Bolton
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Re: Bolton
There must be some brown envelopes being passed around...
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Re: Bolton
If Bolton pull it off and survive I think they will become my second team ahead of MK Dons
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Re: Bolton
Doesn’t this just set wrong president though. How can they pass the EFL ‘Fit and Proper’ test when borrowing money before they have taken over. How can they prove funding for 2 years. I thought they had to pay all a football creditors in full.ClaretTony wrote:This looks a farce to me, borrowing money before taking over. I knew the league were inept but this is ridiculous.
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Re: Bolton
Wonder if the precedent was set by the Glazers borrowing money using the club as collateral to buy the club?1HappyClaret wrote:Doesn’t this just set wrong president though. How can they pass the EFL ‘Fit and Proper’ test when borrowing money before they have taken over. How can they prove funding for 2 years. I thought they had to pay all a football creditors in full.
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Re: Bolton
Indeed it does but the league are in a no win situation. If it was us we wouldnt want the league to fold us.
If it was Bolton pies or painters n decorators it would have closed a couple of years ago.
The league arent happy but not sure what else they can do other than bend over or close both clubs.
If it was Bolton pies or painters n decorators it would have closed a couple of years ago.
The league arent happy but not sure what else they can do other than bend over or close both clubs.
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Re: Bolton
The league could do a lot more to deal with clubs that are financially ruined.steve1264b wrote:Indeed it does but the league are in a no win situation. If it was us we wouldnt want the league to fold us.
If it was Bolton pies or painters n decorators it would have closed a couple of years ago.
The league arent happy but not sure what else they can do other than bend over or close both clubs.
They could force Bolton to do things like lower their wage bill, literally control their incoming transfers and contracts etc.
They just decided to be all limp wristed about it instead, same as they were when Birmingham stuck two fingers up at them and didn't sell Che Adams back in January.
They can't enforce their rules properly.
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Re: Bolton
I agree but Birmingham got more money for Adams in the summer and we would be outraged if the league told us we had to do something.
Either the league has ultimate power and it doesnt because the clubs are the members or it does everything it can to keep clubs going.
Either the league has ultimate power and it doesnt because the clubs are the members or it does everything it can to keep clubs going.
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Re: Bolton
How FV managed to produce "proof of funds" prior to the EFL ratifying any deal is baffling me. Did they just put Wonga down as a referee?
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Re: Bolton
Bit of a let down.
I was getting the horn earlier at the thought of the whole shower of crap getting the bum's rush.
Now all I'll have is a weekly snigger at their results over the season.
I was getting the horn earlier at the thought of the whole shower of crap getting the bum's rush.
Now all I'll have is a weekly snigger at their results over the season.
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Re: Bolton
Why should the league bail clubs out,keep your own house in order first and foremost,and this situation wouldn't have arisen,for too long clubs have spent beyond their means,and relied on the generosity of owners to bankroll their losses,if you can't pay your bills you go to the wall just like any other business.steve1264b wrote:I agree but Birmingham got more money for Adams in the summer and we would be outraged if the league told us we had to do something.
Either the league has ultimate power and it doesnt because the clubs are the members or it does everything it can to keep clubs going.
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Re: Bolton
If people got outraged at a league telling the club they supported how to operate then all it would show is the fans ignorance of the true situation.steve1264b wrote:I agree but Birmingham got more money for Adams in the summer and we would be outraged if the league told us we had to do something.
Either the league has ultimate power and it doesnt because the clubs are the members or it does everything it can to keep clubs going.
Bolton are a mess, have been for a long time and probably will be for a while yet.
They need their wage bill smashing down, a sensible wage cap enforced and to sort their debts out.
The league has failed time and again to deal with clubs like Bolton, Brum, Portsmouth etc and just keep rolling over to have their tummies tickled when it comes to crunch time instead of going in for the kill, so to speak.
That's why clubs continuously take the Mick out of the league rules.
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Re: Bolton
Bolton and Bury are only trading because they are football clubs. If it was Bolton pies lt it would have closed years ago.
Thats the problem the league have.
They have tried with financial fair play but they are not a seperate entity. Shares in the league are owned by the clubs who gave no apetite to put each other out of business but half the clubs are happy to see big spenders punished under financial fair play.
If you want to league to cap spending etc the whole of football needs a complete overhaul.
Thats the problem the league have.
