Ken Anderson - Old Owner (Definitely. For Ever ..... )

[BWFC_Insane]

I don't agree with that argument, but I could possibly have more sympathy with where the snake was coming from if he didn't follow it up by having a pop at the fans for not shelling out.

Broadly though I don’t care who says it. Our attendance average last season puts us 17th and we have some of the cheapest season tickets so our overal revenue from gate receipts is bottom 5 or 6. Yet Bolton fans can’t see that without Eddies millions we are a lower table championship side, if we live within our means or come close to it, arguably bottom 6 championship side resource wise. Our expectations were raised by an owner pumping his money in and the brilliance of Allardyce. But we are doing currently probably better than we should be. Yet everyone is moaning. And at the same time won’t fork out to attend.

You moan more than most, about almost everything.
I also get the impression you don't ever attend that often, certainly no away games.

Troll is as troll does.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I don't agree with that argument, but I could possibly have more sympathy with where the snake was coming from if he didn't follow it up by having a pop at the fans for not shelling out.

Broadly though I don’t care who says it. Our attendance average last season puts us 17th and we have some of the cheapest season tickets so our overal revenue from gate receipts is bottom 5 or 6. Yet Bolton fans can’t see that without Eddies millions we are a lower table championship side, if we live within our means or come close to it, arguably bottom 6 championship side resource wise. Our expectations were raised by an owner pumping his money in and the brilliance of Allardyce. But we are doing currently probably better than we should be. Yet everyone is moaning. And at the same time won’t fork out to attend.

You moan more than most, about almost everything.
I also get the impression you don't ever attend that often, certainly no away games.

Troll is as troll does.

Wahay! That makes sense. Bit like you then...

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I don't agree with that argument, but I could possibly have more sympathy with where the snake was coming from if he didn't follow it up by having a pop at the fans for not shelling out.

Broadly though I don’t care who says it. Our attendance average last season puts us 17th and we have some of the cheapest season tickets so our overal revenue from gate receipts is bottom 5 or 6. Yet Bolton fans can’t see that without Eddies millions we are a lower table championship side, if we live within our means or come close to it, arguably bottom 6 championship side resource wise. Our expectations were raised by an owner pumping his money in and the brilliance of Allardyce. But we are doing currently probably better than we should be. Yet everyone is moaning. And at the same time won’t fork out to attend.

You moan more than most, about almost everything.
I also get the impression you don't ever attend that often, certainly no away games.

Troll is as troll does.

Wahay! That makes sense. Bit like you then...

So, go on then. When was the last time you went Away?

[Enoch]

Not lately enough!

[nicholaldo]

Must this personal vendetta infect every thread?

The attempt to turn a benign exchange into a pissing contest being just the latest development of the obsession.

[Lennon'sEleven]

Right - back on topic...

Anderson gave Iles an interview (an establishment of more cordial relations that maybe one or two on this forum could learn from?).

Anyway, back on topic...

The interview write-up provides a more detailed timeline of what happened in the build-up to the administration debacle: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/1 ... wanderers/

What I feel most uneasy about is the loan from ED to KA then being re-loaned by KA to BWFC.

"The Bolton owner has declined to comment on whether the cash has been loaned on to the club at a higher interest rate" than the one he agreed with ED, "or indeed how much of it was used to repay BluMarble, insisting the details must remain private because of a non-disclosure agreement."

There may be NDAs in play. But Ken likes to be seen as a straight-talker, and I feel that if he is not charging more interest on his loan to the club than Ed was charging to him on the initial loan then he would find a way to say it. It is in his interest (ahem) to do so in order to stave off criticism (and boy does Ken dislike criticism).

Maybe we will find out the full details one day. I am uneasy about it though - and I am firmly in the "had enough of Ken" camp. I just don't trust him.

[BWFC_Insane]

Right - back on topic...

Anderson gave Iles an interview (an establishment of more cordial relations that maybe one or two on this forum could learn from?).

