Sports Shield - New Owners (Probably)

[TKIZ!]

On the face of it, Deano hasn't got the money to hold onto his shares. KA looks to be the one who has the money and can probably get us the investors he needs to make a fair stab of it

But as other suggest to get a return on KA money, he'll have to invest to get us out of this league and show stability

[TKIZ!]

Marc Iles ‏@MarcIles 2h2 hours ago
Phew. Last story filed for paper tomorrow... Assuming nothing else changes. #bwfc

[Tombwfc]

I'm not as pessimistic as some. Anderson has so far delivered well, he's not come in here to walk away having lost money. So I'm positive he feels he can fund the club until he brings in further investment or sell it on.

I think the issue all along has been that the deal between himself and Deano was last minute and it sounds like Ken brought his cash on his own terms and Deano didn't like it. Or perhaps Deano simply was planning on running the club on fumes and Ken had other ideas and wanted to cut him out.

The fact we've functioned with a boardroom war going on and managed to do what we have is quite remarkable. Hopefully they sort it out. I feel Deano will have to back down here. Ken has probably like he did with the negotiation for Parkinson, played a blinder.

I'm in on this way of thinking.

Too many are too quick to jump to conclusions and think that Anderson hasn't got the club at heart.

He doesn't. What and who Ken Anderson is has been widely reported, and it isn't "benvolent Bolton Wanderers fan".

He looks to have bought us a bit of time, and early signs are promising he's got us a good manager, but you can't let positive signs on the field distract from the massive red flags off it.

[Worthy4England]

Surely the whole point of Anderson and Deano (or substitute <Any New Owner(s)>) was that they, between them, were going to ensure the financial viability of the Club in a "post ED" world and as far as we were told, through the end of last season and the whole of this, as a minimum as agreed with the FL? We all know shady things happen in football, but there seemed to be a lot of scrutiny and Anderson iirc previously said in interview that he had the money to cover the running costs for that period (didn't mention Deano at the time)

That it's taken less than 12 months to get to a point where Anderson has announced that we don't have the "resources" to pay the December wage bill is disappointing. There's no point observing that we've got a decent manager and are currently sat second in the Division if we don't have a pot to pi$$ in and can't pay the wages.

Anderson seems to be saying from the Bolton News article that he has fresh investment lined up ahead of a meeting with the FL on Thursday - so he must be fairly certain of it. The fact that they don't seem able to agree how much each had invested and whether that was in line with what each promised doesn't bode well. If you can't agree that bit - given you'd hope it was fairly apparent from the internal Accounts, how the fcuk will they produce any Accounts (not the overdue ones, the next lot).

The Bluemarble loan reported as being at eye-watering rates was a facility to Sports Shield BWFC Ltd, although the debenture was signed by Burnden Leisure. (One director of Sports Shield BWFC Ltd - DH).

We clearly need just one person in charge. BN seems to be suggesting that KA is 60% owner because it talks about buying DH's 40% stake, I don't see a way other than KA in the immediate future - it's not like Deano hasn't had 12 months to try and secure other investors to prop up his bit (if that's the bit that's deficient). KA's track record doesn't fill me with any confidence from online reading.

[BWFC_Insane]

Surely the whole point of Anderson and Deano (or substitute <Any New Owner(s)>) was that they, between them, were going to ensure the financial viability of the Club in a "post ED" world and as far as we were told, through the end of last season and the whole of this, as a minimum as agreed with the FL? We all know shady things happen in football, but there seemed to be a lot of scrutiny and Anderson iirc previously said in interview that he had the money to cover the running costs for that period (didn't mention Deano at the time)

That it's taken less than 12 months to get to a point where Anderson has announced that we don't have the "resources" to pay the December wage bill is disappointing. There's no point observing that we've got a decent manager and are currently sat second in the Division if we don't have a pot to pi$$ in and can't pay the wages.

Anderson seems to be saying from the Bolton News article that he has fresh investment lined up ahead of a meeting with the FL on Thursday - so he must be fairly certain of it. The fact that they don't seem able to agree how much each had invested and whether that was in line with what each promised doesn't bode well. If you can't agree that bit - given you'd hope it was fairly apparent from the internal Accounts, how the fcuk will they produce any Accounts (not the overdue ones, the next lot).

