After each matchday programme, we will be publishing the 'From the Boardroom' article on our website. For Saturday's match against Newport County, Coventry City Chief Executive Dave Boddy wrote the column and his article is published below:
"A warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters of my former club Newport County AFC. I would particularly extend the welcome to their Manager Mike Flynn who led them to the “Great Escape” last season. When he was appointed Manager last season there looked to be no hope of avoiding relegation, but he confounded the odds. ”Flynny” was a player for them during my time at Rodney Parade and a great character to have around your club.
I had a great couple of years with them, being there when they won promotion to the Football League winning the play-offs at Wembley and the first two seasons in the EFL where they had decent finishes of 14th and 9th. I made many friends at the club and in an ironic twist of fate the way the fixtures have fallen I can’t be at the game today due to my daughter’s wedding!
We were all disappointed following the decision by Grimsby’s Safety Advisory Group to force us to stop selling tickets in advance last Friday, and the unavailability of tickets on the day.
I wrote to the Chief Executive at Grimsby to express our extreme disappointment at this decision and the late notice of it. It caused the Football Club and more importantly you, our supporters, severe inconvenience.
My letter was not directed at the club personally, but I asked Grimsby to forward our disappointment and concerns to their Safety Advisory Group, Police and local council, as we believe it is unacceptable to make such arrangements so late in the day.
The decision was made on the back of “police intelligence”, but fortunately there were no problems inside or outside the stadium and it was a great day for the Club. It was a real shame that more of our supporters were unable to attend and witness a very good victory by the team, but I hope there are more good days to come this season.
In more positive news, we were pleased to announce Richard Overson’s sponsorship of the Academy sides from Under 9s to Under 14s. Richard is a lifelong fan and has provided vital support for what is the lifeblood of the club, and we thank him for his support.
In a unique step, Richard has kindly donated his sponsorship to promote local and national charities, with the logos of these charities appearing on the teams this season. There is more about this in the Club News section of today’s programme.
In my last set of programme notes, I mentioned a forthcoming meeting with Ticketmaster. We had an initial conference call last week with senior members of their staff with a view to ironing out the problems which arose over Season Ticket distribution, call centre issues and stadium access. We will be following this up with a face to face meeting in early September to ensure that our supporters receive the ongoing service that they deserve.
Last April when Season Tickets went on sale, the club’s target was 4000 and I’m delighted to tell you that we surpassed that on the day of the opening game against Notts County. On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to thank all supporters who have bought a Season Ticket. This has provided the vital funds which has meant Mark Robins has been able to recruit a dozen new players over the Summer.
Match Packages will remain on sale throughout the season, and will mean that fans can still save money on match tickets when supporting the team this season.
We were delighted with the attendance and your support against Notts County. We all know that Coventry City fans are extremely passionate about their club and are desperate for success, and we hope that you have more reasons to cheer throughout the season."