Bolton, Bury and How Many More?

SantaClausisanEvertonian · July 26, 2019

The plight of Bolton Wanderers is pretty well known by now. Massive debts, uncertainty about a takeover, and only a handful of players on the books, eight days before the start of their season.
It seems that Bury are in a real mess and, if the media are to be believed, may not even start the season.
Rochdale are rumoured to be in a similar state too.
So two questions Blue People;
1. Are these clubs just the tip of a very large iceberg?
2. Is the Premier League at least partly responsible for this, insomuch as the clubs in our league are awash with tv money, whilst the likes of Bolton have a food bank for their staff and no money to pay the players?
(I am aware of course that Bolton have one seriously dodgy owner but that's not the whole story).
Any thoughts my friends?

larbert toffee · July 26, 2019

SantaClausisanEvertonian said:
The plight of Bolton Wanderers is pretty well known by now. Massive debts, uncertainty about a takeover, and only a handful of players on the books, eight days before the start of their season.
It seems that Bury are in a real mess and, if the media are to be believed, may not even start the season.
Rochdale are rumoured to be in a similar state too.
So two questions Blue People;
1. Are these clubs just the tip of a very large iceberg?
2. Is the Premier League at least partly responsible for this, insomuch as the clubs in our league are awash with tv money, whilst the likes of Bolton have a food bank for their staff and no money to pay the players?
(I am aware of course that Bolton have one seriously dodgy owner but that's not the whole story).
Any thoughts my friends?

Talking about this very thing yesterday, but generally about the Premier league itself, surely the bubble is going to burst at the top when revenues peak, media money to clubs is reduced and debts taken on the strength of that cashflow are called to heal, it is all something very similar to the economy boom and bust if you equate the cost of players and wages spiralling to the cost of housing and the way that went.

Something has got to give eventually and I just hope that Everton are being managed fiscally correct and not in the firing line when there is a downturn.

As for the smaller clubs you mentioned it is a shame they are in that predicament and feel that the football world of wealth should see these clubs (barring bad money management) having more share of that wealth to allow them to at least remain in existence from season to season.

Before academies these were our feeder clubs and that is probably where they are missing their revenue most.

SantaClausisanEvertonian · July 26, 2019

Great answer Larbert and I think you're spot on.
The bubble will burst eventually and we should never forget how close we came to relegation in the 90s.
I fear that a lot of clubs are only one relegation and one hopeless owner away from disaster.

chrismpw · July 26, 2019

Football is shadowing British society. The wealthy have become expert in collecting yet more cash for themselves, the cash is finite and inevitably comes from the poorer.

Altruism is becoming rarer. It's the inevitable consequence of a wealthy media rigged to convince the electorate to favour the sociopathic tory party.

It stinks. Revolution is the only answer, but against one of the best funded, equipped and trained army on the planet, paid for by those who would wish to bring it about?

I just do my best by holding the uk in utter contempt.

degsy · July 27, 2019

SantaClausisanEvertonian said:
The plight of Bolton Wanderers is pretty well known by now. Massive debts, uncertainty about a takeover, and only a handful of players on the books, eight days before the start of their season.
It seems that Bury are in a real mess and, if the media are to be believed, may not even start the season.
Rochdale are rumoured to be in a similar state too.
So two questions Blue People;
1. Are these clubs just the tip of a very large iceberg?
2. Is the Premier League at least partly responsible for this, insomuch as the clubs in our league are awash with tv money, whilst the likes of Bolton have a food bank for their staff and no money to pay the players?
(I am aware of course that Bolton have one seriously dodgy owner but that's not the whole story).
Any thoughts my friends?

Just as wage pressure, inflation and other expenses made small local manufacturing industries unprofitable. So the Lancashire Clubs (and in other places) in small towns have been dying since the aboliton of the maximum wage in the early 60s.
The PL is a financial and economic 'flu which took 100yrs to finally mutated into the 1919 killer version we see today

Alanbileysfeathercut · July 27, 2019

Clubs must star living within their means.
Lower clubs wage bills must be frightening.
Greedy players don't help the situation.

twoblue · July 27, 2019

SantaClausisanEvertonian said:
The plight of Bolton Wanderers is pretty well known by now. Massive debts, uncertainty about a takeover, and only a handful of players on the books, eight days before the start of their season.
It seems that Bury are in a real mess and, if the media are to be believed, may not even start the season.
Rochdale are rumoured to be in a similar state too.
So two questions Blue People;
1. Are these clubs just the tip of a very large iceberg?
2. Is the Premier League at least partly responsible for this, insomuch as the clubs in our league are awash with tv money, whilst the likes of Bolton have a food bank for their staff and no money to pay the players?
(I am aware of course that Bolton have one seriously dodgy owner but that's not the whole story).
Any thoughts my friends?

These small greater Manchester provincial teams have no chance. It was have hard enough with United but now city are so big the next generation of fan won’t be interested in these sides. It’s a real shame, we think the top six have swallowed the premier league, but these fans would swap anything to be in Everton’s shoes

atrottel · July 27, 2019

SantaClausisanEvertonian said:
(I am aware of course that Bolton have one seriously dodgy owner but that's not the whole story).

But to be fair, it very often is. Look at Notts County, Charlton, Darlington, Coventry, Blackpool, etc, etc. A lot of problems would be averted if the FA and PL even stuck to their admittedly extremely weak 'fit and proper persons' test rather than letting dubious owners take over clubs and strip the assets (like the ground, the car park, the relegation money) while paying themselves massive 'dividends' for failure.