Walsall comment: A curveball from leftfield as Trivela Group seize control

This sudden takeover of Walsall certainly came as a curveball as well.

This morning, at precisely 10.30am, the Saddlers posted on Twitter with the brief yet clear message ‘Walsall Football Club announces new ownership’.

American firm Trivela Group, just like that, have taken a controlling stake in the club.

Trivela have purchased 51 per cent of Leigh Pomlett’s shares and will acquire the remaining 25 per cent within the next two years while also providing the funds to reunite Walsall with the Bescot Stadium freehold.

They plan to have a global football ownership model, and the Saddlers are their first investment in that quest.

For an end-of-season Monday morning, it was quite a lot to process.

Feelings of nervousness but more prominently of excitement were expressed by supporters who have longed for brighter times.

This was a move – barring those explicitly involved in the process – that nobody saw coming. And why would they?

A US sports investment firm and Walsall is not an immediate link to make, yet here we are with the takeover completed.

The Saddlers are entering a new era and, hopefully, a successful period.

As tends to be the case with such legally-involved matters, there had not been any whispers of this major development.

Pomlett – who will stay on for the next four years to help with the transition – sat down with the Express & Star as recently as last month and while stressing Walsall were ‘closer than ever’ to securing the freehold, it did not seem something so significant was afoot.

With benefit of hindsight, however, the clues were probably there.

Pomlett, during that conversation, revealed how he had ‘spent more hours with lawyers and finance people in the last six to seven months than I have done in my whole life’.

Away from that interview, the departures of both technical director Jamie Fullarton and long-serving director Nigel Bond perhaps have greater context now.

The appointment of Michael Flynn as head coach – seen by many as an impressive coup – appears to make a bit more sense given Walsall, traditionally, have operated on a modest budget and over the last several years, in particular, been in a state of decline.

At this early stage, it is impossible to predict what sort of impact Trivela will have on Walsall.

There is certainly business acumen among the five men behind the group – Benjamin Boycott, Kenneth Polk, Wesley Hill and William Boycott all from that field.

Matt Jordan, meanwhile, brings much-welcome football expertise from both an extensive playing career and established senior roles with both Montreal Impact and Houston Dynamo.

His background, especially, has sparked intrigue while some fans, understandably, are a little cautious given Trivela were only formed last year and again, this is their first venture into the footballing world.

There are more questions than answers currently.

A press conference at Bescot tomorrow afternoon should provide a clearer picture of Trivela’s intentions, what level of funding they will provide and why exactly they have picked Walsall as the place to start their adventure.

Outgoing owner Pomlett has always been adamant about reuniting the club with the freehold and getting the club back into League One.

And while not the main man now, fingers crossed, those objectives are achieved with the help of Trivela.

What we do know for sure is that this is a massive milestone in the Saddlers’ history.

This could be the start of something very special for a loyal set of supporters who deserve something to smile about.

Pomlett has also always been adamant that he would only sell the club to the right people.

Trivela could well take Walsall to the next level, or even a new level.

It is definitely a compelling time to be a Saddlers fan.