How Coventry City players overcome language barriers with sarcastic Tats and Ellis Simms hat-trick

It has been a week of contrasting fortunes for Coventry City, as they rebounded from the disappointment of Friday night’s 3-0 loss to Preston with a memorable FA Cup victory over non-league Maidstone on Monday. The resounding 5-0 win served as a much-needed morale boost ahead of another challenging league encounter, as the Sky Blues prepare to visit the Hawthorns on Friday for a showdown against the in-form Baggies.

Manager Mark Robins and his squad will eagerly await the outcome of the quarter-final draw, scheduled for Wednesday evening on ITV4, following their coverage of the fifth-round clash between Chelsea and Leeds United. With both cup and league competitions providing ample excitement, Coventry City finds themselves in a position where positive results are essential to remain competitive in the race for the play-offs.

As the club navigates through these pivotal moments, Andy Turner’s weekly Sky Blues notebook provides insights into the latest developments both on and off the pitch.

The fans had been clamoring for updates on Tatsuhiro Sakamoto’s injury, and we all knew it was serious when Ellis Simms scored, dashed to the dugout, and took his teammate’s No. 7 shirt to show the crowd. The striker subsequently disclosed that the players, fully aware that Tatsu would be watching the match from home, had planned the gesture during their pre-kick group huddle. It demonstrated the genuine camaraderie, unity, and sense of teamwork that have been the cornerstones of each squad that Mark Robins has built over the previous seven years.

When Sakamoto initially joined the team in the summer, his command of English was fairly limited. However, Robins acknowledged on Monday night that it is getting better and that he can definitely swear in English now. He also disclosed that many of the players have downloaded a Japanese translation app to their phones so that they can text Tats, especially in light of the serious back injury that has ended Sakamoto’s season early.

Most people would concur that Maidstone’s players and supporters did their club proud—not just for how far they advanced in the FA Cup, but also for how they behaved both on and off the field. The non-league team had a fantastic day and will receive approximately £700,000 in prize money, TV revenue, and gate receipts. This is a significant sum of money for the Kent club and well-deserved given that they were the first team outside of the top five divisions to advance to the fifth round since Blyth Spartans in 1978.

Together with amazing memories, the players and their captivating manager George Elokobi relished their night in the public eye, even though the outcome at Coventry wasn’t the happily ever after they had hoped for. Along with their fourth-round victory against Ipswich Town, his players showed tremendous respect for their opponents that evening and lined up afterwards at the door of City’s dressing room to pick up jerseys as mementos of what will have been one of their greatest games of their careers. Additionally, they took selfies with the Sky Blues, with Kasey Palmer being especially well-liked by the Stones’ boys.

Ellis Simms’ outstanding hat-trick was not only the first of his career, but it was also the first time in 25 years that a City player had won an FA Cup matchball. When Premiership Coventry defeated third-tier Macclesfield 7-0 in a third-round fixture at Highfield Road, played in front of just over 14,000 supporters, in 1999, Darren Huckerby became the last Sky Blues player to score a hat-trick in the competition. Gordon Strachan’s team led 3-0 at halftime after to goals from Steve Froggatt, Noel Whelan, and an own goal from Steve Payne. After that, Hucks went on the rampage, adding a seventh goal from George Boateng for good measure.