Anyway, back on topic...

The interview write-up provides a more detailed timeline of what happened in the build-up to the administration debacle: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/1 ... wanderers/

What I feel most uneasy about is the loan from ED to KA then being re-loaned by KA to BWFC.

"The Bolton owner has declined to comment on whether the cash has been loaned on to the club at a higher interest rate" than the one he agreed with ED, "or indeed how much of it was used to repay BluMarble, insisting the details must remain private because of a non-disclosure agreement."

There may be NDAs in play. But Ken likes to be seen as a straight-talker, and I feel that if he is not charging more interest on his loan to the club than Ed was charging to him on the initial loan then he would find a way to say it. It is in his interest (ahem) to do so in order to stave off criticism (and boy does Ken dislike criticism).

Maybe we will find out the full details one day. I am uneasy about it though - and I am firmly in the "had enough of Ken" camp. I just don't trust him.

The trust has gone for me too. But he's the only gig in town.

His comments about using administration to "play a game" to save money (so he claims) are absolutely disgraceful and show a complete lack of understanding about what the club means to the people in the town and the supporters in general.

[Enoch]

Why would there have ever been any 'trust' in a fella with Anderson's form.

Fact is he stepped in when there was a need for someone to do so. Something that not one of his critics here had the ability, nor the bollocks to do and thus far we are still running out on a Saturday afternoon.

[BWFC_Insane]

Why would there have ever been any 'trust' in a fella with Anderson's form.

Fact is he stepped in when there was a need for someone to do so. Something that not one of his critics here had the ability, nor the bollocks to do and thus far we are still running out on a Saturday afternoon.

Yep I think that is fair enough. However, I guess the big question is - is he actually doing anything that others couldn't- he didn't pay for the club and hasn't seemingly sunk a single penny into it. He's relying on loans (a big one from Eddie who has now passed away) and other friends of the club to keep us going. All whilst be a bit economical with the truth. The loan from ED will only be paid back with another loan. This cannot go on forever. And the position he leaves us in is how he'll be judged and that is far from certain.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Possibly Ken's longest column yet (but I'm buggered if I'm going back and word-counting)

https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/2018/octobe ... chairman5/

Includes some ticket-offer details which may be new:

"For the Swansea City game on Saturday 10 November, all season ticket holders will be able to purchase up to four additional tickets for the match, at a discounted price of £10 per ticket... To further strengthen the benefit of being a season ticket holder, we will also be introducing a ‘bring a friend for free’ offer for a home game in the New Year. Again, this will be an opportunity for a Wanderers season ticket holder to bring a close associate with them at no extra charge. This offer will also be extended to those who purchase a half season ticket."

[bristol_Wanderer3]

The interview with Iles maybe a sign of more cordial relations, or maybe a KA attempt to spin the known facts into a narrative not unfavourable to KA. Questions I would have are:

1.) Where physically was KA on the morning of 10th September, and how involved was he in those last minute negotiations?
2.) Why, if the reporting was correct, did Parky have to be involved?
3.) What would have happened with the £5m loan from ED had we gone into administration?

As BWFCI states, this isn't the way you run a business that is important to a large community of people. You don't gamble with the whole future of the business as though you are in a poker game. It is the equivalent of getting to the river needing one of nine cards to make a flush, with your whole wealth, and house keys and most of your clothes in the middle. And he plays the same way in every game (transaction). In a real poker game, he would be the first to be invited to the next game, because the whole table has a read on him, and he only knows one way to play. His chips (our club) are eventually going to be lost to someone.

[BWFC_Insane]

The interview with Iles maybe a sign of more cordial relations, or maybe a KA attempt to spin the known facts into a narrative not unfavourable to KA. Questions I would have are:

1.) Where physically was KA on the morning of 10th September, and how involved was he in those last minute negotiations?
2.) Why, if the reporting was correct, did Parky have to be involved?
3.) What would have happened with the £5m loan from ED had we gone into administration?

