Michael Bolingbroke backs Simon Sadler to be a success as Blackpool FC’s owner

The 49-year-old was confirmed as the club’s new custodian on Thursday, the lifelong Pool fan acquiring a 96.2 per cent stake in the club.

Bolingbroke, who is being kept on as the club’s executive chairman for the next few months at least, believes Sadler is the perfect fit.

“I think it’s really great news,” he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“Everyone has been really patient, because everyone has wanted to hear the news for some time. But it was worth the wait.

“This is really, really fabulous news for Blackpool Football Club.

“Simon Sadler is the perfect owner for the club, I don’t know how else to put it.

“He is in this for the long term. When you talk to him about how long he wants to run the club for, he talks in terms of decades.

“He’s a local lad, he’s someone who completely understands the link between a football club and the community.

“In talking to him, the community work the club does is as important to him as any other aspect – which is wonderful to hear.

“He understands the full picture of what the club does, way past just first-team work.

“He talks about the training centre, improving the academy, and then there’s all the work he wants to do to link the community with the club.

“He really, really loves his football, too. So he’s the perfect owner and I’m really happy with the process and I’m really happy for every fan.

“I think the fans have been incredible. They’ve been through quite the journey and this is a great, great result at the end of that.

“Credit also to (receiver) Paul Cooper for the work he has done here.

“It was a very thorough process and the end result is what everyone dreamed of really.”

Born and raised in Blackpool, Sadler has been a lifelong fan of the club having watched his first game at Bloomfield Road in 1977 at the age of eight.

He was also present at Wembley on May 22, 2010 to witness the club gain promotion to the Premier League.

Since 2014, he has been the proud owner of Sir Stanley Matthews’ 1953 FA Cup winner’s medal, currently on loan to the National Football Museum in Manchester.

Sadler held senior roles in finance before setting up an asset management business, Segantii Capital Management, in Hong Kong in 2007, where he remains chief investment officer.