Bolton Wanderers Unpaid Staff Need Food bank.

[m1st]

On 21/07/2019 at 23:47, Tom said:

As football fans of a similar sized club, with erratic owners this is terrifying.

Its the kind of stuff you always think won’t come to pass but it could be unfolding in front of us.

Whether we like them or not, if they laughed when we got relegated, are in Lancashire or not, there’s a real chance a football club, one that’s spent considerable time in the top division, who families have supported for generations, grandads, dads, sons and daughters, their club could cease to exist.

Imagine if happened to us, football is so ingrained in our lives that it’s part of our daily, weekly and annual schedule, it would be like losing a limb 

One of my old schoolpals from the days when we used to play Blackpool in the old Division One is a Blackpool season ticket-holder who became a part of the NAPM - Not A Penny More - protest against the activities of the Oystons.

I remember discussing with him the impact of his not going to games at Bloomfield Road on his grandchildren who were - probably still are - to go to a game on their own. Fortunately, for him and perhaps especially the grandchildren, the Oystons no longer own Blackpool FC. He can resume watching games at Bloomfield Road and I look forward to discussing Saturday's game over a drink on the Fylde coast that evening.

One of the good things for Blackpool is that they didn't have a 12-point penalty imposed by the League. Bolton and Bury, on the other hand, must start this season as joint-favourites for relegation to League Two and who knows where in the season after that? Worrying times.

[47er]

Have Bolton got a team yet? Honest question. I think they had 7 players when I last saw anything in the media and they haven't played a single pre-season game.

 

[Mattyblue]

Still same 7.

Nicko states that 6 out of the 7 have handed in their notice - guess who hasn’t? 

[Vinjay]

Just now, Mattyblue said:

Still same 7.

Nicko states that 6 out of the 7 have handed in their notice - guess who hasn’t? 

Lowe feeds off misery like a vampire feeds off blood. It's his life source.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Still no sign of a takeover,no season tickets sold and no tickets on sale for their first game at Wycombe.

[DE.]

How long does this drag on before the EFL have no choice but to step in? They surely have to do something before the season starts? 

[Norbert Rassragr]

The EFL are probably waiting for Bolton to go under, so they don't have to deal with the mess of shady new owners with no money doing the same as the current owners. It will be bad PR for a while if they fold, but the EFL will hope a new Bolton team will shoot up non league and then come back in 10+ years time as the AFC Wimbledon/Accrington Stanley feel good story. That would be good PR, and people will forget the negligence on the part of the authorities and the legions of awful owners they allow to own clubs.

A protracted saga will make, and is making football look crooked and incompetent. Bolton dying now will put it to an end, and then the EFL and PFA won't have to loan money or even take over the club until ownership is sorted out.

[Tom]

Seems the FA are protecting Bolton a lot more than Bury who they seem to want to clamp down on.

Amazingly Bolton fans think the FA are harsh on them and shouldn’t dock more points for the fiasco last season 

[JHRover]

I don't understand why there has been such a difference between the Bolton and Bury situations from the Football League. They've said next to nothing about Bolton all summer long, whereas they've released several statements recently about Bury threatening to suspend their fixtures and even kick them out of the league if they don't provide answers by a set deadline. 

I still think Bolton will come out of this ok. The league seem to want to do their bit to look after them so will bend over backwards to accommodate them. They've already said they will rush through a takeover if needed, still no news on further points deductions (i'm guessing they're waiting for the takeover to go through and then wipe the slate clean). 

Even with hardly any players Bolton will still be able to quickly bring in free agents as soon as their takeover is done. They'll be able to attract decent enough League One players when you consider they'll be competing with the likes of Stanley and should be able to outspend them even in their current state.

[DE.]

https://lionofviennasuite.sbnation.com/2019/7/28/8934142/bolton-wanderers-what-have-we-become

An interesting and fairly lengthily write-up here on Bolton's plight.

Edited July 28, 2019 by DE.

[JHRover]

Both Bolton and Bury have until 5pm today to satisfy the League on outstanding 'issues' or their weekend games will be suspended.

Getting to the stage now where expelling both from the League is something that should be looked at. As unpleasant as that might be for the clubs and their staff/fans this farce can't continue. 

