Isle of Wight’s own Simon Moore is the heart of a tense promotion battle in the Championship with Coventry City. The 31-year-old was instrumental in ushering Sheffield United out of the doldrums of League One after a five-year tenure in the third tier and was named in the PFA League One Team of the Year.
However, he lost his place in their second season in the Championship 2018/19 season to loanee Dean Henderson when Chris Wilder’s men stormed their way into the Premier League. Moore spent two seasons serving as a back-up to Henderson and then Aaron Ramsdale before finally securing a move away from Bramall Lane to revive his career as a starting keeper.
The three years that he spent as an understudy were undoubtedly frustrating for Moore, but he has proven that he belongs in the second tier at Coventry under Mark Robins, and his performances have played a significant role in keeping the Sky Blues in the hunt for the playoffs. Moore would argue that he was not given a full opportunity at the highest level under Wilder at the Blades, making only two starts in the 2019/20 campaign when Henderson was ineligible against his parent club Manchester United.
He did concede six goals in those two matches against the Red Devils and once Henderson returned to Old Trafford, he was not entrusted with a starting role as Ramsdale arrived to slot in as the Blades’ number one. When given the opportunity, Moore opted to sign with the Sky Blues and has found his feet under Robins, even though their early momentum from the start of the campaign has subsisted. Coventry were a challenger in the top six, but a decline in form has pushed them into mid-table after 31 matches.
The Sky Blues are backed in the betting odds at 14/1 to earn promotion to the Premier League for the first time in over 20 years, but it will be a tight-run affair with at least 10 teams in the race for the playoffs. Using free bet codes with the leading betting sites would be a solid idea when wagering on Coventry to win promotion given the nature of the Championship playoff race. Moore will be more important than ever to the success of his team as the margin for error for all the sides chasing the top six is slim to none. Any mistake could be costly come the end of the campaign.
Moore has kept 10 clean sheets over the course of the season, although five of those came in the first nine games of the term. Coventry need to regain their defensive resilience at the back to make a charge up the table amid the level of competition for place. Results of the nature of their 1-0 win over Barnsley are encouraging as Moore kept the Tykes at bay before Dominic Hyam notched a stoppage-time winner.
It was only the second time since November that the Sky Blues kept a clean sheet. Due to their reliance on Viktor Gyokeres and Matt Godden in the final third, goals are not going to be flowing from all angles. If Coventry are going to make a push, it will be courtesy of their defence and Moore, shutting out their opponents.
There is a lot of pressure on the keeper from the Isle of Wight, and he has a great opportunity to prove a point.
