Yesterday saw the death of Bury Football Club, and the hint of a reprieve for their near-neighbours Bolton Wanderers. It is just a pity that they don’t deserve it.
The football news of recent weeks has been dominated by Bolton’s plight, as if one of the Football League’s founding members deserves a free ride and a get out of jail free card simply by virtue of their longevity.
But just what exactly has this ‘long and illustrious history’ consisted of? No major honours since 1958 and the dubious record of having played the most seasons in the top flight without ever having won it. And still they claim to be a big club? When your most successful manager of the last sixty years is Sam Allardyce then ‘big’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.
If you ever wanted to find a group of supporters even more deluded than Tottenham’s then look no further.
The reason that Bolton find themselves in their current situation is due to living grossly beyond their means both during their Premier League years and after relegation in 2012. Four consecutive finishes in the top eight of the league between 2003 and 2007, and reaching the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in 2008, came at a cost – namely the bulk of the £172.9 million owed mostly to the club’s owner Eddie Davies by December 2015, when the club faced their first winding-up petition from the HMRC.
Throughout the last two seasons, Wanderers would receive four more such petitions from the taxman as the club priortised promotion back to the Premier League’s gravy train over responsible business practice. They are now in very real danger of liquidation.
And what has been Bolton’s supporters response to all this? When other clubs have been in a similar position – Portsmouth and Brighton, to name two – their fans have rallied around the club and shown to the wider world that there is something worth saving. Yet the same can not be said here. Fair play to the five thousand-odd who watched them lose 5-0 to Ipswich at the weekend, but the silence from the 24,000 empty seats at the University of Bolton Stadium was deafening. Remember that, when they flood radio phone-ins and social media with claims of being heartborken when “their beloved club” goes the way of Bury.
If Bolton end up going out of business, then them serving as an example to any other club tempted to gamble their future in pursuit of short-term gain would be a fitting end. Because when Leeds borrowed too much money in pursuit of Champions League glory and ended up in administration, how much sympathy was there for them? If Roman Abramovich turned off Chelsea’s funds, leading them to get relegated before going bust, would we all be in tears?
There would be no sympathy for them at all if that were the case, and Bolton deserve no more now.
Ed
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
knob
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Just go and die you stupid cockney pillock
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No one more deluded than an Arsenal supporter, called the Gunners coz you normally think you are gunner win everything, how does it feel to be the third biggest club in London. Prick
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What a tit!
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Hope someone pisses on your 5th place parade you utter cock juggling thunder cunt. Please stop writing do us all a favour.
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Opinions like the one above are why modern football is dying on its arse.
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who are you ed ? a down on your arse Sunderland supporter ? best to keep your opinions to yourself knobhead !!!!! here’s hoping that your shit club and shit fans get dumped out the league one day soon … I for one would shed tears of joy on your demise .
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Phil Gartside a great servant of the Whites for many years does not seem to get a mention anywhere.
The trio of Phil,Sam and Eddie were the dream team. Although the loss of Big Sam was one
turniing point the brain tumour suffered by Phil and its long term hidden impact on his performance was key to BWFC being relegated.. Dyce or Coyle ?
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I think the word “servant” is a bit of an exaggeration. Servants don’t draw £500,000 per annum for a part-time job. His connivance with Davies means he has a lot to answer for.
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An appallingly ill informed and lazy piece of writing. Do everyone a favour and actually do some research on your chosen topic rather than wasting everyone’s time with dross like this!
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Ouch, someone is still bitter at all those times Bolton gave Arsenal a tough game.
More a crying rant rather than well-written article, shame.
