After each matchday programme, we will be publishing the 'From the Boardroom' article on our website. For Saturday's game against Barnsley, Coventry City Chief Executive Dave Boddy wrote the column and his article is published below:
"Good afternoon and welcome to today’s game against Barnsley here at the Ricoh Arena this afternoon.
As well as all of the Sky Blues fans here today, I would like to welcome everyone who joins us for this game from Barnsley.
This is my first set of programme notes I have penned since the conclusion of the August transfer window, when loan transfers stopped as well as the permanent deals which ended earlier in the month.
As you will know, we have signed Conor Chaplin on loan from Portsmouth, with an agreement to sign him permanently in January when the window opens again. Conor is a key signing for the club, with a significant fee agreed with Portsmouth.
He was our number one target throughout the summer and while the transfer took longer than we would have liked, it was important we waited for the right deal to be done for the right player as we have here, especially with the considerable outlay on our part.
This brings to a conclusion a busy transfer window for the club. With the play-off period, our transfer window time was reduced somewhat but I’m sure all fans will agree that we have been very active and positive. We believe that we have had an excellent window.
There has been considerable outlay in terms of transfer fees for the first time in many years, with the transfers of Conor and Amadou Bakayoko among others, as well as a significant commitment in terms of wages across the squad.
The Under 23s squad has also seen a number of transfers in. We have recruited players who we see as having the potential to progress over time, including players we have picked up from non-league and Academy set-ups, such as David Bremang who we announced the signing of this week.
While we know fans want success in the short-term, it is important that the club at the same time is looking at the future and the development of the squad in the coming years to compliment the excellent work the Academy does, and the conveyor belt of players that it is producing.
While of course Marc McNulty went out the other way, we made sure that money and other transfer money received was invested into our recruitment and the day-to-day running of the club.
There are many things that fans do not see which require the club’s money – not just the playing side.
As a simple example, but one which makes a difference to the running of the club, we have this week had a new, industrial washing machine installed. While this may seem quite basic, the club has not had a new one for almost 20 years.
At the same time, the players gym at Ryton is being completely re-fitted with “state of the art” equipment which can only help the squad with their development and strength and conditioning. These are important steps that fans will not see, but all of which contribute to the successful running of a football club.
Therefore it is important that we generate as much revenue as possible to support the running of the club. We are looking to increase our non-matchday events programme, with the first date for your diary of this season being Friday 19th October when we host An Evening with Phil Tufnell, the former England cricketer, at the Ricoh Arena. It promises to be a great night, and there are full details on our website.
Speaking of revenue, I know many fans have been disappointed at the lack of home shirts in the Club Shop - as have I. To give an update, Nike have confirmed that shirts will be in stock this month. We will be publishing specific dates shortly when fans will be able to go into the shop and buy, but the priority rightly is to fulfil the shirts that have been pre-ordered (there have been a huge number of pre-orders). Fans who pre-ordered will receive a free gift and have recently also been sent a free CCFC training kit from Nike, and I would like to thank those fans especially for their patience on this matter.
Enjoy the game, PUSB."
Dave Boddy
Chief Executive
Coventry City Football Club