The Bluemarble loan reported as being at eye-watering rates was a facility to Sports Shield BWFC Ltd, although the debenture was signed by Burnden Leisure. (One director of Sports Shield BWFC Ltd - DH).

We clearly need just one person in charge. BN seems to be suggesting that KA is 60% owner because it talks about buying DH's 40% stake, I don't see a way other than KA in the immediate future - it's not like Deano hasn't had 12 months to try and secure other investors to prop up his bit (if that's the bit that's deficient). KA's track record doesn't fill me with any confidence from online reading.

Isn't KA saying that he can fund the club, or presumably bring in investment to do so, but can't or wont do it solo whilst DH is 40% owner? That seemed to be the message. As the article suggested either DH put some in the pot or let KA buy him out. Presumably KA will buy him out at a very, very low price.

I don't like the idea of the club and its supporters being used publically in this game. Equally though I think our continued future and success are sort of linked to Ken's now so he probably offers us the best hope right now. I also think, and this may be dealt naive, but the way his son tweets and the obvious passion he has for the club, and he's also heavily involved, suggests this is slightly more than a simple business project. At least to him. Call me naive.

[bristol_Wanderer3]

Latest BEN article suggests submission of accounts and business plan, strengthening rather than weakening in January, and likely outside investment if the KA/DH pact goes through.

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wa ... s_planned/

KA's background doesn't make rosy reading, and he most certainly does not have BWFC in his blood, but he did say a few months ago he was enjoying being chairman a lot more than he thought, he has his son invlolved, so there is reason to think he sees this as a serious project that he is putting his heart and soul into. Part of the job (signing players, negotiating deals etc) suits him down to the ground. I really fear things could go off the rails if things go unexpectedly wrong, such as loss of key players/manager, falling crowds/incomes etc, but right now there is a chance that won't happen for a long time. Parky is our best manager since BSA, we are producing really good, home grown players, a lot of former heroes are around the place, and most importantly signs of success on the pitch. I am just keeping my toes and fingers crossed that we can get over this hump, that we become a "normal" club again, and the focus of our discussion is events on the pitch rather than off it.

Just another quick observation, the role of an organisation like the supporters trust or anything similar is important here. We know our owner and associated investors do not fundamentally care a jot about the club or the fans, we need a vehicle that at least functions in order to hold them to account on behalf of the fans and community. It might one day mean the difference between the heartbreaking position Coventry fans find themselves (anonymous owners, terrible decisions with no thought for the tradition of the club, endless shrinking budgets, loss of assets, terminal decline), rather than stalling any decline before it becomes fatal.

[Peter Thompson]

Surely the whole point of Anderson and Deano (or substitute <Any New Owner(s)>) was that they, between them, were going to ensure the financial viability of the Club in a "post ED" world and as far as we were told, through the end of last season and the whole of this, as a minimum as agreed with the FL? We all know shady things happen in football, but there seemed to be a lot of scrutiny and Anderson iirc previously said in interview that he had the money to cover the running costs for that period (didn't mention Deano at the time)

That it's taken less than 12 months to get to a point where Anderson has announced that we don't have the "resources" to pay the December wage bill is disappointing. There's no point observing that we've got a decent manager and are currently sat second in the Division if we don't have a pot to pi$$ in and can't pay the wages.

Anderson seems to be saying from the Bolton News article that he has fresh investment lined up ahead of a meeting with the FL on Thursday - so he must be fairly certain of it. The fact that they don't seem able to agree how much each had invested and whether that was in line with what each promised doesn't bode well. If you can't agree that bit - given you'd hope it was fairly apparent from the internal Accounts, how the fcuk will they produce any Accounts (not the overdue ones, the next lot).

The Bluemarble loan reported as being at eye-watering rates was a facility to Sports Shield BWFC Ltd, although the debenture was signed by Burnden Leisure. (One director of Sports Shield BWFC Ltd - DH).