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Sorry but you have no idea what you’re talking about. The club was hijacked by a multi millionaire Edwin Davies and his mate Phil Gartside. Davies saw an opportunity to make a killing by loaning money to the Club at an exorbitant rate of interest and Gartside drew £500K per annum in salary for what was essentially a part time job. They were both on “the make”. All shares in the club including mine, were handed to Davies to the detriment of thousands of people including me. As long as Bolton were in the Premier League this debt was entirely sustainable. The interest payments to Davies came out of the Sky TV money and debt remained fairly stable. The problems started when Bolton’s best players were kicked out of the game due to shocking fouls on Stuart Holden and Chung Yong Lee. These players couldn’t be replaced. Fabrics Muamba then collapsed and had to retire. As a result, Bolton, with a clueless manager in Owen Coyle were relegated. The Sky money dried up and the interest to Davies remained unpaid. The debt owed to him rose exponentially. Both Gartside and Davies are now deceased. Davies’ parting shot 3 years ago was to “sell” the club to Dean Holdsworth and a convicted Spiv called Ken Anderson. The latter, we are told, promised a financial return to Davies should Bolton regain Premier League status. Other potential buyers refused to agree to this and so we were stuck with Anderson, a man with no interest whatsoever in Bolton Wanderers except to extract as much money as he could. He paid himself £500k in his first year in charge when we were, according to him, skint! It is this trio of men who are responsible for the demise of Bolton Wanderers along with the Football League for allowing Ken Anderson as a previously disqualified Director to own a Football Club.
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Well said!
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What a piece of shit you are! I’d feel just a bad about Spurs, Chelsea or United if they were in the same position. This is about supporters losing their lifelong love you turd.
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BWFC damaged themselves irrevocably when, in the name of short-term profit the Businessmen charged with running the club decided to destroy over one hundred years of tradition and moved the club from Burnden Park, a stadium within 5 mins of the Town Center, surrounded by pubs, chippies and pie-shops, relocating to a sterile and soulless bog-standard Retail Park out in the middle of nowhere, and thus disenfranchising most of its traditional support. It has been downhill ever since.
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best move bwfc ever made was to move ground ! you prick
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Because it was easier for you to do your weekly shop after the match,? Cleaner air, out there in the middle of nowhere? Seriously, why was it such a great move?
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How you forget it takes more than just the top 6 premier league clubs. Your article is despicable,
ill informed, and shows your a stupid prick.
All Bolton fans like Bury want is a club to still support, no matter which division we end up.
We have been let down by the EFL letting a con man take over our club, with a record of ripping people off. He was allowed to do this by Sean Harvey, whom is complicit in the events.
Sean Harvey is now the CEO of the Premier league, Be careful what you wish for as this could be any club, raped by a crook, an hung out to dry. Supported by the EFL.
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What an inaccurate insult and so insensitive you clown, do some reaserch bolton played in Europe in 1958, therefore we were in Europe before Sam. I supported my club man and boy for 59years im 64 this week and proud our great club, bet you just armchair tv watcher of some big club you don’t even live near. Why don’t you do something useful, go and get educated, sad person.
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Didn’t we get the better of Arsenal a couple of times whilst in the Premiership? Sad Act!
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FA Cup. Bolton 1-0 Arsenal. FA Cup holders Arsenal were punished for fielding an inexperienced line-up as Bolton knocked them out of the competition at the fourth-round stage. Stelios Giannakopoulos grabbed the winner as he headed in a Ricardo Gardner cross late on when it seemed the game was destined for a draw.28 Jan 2006
LOL Get real
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A moment of glory,
FA Cup. Bolton 1-0 Arsenal. FA Cup holders Arsenal were punished for fielding an inexperienced line-up as Bolton knocked them out of the competition at the fourth-round stage. Stelios Giannakopoulos grabbed the winner as he headed in a Ricardo Gardner cross late on when it seemed the game was destined for a draw.28 Jan 2006
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A single FA Cup victory against Arsenal is all you have to celebrate in your history? Well done. Small club who will not be missed
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Nah, just ONE of the things. A very sweet memory too. And yeah we wont be missed….COZ WE AINT GOIN ANYWHERE. Come on Keeno, tell us what happened to you in Bolton. Did some naughty Northerners hurt you? Did they call you horrible names? Did they ‘ mess-around’ with you? Let it out boy or youll never be cured. Share, because we care.
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cockwomble!!
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….oh yeah, and because I got carried-away by my nostalgia for the Manny Rd days, I forgot to mention that you are an idiot of the highest order. Do you understand anything at all about what its like to be born and bred into the culture of having a local, home-town Football Club? Yes, it IS in our blood. As someone as already commented, your gleeful response to fellow-supporters woes only goes to show that you know NOTHING about what it means to have your own local team. You show yourself to be a fan of the ‘Top-sixer’ variety. Ill bet you were born on the outskirts of the Home Counties, possibly to a local team from the EFL, and spent your Saturday afternoons masturbating to images of Thierry Henri, thus settling-on Arsenal as ‘ my team’. Have you ever been to a game, talked to real football fans? You sure dont sound like you have.
