This summer (transfermarkt figures in Euros) Coventry raised E38m in fees and spent E30m. We raised E15m and spent E12m. Once you take buying and selling costs into consideration we probably both broke even but they were able to spend 2.5 times as much as us and bought accordingly better players.
We brought in 11 players for the first team squad plus J Jones as a 3rd choice keeper. They brought in 11 first team squad players.
We both suffered from losing several key loan players. Both teams loaned in two players in the summer: us a CM and AM, them a CM and CB.
The massive overhaul led to both teams having a slow start. We had 11 points after 10 games, they had 14.
Their improvement since then comes from Calum O'Hare returning from injury and playing out of his skin. Their big money summer signing, Haji Wright, took about 3 months to adjust with 2 in his first 10 games then 9 in his next 20. Likewise, Sakomoto, no goals or assists in his first 15 games, 7 goals and 2 assists in his next 15. Both of these started firing alongside the return of O'Hare.
Despite all that they still went on a run of 6 games without winning
Those results look oddly familiar...
They have had relatively few injuries.
In summary. They were able to buy better players. They have had fewer injuries and it is notable that when their key player came back from a long injury they improved once he was match fit again. They have a manager who has been there, done that. They still had a very rocky start. After 15 games, they were in 20th place with 15 points. We were in 12th place on 21 points, 6 points ahead of them. However their injury problems eased while ours got worse. Now, you get the impression that Mark Robins has fashioned a team that is playing to its potential while we have precisely the opposite.
Putting it all together, they bought better players (by spending 2.5 times as much), appear to have a better manager and a better medical team. You could argue that if you take into consideration the injury crisis and having to integrate lower quality players, Carrick has achieved a points total roughly equivalent to Robins at Coventry. Especially if you then look at Coventry buying players in January while we sold two key players.
That's why, right now, it's impossible to tell how good a job Carrick is actually doing.