They have tried with financial fair play but they are not a seperate entity. Shares in the league are owned by the clubs who gave no apetite to put each other out of business but half the clubs are happy to see big spenders punished under financial fair play.
If you want to league to cap spending etc the whole of football needs a complete overhaul.
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Re: Bolton
It doesn't need a complete overhaul though.steve1264b wrote:Bolton and Bury are only trading because they are football clubs. If it was Bolton pies lt it would have closed years ago.
Thats the problem the league have.
They have tried with financial fair play but they are not a seperate entity. Shares in the league are owned by the clubs who gave no apetite to put each other out of business but half the clubs are happy to see big spenders punished under financial fair play.
If you want to league to cap spending etc the whole of football needs a complete overhaul.
The league were meant to ratify all of Bolton's transfers a while ago and failed miserably to do that.
The league just can't seem to enforce its own rules, they need to grow a set and get on with it, but they won't and that's why clubs can keep getting away with crippling themselves financially because they know the taxman will struggle to wind them up and the league will do the square root of eff all to them.
A proper punishment for a club in Bolton's position is to drop them into non league.
If they can't prove they've got the money for the next two years minimum, then we are just going to be watching this all over again by next summer.
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Re: Bolton
It's outrageous that the PFA are conniving in this. Remember that the whole "football creditors" thing is specifically designed so that St john Ambulance, and Fred's Pie Shop, and the programme printers and sellers, can be robbed blind while ensuring that the players and the owners get all their money. A very rich organisation like the PFA doesn't need to play this game.ClaretTony wrote:Latest update from Marc Iles
I understand the FV consortium has agreed to loan money from the PFA to settle with all football creditors.
I think this will roll into tomorrow, assuming EFL give blessing.
What the PFA should do is to give ex gratia payments to the players for the net amount of salary they have earned to date. I don't think this would be taxable income to the players, and the PFA can well afford it. And then Bolton Wanderers should go bust, paying the normal creditors at the best rate they can, paying the owner nothing at all, and teaching a lesson to all failed football clubs that if they don't pay their debts, they are out.
They should go back to the old rule - pay 100% of what you owe, or you're out of the league. And they also ought to have rules on how much they can be in debt. I'm not too bothered if they are given loads of money by their owners, or it is all put in in a non-refundable way ie. share capital, or legally tied down so it is the last creditor on the list when it comes to repayment. But the owners shouldn't get anything back when Joe Public is losing out.
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Re: Bolton
Got to agree with this. The current punishments are no deterrent. Clubs are gambling to win big, but losing doesn’t seem an issue. Also can’t believe all the “ got to feel sorry for the fans”. No! They enjoyed everything their clubs did. From Portsmouth winning the FA Cup to clubs now spending above their means then going cap in hand to the league & PFA for handouts. All the while trampling over their loyal suppliers. While people are saying everything should be done to keep them going. What about those suppliers who will only get a small % of what they’re owned. It’s stinks. Bolton should be shutdown, assets sold off and funds distributed between the suppliers. Then there’s the “football creditors” rule. How self serving is that! It stinks. For me, bye bye Bolton.GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:It doesn't need a complete overhaul though.
The league were meant to ratify all of Bolton's transfers a while ago and failed miserably to do that.
The league just can't seem to enforce its own rules, they need to grow a set and get on with it, but they won't and that's why clubs can keep getting away with crippling themselves financially because they know the taxman will struggle to wind them up and the league will do the square root of eff all to them.
A proper punishment for a club in Bolton's position is to drop them into non league.
If they can't prove they've got the money for the next two years minimum, then we are just going to be watching this all over again by next summer.
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Re: Bolton
There is some sense in the football creditors rule in terms of the competition (if not morally). If a club goes into administration owing other teams in their division millions of pounds and comes out paying 5p in the pound to all of their creditors then they could have a massive advantage over the teams they only repaid in part.
Imagine that Accy Stanley were due to get, and had budgeted for, £5m from Bolton and ended up with £250k. That would probably hurt them more than Bolton would be damaged going into administration.
Imagine that Accy Stanley were due to get, and had budgeted for, £5m from Bolton and ended up with £250k. That would probably hurt them more than Bolton would be damaged going into administration.
Re: Bolton
Transcripts of the EFL and football ventures discussing the way forward.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr2zOgKJuS8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr2zOgKJuS8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Bolton
https://www.buryfc.co.uk/news/2019/july ... -chairman/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Bolton
He could do with someone to proof read his statements.