Anywhere else and a failure to fulfil fixtures leads to expulsion. 

Going to make the League even more of a laughing stock if clubs are having games suspended until they've sorted themselves out. 

Is this fair on Wycombe or MK Don's? Both will be looking forward to the season starting and probably a good win to start off against clubs in disarray. Why should they have to wait for them to strengthen and face a tougher fixture down the line?

Still, pats on the back all round because Villa and Leeds get lots of fans on and Carabao have signed a big sponsorship deal.

[AllRoverAsia]

16 hours ago, DE. said:

https://lionofviennasuite.sbnation.com/2019/7/28/8934142/bolton-wanderers-what-have-we-become

An interesting and fairly lengthily write-up here on Bolton's plight.

That's a sobering read. It's just wrong that supposed Authorities allow  aid and abet such villains to continue in Football

[Parsonblue]

6 hours ago, JHRover said:

Both Bolton and Bury have until 5pm today to satisfy the League on outstanding 'issues' or their weekend games will be suspended.

Getting to the stage now where expelling both from the League is something that should be looked at. As unpleasant as that might be for the clubs and their staff/fans this farce can't continue. 

Anywhere else and a failure to fulfil fixtures leads to expulsion. 

Going to make the League even more of a laughing stock if clubs are having games suspended until they've sorted themselves out. 

Is this fair on Wycombe or MK Don's? Both will be looking forward to the season starting and probably a good win to start off against clubs in disarray. Why should they have to wait for them to strengthen and face a tougher fixture down the line?

Still, pats on the back all round because Villa and Leeds get lots of fans on and Carabao have signed a big sponsorship deal.

Be careful what you wish for.  If our owners ever decide to pull the plug we will be in the same boat as Bolton and Bury.  The League should do everything in their power to prevent these famous old clubs from going under, particularly as they sanctioned the owners who got them into this mess.

[arbitro]

Just now, Parsonblue said:

Be careful what you wish for.  If our owners ever decide to pull the plug we will be in the same boat as Bolton and Bury.  The League should do everything in their power to prevent these famous old clubs from going under, particularly as they sanctioned the owners who got them into this mess.

According to this article the EFL didn't sanction Dale as the new Bury owner. The EFL (and most leagues) are part of the problem with their flimsy rules and regulations. 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/11/bury-takeover-without-full-football-league-approval-transfer-embargo-efl

[Parsonblue]

Just now, arbitro said:

According to this article the EFL didn't sanction Dale as the new Bury owner. The EFL (and most leagues) are part of the problem with their flimsy rules and regulations. 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/11/bury-takeover-without-full-football-league-approval-transfer-embargo-efl

Personally, I think the EFL have a lot to answer for with regard to what's happening to clubs today.  As you say the rules and regulations are flimsy at best and then seem to be applied as and when the EFL feel like it.  It's always the long-suffering supporters who have to endure the prospect of seeing a beloved club go under because of the incompetence of others.  The old concept of owners being merely custodians of clubs and handing them on from one generation to the next seems long gone.

When I first started watching Rovers most fans would have been hard pressed to name the directors of a club - today the owners are often THE story in newspapers.  Egos, money and football - a deadly combination it would seem. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Parsonblue

[arbitro]

Just now, Parsonblue said:

Personally, I think the EFL have a lot to answer for with regard to what's happening to clubs today.  As you say the rules and regulations are flimsy at best and then seem to be applied as and when the EFL feel like it.  It's always the long-suffering supporters who have to endure the prospect of seeing a beloved club go under because of the incompetence of others.  The old concept of owners being merely custodians of clubs and handing them on from one generation to the next seems long gone.

When I first started watching Rovers most fans would have been hard pressed to name the directors of a club - today the owners are often THE story in newspapers.  Egos, money and football - a deadly combination it would seem. 

Football has attracted crooks and Walter Mitty types for some time now and as you rightly say it's the supporters who suffer in the long term when these shysters disappear. I always chuckle when I see the word investors in any prospective takeover. I can't think of anybody who has legally had some return on any 'investment' in a football club.

I was talking to a senior executive at a Championship club last week and he predicted that Bolton and Bury will be the first of many to go under. It's incredible to think that cornerstones of local communities can disappear and the likes of Pogba can earn £500k each week. 

