Bury & Bolton

It's now looking very bleak for Bury - I really can't see them surviving now.

Bury's match against Tranmere Rovers on Saturday has become the Shakers' sixth game to be suspended, while Steve Dale has rejected an offer to buy the club. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49410172

 

I don't know precisely when the notice lapses, "by Friday" is all i've seen, so whether that's midnight tonight or EFL close of business Friday, I'm not too sure. But agree, I think they are done for. What I can't understand is how Bolton are still being allowed to continue.

 

I believe the administrator may have misinformed the efl that the takeover was close with FV who are the preferred bidders. But their whole proposal and bid was on the grounds they secured the hotel which is under a different administrator and they have offered a lot less than other bidders.

What is weird is why have Parkinson and Parkin waited till now to hand in their notice. Not been paid for 6 months could have walked in the summer but stuck it out. Have they become privy to some information that means the club can no longer continue or have they been offered jobs elsewhere

 

I suspect its more likely the latter, but who knows.

I don't think the administrators have covered themselves in glory at all, nor the EFL, or the various factions trying to take control of the club, and that goes back a good few years when people clearly who weren't going to expunge £200m of debt were allowed to take the club on and the additional loans were seemingly waived through without any further comment or guidance from the EFL.

Bolton is a huge basket case and I really think the only way they can move forward is to go bust and start again.

 

It's disgusting. Norman Smurthwaite (who previously owned Port Vale) has put an offer on the table which would basically save Bury football club but the completely deluded Steve Dale has rejected the offer because he believes he can get a better deal. Unfortunately I think that is now it for them and I feel so sorry for the Bury fans. I don't know how Steve Dale can sleep at night knowing that Bury are going to get kicked out of the league, he clearly doesn't give a sh*t! How the hell did he pass the fit and proper persons test when he has no money to fund the club? The EFL also have a lot to answer for in this situation.

 

FV made it clear within their business plan that they also wanted the Bolton Whites Hotel as part of any deal. It's interesting that they are not the preferred bidder for the hotel and everything seems to have gone quiet. Are they going to pull out of the deal for the football club if they don't get the hotel? Why did their deal rely so heavily on getting the hotel? I would say football ventures don't have the money and are possibly looking at a way out knowing they are unlikely to get the hotel. Either way I don't think it will be resolved any time soon.

 

I don't think they have the money. From what I have read they haven't paid a penny yet or even shown they have the funds to take the club forward

 

Firmly agree. Which is why I find it highly disappointing that Bolton are being treated very differently to Bury. The administrators should have proof of funds as part of the due diligence on the purchase side of the transaction and if they don't have it, they should be communicating that to the EFL and ruling out the bid.

If none of the bids are acceptable and none allow the club to complete its responsibilities for the season, it should be judged and treated precisely how Bury are.

 

I can't argue with any of this. The worst part about it is that I think Steve Dale has another agenda beyond saving the club because by rejecting the deal I think he has killed them.

 

It's just my opinion but I think the time is completely irrelevant now because I doubt that Dale has any interest in saving the club (I could be wrong and I hope I am). As for Bolton I have no idea why they are getting the lifelines that they are.

 

Agree, I only mentioned the time due to us finding out very soon just whats going to happen. Really not sure why someone who bought the club for a pound and hasn't invested any money at all, would turn down a bid. Not good at all, but I can't imagine just how much money is going to be needed by anyone post acquisition given all the loans and securities at some hefty old rates.

 

The Football League is in a really tough spot, particularly with Bolton. Could you imagine the public outrage if they pulled the plug on Bolton with a takeover in the works? They'd be tarred as club killers. A move like that would put a chill on potential takeovers of other insolvent clubs and it would encourage problem clubs to really cheat behind the scenes to avoid a Bolton-esque situation.

I assume Parkinson has left now, rather than earlier, because the club is unilaterally postponing games. It wasn't by accident that Parkinson was no where to be seen when the club announced their "kids" couldn't play the Donny game. He doesn't want to be be seen as responsible for these types of decisions or have this on his managerial resume.

Despite Bolton's insane debts, Bury is a more dire situation - the owner has no money, they don't have a willing seller, they don't have a willing buyer, and the one guy interested in the club is someone that had trouble keeping Port Vale in business himself.

Where the Football League have erred, I think, is in how they've dealt with these postponements and missed games. Allow two consecutive postponements. After that, further missed games are an automatic loss and a points deduction. Failure to fulfill more than a specified number of games means expulsion.

The Football League would be far safer in the public eye relegating Bolton for their crimes rather than putting Bolton out of business with a half-baked takeover potentially in the cards. They'd get credit from other owners/fans, discourage similar chicanery by other clubs, and avoid the risk of alienating fans by kicking a club out of the league.

 

And then there is the Bassini charlatan.

 

I would guess he inherited the debts too and the offer doesn’t cover the debts

 

I think he was on record saying he wasn't aware of some of the debts the club had until he took over. I recall back under Flitcrofts tenure when they were signing very expensive players for that level, there were articles about some very complex and stupid loan and mortgage set ups picked up by the media. So Dale is either talking rubbish, was unaware of the publicly known debts or his due diligence was shockingly bad to non existent.

 

An update on Bury's situation. Possible extension to tomorrow's deadline with four parties interested in buying the club, one of which allegedly has the backing of Steve Dale.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/49438243

 

Quelle surprise..,......neither of them will be expelled, nobody ever will be, and clubs will continue to overspend and cheat and perhaps go into admin if the gamble fails, and be bought out. Rinse and repeat.......

 

With Bolton, the Efl would sooner the club not be "dealt wirh" by them but sanction a crook to do the job for them!
Either way this is going to end badly for the trotters and i have to say ....i dont have much sympathy.

 

I think what you mean to say, is that clubs don't generally get expelled and then not subsequently return shortly after in one guise or another. Clubs have been expelled from the league but they're usually revived eventually. In the case of Bolton and Bury I think although they're in quite a sad state of affairs and it might take a while for them to return to their former glory - there's no real prospect of either club never returning to the EFL.

Which is why all this commotion is a massive overreaction.

 

If they go, I wouldn't expect either team to be back in the EFL for the next ten years.

As sad as I would be to see clubs with great history fold, I feel that other teams may only start to take notice, if the likes of Bolton go out of business. The EFL have been shocking in their approach to enforcing FFP.