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Re: Bolton
The cost of not being paid for 6 months - from the Telegraph
The human cost of Bolton's financial nightmare: 'Family lives were being ruined. One young player was evicted from his flat' - Jim White -
31 July 2019 • 5:23pm
Asked what life has been like for the Bolton Wanderers players as their club has imploded around them, Andrew Taylor does not mince his words.
“Horrendous,” he says. “Absolutely horrendous.”
On Monday, Bolton were cleared by the EFL to play their opening League One fixture against Wycombe on Saturday. Quite who will feature in the Bolton line-up, however, is another matter. At the time of writing the club has just seven senior players. And two of those are goalkeepers. Taylor is not among them. The left back’s contract expired in July. He was hoping for a new deal, but after what happened last season, he knows that is unlikely.
Because last season the club went into freefall. Like everyone involved, Taylor has not been paid since February, and five months without any income whatsoever has taken its toll. Not just on him, but on his family.
“I’m not going to lie, I try to be positive and not stress too much, but it’s been a hard time,” he says, as he sits over a cup of coffee near his home in Hartlepool. “Harder for my wife. She worries a lot more than I do. It’s been top of the conversation in our house for the past few months: what the hell are we going to do?”
Taylor signed for Bolton in 2017. From the moment he did, he says, he could sense there might be trouble ahead.
“Even back then, there were a couple of times the lads were getting paid late. It was just a day or two, technical hold ups we were told. But maybe the signs were there.”
In his first full season as a Bolton player, however, promotion from League One seemed to suggest the club was on the up. It was an illusion. By now it was in the hands of a businessman called Ken Anderson who, despite having been banned for seven years from becoming a company director after crashing an earlier venture, was deemed a fit and proper owner by the EFL.
In 2017 Anderson received a £550,000 consultancy fee. His staff were less fortunate. The manager Phil Parkinson, for instance, was contractually entitled to a bonus for keeping the club in the Championship. After doing just that in 2018, he has yet to receive a penny.
In February this year, however, the financial issues hit the dressing room: none of the players received their wages.
“When the money didn’t come you thought, oh well, it will,” says Taylor. “The longer it went, the tension grew. And the anger. I think there were people who would have swung for Ken Anderson if he’d come in the dressing room.”
Not that he was likely to. Anderson, who had been a regular visitor there during the promotion year, disappeared from view, ending direct communication. Parkinson was caught in the middle.
“It was such a difficult position for the gaffer,” says Taylor. “He was getting fed things from above, which he’d pass on to us and they turned out to be not true. So that makes you start to question him. He was giving it: come on lads let’s get out training we’re getting paid tomorrow. When we didn’t his credibility was hammered.”
As weeks turned into months without any sign of money, for the players life became increasingly tough.
“Luckily I had a bit set aside. So I could cushion,” says Taylor. “Even so as a family we’ve had to be really careful. I’ve got a wife and two kids to look after, so you cut back everywhere. But I’m lucky. I’m at the end of my career, I’ve got - well I had - savings. The younger lads live right up to their means.”
Taylor, who was the Professional Footballers Association representative at the club, became a sounding board for problems: mortgages were not being paid, car plans were not being met, one young player was evicted from his flat for failure to pay his rent.
“The thing is football is a very macho environment,” he says. “It takes a brave character to open up and say: I am struggling. But I know lads were stressing, taking all this burden on. It was shocking what was happening. Family lives were being ruined. We have a players Whatsapp group and it’s become a sort of therapy session.”
Taylor, though, points out it was not just the players who were suffering. The club also owned the hotel attached to the stadium. He was billeted there during the week and got to know the staff well.
“I’d imagine many of them were on minimum wage, yet they weren’t getting anything either. The manager there told me she was giving some of them money to buy nappies for their kids because they couldn’t afford them. There was a food bank set up for the families. For a club like Bolton Wanderers to get to that extreme, that’s disgraceful.”
In the dressing room things were getting fraught. Some players - like Sammy Ameobi - walked out, rightly pointing out the club was in breach of their contract. Those who were left were split on what action to take.
