Blackpool hierarchy discuss club sale rumours, summer recruitment, training ground and East Stand at fans’ meeting

Rumours have circulated online among supporters in recent weeks that Sadler is considering a sale.

However, in a Structured Dialogue meeting with supporters on Tuesday night, this speculation was firmly put to bed.

Also among the range of questions for chief executive Ben Mansford (BM) and director Brett Gerrity (BG) was; the club’s disappointing summer recruitment; the latest on Blackpool’s training ground plans; and the longer-term aim of building a new East Stand, plus much more.

Here’s what was said:

Summer recruitment

BM: Regarding this summer’s transfer window, the club didn’t expect to lose our head coach two weeks before the start of pre-season, and we then have to go through a thorough recruitment process to bring in the best replacement. That person then has to gain an understanding of the group. There were one or two positions where we would have liked to have recruited players permanently, but viable solutions weren’t available so we had to use the loan market. In the summer of 2020, Simon and the club invested in a number of permanent signings when many clubs at that time weren’t doing so due to the impact of COVID, and again last summer the club was competitive in the free transfer market with the likes of Shayne Lavery and Dan Grimshaw. Due to a variety of reasons, the club has had to make use of the loan market this summer and I think if we can’t find a permanent solution then we need to make sure we get the best value we can via use of the loan market. Continuing to build strong relationships with the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal is also vital to this.

BG: There was absolutely nothing more that anyone at this football club could have done in terms of player recruitment over the summer and certain deals didn’t happen due to circumstances beyond the control of Blackpool Football Club.

BM: Our recruitment model is designed to maintain and build upon our Championship status. This is hugely important and our policy worked last season and touch wood it will do this season as well. There’s been a great deal of investment from Simon in the recruitment area to allow our head of football operations, John Stephenson, to build his team with a clear focus on the data side of things. Over the summer, there were two or three high profile names that caused a lot of interest on social media when they eventually didn’t join us for various different reasons, but I think we saw on Saturday against Watford that we now have a group that really does care and that wants to be here for the right reasons. Ultimately, we have a thorough medical process for players when they join and we want them to be able to play on a consistent basis, as this football club demands attitude and commitment.

Plans for January transfer window

BM: We strive to get better in every transfer window. In most of the summer windows over the past three years, I think we have done that. We’ve added quality and evolved. January is always a difficult window to do business, as clubs will inherently overpay for something that might only give you a marginal gain. We will look to go again in the New Year, but we are hopeful of having a number of players returning from injury after the World Cup to push the current group as much as possible.

Update on the new training ground

BM: A lot of work continues to go into the training ground. We’ve had our pre-application meeting with both Blackpool and Wyre Councils. We’ve also ran our public consultation period and we’re now going onto the next stage of the process where we’re ready to make our substantive planning application. Blackpool and Wyre Councils, the four MP’s involved and the local councillors have all been very supportive during this process and a lot of work and expenditure from the club and Simon has got us to this stage. I wouldn’t like to put a time frame on this just yet, but progress continues to be made.

East Stand plans

BM: Regarding the Revoe/East Stand development, there are likely to be two planning applications. The first will be the sports village, which is hopefully now due to have some support from the Football Foundation and involve the Community Trust. This will include one full size artificial grass pitch at the back of the North Stand, so it will sit over a bit of the car park and some of the phase four Foxhill Village site. There will then be two five-a-side pitches with changing facilities and a café. The next part will be the East Stand development. This will more than likely be for the Community Trust and all of their initiatives.

BG: The sports village will serve more of a community purpose, whilst the training ground will be an elite training facility for the first team and academy.

BM: On time frames, we’re looking at weeks for the planning application for the sports village to go in. With the East Stand, the planning application for this will hopefully be ready by the first half of 2023.

Is Simon Sadler looking to sell?

BM: Everyone here tonight has listened to all of the areas the football club and Simon is continuing to invest in – the hospitality lounges, the training ground, the sports village at the back of the North Stand, the staffing, the community initiatives – I think that answers the question. From day one, Simon has talked about himself being the custodian of Blackpool Football Club over a number of decades, and we are all involved in taking this football club to the level that we all want it to be. Simon is not one of those owners who doesn’t come to matches – he attends almost every single match both home and away. We can’t make it any clearer that his interest in Blackpool Football Club is unwavering.

Low ticket allocation for Preston derby

BM: We think it’s right for Preston to have the southern side of the East Stand, which is 14 per cent of the stadium capacity. Last season, Preston gave our supporters half of their Kop Stand which is 10 per cent of the capacity of Deepdale, including segregation, and they have informed us they will do so again for the fixture there in April. Despite this, we’ve stuck with the 14 per cent offering to Preston this season for our home game after discussing this with the Police, and we’re now on sale to our supporters in the northern side of the East Stand, as it’s only right we sell home tickets when the demand is there.

Support for women’s football

BM: As it stands, Blackpool FC Women and Girls is a stand alone, grassroots, committee run organisation that has had support from the football club in the past with kit, for example. That arrangement has been very fluid and we’ve maintained that support. Their committee then came to us and the Community Trust, and we all agreed that we need to work in closer proximity together. The club and Communty Trust have funded for a full-time Women and Girls Football Development Officer who was appointed a few months ago and we’re working towards going on a journey with them.

BG: We want to try and bring the women’s football team under the umbrella of the Trust. Women’s football is growing so quickly, and we want to go on the journey with them to help the women’s team progress as much as we can. Our Tangerine Team Mates initiative is also pairing our first-team players with grassroots clubs across the Fylde Coast, many of which are to girls teams, which is fantastic to see.

BM: A lot of clubs are progressing womens football through their Community Trust as it allows for greater access to funding. The other thing that the club and Community Trust have become successful with is we are now one of 50 centres to be classified as an Emerging Talent Centre for young girls in this area. This will see Blackpool FC Community Trust Emerging Talent Centre play against other football clubs who have been granted that status as well. This will hopefully help the continued progress even further.