[Football] Bolton game postponed...

[Nottseagull]

Should still be 2 out of the league and 4 up from the conference otherwise the League 2 becomes meaningless at the bottom and time for some new blood

These clubs overspent at the expense of other League clubs, so shouldn't they benefit at all?
I take your point about League Two returning to the 'Old Pals Act' re-election era, but that could be remedied by two simple playoffs i.e. 23rd club v National League runners-up and 24th club v. 3rd place in National League. Existing playoff semi finals would be dispensed with (final just being 4th v 5th).

 

[worthingseagull123]

Dont forget, the chairman at the time wanted the Premier League to be a closed shop.

So you are squealing with joy are you at another clubs demise.

Pathetic.

 

[Creaky]

Exactly.

Its a very romantic idea for PL clubs to bail out clubs such as Bury and Bolton, but there's a reason they're up shit creek - they've both been very, very badly run. Bolton have been a complete basket case ever since they dropped out of the PL, and Bury brought in a bunch of players who got them promoted, but who ultimately they couldn't actually afford to pay, and its ruined them.

Sympathy for the fans, its not their fault. But neither is it the fault of the PL clubs. I didn't see much sympathy on here for Pompey or Leeds when it went belly-up at those clubs. Premier League bail-outs would only encourage MORE unscrupulous owners at these clubs, if they know that ultimately their recklessness might just get paid for by somebody else.

Stupid idea I know but . . . If instead of bailing out current owners of clubs, such as Bury and Bolton, which have been run into the ground, they actually purchased them via a supporter’s trust then where would be the encouragement for other owners to behave in the same manner.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

So you are squealing with joy are you at another clubs demise.

Pathetic.

Who is squealing in joy?

 

[Gritt23]

Dont forget, the chairman at the time wanted the Premier League to be a closed shop.

I remember looking into their finances shortly after that, and they were losing money at an alarming rate in the Premier League. I think even then, Gartside knew that relegation would cripple them. When I looked they were something like £120m of negative Net Worth, and that was while trading well in the Prem. I've been surprised that without a Sugar daddy to wipe all that debt away - and Bolton is hardly the glamour club that would attract one - I've been a bit surprised by how long it's taken for them to be facing BIG trouble.

But don't lose sympathy with the club, with the fans, simply because they had a sh*t running the club in the past. That can happen to any of us, and has happened to many of us. It's not like there was a fans vote in favour of pulling up the drawbridge and having the closed shop you speak of.

 

[Gritt23]

Exactly.

Its a very romantic idea for PL clubs to bail out clubs such as Bury and Bolton, but there's a reason they're up shit creek - they've both been very, very badly run. Bolton have been a complete basket case ever since they dropped out of the PL, and Bury brought in a bunch of players who got them promoted, but who ultimately they couldn't actually afford to pay, and its ruined them.

Sympathy for the fans, its not their fault. But neither is it the fault of the PL clubs. I didn't see much sympathy on here for Pompey or Leeds when it went belly-up at those clubs. Premier League bail-outs would only encourage MORE unscrupulous owners at these clubs, if they know that ultimately their recklessness might just get paid for by somebody else.

All of which is true, and I agree with E10.

But it does leave us with something akin to multi-millionaires walking past a starving homeless man, and doing nothing to help. It's not a good look, but as you so eloquently put it, the answer isn't an easy one either.

 

[Invicta]

Shame a group of ex players couldn't buy them. Plenty of them made big money out of Bo,ton over the years. Big Sam could take over as manager again.

 

[DavidRyder]

I really really hope that both Bury and Bolton fans have good news today. I know how I'd feel if my team was taken from me, and I would not want that on any other supporter - yes, even Palace!

Fingers crossed for them both.

 

[Springal]

Surely if Bolton die - the fans can just start a new club ala Wimbledon ? That way fresh start, run the club how they want and go from there?

I know that is a terrible thing to happen but surely it is better than limping along - even if they do get saved?

 

[Barham's tash]

Surely if Bolton die - the fans can just start a new club ala Wimbledon ? That way fresh start, run the club how they want and go from there?

I know that is a terrible thing to happen but surely it is better than limping along - even if they do get saved?

