There was a thread about Bolton's precarious financial position earlier this year I think, though I'm unable to find it.
In that thread I made the point that the debt isn't really the issue. It's dead money. Money owner Eddie Davies has pumped into the Club over the years and which he'll never get back.
Bolton's key problem is their ongoing losses. Not only do these losses require funding, further increasing the burden on Davies, but Bolton are also likely to breach the Financial Fair Play rules and, as result, may suffer a transfer embargo in January. They are in a complete mess.
What they badly need is some intelligent management, both on and off the pitch, but that would appear to be sadly lacking.
There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst Charlton fans when we were outbid by Bolton for Dorian Dervite's services, but Bolton were the mugs, not us. What they were doing offering him a four-year deal goodness only knows.
If they get relegated, which now looks quite plausible, they'll be stuck paying Dervite Championship wages for three full years while earning Division One revenues. Only if somebody will match those wages will they get off the hook and that's not a gimme. It was a surprising deal for them to offer given their circumstances.
It seems some people simply never learn. When in a hole stop digging they say. I've nothing against Bolton Wanderers, but it's hard to sympathise with Davies and Gartside.
One of the most ridiculous comments in the article is the way they praise Wigan for having only a manageable £21M debt. For a club with, what 10,000 fans or so in the Championship that is only manageable because they have an owner who funds them. With their parachute monies running out soon and some large contracts (Delort?) handed out in the summer their Chairman is going to be writing off some significant sums of money and funding running losses for many years to come without a way out too.
Plus being 'only' Wigan and 'only' Bolton, no-one will care.
One of the most ridiculous comments in the article is the way they praise Wigan for having only a manageable £21M debt. For a club with, what 10,000 fans or so in the Championship that is only manageable because they have an owner who funds them. With their parachute monies running out soon and some large contracts (Delort?) handed out in the summer their Chairman is going to be writing off some significant sums of money and funding running losses for many years to come without a way out too.
Plus being 'only' Wigan and 'only' Bolton, no-one will care.
Having lived in Wigan, the main issue Wigan has is that their fanbase will never be strong enough to sustain it financially at anything above Championship. Along with having a population of less than 100k, there is a strong divide between Warriors (Rugby League) and Latics fans - most people will support one or the other, not both. There are probably just as many Man U, Liverpool and Man City fans as there are Latics fans as well, which doesn't help. Why would anyone who wants to watch good football wait for Wigan to get good again when they could just support one of the 3 other top Premiership teams nearby. With Man City's low season ticket prices as well, it makes sense. Unless Wigan's population doubles in the next few years not even Dave Whelan's famously (not) deep pockets are going to be deep enough for a promotion push.
Bolton has similar problems. Their only advantages over Wigan is that they have a higher population and no rugby team to divide the population like it does in Wigan. If they continue to be as dire as they are though, the goodwill of their fans will eventually expire and it will be unsurprising to see them filling up the Emptyhad instead.
One of the most ridiculous comments in the article is the way they praise Wigan for having only a manageable £21M debt. For a club with, what 10,000 fans or so in the Championship that is only manageable because they have an owner who funds them. With their parachute monies running out soon and some large contracts (Delort?) handed out in the summer their Chairman is going to be writing off some significant sums of money and funding running losses for many years to come without a way out too.
Plus being 'only' Wigan and 'only' Bolton, no-one will care.
Having lived in Wigan, the main issue Wigan has is that their fanbase will never be strong enough to sustain it financially at anything above Championship. Along with having a population of less than 100k, there is a strong divide between Warriors (Rugby League) and Latics fans - most people will support one or the other, not both. There are probably just as many Man U, Liverpool and Man City fans as there are Latics fans as well, which doesn't help. Why would anyone who wants to watch good football wait for Wigan to get good again when they could just support one of the 3 other top Premiership teams nearby. With Man City's low season ticket prices as well, it makes sense. Unless Wigan's population doubles in the next few years not even Dave Whelan's famously (not) deep pockets are going to be deep enough for a promotion push.
Bolton has similar problems. Their only advantages over Wigan is that they have a higher population and no rugby team to divide the population like it does in Wigan. If they continue to be as dire as they are though, the goodwill of their fans will eventually expire and it will be unsurprising to see them filling up the Emptyhad instead.
Both may have to go into administration or find a new owner to turn it round. Wigan definitely not in the short term because Whelan is very committed and they aren't weighed down as much as Bolton. As mentioned above is the population and popularity of football in what I perceive as the real heartland of rugby league. The Prem adventure is over for them for now, and even when they were in the Prem I still think the crowds they got weren't great. As we know, since we've slipped out, attendances have dropped. It is hard to keep those fair weather fans that join you in the Prem.
Bolton is just a mess and the only solution I see for them will be administration, possibly this season. After that who knows. Not sure how Lennon's appointment will play out yet either.
Remember Gartside tried to get the other premier clubs (when they were one) to vote for no relegation from premier league, I wonder if he is still of the same mind?
One of my daughters was at uni in Leicester and Lennon, as a Leicester City player, used to play snooker in a City pub regularly with some of her friends and always insisted on buying a round of drinks for all the students playing and watching.
One of my daughters was at uni in Leicester and Lennon, as a Leicester City player, used to play snooker in a City pub regularly with some of her friends and always insisted on buying a round of drinks for all the students playing and watching.
One of my daughters was at uni in Leicester and Lennon, as a Leicester City player, used to play snooker in a City pub regularly with some of her friends and always insisted on buying a round of drinks for all the students playing and watching.
Kevin Davies has hit out at former Bolton manager Dougie Freedman, claiming his reign was doomed to fail because of the environment he created.
The ex-Wanderers striker has publicly criticised Freedman's handling of affairs at the Macron Stadium after Neil Lennon was confirmed as his successor on Sunday afternoon.
The former Crystal Palace boss parted ways with the club earlier this month following a woeful run of results which had left them rooted in the Sky Bet Championship's bottom three.
Davies, a former Bolton captain, was released by the club when Freedman was in charge in 2013 and has now lifted the lid on what working under the Scot was like.
"I don't want to come across as bitter, but I think he created a bad atmosphere," he told talkSPORT.
"It became a sterile place. What the club stood for when Sam Allardyce was there was the fans, the togetherness. It was a great club, a family club, and it felt like that had been ripped out. It wasn't a great place to be.
"I didn't really enjoy training. There was a line between the staff and the players and the people at the academy. There were factions around the club.
"It needs to be brought together. There is a lot of work to do. Everyone needs to be pulling in the right direction."
Davies follows goalkeeper Jay Lynch and midfielder Gregg Wylde, another two players jettisoned by Freedman, in publicly lamenting their former manager's style.
The current Preston striker, who spent nearly 10 years at Bolton, has backed new boss Lennon to be a hit at the Macron Stadium, though.
"I think it is a good appointment by the club. It is just what they need really," he added.
"I watched them play two or three weeks ago and the fans were really frustrated and the players looked like they were lacking in confidence and direction. As a young manager, he will bring a lot of enthusiasm into the club.
"He has got a big job on his hands, but I think he is capable of getting them out of the trouble they are in right no
The thing about parachute payments is that you have to use them or lose them! As we know only too well churning the squad with the money and offering inflated contracts after you've left the premier league is a mugs game. Burnley with just £5m parachute money last season have shown how to do it. Look at the top ten this season and you have a mix of clubs who are there for different reasons. Watford and ourselves are there because of our European networks which are just as effective as parachute payments. Meanwhile there are a few Northern clubs with parachute money that runs out sooner or later... Blackpool, Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan, Birmingham whereas Boro and ourselves have taken our medicine and are coming back stronger as a result.
not a celtic fan by any stretch but I think he done a worthwhile job up there. It will be pointed out that its currently a one team division but this year they have been shocking without him. What interests me about him is his scouting network at Celtic he assembled a strong side on a shoe string and in the last three or four seasons Celtic have sold 30 million worth of talent to the premiership. If Lennon was responsible for the scouting network perhaps Bolton want him to establish something similar with along term plan to reduce thier debt. In terms of the short term he will give galvanise the team and they will move clear of that relegation zone.
Remember Gartside tried to get the other premier clubs (when they were one) to vote for no relegation from premier league, I wonder if he is still of the same mind?
He'll be doing the same regarding relegation from the championship.
Looking at the situation for both Bolton and Wigan, all I can say is thank f**k we were bought by RD. Given the way things were going under the previous administration, it's administration that we would be facing.
Comments
A final throw of the dice?
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/oct/11/phil-gartside-bolton-wanderers-abyss
Lennon just been announced as manager. That one is a bit of a blow for Scottish football too.
In that thread I made the point that the debt isn't really the issue. It's dead money. Money owner Eddie Davies has pumped into the Club over the years and which he'll never get back.
Bolton's key problem is their ongoing losses. Not only do these losses require funding, further increasing the burden on Davies, but Bolton are also likely to breach the Financial Fair Play rules and, as result, may suffer a transfer embargo in January. They are in a complete mess.
What they badly need is some intelligent management, both on and off the pitch, but that would appear to be sadly lacking.
There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst Charlton fans when we were outbid by Bolton for Dorian Dervite's services, but Bolton were the mugs, not us. What they were doing offering him a four-year deal goodness only knows.
If they get relegated, which now looks quite plausible, they'll be stuck paying Dervite Championship wages for three full years while earning Division One revenues. Only if somebody will match those wages will they get off the hook and that's not a gimme. It was a surprising deal for them to offer given their circumstances.
It seems some people simply never learn. When in a hole stop digging they say. I've nothing against Bolton Wanderers, but it's hard to sympathise with Davies and Gartside.
Plus being 'only' Wigan and 'only' Bolton, no-one will care.
Bolton has similar problems. Their only advantages over Wigan is that they have a higher population and no rugby team to divide the population like it does in Wigan. If they continue to be as dire as they are though, the goodwill of their fans will eventually expire and it will be unsurprising to see them filling up the Emptyhad instead.
Bolton is just a mess and the only solution I see for them will be administration, possibly this season. After that who knows. Not sure how Lennon's appointment will play out yet either.
One of my daughters was at uni in Leicester and Lennon, as a Leicester City player, used to play snooker in a City pub regularly with some of her friends and always insisted on buying a round of drinks for all the students playing and watching.
That doesn't sound like a horrible man to me.
The ex-Wanderers striker has publicly criticised Freedman's handling of affairs at the Macron Stadium after Neil Lennon was confirmed as his successor on Sunday afternoon.
The former Crystal Palace boss parted ways with the club earlier this month following a woeful run of results which had left them rooted in the Sky Bet Championship's bottom three.
Davies, a former Bolton captain, was released by the club when Freedman was in charge in 2013 and has now lifted the lid on what working under the Scot was like.
"I don't want to come across as bitter, but I think he created a bad atmosphere," he told talkSPORT.
"It became a sterile place. What the club stood for when Sam Allardyce was there was the fans, the togetherness. It was a great club, a family club, and it felt like that had been ripped out. It wasn't a great place to be.
"I didn't really enjoy training. There was a line between the staff and the players and the people at the academy. There were factions around the club.
"It needs to be brought together. There is a lot of work to do. Everyone needs to be pulling in the right direction."
Davies follows goalkeeper Jay Lynch and midfielder Gregg Wylde, another two players jettisoned by Freedman, in publicly lamenting their former manager's style.
The current Preston striker, who spent nearly 10 years at Bolton, has backed new boss Lennon to be a hit at the Macron Stadium, though.
"I think it is a good appointment by the club. It is just what they need really," he added.
"I watched them play two or three weeks ago and the fans were really frustrated and the players looked like they were lacking in confidence and direction. As a young manager, he will bring a lot of enthusiasm into the club.
"He has got a big job on his hands, but I think he is capable of getting them out of the trouble they are in right no
Burnley with just £5m parachute money last season have shown how to do it. Look at the top ten this season and you have a mix of clubs who are there for different reasons. Watford and ourselves are there because of our European networks which are just as effective as parachute payments.
Meanwhile there are a few Northern clubs with parachute money that runs out sooner or later...
Blackpool, Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan, Birmingham whereas Boro and ourselves have taken our medicine and are coming back stronger as a result.
Got good players there who have obviously lost their way, if the right motivator can get them going they will get out of the bottom third.