“A group of lads wanted to go on strike. We managed to keep everyone going for five, six weeks. But it was all down to lies. We were getting fed things from above saying you’re going to be paid, so that would diffuse things, we’d all say, right, it’s going to be sorted, let’s get through this game. Then Monday would come, no money. It got to point where everyone was fed up. We decided to go on strike the second last game of the season, against Brentford. We were already down, so there was nothing at stake. We thought it would make enough noise to get something sorted. We were wrong about that too.”
Even in the depths of despair, however, Taylor, a bright, optimistic character who has just completed a masters degree in sports directorship, says things turned so ridiculous the only reaction was to find the comedy. Ahead of the final game of last season away at Nottingham Forest, the players assembled the night before as they always did at the club hotel.
“Without notice they had shut the place. Next morning, there’s no team bus either, so everybody just had to drive their own cars to Nottingham. It was a Championship game and it was like going back to the Sunday League. If you didn’t laugh, you’d weep.”
In May, Anderson put the club into administration. Initially Taylor thought that might deliver some clarity. He was wrong.
“You’d think the administrators would call us in for a meeting, set out a process, keep us all in the loop. Nothing. All summer it’s been guessing games. People hear things and put it on the Whatsapp group. The things that have gone on that. If you read it all the time you’d lose your mind.” As footballing creditors, the law states the players must eventually be paid in full. That is if a buyer can be found. As yet only charlatans seem to be lining up to take control of the club, and since the administrators have yet to sell any season tickets, there is little sign of sufficient cash flow for imminent payment of what is due.
Most of the players, some surviving on emergency loans from the PFA, have been obliged to look elsewhere. Taylor is searching for another club, though having just turned 33 he is not confident. As for Bolton, he has no inkling of what might happen next.
“The gaffer is still there, but he only has seven players. Say the takeover does go through they’re going to need another 14 players. Where are they going to get them from? It wouldn’t be the easiest sell: come to a club heading for League Two and by the way, you won’t be paid.” But it is not money ultimately that most upsets him. What cuts him to the quick is what has happened to one of England’s grandest old clubs.
“People are embarrassed to be a Bolton fan, that’s the saddest thing,” he says. “A football club should be a source of pride in the community. Whatever happens next, the first priority should be to bring the pride back.”
The Telegraph contacted Mr Anderson to ask him about some of the issues raised and he replied that he would be happy to talk about Bolton when any sale had been completed, but until then he is obliged to keep his counsel.
The human cost of Bolton's financial nightmare: 'Family lives were being ruined. One young player was evicted from his flat' - Jim White -
31 July 2019 • 5:23pm
Asked what life has been like for the Bolton Wanderers players as their club has imploded around them, Andrew Taylor does not mince his words.
“Horrendous,” he says. “Absolutely horrendous.”
On Monday, Bolton were cleared by the EFL to play their opening League One fixture against Wycombe on Saturday. Quite who will feature in the Bolton line-up, however, is another matter. At the time of writing the club has just seven senior players. And two of those are goalkeepers. Taylor is not among them. The left back’s contract expired in July. He was hoping for a new deal, but after what happened last season, he knows that is unlikely.
Because last season the club went into freefall. Like everyone involved, Taylor has not been paid since February, and five months without any income whatsoever has taken its toll. Not just on him, but on his family.
“I’m not going to lie, I try to be positive and not stress too much, but it’s been a hard time,” he says, as he sits over a cup of coffee near his home in Hartlepool. “Harder for my wife. She worries a lot more than I do. It’s been top of the conversation in our house for the past few months: what the hell are we going to do?”
Taylor signed for Bolton in 2017. From the moment he did, he says, he could sense there might be trouble ahead.
“Even back then, there were a couple of times the lads were getting paid late. It was just a day or two, technical hold ups we were told. But maybe the signs were there.”
In his first full season as a Bolton player, however, promotion from League One seemed to suggest the club was on the up. It was an illusion. By now it was in the hands of a businessman called Ken Anderson who, despite having been banned for seven years from becoming a company director after crashing an earlier venture, was deemed a fit and proper owner by the EFL.
In 2017 Anderson received a £550,000 consultancy fee. His staff were less fortunate. The manager Phil Parkinson, for instance, was contractually entitled to a bonus for keeping the club in the Championship. After doing just that in 2018, he has yet to receive a penny.
In February this year, however, the financial issues hit the dressing room: none of the players received their wages.
“When the money didn’t come you thought, oh well, it will,” says Taylor. “The longer it went, the tension grew. And the anger. I think there were people who would have swung for Ken Anderson if he’d come in the dressing room.”
