he has been offered on
loan to Tottenham,
who are in talks about
Tanguy Ndombele, the
midfielder who has
been average, going in
the opposite direction
on loan.Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang, Arsenal,
32
He and Arsenal have
been happy to go their
separate ways since he
was dropped by Mikel
Arteta for disciplinary
issues. Arsenal have
been unable to sign
another striker,
leaving Arteta with a
decision to make.Duje Caleta-Car,
Marseilles, 25
West Ham resurrected
their interest in the
Marseilles and Croatia
centre back after
injuries left them
short of defensive
options, although
David Moyes would
prefer a left-sided
centre back.Eriksen, a free agent,
trains with Ajax; above,
Aubameyang; Vlahovic,
left, is on the cusp of
joining JuventusMartyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter