Source: FOOTYMAD
Joe Elliott speaks in support of changes
Life President explains the changes are for the good of Coventry City Joe Elliott, the newly appointed life president of Coventry City Football Club, has spoken out in support of the recent boardroom changes and the reasons behind the appointment of three new faces. Mr Elliott says that one of the reasons why two of the three new board members is too help to attract substantial investment in the club in a bid to advance the club's ambitions. Last week Joe Elliott stood down as a board member to become Life President of the club and his place on the board was taken by local businessman and City fan John Clarke. Yesterday, in the wake if the resignation as a full board member Gary Hoffman, also a lifelong Coventry City fan, over the sale by the board of young players like Conor Thomas against the wishes of the manager and other board members, two new businessmen were appointed to the board. The appointments of the two men, businessman Ken Dulieu and American entrepreneur Leonard Brody, were met by many City fans and commentators with dismay believing them not to have the best interests of the club at heart as neither were local or had any previous interest in anything to do with Coventry City Football Club. However Joe Elliott has come tot he defence of two latest recruits to the Sky Blues board saying, “I have met them both, very nice guys and very high calibre. I was massively impressed with them. They had done an awful lot of Googling on myself and knew what I had done in the city." "We had great conversations about the city and perhaps the global benefits that they will bring to the club will be well used. As is being proved with the world of football, it is a global business and if we have people of high calibre around the world looking for new contacts and new investments then that can only be a good thing." “Coventry is a great city and Warwickshire a great county, but if you look at a lot of investments in football clubs, it is coming from outside the country and I think that the new board appointments can only be beneficial to our beloved Sky Blues." “SISU have done a tremendous job in funding the club. They are very supportive in any way they can but it would be very nice if we were able to get more investment in the club to help us be more successful.” Mr Elliott also went some way to dismissing the perception among fans that the board is now under represented by local people. Former vice chairman Gary Hoffman is now an associate director of the club. He insisted, “As well as John Clarke we have a tremendous group of Associate Directors who are all Coventry people and who all talk to the owners and chairman about various benefits they can bring to the club, so I don’t see a local problem because there are still a lot around the club." “I am desperately sorry to see Gary Hoffman go. I admire his skills tremendously and we have become very good friends, but he will still be around and is a great supporter of the club, and will still be working in any way he can to help the club." “My message to the supporters is that as sad as we are to see Gary go, he and I are still very much involved around the club.” In the wake of the resignation of Mr Hoffman, it emerged that there had been divisions among board members about the sale of several player over the last two years and the transfer of 17 year old Conor Thomas was the final straw for Mr Hoffman and he resigned in protest. Expressing his own doubts over the loss of Thomas, Mr Elliott said, “At the end of the day business is business. We were all disappointed to see Conor Thomas go. It is not easy at the moment.” As for his own move from director to Life President, Mr Elliott said, “I have been on the board for many, many years and when the opportunity of being life president, which gives me the on-going guarantee that I can still be involved with the club in a massive way, that was very attractive to me." “I have been around a long time. I am 67 years old and I felt that it was time to stand back, have a little change on the board and for me to keep doing what I do." "The owners and Ray Ranson were adamant that I stayed in the board room, went to away matches with them and kept doing my work with Sky Blues in the Community, the Diamond Club, supporters’ consultative group, dealing with charities and talking to various associations about the club, which is something I am very happy to do." “Having cut the grass and washed the dishes over the years it was a very nice progression.”