As BWFCI states, this isn't the way you run a business that is important to a large community of people. You don't gamble with the whole future of the business as though you are in a poker game. It is the equivalent of getting to the river needing one of nine cards to make a flush, with your whole wealth, and house keys and most of your clothes in the middle. And he plays the same way in every game (transaction). In a real poker game, he would be the first to be invited to the next game, because the whole table has a read on him, and he only knows one way to play. His chips (our club) are eventually going to be lost to someone.

I can live with him taking risk and gambling to save us money. Its what he does.

What I cannot under any circumstance live with is his inistance on playing it out in public. If he knew full well (as he claims and I doubt but still) that admin was not happening - to post that message at 11pm the night before saying "sorry we're going into admin..." on the official site was a disgrace. It messes with the emotions of fans. I felt incredibly flat when I read that. As I'm sure did most fans of the club. You will always have folk who pretend they "knew all along" or that it didn't affect them but most people it did.

He didn't need to post it. He could have just kept quiet let the press report it, then sort it all out.

But using the official club news channel for that is not acceptable.

[bristol_Wanderer3]

He didn't need to post it. He could have just kept quiet let the press report it, then sort it all out.

Quite. And for a bloke who likes to get out in front of things when dealing with the media, why generate all that negative publicity for him and the club on a national level when he was confident it wouldn't get to that stage?

[irie Cee Bee]

The trust has gone for me too. But he's the only gig in town.

His comments about using administration to "play a game" to save money (so he claims) are absolutely disgraceful and show a complete lack of understanding about what the club means to the people in the town and the supporters in general.

This!

[Harry Genshaw]

Middle Eastern and US investors fighting it out to take us over according to Ken.

Someone with deep oil wells and deep pockets please

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Middle Eastern and US investors fighting it out to take us over according to Ken.

Someone with deep oil wells and deep pockets please

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/16 ... wanderers/

Ken:

Both have got all the figures, and they both have the money – that’s the main thing. And as of last night, it’s first past the post.

To put them into context, we have had a lot of inquiries but over the course of our time here we’ve probably had 10 serious offers, and five who have proved they have the funds. I've always said that if someone comes along with the funds to take the club forward, I would have no problem. And we are talking here about people with substantial funding [...]

What happens now is down to them. They may choose not to come back at all. But when you only have one offer you are forced to go at their pace, with two you can have more control.

Iles:

Anderson has confirmed a figure of £30m has been put on the table for his shares in parent company Burnden Leisure.

“That was the figure offered to me,” he said. “And whether you are selling a car, a house, whatever, it’s worth what people are prepared to pay.”

Seems more serious than at any other point under Ken, but as we've repeatedly found out, strange things happen...

[Peter Thompson]

Lets hope KA can pull this off....if so, he's managed to do something (i.e. bring in serious investment) that no one previously has managed to do since ED backed us in the premier league.

IMO he will deserve to make the money that he will if he gets this over the line - I just hope that its serious, as it could be the best news that we've had in 10 years as BWFC fans.

[TANGODANCER]

I'm just hoping that if Ken does sell he'll clear his desk, settle all the bills and leave us with a clean fresh start and his own reputation intact(at least as far as Bolton are concerned) . We've had all the snakes and ladders we need in spades this last couple of years. "Semper Prorsum" (always forwards) is the motto we need now.

[nicholaldo]

For what it's worth, Nixon's saying that he thinks the Americans have left and this is just Ken trying to create an auction. It's encouraging that we're now hearing reports about prove of funding being in place, though.

[Peter Thompson]

For what it's worth, Nixon's saying that he thinks the Americans have left and this is just Ken trying to create an auction. It's encouraging that we're now hearing reports about prove of funding being in place, though.

I'm not sure how ITK Nixon actually is these days at BWFC, and surely he's not close enough to KA to know what's happening with these potential investors....if Iles spoke to KA last night before publishing the story today, I would like to think that there are still the 2 interested parties.