Football League World
·23 agosto 2025
How Coventry City struck Leyton Orient gold for £0 - Liam Kelly's key role in Sky Blues EFL rise

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·23 agosto 2025
Liam Kelly helped Coventry City turn from a League Two side to Championship play-off finalists
Coventry City's rise from League Two to the Championship play-off final and FA Cup semi-final under Mark Robins is well-covered. Robins himself was the mastermind behind it, but there was one player who was with him throughout all seven seasons.
That player was Liam Kelly, and whilst his usage levels may have decreased as his time at the CBS Arena went on, and the Sky Blues climbed up the leagues, he was always a reliable leader under Robins.
And for a completely free transfer, he arguably goes down as a Coventry legend.
The then-27-year-old signed an initial two-year deal with the club ahead of the 2017/18 League Two campaign, after leaving Leyton Orient, who had suffered relegation to the National League the year prior.
The Sky Blues themselves were about to embark on their first season in the fourth tier since the 1958/59 campaign, but Kelly and co were ready to make their stay in League Two as short as possible, and they never looked back afterwards.
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Liam Kelly never stuffed the stat-sheet from his defensive midfield position (he only scored three times throughout his Coventry career), but he was an enforcer, a leader on the pitch and someone who could be relied on.
He started in each of the opening 12 games of the 2017/18 League One campaign, as the Sky Blues remained in and around a play-off position, where they ended up finishing once the campaign was over.
One of his three goals was actually scored in his debut campaign, netting in an important April win over Stevenage to remain in the top seven. He captained the side for the first time that year, too, in their fifth round FA Cup defeat against Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion.
So, his influence was shown immediately from the off, and when the season was all said and done, the Sky Blues were victorious in the play-off final against Exeter City and were once again a League One club.
Kelly was rewarded after a solid first season with the captaincy, and he led his Coventry side back to the Championship in as little as two seasons, but that wasn't without its controversy.
The Sky Blues were embroiled in a stadium dispute with Wasps RFC, who played at the CBS Arena at the time, too. Mark Robins' side would start the 2019/20 campaign without a home, having to groundshare with Birmingham City at St Andrew's Stadium, more than 20 miles away.
Instead of finding a way out of the club due to the issues, however, Kelly remained a strong leader throughout it all. He praised the side's following throughout the 34 "away" games in the 2019/20 season, which culminated in promotion to the Championship on a points per game basis, after COVID-19 disrupted the season.
Liam Kelly's only prior experience in the Championship before the 2020/21 campaign was for Bristol City back in the 2012/13 season, but he only managed 19 appearances in his debut campaign there before the Robins suffered relegation.
However, various injuries stopped him from playing more than half a season in the second tier during his four years at the level with Coventry.
He netted two-thirds of his total Sky Blues goals in one match against Wycombe Wanderers in December 2020, but then missed three months with a groin injury. He wouldn't go the rest of the season without picking up another one, either, as he ended the campaign on the shelf following a knee injury.
That would ultimately be the story of his time in the Championship, unfortunately, as the 23 second-tier games played in the 2020/21 season were the only time he managed above 16 outings.
In the 2022/23 season, where Coventry made the play-off final in a losing effort on penalties to Luton Town, Kelly had to wait until April 22nd to make his first league start. His return to the side was welcomed, as he played every minute of their play-off campaign.
After that, his time in the starting eleven was limited, and he would last just one more season at the club, being unused from the bench more times than he played.
Kelly moved on when his contract ended at the culmination of the 2023/24 campaign, having made just 16 league appearances that season, despite being named in 34 matchday squads.
He departed having made 180 appearances across seven seasons, winning promotion twice and being a spot-kick away from reaching the Premier League.
Mark Robins sang his praises, calling him a "club legend" after he left, and those in the stands at the CBS Arena agree.
There'll be various 'what if's?' regarding his fitness in the Championship, and whether Coventry would have been a bigger force in the second tier if he stayed healthy for large parts of the seasons he spent in the second tier.