I wonder why this hasn’t happened already a la FC United and AFC Wimbledon. Is it a sign of supporter apathy or simply that they didn’t get as disenchanted as the supporters of the other clubs?

I know there were mooted plans for us to do likewise and I’ve no doubt had we truly been at as much of an impasse as perhaps Bury were that a Phoenix club would have emerged.


What’s interesting is perhaps where both clubs go from here - if their takeovers materialise in time today?

Both need to cut cloth accordingly and try not to expect to capture past glories [in Bolton’s case] too soon.

For those that say it’s an easy thing to say from our lofty perch I’d counter that to say there isn’t a supporter among our number who were there in the bad days who aren’t eternally grateful for what we have now and how we got there.

 

[Spiros]

But where are Bolton's fans in all this? Only 2 seasons ago they averaged more than 15,000, yet there were only just over 5K there on Saturday. I haven't seen any news about drives to save the club / sack the board / show support for the club to survive (though accept that I may have missed it. I've seen/heard much more about Bury.

When our existence was threatened we filled the ground when we could, even at the bottom of League 2. Attendances in the last days of the Goldstone only dropped because the club closed more and more of the ground and I'd be amazed if that's why Bolton's attendances have dropped given how new their ground is

 

[studio150]

But where are Bolton's fans in all this? Only 2 seasons ago they averaged more than 15,000, yet there were only just over 5K there on Saturday. I haven't seen any news about drives to save the club / sack the board / show support for the club to survive (though accept that I may have missed it. I've seen/heard much more about Bury.

When our existence was threatened we filled the ground when we could, even at the bottom of League 2. Attendances in the last days of the Goldstone only dropped because the club closed more and more of the ground and I'd be amazed if that's why Bolton's attendances have dropped given how new their ground is

Think I read over the weekend that for their home game on Saturday, the whole of the top tiers were closed. But that still left lots of room and only 5,000 odd turned up

 

[DavidRyder]

Think I read over the weekend that for their home game on Saturday, the whole of the top tiers were closed. But that still left lots of room and only 5,000 odd turned up

I would have expected a lot more. If you think this is possibly the last game the club will ever play, you'd want to be there. Or just be there to show general support in the fight, and to back the kids out there. But hopefully it wasn't their last game.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I see from the 2016/17 accounts that the £200milion of debt owed to Burnden Leisure - accumulated chiefly in the Prem era to 2012 - was written off, so the club Balance Sheet improved significantly. What's killing them seems to be their inability to avoid making losses, regardless of which division they're in. I see as of May 2019 St. John's Ambulance were owed £7,000 - always a bad sign.

On the face of it they have a lot going for them in terms of brand - one of the founding members of the football league, they've appeared in the top flight in every decade since Queen Victoria, 200,000 population in the town.

 

[Acker79]

Suspension of notice of withdrawal removed. Bolton have 14 days to complete sale or face the same fate as Bury.

https://www.efl.com/news/2019/august/bolton-wanderers-suspension-on-notice-of-withdrawal-lifted/

Despite further exchanges with the Administrators over the course of the Bank Holiday weekend, and right up until today’s deadline of 5pm, a resolution to ongoing impasse in negotiations regarding a completion of sale at Bolton Wanderers has not yet been found.

The EFL Board has therefore taken the decision to lift the suspension on the notice of withdrawal, which was issued as per the EFL’s insolvency policy when the Club entered administration in May 2019.

As per the League’s Articles of Association, this will now give the Club 14 days (11.59pm on 12 September, 2019) to meet all outstanding requirements of the League’s insolvency policy or its membership in the EFL will be withdrawn.

In respect of the situation at Bolton Wanderers, the administrators now have this period of time to successfully conclude a change of control with a preferred purchaser, or provide sufficient evidence that they are in a position to fund the Club for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.

EFL Executive Chair, Debbie Jevans CBE, said: “Despite repeated assurances, we are extremely disappointed that we are still not in a position to reach a successful resolution with the sale of Bolton Wanderers and have therefore taken the decision to lift the suspension on the notice of withdrawal. I again urge all parties to finalise the proposed takeover.

“The reality of this action is that there are now 14 days to secure the Club’s long-term future, and I sincerely hope we can find a way through these challenging circumstances for the benefit of all those who have an association with the Club.”