Bolton Debts At £163.8

The saddening thing is, that instead of selling all the players who are on £20k+ a week and starting again like they should, they'll probably gamble all instead and plump for signing more expensive players in a hope that they'll get promoted. Then they'll not get punished for it. And it will continue to happen, just like at Pompey.

I hate to say it, but maybe the best thing to happen is for one of the bigclubs to go bust and set an example to the rest

 

This is the biggest issue for me. Clubs that are carrying obscene amounts of debt are allowed to continue spending. Its mental and means the game suffers massively and its getting worse year on year.

I would imagine if Blackburn don't get promoted in the next 2 years they will be in serious trouble, Bolton seemingly already are and I'd even say Wolves if they dont get back to back promotions.

These clubs have spent so much more than their income. Not 5-10% overspent but I would imagine some are spending more than 50-100% more than their turnover.

The FA need to take control of the situation because at some point as fans are priced further and further out of being able to support their teams there will be a gulf too big to fill and clubs will go under.

In all honesty, I think its already too late. Fans feel so disenfranchised as it is unless you support the big guns the dreams are starting to evaporate.

Its a shame, I once loved this game.

 

When I was at school just about everyone went to Oakwell to watch your dad and his teammates play. It was just the "normal" thing to do. We watched the matches at the weekend and talked about the team all week at school.

These days I get the piss taken out of me by blokes, Barnsley born and bred, who laugh at me for going to Oakwell. What's happened to cause this change? Money.

 

It will all end in tears for a whole lot of clubs.

Only a matter of time.

Barnsley like Dundee United may not have much money but we are certainly on a better financial footing than a lot of clubs.

The future for us might be a struggle but at least we will have a future and a team to support.

Don't think Bolton fans can be sleeping easy after reading that. And they are not alone. IMO once 1 goes it will be a domino effect.

 

Most annoying thing about this for me is that clubs like these can be in that much debt, yet still use their non existent financial clout to poach players that do well with teams like us like they did with Davies..

 

I was just going to say exactly this. Clubs carrying all this debt can seemingly afford to sign players that we can't afford. Portsmouth means nothing to the FA and Football League, who are happy to see it happen again.

However, if any club is to go t!ts up, I'd laugh myself silly if it was Bolton. Gartside made such a mouth about wanting there to be no relegation and promotion between the Premiership and the rest of the league that he deserves all he gets. I wonder if he'd support that theory now, if the Premiership suddenly shut up shop? That club are still suffering from Fat Sam's, ahem, transfer policy, in the same way that Portsmouth suffered for 'Arry's. These managers make a personal fortune, have some level of 'success' and then walk away staying 'nowt to do with me' when the debts become unmanageable.

 

A Wolves fan I know was livid with the board in the summer, he said they were trying to recoup most of the money they'd spent on players. They turned down sizeable offers for the likes of O'Hara and Johnson because it was less than they'd paid for them

 

It sickens me too. I wonder how THEY can compete, rather than us.

Bolton just let Craig Davies go to Wolves and brought in Joe Mason. Davies isn't any better than when he was playing for BFC (even though he is on more money) - and his replacement Mason didn't get a kick against Cranie. Were you impressed by Mason? I wasn't.

Bolton are wasting money hand over fist, and going nowhere fast. Many clubs are haemorrhaging (?) money by paying players far more than they are worth. I still feel this is a buyers market. Cranie is an exceptional footballer, yet we were able to retain him in the summer. There is reason for optimism, but currently our squad is too large - and the budget is spread too thinly. That should not have been allowed to happen.

 

When teams go into administration they get docked 10 points - I believe that is still the rule.

Am I naive in thinking that some kind of sliding scale could be applied so teams get points deductions at the start of the season based on financial losses incurred the previous season?

 

I know, just joshing.