Source: FOOTYMAD
John Clarke determined to help the club succeed
New vice chairman passionate about Coventry City Newly appointed Coventry City vice chairman John Clarke has spoken about his new job and his passion for the club. Mr Clarke succeeds Gary Hoffman who resigned earlier in the year in the wake of the transfer of Academy player Conor Thomas to Liverpool. At the same time director and former club chairman , Coventry businessman Joe Elliott left the board to become Life President of the club and it was this vacancy that led to Clarke's appointment to the board of directors. Like Mr Elliott, Mr Clarke is a Coventry born businessman with business interests in the city, but his recent appointment is not his first involvement with the club he has supported for most of his life. Mr Clarke was chairman, albeit for a very short period of time of nine days in 1993, of the club, but he insists he is not after the top job. He explained, "I am delighted and indeed honoured to have been appointed vice-chairman and look forward to supporting the chairman Ray Ranson, my fellow directors and the club's senior management in our mission to bring better times back to the club." "I think I must be in the Guinness Book of Records beating even Joe Elliott because I started out as a vice-president just after the Cup Final in 1987, then I went to associate director in 1992 just before I became a board member in late 1992." "I then became chairman for nine days in July 1993 before being sacked by Bryan Richardson with all the nonsense going on and then I came back as associate director four and a half years ago, then board director on February 1st and then vice chairman about a week ago, so that's seven different titles which is quite good going." "It is nearly 25 years and certainly shows my love for the club, but I don't plan to be chairman for one day or ten years. I am happy to support the chairman and the board as the local representative on the board." He went on, "One of the key components of the club's strategy is to ensure that the club has a strong local presence and I will be working closely with our Life President Joe Elliott and our loyal group of local associate directors to ensure that we all play an integral part in the club's future direction at a local level." The question on the lips of most City supporters is the current plight of the club, in particular who will be the next manager and when and how much investment will the club be getting. Addressing these questions Mr Clarke said, "We are all disappointed with where we are with eight games to go but I have been involved with Sisu as an associate director for the last three and a half years and there is a hell of a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes." "We have had the bad run which we are all disappointed about but we do feel the signs have been there and we do feel confident we are going to stay up, but the hard work going on, both on the playing side and commercial and community side is something the fans aren't probably that aware of." "My role as vice chairman will include improving communication, bringing the club closer to the fans and the business community as well as creating partnerships with local sporting and educational organisations." He then spoke about the involvement of Sisu saying, "Sisu saved the club and they continue to invest and they are very committed and supportive, and I am not just saying that. I have seen it over the last three and a half years." "They have kept fairly low key but with the changes that have taken place they are going to get closer to the fans and the community." Clarke then revealed that the club are actively seeking investment in the club. He said, "Being very close to it, I can assure you discussions are going on. The new board members are actively seeking new investors." "I have come from the terraces to the board room and I speak the Sky Blue language and yes the club is actively searching for new investors and doing all we can." "What we have added to the board is some very high calibre experience who have integrated well and I like working with them. They are becoming passionate Sky Blue people." As to who the next manager at Coventry City will be, Mr Clarke said there is no news at the moment. "We have on-going board meetings," he said. "The playing side is obviously a very important part of the agenda but it is a case of watch this space." "There is not going to be a knee-jerk reaction to this. What we have got to do is get the platform right for the future, both on the field and off the field, and that's the way they are doing it. We have got two weeks to get through to the next game and there's no news on it to be honest."