Not that he was likely to. Anderson, who had been a regular visitor there during the promotion year, disappeared from view, ending direct communication. Parkinson was caught in the middle.
“It was such a difficult position for the gaffer,” says Taylor. “He was getting fed things from above, which he’d pass on to us and they turned out to be not true. So that makes you start to question him. He was giving it: come on lads let’s get out training we’re getting paid tomorrow. When we didn’t his credibility was hammered.”
As weeks turned into months without any sign of money, for the players life became increasingly tough.
“Luckily I had a bit set aside. So I could cushion,” says Taylor. “Even so as a family we’ve had to be really careful. I’ve got a wife and two kids to look after, so you cut back everywhere. But I’m lucky. I’m at the end of my career, I’ve got - well I had - savings. The younger lads live right up to their means.”
Taylor, who was the Professional Footballers Association representative at the club, became a sounding board for problems: mortgages were not being paid, car plans were not being met, one young player was evicted from his flat for failure to pay his rent.
“The thing is football is a very macho environment,” he says. “It takes a brave character to open up and say: I am struggling. But I know lads were stressing, taking all this burden on. It was shocking what was happening. Family lives were being ruined. We have a players Whatsapp group and it’s become a sort of therapy session.”
Taylor, though, points out it was not just the players who were suffering. The club also owned the hotel attached to the stadium. He was billeted there during the week and got to know the staff well.
“I’d imagine many of them were on minimum wage, yet they weren’t getting anything either. The manager there told me she was giving some of them money to buy nappies for their kids because they couldn’t afford them. There was a food bank set up for the families. For a club like Bolton Wanderers to get to that extreme, that’s disgraceful.”
In the dressing room things were getting fraught. Some players - like Sammy Ameobi - walked out, rightly pointing out the club was in breach of their contract. Those who were left were split on what action to take.
“A group of lads wanted to go on strike. We managed to keep everyone going for five, six weeks. But it was all down to lies. We were getting fed things from above saying you’re going to be paid, so that would diffuse things, we’d all say, right, it’s going to be sorted, let’s get through this game. Then Monday would come, no money. It got to point where everyone was fed up. We decided to go on strike the second last game of the season, against Brentford. We were already down, so there was nothing at stake. We thought it would make enough noise to get something sorted. We were wrong about that too.”
Even in the depths of despair, however, Taylor, a bright, optimistic character who has just completed a masters degree in sports directorship, says things turned so ridiculous the only reaction was to find the comedy. Ahead of the final game of last season away at Nottingham Forest, the players assembled the night before as they always did at the club hotel.
“Without notice they had shut the place. Next morning, there’s no team bus either, so everybody just had to drive their own cars to Nottingham. It was a Championship game and it was like going back to the Sunday League. If you didn’t laugh, you’d weep.”
In May, Anderson put the club into administration. Initially Taylor thought that might deliver some clarity. He was wrong.
“You’d think the administrators would call us in for a meeting, set out a process, keep us all in the loop. Nothing. All summer it’s been guessing games. People hear things and put it on the Whatsapp group. The things that have gone on that. If you read it all the time you’d lose your mind.” As footballing creditors, the law states the players must eventually be paid in full. That is if a buyer can be found. As yet only charlatans seem to be lining up to take control of the club, and since the administrators have yet to sell any season tickets, there is little sign of sufficient cash flow for imminent payment of what is due.
Most of the players, some surviving on emergency loans from the PFA, have been obliged to look elsewhere. Taylor is searching for another club, though having just turned 33 he is not confident. As for Bolton, he has no inkling of what might happen next.
“The gaffer is still there, but he only has seven players. Say the takeover does go through they’re going to need another 14 players. Where are they going to get them from? It wouldn’t be the easiest sell: come to a club heading for League Two and by the way, you won’t be paid.” But it is not money ultimately that most upsets him. What cuts him to the quick is what has happened to one of England’s grandest old clubs.
“People are embarrassed to be a Bolton fan, that’s the saddest thing,” he says. “A football club should be a source of pride in the community. Whatever happens next, the first priority should be to bring the pride back.”
The Telegraph contacted Mr Anderson to ask him about some of the issues raised and he replied that he would be happy to talk about Bolton when any sale had been completed, but until then he is obliged to keep his counsel.