Something is wildly amiss.

[JHRover]

57 minutes ago, Parsonblue said:

Be careful what you wish for.  If our owners ever decide to pull the plug we will be in the same boat as Bolton and Bury.  The League should do everything in their power to prevent these famous old clubs from going under, particularly as they sanctioned the owners who got them into this mess.

I don't think I said I want Bolton or Bury to be expelled from the league. I would never wish such a fate on anyone. I said it is getting to the stage now where the League are probably going to have to start looking at that as the only way of drawing a line under this sorry saga and moving on.

At what point does an attempt to do the 'right thing' by Bolton or Bury become a problem for the integrity and honesty of the competition? When you've the real prospect of Bolton failing to fulfill their fixture obligations not for the first time this year how many more times can that be allowed to happen?

There are many clubs in non-league who would love the opportunity to have a place in League One who would fulfill their fixtures, pay their bills and not jeopardize the competition.

That is what is ultimately going to happen here - if Saturday is 'suspended' then what happens? If you were a Wycombe fan, missing out on your first game of the season, a home banker and chance to tick off a game against a recent Championship side with 3 points, how would you feel? How about if the game is replayed after Bolton have been taken over and have managed to recruit a dozen half decent free agents and put together a competent side that then beats Wycombe and they miss out on promotion? 

The ramifications go way beyond doing the 'right thing' by Bolton - it affects the integrity of a multi-million pound competition and the hopes/aspirations of football fans across League One and below.

As for us going the same way that depends on a wide range of variables that at this point none of us have any real idea about. Of course they could bankrupt us. Alternatively they could wipe their debt clean and find more suitable fit and proper owners to repair their mistakes. Many clubs have been taken over at this level and only a small number have run into serious financial trouble as a result. Not saying it wouldn't happen, it might, but then there's Wigan, Bournemouth, Birmingham, Barnsley, Leicester, Watford and co. who weren't bankrupted.

 

[Tom]

As expected Bolton’s game will go ahead at weekend but Burys is off, I bet the FA / football league are gutted that Bury got promoted 

[rovgers]

It's ok Bolton's new owners meeting the requirements of the league but have they met the requirements of the player's demands to be paid their unpaid wages in full? 

If not, can they guarantee that the players will be willing to play?

[den]

https://www.efl.com/news/2019/july/efl-statement-bolton-wanderers-and-bury-fc2/

[Parsonblue]

1 hour ago, JHRover said:

 

That is what is ultimately going to happen here - if Saturday is 'suspended' then what happens? If you were a Wycombe fan, missing out on your first game of the season, a home banker and chance to tick off a game against a recent Championship side with 3 points, how would you feel? How about if the game is replayed after Bolton have been taken over and have managed to recruit a dozen half decent free agents and put together a competent side that then beats Wycombe and they miss out on promotion? 

The ramifications go way beyond doing the 'right thing' by Bolton - it affects the integrity of a multi-million pound competition and the hopes/aspirations of football fans across League One and below.

 

Personally, I would much prefer to see the survival of famous old clubs like Bury rather than worry about missing out on my first game of the season.  I remember Stanley going out of the League in 61-62 and look how long it took to get League football back in that town.

[old darwen blue]

6 hours ago, Parsonblue said:

Be careful what you wish for.  If our owners ever decide to pull the plug we will be in the same boat as Bolton and Bury.  The League should do everything in their power to prevent these famous old clubs from going under, particularly as they sanctioned the owners who got them into this mess.

No we won't, there are buyers out there. 

[Paul]

7 hours ago, arbitro said:

 

Something is wildly amiss.

The Premier League, Sky TV, world-wide broadcast rights and the collective failure of club chairmen and directors to control wages and spending. It really is that simple. Football sold its' soul 27 years ago. It's simply got worse with every season that has passed.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Paul

[philipl]

Have to say it is looking horribly ominous for Bury. I would put odds of extinction at well over 50% now.

The absolute lack of interest in the club from a town bigger than Blackburn suggests the Shakers are seriously unloved.

I don't think Bolton are in that much better shape either. There must be some really awful stuff under the surface for nobody local to have come forward seriously.

[Mattyblue]

Bolton’s game at Wycombe is on. The PFA are paying the wages.

Bury’s is off.