Administration and recovery

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

EFL plan for life - or at least a season - without Bury:

[bristol_Wanderer3]

^^Interesting, the final paragraph of the EFL statement reads:

Bury would then be free to make an application to the Football Association to re-join league competition further down the English football pyramid from season 2020/21.

I didn't instinctively read "further down the English football pyramid" as L2, but happy for Bury if that is the case..

[DJBlu]

Selfish as this may sound but if Bury are thrown out of the League then the example setting for missing games just became a whole lot worse.

[Harry Genshaw]

Awful news. I don't particularly like Bury FC and I know several of their fans that would celebrate our demise but I wouldn't wish this on them or anyone. You'd think Dale would happily take any reasonable offer that allows him to walk away with some of the cash and none of the responsibility. There does seem to be a Ken'esque vindictiveness about him though, that does not bode well for them come Friday.

As has been said; I do worry if the EFL will see this as an easier opportunity to kill 2 for 1. One big furore about two established clubs getting kicked out that'd soon die down.

[officer_dibble]

Dales worse than Ken

I’m still not convinced admin is better than Ken. Why not loan some players with clubs covering 100% of their wages? There must be players kicking their heels in teams within the region. The admins don’t give a feck about this club. And how much are they costing the process! 🤯

[Prufrock]

Awful news. I don't particularly like Bury FC and I know several of their fans that would celebrate our demise but I wouldn't wish this on them or anyone. You'd think Dale would happily take any reasonable offer that allows him to walk away with some of the cash and none of the responsibility. There does seem to be a Ken'esque vindictiveness about him though, that does not bode well for them come Friday.

As has been said; I do worry if the EFL will see this as an easier opportunity to kill 2 for 1. One big furore about two established clubs getting kicked out that'd soon die down.

Especially with Bolton-Bury scheduled to take place in front of the Sky cameras on Super Sunday 8 September.

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[Bertie Wooster]

Someone's just streamed Bassini's hour long meet the fans session outside the Reebok, the man's absolutely off his box but I think that he's our next owner - and he's absolutely convinced

He has made a few libellous statements about people connected with the sale of the club, and doesn't seem bothered about any repercussions, there are apparently lots of things happening behind the scenes, many involved are corrupt according to LB. But he wants the club I'm sure of that, he's come up to Bolton again with about 6 security staff & is back down in London tomorrow apparently meeting Mr Sullivan. he is an absolute nutcase but he's very serious about getting the club & he is convinced that he will get it.

He has got a good manager lined up as well as 8-10 players with premiership & championship experience (mentioned West Ham & Arsenal), but would not expand. He says loads of stuff will come out in the next week regarding what has been going on behind the scenes with the admins etc.

[BWFC_Insane]

I think on balance I’d rather us be liquidated than ever have to see Bassini at this club again. The game being played is utterly disgraceful.

[Bertie Wooster]

I think on balance I’d rather us be liquidated than ever have to see Bassini at this club again. The game being played is utterly disgraceful.

What game ?

[officer_dibble]

He’s a clown at a sideshow. I wish people would stop giving him airtime.

I’m surprised he made libellous statements in front of his lawyer mind. Can’t be worth his fee!

[Unknown Stranger]

You dont have to believe anything.

Deal was settled with administrators several times, each time postponing at last minute. Reason "new development".

It is understood the administrators would prefer a non-football solution.

We're told one of these potential non-football solutions are looking into different possibilities of converting the stadium to other uses. Family member believes no sell or liqudation will take place until there is more information on the viability of the non-football solution.

Process is likely to take several months. Meanwhile club is going to be resting with minimal maintainance.

Struggle has been real. A puzzle. Investing millions in a company all internal and external parties agree has no possibility of generating any value even in the mid term future is a difficult task made impossible with administrators, former owners and potential bidders actively working against the deal that would secure Bolton FC as a football club in at least in the short term.

Dozens of people have worked hard to make this deal go through and we are extremely disappointed with the situation. To emphasize getting the maximum value out of the Horwich facilities and completely ignoring the potential of a globally known brand such as Bolton Football Club is a huge mistake, as we see it.

There are legal questionmarks regarding the acts and attitudes of the administrators but the situation is sill volatile enough that taking legal action would be harmful for us as well as the club.