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Re: Bolton
EFL Chair has more confidence in the preferred bidders than most
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/1 ... h-wycombe/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
anyone remember that Shaun Harvey clip about Bolton and Anderson
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/1 ... h-wycombe/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
anyone remember that Shaun Harvey clip about Bolton and Anderson
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Re: Bolton
Nice trolling of Liverpool FC by City of Liverpool FC tonight
https://twitter.com/ColfcCouncil/status ... 8608382976" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://twitter.com/ColfcCouncil/status ... 8608382976" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Bolton
This shows the reality of life for many lower-league footballers,Ken Anderson's a leech and fraud but the warning signs were there for the EFL to see.Chester Perry wrote:The cost of not being paid for 6 months - from the Telegraph
The human cost of Bolton's financial nightmare: 'Family lives were being ruined. One young player was evicted from his flat' - Jim White -
31 July 2019 • 5:23pm
Asked what life has been like for the Bolton Wanderers players as their club has imploded around them, Andrew Taylor does not mince his words.
“Horrendous,” he says. “Absolutely horrendous.”
On Monday, Bolton were cleared by the EFL to play their opening League One fixture against Wycombe on Saturday. Quite who will feature in the Bolton line-up, however, is another matter. At the time of writing the club has just seven senior players. And two of those are goalkeepers. Taylor is not among them. The left back’s contract expired in July. He was hoping for a new deal, but after what happened last season, he knows that is unlikely.
Because last season the club went into freefall. Like everyone involved, Taylor has not been paid since February, and five months without any income whatsoever has taken its toll. Not just on him, but on his family.
“I’m not going to lie, I try to be positive and not stress too much, but it’s been a hard time,” he says, as he sits over a cup of coffee near his home in Hartlepool. “Harder for my wife. She worries a lot more than I do. It’s been top of the conversation in our house for the past few months: what the hell are we going to do?”
Taylor signed for Bolton in 2017. From the moment he did, he says, he could sense there might be trouble ahead.
“Even back then, there were a couple of times the lads were getting paid late. It was just a day or two, technical hold ups we were told. But maybe the signs were there.”
In his first full season as a Bolton player, however, promotion from League One seemed to suggest the club was on the up. It was an illusion. By now it was in the hands of a businessman called Ken Anderson who, despite having been banned for seven years from becoming a company director after crashing an earlier venture, was deemed a fit and proper owner by the EFL.
In 2017 Anderson received a £550,000 consultancy fee. His staff were less fortunate. The manager Phil Parkinson, for instance, was contractually entitled to a bonus for keeping the club in the Championship. After doing just that in 2018, he has yet to receive a penny.
In February this year, however, the financial issues hit the dressing room: none of the players received their wages.
“When the money didn’t come you thought, oh well, it will,” says Taylor. “The longer it went, the tension grew. And the anger. I think there were people who would have swung for Ken Anderson if he’d come in the dressing room.”
Not that he was likely to. Anderson, who had been a regular visitor there during the promotion year, disappeared from view, ending direct communication. Parkinson was caught in the middle.
“It was such a difficult position for the gaffer,” says Taylor. “He was getting fed things from above, which he’d pass on to us and they turned out to be not true. So that makes you start to question him. He was giving it: come on lads let’s get out training we’re getting paid tomorrow. When we didn’t his credibility was hammered.”
As weeks turned into months without any sign of money, for the players life became increasingly tough.
“Luckily I had a bit set aside. So I could cushion,” says Taylor. “Even so as a family we’ve had to be really careful. I’ve got a wife and two kids to look after, so you cut back everywhere. But I’m lucky. I’m at the end of my career, I’ve got - well I had - savings. The younger lads live right up to their means.”
Taylor, who was the Professional Footballers Association representative at the club, became a sounding board for problems: mortgages were not being paid, car plans were not being met, one young player was evicted from his flat for failure to pay his rent.
“The thing is football is a very macho environment,” he says. “It takes a brave character to open up and say: I am struggling. But I know lads were stressing, taking all this burden on. It was shocking what was happening. Family lives were being ruined. We have a players Whatsapp group and it’s become a sort of therapy session.”
Taylor, though, points out it was not just the players who were suffering. The club also owned the hotel attached to the stadium. He was billeted there during the week and got to know the staff well.
“I’d imagine many of them were on minimum wage, yet they weren’t getting anything either. The manager there told me she was giving some of them money to buy nappies for their kids because they couldn’t afford them. There was a food bank set up for the families. For a club like Bolton Wanderers to get to that extreme, that’s disgraceful.”
