Walsall owner Jeff Bonser willing to sell club but not actively seeking buyer

Speaking at tonight's fan focus meeting, Gamble and fellow director Dan Mole were quizzed about a host of issues affecting the club.

High on the agenda was the issue of ownership with fans growing increasingly frustrated with how Bonser is running the club.

Bonser owns Walsall Football Club and the Banks’s Stadium as separate entities.

While the chairman owns the club himself, the freehold titles of the stadium are held by Suffolk Life - a pension firm of which Jeff, his wife, his brother and his brother’s wife are beneficiaries.

Walsall Football Club then pay rent to the pension firm to play at the Banks’s Stadium each year.

But while a host of fans would now like to see Bonser sell up, Gamble said he isn’t actively looking to leave.

The chief executive also revealed no bids for the club have been made in recent years, although offers have been made for the freehold of the stadium.

“We are not actively looking to sell the club,” Gamble said.

“Jeff is a willing seller but he is not a desperate seller. He will hold talks with anyone who is serious about investing.

“I'm not aware of any bids to buy the football club in the 17 years I have been here.

“The stadium went to market five or six years ago. Bids were made but fell well short of the valuation.”

While confirming there have been no bids for the club, Gamble also confirmed Bonser has not sat down with the board to discuss his exit strategy.

“Jeff has not sat down with the board to discuss his exit strategy,” the chief executive continued.

“He remains committed to the club.”

Fans were also keen to quiz Walsall’s directors about maintenance work at the Banks’s Stadium.

On Boxing Day a number of complaints were made due to the toilets leaking. The Bescot Bar is also in need of refurbishment.

And Mole admitted facilities for supporters have not been good enough.

“What happened on Boxing Day was unacceptable,” he said.

“It was really poor. I can’t stand here and say we didn't make a lot of mistakes on Boxing Day.

“We had problems with the toilets and I apologise. There are areas of the stadium that need work.

“The Bescot Bar is very poor and needs major refurbishment. We need to sort it out and we will sort it out.”

Walsall’s directors were also asked if the club can hold on to top scorer Andy Cook who has been a revelation since joining from Tranmere in the summer.

Cook signed a two-year-deal in May last year and Gamble confirmed they will sit down with the player to have talks about extending his contract soon.

“We will hold on to Andy Cook for as long as we can,” Gamble added.

“He has got 18-months on his contract. And we will be holding contract talks with him very shortly.”