Me oh my……what a tool.
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What a dick probably a footie tv fan
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“I went back to Bury last week and one of them said to me, ‘This is my community. I see the same people at every home game, the same faces, yet I don’t know where they live. I only see them at Gigg Lane.
“If the club closes down, I’ll never see them again. That’s what it means.”
….a Bury fan.
Do you get it yet, Arsenal ‘fan’.?
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what a cock
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Wasn’t the greatest bit of writing but then again, it never is on here. However, you’ve certainly managed to wind a few of these cunts up. So, nice one.
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Ah…so it was ironically written to provoke a reaction. I suppose The Holocaust was just a wind-up as well, eh Jimmy B…get the jews goin eh..just a bit of a laaarf. What about them immigrants then, eh Jimmy. No sense of humour some cunts…eh Jimmy?
Wasnt the greatest bit of commenting but then again, it never is on here…eh Jimmy B my boy?
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oh no…’saved’ again. I cannot wait.
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The most recent news must really piss you off then.
Arsehole.
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YEEEHAAAAH….See you again in the Prem . If you havent switched to a team who actually win things by then. PS there is 20% off KY Jelly at Seven Sisters Rd Pharmacy. 7 Sisters is next to Highbury, if youve never been. Just follow all the other Wankers.
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Eat your words! Eat your words! You steaming pile of shit!
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Arsenal, formerly Woolwich Arsenal moved because they could not compete for fans with Charlton Athletic. Pathetic..
Did not win promotion to the top flight, yep they bribed their way into the league.. Same old Arsenal always cheating.
You sir are a prick, who could not even be arsed to research this piece of tripe.
Oh and by the way we are on our way back, save your tears for when you need them.
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Chalrton only became a senior side in 1913 after Arsenal had left south east London
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You deluded dick. If you are going to write complete bollocks perhaps you don’t have to research anything.
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1.No Bolton has ever claimed we are a BIG club.
2. We dont want anybodies sympathy .
3. As for our longevity well it just got longer.
4. Your comments smack of bitterness which frankly I dont understand , then again our record against you lot (big club) wasnt that bad.
Have a nice day.
Bert.
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Bolton won just 5 of 26 Premier League games; and there record in islington was P 13 W 0 D 3 L 10
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1.No Bolton has ever claimed we are a BIG club.
2. We dont want anybodies sympathy .
3. As for our longevity well it just got longer.
4. Your comments smack of bitterness which frankly I dont understand , then again our record against you lot (big club) wasnt that bad.
Have a nice day.
Bert.
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You’ll never take away my vision of Venger driving up the M61 with sweat running down his neck wondering how much of a kicking is he going to get today. Ha ha
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Wenger lost just 4 times to Bolton in the League…
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It would appear that you shot your bolt rather prematurely, as BWFC are now back in business. And so it only remains for us Football Fans to ask for an explanation as to why you, keenosafc, are so bitter toward a clubs Fans who have no interest at all in you. What happened to you in Bolton?
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Utter bollocks.
A lot of people have already ripped apart a lot of what you’ve written but with regards the extremely low attendance in their last game you are missing yet more key facts.
The tickets could only be purchased in person from the box office in cash the day before. They couldn’t be purchased on line. The Box office was shut all week otherwise. Even the card machines didn’t work.
No season tickets have been on sale.
So getting a ticket was a nightmare.
Added to that the previous game was cancelled at short notice and nobody thought that this game would go ahead and if it didn’t it almost certainly wouldn’t be refunded (no refunds yet for the previous season’s missed game).
Not to mention the generally horrible depressing atmosphere at the club. Who would want to go every week to see your team get beat 5 nil?
I’m an Evertonian and have nothing but respect for Bolton and feel gutted for what they’re going through.
Clearly the author of this piece has an agenda and has totally shown himself up as not knowing anything.
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