Coventry City news from CoventryLive as new permanent Sky Blues signing Luis Binks talks in depth about his first season and ambitions for 2024/25
Luis Binks, a defender for Coventry City who is back, has boldly said that finishing in the top two automatically qualifies for promotion. He says it is “not out of our reach.”
This summer, Mark Robins upgraded the 22-year-old center-back’s season-long loan from Italian side Bologna to a permanent transfer. The player signed a four-year contract for an undisclosed cost of €2 million (£1.7 million).
Binks spoke with Maidstone United’s Soloman Wanjau-Smith and Sam Bone in a lengthy interview with the well-liked podcast 2 Brits 1 Yank. They talked about a variety of topics, including the “goose bumps” he receives from the Sky Blue Army, the “madness” of City’s two FA Cup comebacks, getting destroyed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and a difficult night against Dries Mertens.
In reference to the moment he discovered that City was interested in him a year and a half ago, he remarked: “I knew Coventry was a big club, but I didn’t realize how big until I got there.” At the age I was, all I knew about them was that they were in administration and used other grounds, but my dad told me they were a huge club. However, the club is now at a new location with a new owner, and I immediately answered, “Yes, that’s where I want to go,” upon learning that they had taken over for me.
He added, looking back on his first full year at the CBS Arena, “It was a good season.” The Champion (ionship) is obviously very persistent. When you watch it as a child, you think it’s such a hard league, but once you’re in, you’re like, f***! It’s a fantastic league; you play three games a week, with various teams, styles of play, and travel throughout the nation. Among the top six leagues worldwide, in my opinion.
He went on, “I think the league benefits far more from not having VAR because it is much more free-flowing. There are several types of teams; last year, you witnessed this with the likes of Southampton, who are superb footballers, and Ipswich, who are undoubtedly a fantastic team but play a different style. And then, Preston, you glance at Millwall. Anyone can beat anybody in that league because it has everything.
“It’s insane how Sheffield Wednesday managed to maintain their lead after 15 games or so with only seven points, which is what’s so amazing.”
Regarding the atmosphere at CBS and the song that the fans sing before kickoff, “Well Live and Die in these Towns,” which has now become the club’s pre-kickoff anthem, he said: ” It sounds rather loud! Every game you watch, you get goosebumps on the field even though you know what’s coming. Some fans (at other clubs) are loud and enthusiastic for the first 20 minutes of the game, but after that, they become silent. They are singing win, lose, or draw for ninety minutes.
Sometimes supporters don’t show up for FA Cup matches, but on a Wednesday night, Coventry was playing Maidstone, a team a few leagues below, on television. You would assume that some fans wouldn’t go, but good for them—I believe there were still 26,000 in attendance.
You want to go someplace with a large stadium, so that’s what excites me as well. To be fair to Coventry, all of the away games last year were sold out in a matter of minutes. There are many clubs where the crowds are empty or the fans fail to create a buzz.
Thinking back on City’s amazing run in the tournament, Binks began with Molineux’s “madness.”
“We were ahead 1-0, but in the 88th minute, they equalized and scored a goal to make it 2-1, and we were just thinking, okay, this is over. We thought we were heading to extra time when, in the 92nd minute, we tied the score at two goals.
They had a chance, and their manager was yelling at them to run the clock down to obtain extra time so they could rebuild, or do something else entirely. Then we went to the other end and Haji Wright scored a fantastic finish after Ellis Simms had made a nice touch with what seemed to be a hopeless pass. And it didn’t fully register. Everyone was sprinting around the field, having a great time, and considering playing in the semifinal at Wembley.
He answered, “I think I wanted United,” when asked who he wanted to see next. Because of their size as a club, Man City is a different beast, and even though I think we could have given them a game, I still wanted United. It’s fantastic to play at Wembley on its own, but it’s even more thrilling to play Man United, the largest club in the world.
“Everything went so quick,” he continued. You eagerly await it, and suddenly it’s over. The day prior, we drove down and witnessed all of the Coventry supporters speeding along the highway. Wembley Way was a little lively, with people drinking and wearing shirts. The day of the game finally arrived, and there were spectators everywhere. When we approached the hotel’s rooftop, all of the patrons noticed us and began to sing. It was absurd.
Regarding the actual game, in which Binks came on as a substitute, he stated: “We were behind 3-0 when the manager called me over and told me to go have fun, it’s over. I walked out there, and we won 3-1, which felt comforting. The score was 3-2 at that point, and some of their players’ legs were beginning to give out. Rashford was attempting moves and failing to recover, so I thought, “We’ve got ’em.”
