Coventry Sphinx Football Club are delighted and proud to announce that ex Coventry City FC legend Dave Bennett has become our Club President.
Club Chairman, Dannie Cahill said to the Sphinx website: "Benno kindly agreed to present some trophies to all our junior players a couple of weeks ago, in fact there were over 240 in total. He was clearly overwhelmed by the number of attendees on the night and really enjoyed the evening, everybody was thrilled to see him”
“During the evening I took the opportunity to speak to him about the ambitions and objectives of the whole football club. We have been looking for a President for some time and it was vital we got the right person. Having spoken to him at great length Dave fitted the bill perfectly so I asked the question and he decided to join us”
The news comes at a time when we are putting plans together to celebrating our 70th anniversary next year and to have Benno with us is a real bonus and I'm confident he will assist us in moving this great club forward.
Dave Bennett commented upon his appointment, "I was surprised and delighted to be asked to become President of Coventry Sphinx Football Club. Hopefully we can work together and bring some great times to the club. I’m just pleased to be helping and giving something back to the community”
Bennett was born in Manchester and began his playing career with Manchester City, making his first senior appearance for them in the 1978–79 season and becoming a first team regular the following season. He was on the losing side to Tottenham Hotspur as City lost the 1981 FA Cup Final replay 3–2 after drawing 1–1 in the original game, and had scored seven times in the First Division that season.
In September 1981, he was surprisingly sold to Third Division side Cardiff City, and in his second season helping them win promotion to the Second Division. In two seasons at Ninian Park, he played 77 league games and scored 18 goals.
In July 1983, he returned to the First Division in a move to Coventry City. Five strong seasons followed, capped by an FA Cup winner's medal in 1987 when he scored in a man of the match performance for the Sky Blues as they achieved a shock 3–2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. He also supplied the cross for Keith Houchen's classic headed goal.
However, he lost his place in the first team for the 1988–89 season, during which he played just seven times before transferring to their First Division rivals Sheffield Wednesday in March 1989. He had played a total of 172 league games for the Sky Blues, scoring 25 goals.
David Bennett is one of 30 former Coventry City players included in the Hall of Fame at the club's home, the Ricoh Arena, to which they relocated from Highfield Road in 2005.
He spent 18 months at Sheffield Wednesday, enduring their relegation to the Second Division at the end of the 1989–90 season, before joining Swindon Town in September 1990. He was brought to the County Ground by manager Ossie Ardiles, who had ironically been his Tottenham nemesis in the FA Cup final only three years earlier.
However, injury misery immediately followed, with Bennett breaking his leg in only his second match for the club. After spending a year recovering, Bennett was loaned out to Shrewsbury Town to regain full match-fitness. Astonishingly, he broke the same leg, again in his second appearance for the club, effectively ending his professional career.
Dave Bennett now works as a pundit and co-commentator for Free Radio 80s Coventry and Warwickshire, covering Sky Blues matches.