We clearly need just one person in charge. BN seems to be suggesting that KA is 60% owner because it talks about buying DH's 40% stake, I don't see a way other than KA in the immediate future - it's not like Deano hasn't had 12 months to try and secure other investors to prop up his bit (if that's the bit that's deficient). KA's track record doesn't fill me with any confidence from online reading.

Isn't KA saying that he can fund the club, or presumably bring in investment to do so, but can't or wont do it solo whilst DH is 40% owner? That seemed to be the message. As the article suggested either DH put some in the pot or let KA buy him out. Presumably KA will buy him out at a very, very low price.

I don't like the idea of the club and its supporters being used publically in this game. Equally though I think our continued future and success are sort of linked to Ken's now so he probably offers us the best hope right now. I also think, and this may be dealt naive, but the way his son tweets and the obvious passion he has for the club, and he's also heavily involved, suggests this is slightly more than a simple business project. At least to him. Call me naive.

Isn't it Iles / BN who has made it public as opposed to KA ?, I know that he has a job to do (Iles), but all he had to do was wait a couple of hours and publish the correct facts / story instead of the administration article that could have been /could still be ? potentially damaging to the players / staff morale at the club, especially when things are going well off it.

IMO there was absolutely no need to write the initial administration article.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

If the info isn't being fed/leaked to Iles by Anderson or his people I'd be shocked. He wants Deano's shares, probably at a loss to Deano and he knows Deano loves the club. Apply a bit of public pressure that plays to Deano's love to the club and it makes it more likely Deano dances to Ken's tune.

[Peter Thompson]

On another note Iles mentions that we owe Macron £150k....how is this ?

I thought sponsors paid clubs not the other way around

[Peter Thompson]

If the info isn't being fed/leaked to Iles by Anderson or his people I'd be shocked. He wants Deano's shares, probably at a loss to Deano and he knows Deano loves the club. Apply a bit of public pressure that plays to Deano's love to the club and it makes it more likely Deano dances to Ken's tune.

Yes quite possibly - but he could have still held back an hour or 2 until he got all of the facts, this mornings piece from Iles reads much better than his initial 'administration' article yesterday.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

If the info isn't being fed/leaked to Iles by Anderson or his people I'd be shocked. He wants Deano's shares, probably at a loss to Deano and he knows Deano loves the club. Apply a bit of public pressure that plays to Deano's love to the club and it makes it more likely Deano dances to Ken's tune.

Yes quite possibly - but he could have still held back an hour or 2 until he got all of the facts, this mornings piece from Iles reads much better than his initial 'administration' article yesterday.

Presumably they were the facts at the time. Iles is just doing his job and would get crucified by many if he didn't report it. His boss would take a dim view of losing the website clicks to those Vienna eejits.

[DJBlu]

Marc Iles is a reporter.

Got a scoop, went with it. He's there to sell papers like the rest of em regardless of the story.

Today's story is borderline retraction.

Deano has been done a kipper and if he's to naive to see it then he really shouldn't be in business.

What's that saying "Heart ruling the head"?

[Tombwfc]

Surely the whole point of Anderson and Deano (or substitute <Any New Owner(s)>) was that they, between them, were going to ensure the financial viability of the Club in a "post ED" world and as far as we were told, through the end of last season and the whole of this, as a minimum as agreed with the FL? We all know shady things happen in football, but there seemed to be a lot of scrutiny and Anderson iirc previously said in interview that he had the money to cover the running costs for that period (didn't mention Deano at the time)

That it's taken less than 12 months to get to a point where Anderson has announced that we don't have the "resources" to pay the December wage bill is disappointing. There's no point observing that we've got a decent manager and are currently sat second in the Division if we don't have a pot to pi$$ in and can't pay the wages.

Anderson seems to be saying from the Bolton News article that he has fresh investment lined up ahead of a meeting with the FL on Thursday - so he must be fairly certain of it. The fact that they don't seem able to agree how much each had invested and whether that was in line with what each promised doesn't bode well. If you can't agree that bit - given you'd hope it was fairly apparent from the internal Accounts, how the fcuk will they produce any Accounts (not the overdue ones, the next lot).

