Former Coventry City CEO Dave Boddy has opened up about his eventful seven years at the club, revealing the highs and lows and transfer that got away
While the visiting supporters at Molineux were celebrating the final whistle, Mark Robins glanced across the stands and noticed Dave Boddy staring at them. Despite leaving the club in January, the former chief executive of Coventry City was at Plymouth on a wet and chilly Wednesday night for Valentine’s Day last month. He is not one to miss a game, home or away.
That’s how important the football team is to the CEO, who is located in Worcester. He created a lasting impression on the Midlands club, where he made his imprint. After seven outstanding years of service, Boddy was given a lifelong season ticket and declared, “This is my club, there’s no doubt about it, and always will be.”
Just before Robins, the 59-year-old joined City in February 2017 as commercial director while the team was being demoted to League Two. After performing a similar function at Newport County, Boddy spoke with the owners and then-chairman Tim Fisher about the owners’ desire to hire a CEO. As a result, he was appointed and took over as chief executive in May of 2017.
Speaking to CoventryLive on his tenure with the Sky Blues and the legacy he leaves behind, Boddy acknowledges that the appointment of Robins for a second time is the one thing for which he cannot claim credit. However, the manager’s appointment shortly before the Checkatrade Trophy trip to Wembley cemented the unique working relationship and bond between the two.
When discussing his time with the Sky Blues and his legacy with CoventryLive, Boddy admits that the one thing he cannot take credit for is the appointment of Robins twice. On the other hand, the manager’s appointment just prior to the Checkatrade Trophy journey to Wembley solidified their special working connection and bond.
“I believe it helped mend and restore that bond when the supporters clubs, lead by Leamington and Warwick, soon formed and others swiftly followed. This allowed us to bring Mark and the players out for Q&As once a month. And I honestly think that the results of it are what we are seeing right now, along with the excitement surrounding the club and the city and the mood at the Arena. Those foundational pieces were essential to restoring the fans’ passion for the team. And for that, I am incredibly happy and proud.”
Around 19,500 season tickets is testament to the success, on and off the field, that Boddy was part of during his time at the club which rose up from League Two to within touching distance of the Premier League.
“That’s all as a result of the knock-on effect of rebuilding that relationship alongside the success on the field,” he said. “Doug (King) came in just over a year ago and there was a lot of excitement around that, followed by the play-off final trip to Wembley which meant the season tickets would go again. So yes, all that, for me, is and was about building the club, and that’s what I am most proud of while supporting Mark all the way in what he was trying to do with the football.”
He added: “One of the beauties for me during all that time was that Mark always knew what the limitations were, in terms of what we could and couldn’t do. While he was always trying to push and drive us on, he would never push us beyond what we were capable of delivering in terms of players, and that was all part of the relationship which has become a very sound friendship as well.
“We used to have daily conversations in my office for 30 or 40 minutes and half of the time we would talk about football and the other half we would talk about life. It was just something that worked, and I’m very proud of that as well because I think that was vital for what was achieved.”
Asked what was the most difficult and testing period or situation he faced during his time, he said: “I think the on-going situation with the stadium was always a problem. Obviously the licence was with Wasps and they were difficult people to deal with. That’s not necessarily the individuals involved, more the entity, because I got on really well with some of the CEOs that I sat opposite in Stephen Vaughan and Stuart Cain, so that’s not a comment about them. They are good people but as an entity, Wasps were difficult to deal with.”
“The pitch situation after the Commonwealth Games and trying to get the club back to Arena from Birmingham was probably the biggest single challenge,” he continued. The pitch problem was simply a terrible circumstance.
Naturally, City began the 2021–2022 season at the CBS Arena after spending the previous two seasons at Birmingham City’s St Andrew’s. They won their first six home games to get the season off to a great start. That was in stark contrast to the next season, when the team of Robins was forced to play seven of their eight opening games away from home due to an unplayable surface caused by a rugby sevens event at the stadium, and they were obliged to hire Burton Albion’s ground to fulfill their
Naturally, there has been a change in ownership since then. Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group acquired the franchise before Doug King, following the Wasps’ collapse.
When asked if he believed the stadium and the club will ever merge, Boddy said, “I think it’s vital for the club to ultimately get to where they want to go.” I’m not sure if they can or not. As a football team, I believe Coventry should serve as an example to the rest of the nation, showing that a club and its stadium go hand in hand since it is extremely challenging to run a business in that scenario.
Rebuilding relationships with the supporters included severing Sisu’s ties to the football team, resulting in two very
“We tried to do that because it was so toxic,” he said. “And the supporters’ opinion of the owners was so toxic that I didn’t think we would ever change that. We started to turn it around at the time we were forced to go to Birmingham in 2019.
“Joy Seppala is a very private person and she never really wanted to engage with the media and the supporters because that was her way, but I felt that we encouraged her to come out and put the other side of the story on the table at the time we were forced out of the Arena. And I thought it was at that point the more reasonable supporters turned around their thinking. Obviously some people were never going to accept Sisu but those who wanted to listen to reason accepted it. “
It was supposed to be a quick fix for Sisu, of course. The hedge fund arrived in 2007 and saw it as an investment opportunity to get to the Premier League as soon as possible and then cash in. Asked if he feels the longer it went on (15 years in total), the harder it became to get out, Boddy said: “I don’t know really. Whatever people think about Sisu, they paid the bills, unlike Wasps who left the city amid a trail of financial disaster, and we were one of those creditors. And lots of businesses in Coventry suffered from the demise of Wasps. So she paid the bills and kept the club in a reasonable financial position.”
But what about plans for a new stadium – a fanciful, pie in the sky idea in many fans’ view. Were Sisu really serious about building a new ground?
“Yes, absolutely,” he insisted. “I believe that was what Joy wanted to deliver, to not be beholden to whoever had the keys to the CBS. She formed a very good relationship with Warwick University and they wanted to be part of it. It was always going to be a long-term project rather than a quick fix, but I believe that’s what she wanted to deliver.”
Turning to on pitch matters, one game stands out above all others during his time in office.
“My favourite game was the 4-1 victory at Notts County in the League Two play-off semi-final in 2018. That win was just something special. It took us to Wembley and the opportunity to get back into League One, and it was just such a special night for all sorts of reasons. We filled the place with 4,000 fans there and it was an amazing atmosphere, and the form was out of the top drawer. There were some fantastic goals. Max Biamou scored a bicycle kick and it was just a great night.
“And Notts County under their chairman at the time were so umm… They were almost arrogant about the fact that they thought they were going to Wembley and nothing was going to get in their way. They had ‘We’re going to Wembley’ T-shirts in the tunnel and all that stuff, so it was pretty special and it was all the start of getting the club back in the right direction and to the point we’re at now.”
He added: “Winning the League One Championship was pretty special as well. I am convinced we would have won the league comfortably but we’ll never know just how comfortably because it was curtailed because of Covid. So that’s another proud moment.”
