Coventry City will have been full of envy after Sheffield United, Hull City moment: View | OneFootball

Callum O'Hare and Gus Hamer combined well for Sheffield United's opener this weekend, which will leave Coventry fans feeling envious.

Coventry City have endured a tough start to the 2024/25 campaign.

The Sky Blues have been knocking on the door of the Premier League over the last couple of seasons, as they have been pushing hard for promotion from the second tier.

Two seasons ago, they came agonisingly close, but fell short in the play-off final via a penalty shootout, so they have since had a chip on their shoulder as they battle for that long-awaited promotion.

Mark Robins has done an exceptional job with Coventry, so the expectation for this season was to be in and among the promotion hopefuls once again, but unfortunately, that does not look like the case early on.

From their first five league games, they have managed just one win, which came at home to newly-promoted Oxford United via a late winner. Aside from that, it has been two draws and two losses in a rather forgettable start to the season.

Panic will not creep in straight away, but already they appear to be below expectations and some distance from the top three in the table.

The Sky Blues are not scoring as many goals as they would like to be scoring, which could come down to a lack of creativity. Two players that they wish they could still see play for Coventry are Callum O'Hare and Gustavo Hamer. The pair now play at Bramall Lane for Sheffield United, and enjoyed a positive weekend, unlike their former club, Coventry.

O'Hare and Hamer combine to overcome Hull City

It has been a solid, unbeaten start for Sheffield United so far this season, and they returned after the international break on good form.

The Blades travelled to Hull City, who are yet to win a league game this season, and picked up a comfortable 2-0 victory. Sheffield United's first goal came after just 15 minutes, and the two players involved in the goal will be very familiar to Coventry City.

Callum O'Hare, who signed for Sheffield United this summer after departing Coventry, won possession of the ball inside his own half and led a threatening counter-attack.

He eventually played in Gus Hamer on his right-hand side, who took two touches forward before firing into the far bottom corner to give the Blades the lead.

O'Hare and Hamer were substituted in the second half before Sheffield United scored a second to wrap up the victory. It was a successful evening all round for the Blades, but Coventry City would have been looking on at that opening goal in envy.

Coventry City would love to still have O'Hare and Hamer on the books

Gus Hamer departed the club last summer to play in the Premier League with Sheffield United, and O'Hare followed in his footsteps a year later by arriving at Bramall Lane this summer.

The pair have been regulars for Chris Wilder so far, and will play a big part Sheffield United's attempt to earn promotion from the Championship this season.

Coventry City once had the pleasure of seeing both men play for their club, with O'Hare arriving in 2019, and Hamer a year later. The latter contributed to 43 goals in all competitions in just over 130 games, so when he departed last summer, O'Hare really had to step up as they both played in similar positions.

The attacking midfielder did exactly that, by grabbing 10 goals and four assists in all competitions, and helping the club reach the FA Cup semi-finals, where they met Manchester United at Wembley.

O'Hare and Hamer were fan favourites at Coventry, but have since moved on and made an impression at Bramall Lane. If the first five games are anything to go by, the Sky Blues have really struggled to replace the pair.

New signing, Jack Rudoni has seemingly taken that central midfield role this season, but he is yet to really have an impact in an attacking sense. He earned his first goal contribution this weekend, as he assisted Coventry's opener against Watford, but aside from that, it still seems as though the departures of Hamer and O'Hare are having an impact on the club.

Looking at Sheffield United and the way the two players have started the season, Coventry will be feeling incredibly envious.