The Bluemarble loan reported as being at eye-watering rates was a facility to Sports Shield BWFC Ltd, although the debenture was signed by Burnden Leisure. (One director of Sports Shield BWFC Ltd - DH).

We clearly need just one person in charge. BN seems to be suggesting that KA is 60% owner because it talks about buying DH's 40% stake, I don't see a way other than KA in the immediate future - it's not like Deano hasn't had 12 months to try and secure other investors to prop up his bit (if that's the bit that's deficient). KA's track record doesn't fill me with any confidence from online reading.

Isn't KA saying that he can fund the club, or presumably bring in investment to do so, but can't or wont do it solo whilst DH is 40% owner? That seemed to be the message. As the article suggested either DH put some in the pot or let KA buy him out. Presumably KA will buy him out at a very, very low price.

I don't like the idea of the club and its supporters being used publically in this game. Equally though I think our continued future and success are sort of linked to Ken's now so he probably offers us the best hope right now. I also think, and this may be dealt naive, but the way his son tweets and the obvious passion he has for the club, and he's also heavily involved, suggests this is slightly more than a simple business project. At least to him. Call me naive.

He wasn't saying that beforehand, he was saying everything was in place to fund the club until the end of the season. And that the overdue accounts would be sorted months ago.

Maybe I'm selling him short, but we've spent years trying to find someone willing to put actual money into the club (and still haven't). Do I believe that Ken now has investors on tap if only he can get rid of Deano for next to nowt?

Ken seems to have been involved in a lot of companies, and if you make a list of those that have gone to the wall and those that have flourished due to outside investment and canny business decisions well... one of those lists would be a lot longer than the other.

[BWFC_Insane]

Surely the whole point of Anderson and Deano (or substitute <Any New Owner(s)>) was that they, between them, were going to ensure the financial viability of the Club in a "post ED" world and as far as we were told, through the end of last season and the whole of this, as a minimum as agreed with the FL? We all know shady things happen in football, but there seemed to be a lot of scrutiny and Anderson iirc previously said in interview that he had the money to cover the running costs for that period (didn't mention Deano at the time)

That it's taken less than 12 months to get to a point where Anderson has announced that we don't have the "resources" to pay the December wage bill is disappointing. There's no point observing that we've got a decent manager and are currently sat second in the Division if we don't have a pot to pi$$ in and can't pay the wages.

Anderson seems to be saying from the Bolton News article that he has fresh investment lined up ahead of a meeting with the FL on Thursday - so he must be fairly certain of it. The fact that they don't seem able to agree how much each had invested and whether that was in line with what each promised doesn't bode well. If you can't agree that bit - given you'd hope it was fairly apparent from the internal Accounts, how the fcuk will they produce any Accounts (not the overdue ones, the next lot).

The Bluemarble loan reported as being at eye-watering rates was a facility to Sports Shield BWFC Ltd, although the debenture was signed by Burnden Leisure. (One director of Sports Shield BWFC Ltd - DH).

We clearly need just one person in charge. BN seems to be suggesting that KA is 60% owner because it talks about buying DH's 40% stake, I don't see a way other than KA in the immediate future - it's not like Deano hasn't had 12 months to try and secure other investors to prop up his bit (if that's the bit that's deficient). KA's track record doesn't fill me with any confidence from online reading.

Isn't KA saying that he can fund the club, or presumably bring in investment to do so, but can't or wont do it solo whilst DH is 40% owner? That seemed to be the message. As the article suggested either DH put some in the pot or let KA buy him out. Presumably KA will buy him out at a very, very low price.

I don't like the idea of the club and its supporters being used publically in this game. Equally though I think our continued future and success are sort of linked to Ken's now so he probably offers us the best hope right now. I also think, and this may be dealt naive, but the way his son tweets and the obvious passion he has for the club, and he's also heavily involved, suggests this is slightly more than a simple business project. At least to him. Call me naive.

Isn't it Iles / BN who has made it public as opposed to KA ?, I know that he has a job to do (Iles), but all he had to do was wait a couple of hours and publish the correct facts / story instead of the administration article that could have been /could still be ? potentially damaging to the players / staff morale at the club, especially when things are going well off it.

