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 on Valentine’s Day last month. He is not one to often miss a game, home or away.
That is 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 mark. After seven outstanding years of service, Boddy was given a lifelong season ticket and declared, “This is my club, there is 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.
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When discussing his tenure with the Sky Blues and his legacy with CoventryLive, Boddy acknowledges that he is not solely responsible for the selection of Robins for a second time. But when the manager was hired right before the unforgettable journey to Wembley for the Checkatrade Trophy, a unique working relationship and bond between the two were rapidly formed.
What then was the key to their chemistry together?
In an open and candid interview, he stated, “I think the fact that we are both straightforward people and wanted the same things.” “We never shied away from tough choices and always had honest, open discussions. I regarded myself as attempting to support Mark in realizing his goals because I knew what he wanted to do. Early on, there was a rift and a damaged relationship between the fans, the club, and the players, thus winning over the supporters was crucial. And in the midst of a really poisonous background, that was one of the things I wanted to accomplish and fix soon, and we did that rather rapidly.
“Leamington and Warwick spearheaded the creation of the fans groups, which soon attracted others. This allowed us to arrange for Mark and the players to do Q&As once a month, which I believe helped mend and restore that relationship. 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.”
19,500 season tickets sold during Boddy’s tenure with the team, which went from League Two to within striking distance of the Premier League, is evidence of the success the team had both on and off the field.
He explained, “That is all because of the ripple effect of mending that relationship along with the success on the field.” “When Doug King joined the team a little more than a year ago, there was a lot of anticipation. That was followed by the play-off final trip to Wembley, which meant that season tickets would be sold once more. Yes, everything of it was and still is about growing the club, and I am extremely pleased of that while still continuing to support Mark in his endeavors with the football.
He went on, “Mark always knew what the boundaries were, in terms of what we could and could not do, and that was one of the beauties for me during all that time.” Even though he was constantly pushing and encouraging us, he would never ask for more from us in terms of players, and that was all a part of the partnership that has since developed into a strong friendship.
In my office, we used to have daily 30- to 40-minute conversations when we would discuss life in general and football in particular. It was just something that worked, and I am proud of it too, as I believe it was essential to the success that was attained.
When asked to name the most trying and trying time or circumstance of his tenure, he replied, “I think the ongoing situation with the stadium was always a problem.” It goes without saying that Wasps held the licence, and they were a challenging lot to work with.That is not so much a criticism of the people involved as it is of the business; I got along very well with several of the CEOs, Stuart Cain and Stephen Vaughan, with whom I sat opposite. Although Wasps are lovely people, they were a challenging group 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. The following season, however, was very different. Due to an unplayable pitch left over from a rugby sevens tournament at the stadium, Robins’ team had to play seven of their eight opening games away from home and had to use Burton Albion’s field to play Bristol City in the EFL. Naturally, they lost 4-1.
Naturally, there has subsequently been a change in ownership; after the Wasps collapsed, Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group acquired the team, acquiring it before Doug King.
When asked if he believed the stadium and the club will ever merge, Boddy said, “I think it is vital for the club to ultimately get to where they want to go.” I am 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.
Distancing Sisu from the football team and forming two distinct camps was a step in the process of repairing relationships with the supporters.
He replied, “We tried to do that because it was so toxic.” The owners’ followers held such a poisonous opinion of them that I doubted we could ever change it. When we were compelled to relocate to Birmingham in 2019, we began the process of turning things around.
Joy Seppala is a very private person, and she never really wanted to interact with the press or the fans since that was her style. However, I thought we pushed her to step out and present the opposing viewpoint after we were ejected from the Arena. And I believed that is when the more sensible supporters started to change their minds. Sisu was obviously never going to be embraced by everyone, but those who wished to follow logic did.
Of course, it was meant to be a temporary solution for Sisu. When the hedge fund first arrived in 2007, it viewed the Premier League as an opportunity to invest in and eventually profit from. When asked if he thought it got harder to leave as it dragged on for a total of 15 years, Boddy replied, “I do not know really.” Regardless of what people may think of Sisu, they paid their debts; we were among the creditors. This is in contrast to Wasps, who departed the city leaving a trail of financial ruin. The loss of the Wasps also had a negative impact on other Coventry businesses. Thus, she maintained the club’s financial stability by paying the bills.
What about the plans for a new stadium, which many fans consider to be a fantastical, pipe dream? Was Sisu genuinely committed to constructing a new ground?
“Yes, without a doubt,” he affirmed. “I think Joy intended to deliver that—to be independent of whoever held the keys to the CBS. Warwick University expressed interest in collaborating with her once they developed a strong relationship. Though I think she intended to provide a long-term solution, it was always going to be that—a project.”
When it comes to on-field affairs, one particular game from his tenure in office sticks out above the rest.
“The 4-1 triumph over Notts County in the 2018 League Two play-off semifinal was my favorite game.”That victory was very exceptional. It gave us the chance to return to League One and transported us to Wembley. For a variety of reasons, that was an incredibly memorable evening. We had 4,000 spectators in the venue, creating a fantastic atmosphere, and the form was taken out of the top drawer. There were some amazing objectives. It was an amazing night, capped off by a bicycle kick scored by Max Biamou.
“And Notts County was so, um, under their chairman at the time… Their belief that they would reach Wembley and that nothing could stand in their path was almost conceited. It was quite memorable and marked the beginning of the club’s journey back in the right way and to where it is today since they had “We are going to Wembley” T-shirts in the tunnel and other things like that.
“Winning the League One Championship was pretty special too,” he continued. We will never know how easily we would have won the league because Covid prevented us from doing so, but I am positive we would have done so. That is another occasion to be proud of.
As Robins’ team has developed and improved each, one of the keys to City’s ascent through the divisions has been their astute and astute hiring practices. So, over the previous seven years, were there any significant transfer misses?
He remarked, “We did not miss many, and that speaks volumes for what the management team and I are all about as a football club.” To be fair to James, we were not at the races financially, but we did lose out on striker James Collins a couple of times, the first time he went to Luton. However, one could contend that it was a brilliant move to sign Marc McNulty for free after we had missed out on him.
“There were not many, but I believe we lost out on James once again when he went to Swansea. And I believe that all of the credit for our success goes to Chris Badlan, the former head of recruitment, and his group, who made it possible for us to get the players into the building. Even though some of our signings did not work out, we made some really good ones and have always lagged behind in terms of budget. Chris performed admirably for the team. We consistently outperform our budget in terms of our final league spot, which is remarkable in and of itself.
When asked if he felt any regrets, he replied, “I do not think I do.” Not much is there that I would do differently, I believe. The largest issues were those related to the Arena. However, I had a great time along the way, and that was always crucial when working under pressure like this.
Has his experience at the club affected him in any way?
He acknowledged, “Yes, and I am still feeling it right now.” “It has worn me out mentally and physically.”
Dave Boddy, a supporter of Worcestershire County Cricket Club, stated, “If the rain ever stops, I will be watching plenty of cricket in the summer.” as well as stepping onto my boat. On the river, I own a cruiser. I intend to sail it up and down the Severn whenever I get the chance. It is moored on the River Avon at Pershore.
However, I still own Coventry City. Since I departed, I have only missed one game—both home and away—and that was Norwich away. I visited Plymouth as well.
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