In the dressing room things were getting fraught. Some players - like Sammy Ameobi - walked out, rightly pointing out the club was in breach of their contract. Those who were left were split on what action to take.
“A group of lads wanted to go on strike. We managed to keep everyone going for five, six weeks. But it was all down to lies. We were getting fed things from above saying you’re going to be paid, so that would diffuse things, we’d all say, right, it’s going to be sorted, let’s get through this game. Then Monday would come, no money. It got to point where everyone was fed up. We decided to go on strike the second last game of the season, against Brentford. We were already down, so there was nothing at stake. We thought it would make enough noise to get something sorted. We were wrong about that too.”
Even in the depths of despair, however, Taylor, a bright, optimistic character who has just completed a masters degree in sports directorship, says things turned so ridiculous the only reaction was to find the comedy. Ahead of the final game of last season away at Nottingham Forest, the players assembled the night before as they always did at the club hotel.
“Without notice they had shut the place. Next morning, there’s no team bus either, so everybody just had to drive their own cars to Nottingham. It was a Championship game and it was like going back to the Sunday League. If you didn’t laugh, you’d weep.”
In May, Anderson put the club into administration. Initially Taylor thought that might deliver some clarity. He was wrong.
“You’d think the administrators would call us in for a meeting, set out a process, keep us all in the loop. Nothing. All summer it’s been guessing games. People hear things and put it on the Whatsapp group. The things that have gone on that. If you read it all the time you’d lose your mind.” As footballing creditors, the law states the players must eventually be paid in full. That is if a buyer can be found. As yet only charlatans seem to be lining up to take control of the club, and since the administrators have yet to sell any season tickets, there is little sign of sufficient cash flow for imminent payment of what is due.
Most of the players, some surviving on emergency loans from the PFA, have been obliged to look elsewhere. Taylor is searching for another club, though having just turned 33 he is not confident. As for Bolton, he has no inkling of what might happen next.
“The gaffer is still there, but he only has seven players. Say the takeover does go through they’re going to need another 14 players. Where are they going to get them from? It wouldn’t be the easiest sell: come to a club heading for League Two and by the way, you won’t be paid.” But it is not money ultimately that most upsets him. What cuts him to the quick is what has happened to one of England’s grandest old clubs.
“People are embarrassed to be a Bolton fan, that’s the saddest thing,” he says. “A football club should be a source of pride in the community. Whatever happens next, the first priority should be to bring the pride back.”
The Telegraph contacted Mr Anderson to ask him about some of the issues raised and he replied that he would be happy to talk about Bolton when any sale had been completed, but until then he is obliged to keep his counsel.
This paragraph cuts to the chase.
In his first full season as a Bolton player, however, promotion from League One seemed to suggest the club was on the up. It was an illusion. By now it was in the hands of a businessman called Ken Anderson who, despite having been banned for seven years from becoming a company director after crashing an earlier venture, was deemed a fit and proper owner by the EFL.
What the hell do you have to do to not get ownership of a club these days,is it any wonder they're in this malaise,i notice Mr Anderson received over half a million pounds in consultancy fees,i wonder what offshore bank account that money is resting in.
When are the EFL going to actually do the job they're paid to do and enforce the proper checks on perspective owners,this is a nonsense,will it take the liquidation of a member club to wake them from their slumbers.
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Re: Bolton
Bolton player finally gets paid and then leaves the club.
Good on him.
I wonder what sort of team they cobble together tomorrow.
Good on him.
I wonder what sort of team they cobble together tomorrow.
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Re: Bolton
Several senior players have not traveled to Wycombe as they have only been payed 3 of the 5 months pay owed to them.
Also players had taken out loans from the PFA and had some of these monies taken away from the 3 months pay.
Complete shambles and FV deal still not completed.
Crazy that FV have had to have a PFA loan to help buy the club
Also players had taken out loans from the PFA and had some of these monies taken away from the 3 months pay.
Complete shambles and FV deal still not completed.
Crazy that FV have had to have a PFA loan to help buy the club
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Re: Bolton
Only 3 senior players on coach according to Ian Dennis. How has this been allowed to drag on. The EFL again being to soft on a club and the preferred bidders having to take loans to pay wages. How can they prove two years finance if they can’t even sort out wages on day 1 even though they haven’t even got to day 1 yet.