“And then all of a sudden there was a ball to the back post, I have slid in and it has hit Wan-Bissaka’s arm. It’s harsh but I have run around screaming hand ball and the ref gave it. I’m claiming the assist at Wembley for winning the pen!
“So it’s three all and then we go into extra-time and I just remember running round going, ‘they’re gone.’ Someone tackled Bruno Fernandes and he stayed down for ages. We brought on another winger and he kept beating Wan-Bissaka every time, McTominay couldn’t run, albeit to be fair he’d been injured leading up to the game, and then Antony came on and didn’t do a lot and I thought that we had got them.”
Describing Victor Torp’s disallowed goal due to a VAR off-side decision against Wright in the build-up, Binks said: “We scored the fourth, which I am still saying is a goal. I ran off, running behind the goal and smashing the balls on the cones into the crowd in celebration and then Bobby Thomas came to me and said it’s going to VAR. And I’d forgot about it because obviously we don’t usually play with it so it’s not natural for me to think about it.
“I thought, ‘oh no, there obviously must be something,’ and then they didn’t give it. Honestly, the off-side was less than an inch. It took about seven minutes and yet if you look at the Euros or the Champions League, it’s about 20 seconds.”
Talking about his and his teammates’ feelings after the game, he added: “Everyone was gutted, obviously. Some boys had missed penalties but there was that feeling that what more could we do, having come that close. The fourth goal, he could have given it and no-one would have moaned. It was literally millimetres but we were proud, obviously coming back and beating Wolves before taking Man Utd to penalties.”
Binks revealed he’d put himself forward for a penalty, saying: “They asked who wants a pen, so I said, ‘I’ll have one,’ and the manager came over with a piece of paper and I was sixth. I wasn’t going to argue and say I wanted to go fourth and disrupt it. I’d have gone down the middle. The keeper’s got to be brave to stand still in front of 80,000.”
As for the immediate scenes after the final kick was taken and City had lost, he said: “I think some of the United players afterwards were embarrassed. Steve McClaren was on the pitch afterwards and saying to them, ‘get in, get in now’ and their fans had just cleared off. We were in the tunnel after and there was lots of press and the United players were disappointed.”
Asked about Antony’s unsporting gesture towards Coventry, he said: “I didn’t see it at the time because I was the furthest from them and as soon as we missed, I think Maguire was the first one and he’s turned straight to us and come and shook our hands, so it was only the boys who weren’t shaking hands who noticed it.
“And it wasn’t until I got on the coach and saw it on my phone and I was wondering when he had done it. To be fair, Maguire, Dalot, Casemiro all just came straight over and shook hands.
“I got Maguire and Dalot’s shirts. I was hovering around. I was in the tunnel and the player liaison woman for United asked if I was getting any of their shirts and I said, yes, Dalot, and she went in and got it and then Maguire was there and I asked if I could have his shirt and he said yes. They had so many shirts and the lads were asking for Fernandes and Hojlund and the woman was just bringing them out.”
Turning to the season ahead, the young centre-half was asked about the aims for 2024/25.
“For the club and me, we want to go up,” he said confidently. “We were in and around it this year but I think the cup run probably killed us because everyone was so invested in that. It was a massive high and then the next three or four games after that we lost, which I think is a bit natural, coming after that and trying to switch back to league mode.
“But this year we want to go up. Me, personally, I want to play as many games as I can and help the club get up because I honestly think we can. It’s not out of our reach to make the top two, but minimum make the top six.
“There’s talent in that squad. When I first went there I thought there might be some bad eggs in the changing room because there always is at clubs. But honestly, there’s not one. When we go for lunch there are no cliques, everyone sits together. On the bus to games it’s not like them three, those five and that’s obviously what the manager has implemented at the club, so it’s a really good environment.”
Lastly, when asked which player during his time in Italy’s Serie A he has played against the best, he replied, “Probably Dries Mertens at Napoli on that particular day, but probably Ibrahimovic name-wise.” It was a difficult night since he played like a nine, but he’s so little that he kept falling and made me go everywhere.
But Ibrahimovic was really strong, and he was standing just off my shoulder. When the ball was played, I would turn, and he would hit me in the side of the face and in the back. It’s clear that he was aware of my youth and believed he could take advantage of me. Every time it flipped, I could sense him approaching, and when I turned, I simply felt a large shoulder brush against my cheek. However, what a player!”
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