IMO there was absolutely no need to write the initial administration article.

Now that is naive.

He ran the story because Ken told him to. He didn't give out that direct quote threatening administration because he wanted Iles to keep quiet.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

This morning's BN update is couched in more optimistic terms about an agreement in principle for KA to buy out DH – then get outside investment, quite possibly by selling the same shares, if we can find a patsy to pump in money as a minority partner.

Quick word of support for Marc Iles. If he hadn't reported what he had heard (from people right at the very top of the club) he'd have been derided on here and quite possibly sacked. You can't sit on that sort of information, and nor should you. Iles presented the news in quite a savvy way for those able to read between the lines; it was always likely to be part of the dance as KA attempted to shake out DH – but that doesn't make it any less newsworthy when the chairman and majority shareholder says the club might be in administration before Christmas.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

He ran the story because Ken told him to. He didn't give out that direct quote threatening administration because he wanted Iles to keep quiet.

Aye, Iles more or less says so in his comment piece:

There was a real sense of “here we go again” as The Bolton News pressed the chairman for confirmation that administration was a very real possibility.

Anderson claimed that without a deal between himself and Holdsworth, the only option available would be to bring in the insolvency specialists.

Once that news hit the press, the proverbial penny dropped. Less than an hour later, indication from the club was that a deal had been agreed in principle.

[LeverEnd]

It's ridiculous to suggest Iles should suppress information he's been given directly by the chairman. No journalist would or should ever do that. It would go against everything the job is about.
PT are you saying KA was wrong to give him that information?

[Peter Thompson]

It's ridiculous to suggest Iles should suppress information he's been given directly by the chairman. No journalist would or should ever do that. It would go against everything the job is about.
PT are you saying KA was wrong to give him that information?

No I'm just saying that - but I'm not as sure as others that KA actually told / forced Iles into printing what he did to try and force DH's hand....

I'm also not saying that Iles should suppress any information he's been given, but given the sensitivity involved after all of the issues with ED last season (and the damaging effect it had on the club) this could potentially have damaged morale with the players / staff again, and this would also have made the fans very uneasy - so for me he could have waited a few hours until he got the full facts / story and published what he did this morning instead of what he published yesterday - it would have been far less damaging and would not have attracted the 'bad' publicity that the initial 'administration' article yesterday did i.e. BWFC finances mentioned in regional news bulletins last night & national newspapers this morning.

What he published this morning is absolutely fine....and far less damaging (IMO)

[BWFC_Insane]

It's ridiculous to suggest Iles should suppress information he's been given directly by the chairman. No journalist would or should ever do that. It would go against everything the job is about.
PT are you saying KA was wrong to give him that information?

No I'm just saying that - but I'm not as sure as others that KA actually told / forced Iles into printing what he did to try and force DH's hand....

I'm also not saying that Iles should suppress any information he's been given, but given the sensitivity involved after all of the issues with ED last season (and the damaging effect it had on the club) this could potentially have damaged morale with the players / staff again, and this would also have made the fans very uneasy - so for me he could have waited a few hours until he got the full facts / story and published what he did this morning instead of what he published yesterday - it would have been far less damaging and would not have attracted the 'bad' publicity that the initial 'administration' article yesterday did i.e. BWFC finances mentioned in regional news bulletins last night & national newspapers this morning.

What he published this morning is absolutely fine....and far less damaging (IMO)

Aye right...

Lee Anderson on twitter yesterday after Iles "broke" the story...

superagent73 ‏@superagent73 22h22 hours ago
All bwfc fans need to know that the man in the know is @MarcIles he reports honestly and favours no one . He reports facts and the truth .

If Anderson didn't want the story out there he wouldn't have supplied to quotes to the local journalist. And his son wouldn't be endorsing him like this. Wake up. It's a game to force Deano's hand.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

Iles is not there to do what is best for fans/staff at BWFC, he's there to do what is best for Bolton News. He didn't know if any further facts were imminent or not. He didn't sensationalise it a la Sky Sports or the Sun. I think he reported it about right.