I am posting this summary of a Skype conversation with my family member, part of a or rather multiple bids to rescue the club. As any Bolton fan or employee he is very annoyed with the lack of transparency.

Family member loves the club, a frequent goer since the 80's and has always brought Bolton merchandise when we meet once or twice every year. Right now of course he is devastated, but more so angry, because the TLDR of the likely development at the moment is that you are going to sit around for months praying for the future of your club just to see it fold and the arena turned in to some mall, parking house or whatever the grand plan is. To quote him directly: "its a fecking disgrace".

[BWFC_Insane]

You dont have to believe anything.

Deal was settled with administrators several times, each time postponing at last minute. Reason "new development".

It is understood the administrators would prefer a non-football solution.

We're told one of these potential non-football solutions are looking into different possibilities of converting the stadium to other uses. Family member believes no sell or liqudation will take place until there is more information on the viability of the non-football solution.

Process is likely to take several months. Meanwhile club is going to be resting with minimal maintainance.

Struggle has been real. A puzzle. Investing millions in a company all internal and external parties agree has no possibility of generating any value even in the mid term future is a difficult task made impossible with administrators, former owners and potential bidders actively working against the deal that would secure Bolton FC as a football club in at least in the short term.

Dozens of people have worked hard to make this deal go through and we are extremely disappointed with the situation. To emphasize getting the maximum value out of the Horwich facilities and completely ignoring the potential of a globally known brand such as Bolton Football Club is a huge mistake, as we see it.

There are legal questionmarks regarding the acts and attitudes of the administrators but the situation is sill volatile enough that taking legal action would be harmful for us as well as the club.

I am posting this summary of a Skype conversation with my family member, part of a or rather multiple bids to rescue the club. As any Bolton fan or employee he is very annoyed with the lack of transparency.

Family member loves the club, a frequent goer since the 80's and has always brought Bolton merchandise when we meet once or twice every year. Right now of course he is devastated, but more so angry, because the TLDR of the likely development at the moment is that you are going to sit around for months praying for the future of your club just to see it fold and the arena turned in to some mall, parking house or whatever the grand plan is. To quote him directly: "its a fecking disgrace".

Please just go away!

[Harry Genshaw]

You dont have to believe anything.

Deal was settled with administrators several times, each time postponing at last minute. Reason "new development".

It is understood the administrators would prefer a non-football solution.

We're told one of these potential non-football solutions are looking into different possibilities of converting the stadium to other uses. Family member believes no sell or liqudation will take place until there is more information on the viability of the non-football solution.

Process is likely to take several months. Meanwhile club is going to be resting with minimal maintainance.

Struggle has been real. A puzzle. Investing millions in a company all internal and external parties agree has no possibility of generating any value even in the mid term future is a difficult task made impossible with administrators, former owners and potential bidders actively working against the deal that would secure Bolton FC as a football club in at least in the short term.

Dozens of people have worked hard to make this deal go through and we are extremely disappointed with the situation. To emphasize getting the maximum value out of the Horwich facilities and completely ignoring the potential of a globally known brand such as Bolton Football Club is a huge mistake, as we see it.

There are legal questionmarks regarding the acts and attitudes of the administrators but the situation is sill volatile enough that taking legal action would be harmful for us as well as the club.

I am posting this summary of a Skype conversation with my family member, part of a or rather multiple bids to rescue the club. As any Bolton fan or employee he is very annoyed with the lack of transparency.

Family member loves the club, a frequent goer since the 80's and has always brought Bolton merchandise when we meet once or twice every year. Right now of course he is devastated, but more so angry, because the TLDR of the likely development at the moment is that you are going to sit around for months praying for the future of your club just to see it fold and the arena turned in to some mall, parking house or whatever the grand plan is. To quote him directly: "its a fecking disgrace".

Oh it's Mr Sorted for Tuesday.

You've less than 2 hours ya prick

[nicholaldo]

It's just tragic at this stage, isn't it? Or is it farcical? I can't quite be sure. Can it be both?

I look at other clubs and it feels as if they exist in a separate world.

[Prufrock]

People talk to you like you're bereaved. Chelsea fan at work complaining about their transfer ban, caught my eye and then just tailed off.