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Re: Bolton
Is this what they mean by kicking a can down the road?
Feel for Bury, I’d hoped they were finally finding some stability.
Feel for Bury, I’d hoped they were finally finding some stability.
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Re: Bolton
Bolton announce their team at 2 pm the at 2.03 pm announced 3 new signings that were in that team - seems like the RFL has breached their own rules to help them out - again!
They gave 6 starting debuts in all and another 2 off the bench and still lost though they had a great support
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49135860" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
They gave 6 starting debuts in all and another 2 off the bench and still lost though they had a great support
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49135860" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Bolton
I hope the new loan players have insisted that their salaries be paid by their own clubs, not by Bolton.
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Re: Bolton
From what I have read that player got 10% of his wages owedNonayforever wrote:Bolton player finally gets paid and then leaves the club.
Good on him.
I wonder what sort of team they cobble together tomorrow.
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Re: Bolton
Nonayforever wrote:Bolton player finally gets paid and then leaves the club..
Re: Bolton
Sky reporting 2 Bolton players are injured and will be unable to play for 8/12 weeks. That's adding more pressure on the team. Which clubs would want to loan them any players, considering they wouldn't likely get a loan fee from them.
Re: Bolton
They weren't injured picking up their pay packets, that's for sure.Bfc wrote:Sky reporting 2 Bolton players are injured and will be unable to play for 8/12 weeks. That's adding more pressure on the team. Which clubs would want to loan them any players, considering they wouldn't likely get a loan fee from them.
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Re: Bolton
The club have stopped selling tickets for this weekends match
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/footbal ... ssion=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/footbal ... ssion=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Bolton
Can you pay on the gate?
These 3 users liked this post: ClaretTony GodIsADeeJay81 Lord Beamish
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Re: Bolton
I know the situation is bad and not funny, but that post did make me laugh.fatboy47 wrote:Can you pay on the gate?
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Re: Bolton
https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/2019/august ... wanderers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Oops.
Oops.
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Re: Bolton
I’m bored of this whole saga, now.
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Re: Bolton
This has gone on far too long! The EFL need to sort this asap...this club is a joke!
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Re: Bolton
I can see their options drying up. I mean, what a load of hassle and that's before you start talking about the debts. You'd have to be mad to get involved with it.
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Re: Bolton
I'd agree but they were coming out of admin today until that loose cannon from Watford put a spanner in the works. The administrators are trying to reverse today's decision.ClaretDiver wrote:This has gone on far too long! The EFL need to sort this asap...this club is a joke!
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Re: Bolton
Can the courts not see that that Bassini is a fantasist?
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Re: Bolton
If he can prove he had an agreement in place to buy the club, the court have to act on it.claptrappers_union wrote:Can the courts not see that that Bassini is a fantasist?
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Re: Bolton
Me too, time to put them out of their misery.Lord Beamish wrote:I’m bored of this whole saga, now.
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Re: Bolton
The courts aren't interested in whether Bassini is a fantasist or not, they are only interested in their next lunch and paycheck.claptrappers_union wrote:Can the courts not see that that Bassini is a fantasist?
The barrister's for both sides, defence & prosecution, will be checking out the best restaurants in the area for the week before they check their briefs.
Re: Bolton
It's getting like when you have to decide when a family pet has to be put out of its misery. Bolton need taking to the football version of the vets table a last metaphorical pat of their head and perhaps a stroke under the chin then loved ones depart for the sad but inevitable termination.TheFamilyCat wrote:Me too, time to put them out of their misery.
To all worried Wanderers it will be painless and you could adopt another more local pet.
http://boltoncounty.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
This user liked this post: fatboy47
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Re: Bolton
Jobs reet then, they will be able to wander over to the County when it finally goes tits up
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Re: Bolton
Or they could go to their nearest neighbour club - oh yea, they are going bust too!Top Claret wrote:Jobs reet then, they will be able to wander over to the County when it finally goes tits up
Re: Bolton
bfcmik wrote:Or they could go to their nearest neighbour club - oh yea, they are going bust too!
Basinni and Ken Anderson, what a combo.
Think Wanderers announced this morning, just over 24 hours before KO v Cov that tickets are now on sale but none available on the day. What a farce? How are they allowed to play whereas Bury are not?
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Re: Bolton
They still haven't put any STs on sale.