[jimbo]

People talk to you like you're bereaved. Chelsea fan at work complaining about their transfer ban, caught my eye and then just tailed off.

People just avoid the topic of football with me completely!

[officer_dibble]

People talk to you like you're bereaved. Chelsea fan at work complaining about their transfer ban, caught my eye and then just tailed off.

Haha I caught a fan of another club moaning and I just looked and said “Could be worse!”, with agreement of course. The biggest shit show in town!

[Unknown Stranger]

I just want to clarify how difficult this deal is because some here appear to believe it is as easy as
"Just sign the deal"
Its not that simple. Bidders negotiate with the administrators and as I mentioned before they are not very simple to deal with. "Awaiting development from other potential bidders". "Found a new black hole, need more money". The latter part is extremely difficult.

There's no sheik from Oman involved here. If they ask for more funds, we also have to ask for more funds. And more often than not, the people we ask needs to ask someone else.

There is also no way of pretending or portraying it as a financially sound investment. You need to lift every rock. We hired a data analysis company just to evaluate the potential future market value of some of the young players. We contact Arsenal for their approval to reveal potential future Rob Holding payments to potential investors. If they say no, you need to do it all over. And its not just Rob Holding - it is 25+ players and not every club responds quickly or positive to the requests.

The financial documentation from the last ownership is complete monkey. The club has in some cases been asking for early payments on deals originally to be paid in installments over a longer period. "Are these money for player X still coming next year?". "No, we settled the deal in March". That kind of stuff is ever present. A lot of money seems to have turned into thin air.

Everyone in the business has known for a lot of years that there is a big , £100m black hole in Bolton that has been there for twenty years or so. For a long time however enough money was poured into that hole to keep everyone happy. The last few years it seems another black hole has occurred. Money that more or less without a trace has disappeared from the club.

Do you take legal action against potential criminal acts from previous owners? You need to invest money that simply is not there in lawyers with the right expertise and what ultimately happens is that you trace the money to some nation with very high bank secrecy or you win the case but you never see the money.

Ultimately you go for the "let go" option but the numerous question marks and there is always a worry some dirty surprise will appear from the closet. Administrators have a hard time from a legal perspective finding a buyer and handing over the club when there could be obstacles the buyers should have been made aware of. For buyers & investors, you dont the rocket science knowledge to understand it is a very difficult, sensitive and challenging investment.

As said in my previous post the new path since a few weeks - at least it is how it seems - is to increasingly look at the values and potential of the assets outside football itself. It is more important to get a safe, as-simple-as-possible solution than to run a football club.

Regarding the hotel, my family member (or rather relative, who draws the line?) is obviously quite outspoken during our venting sessions, but his only comment on the hotel was "you know the Chernobyl series you liked? Wait for the one about the hotel. Double intrigue, double madness, double drama, and the same outcome. Imagine me being in a meeting all weekend, not spending any time with *** and *** and making very slow progress, and in the end, someone tells you negotiations are postponed because some friend to *** claims that he has Qatari backers that want a neutral sporting ground with a hotel to improve relations with the Saudis. Everyone in the room knows its utter madness, yet the decision is to investigate the claims. It is a bit too sensitive and I cant say much about it but without the hotel the club would either be in safe hands or liquidated at this point. "

[Martin_Cruise]

Just to throw something into the mix. Some Bolton fans hate that ground in Horwich and would be more than happy if it was sold, demolished andwith the money a cheaper stadium was built back in Bolton town centre 6 miles away.Nothing wrong with the stadium itself but the location of it is awful.
I'd be happy to do a Coventry and groundshare with another club for a few years while the new stadium was built.The annual rates on that ground in Horwich was more than both Sheffield clubs pay combined at the last count, the rates to Bolton council would be a lot less in a cheaper area ie close to the town centre.

[Hoboh]

I really fail to understand why some are so dismissive of this stranger fella, he could well be a wind up merchant but a lot of what he says could well ring true. My opinion has been for a while that certain party's do not have the health of the football side of things as a priority, just the assets. The question of where money has seemingly vanished has been posed many times on this and other forums, who knows? Deep down unless someone who has cash coming out of every orifice and a top legal team to see off spurious set ups ,backs someone who wannts a football club I really truly do believe we will go down the pan.