The last few weeks as a Bolton fan have been a whirlwind........no, scratch that, it's been more like a tornado. Everything we hold dear about OUR club has been stretched, tarnished and put under the microscope for all to see. How much of what we are seeing being credible, is actually debatable and causing riffs and fractions throughout a fan base that should really be working together at what seems our most dire situation in the modern era.
Eddie Davies' reluctance to pass on the baton and let someone else takeover seems to be the latest in a long line of "rumours" that has turned Saint Eddie into public enemy number 1. 4 Bidders or interested parties are "rumoured" to be interested in taking over yet no one has shown Eddie the colour of green. For the one that seems to have done so, the goal posts have then been moved.
Will we see a light at the end of the tunnel in this ongoing saga or will it result in administration on the 22nd of Feb?
What role will the Supporters Trust play going forward?
Well let's look at this a bit more in depth and see whether we want a supporters trust in it's current guise or whether the BWFCST themselves have moved the goal posts.
These opinions are my own and in no way reflect the opinion of the site i am posting them on and all the information i am using is publicly available online at the time of writing. Screenshots have been taking as evidence in case anybody see's their arse!
The Supporters Trust is a good thing, there you are, i will start on a positive. In the modern game when the game is surrounded in so much controversy and secrecy surely it is a good thing to have someone who can approach or even sit on the board and represent the fans in a manner fitting that will have their best interests at heart.
So why is there such a split on our own? Some 5000 people have already "pledged" to be a part of the trust. Yet, some of those are regretting the decision. The divide is quite clear on forums across the net and particularly on comments sections on some newspaper sites.
The founding members themselves have stirred mixed emotions too, with some well known in online circles and not doing much for the credibility for the trust.
Let's have a look at our New Chair person;
Richard Hurst (Chair of Steering Group) Let me be the first to point out that whilst Hurst has a vast amount of experience that could be necessary to helping the trust get off on the right foot, who decided to actually put him in charge? I've pledged my support and was never asked about his appointment. Also with his close links with certain members of the current BWFC board, surely this should be seen as a conflict of interest. If needs be, people should be allowed PUBLICLY to express their interest and then a vote to get things moving. A vast number of emails and questions seemingly being ignored by the current set up is doing nothing for them amongst the rumour mills.
The others who are involved have also put themselves in the firing line. One who bought a domain similar to that of a rivals website and pointed it to an adult website. One who used a random image from the internet as his profile pic on the BWFCST website instead of his own. Contradictions of their intentions at every twist and turn in this doomed and saddening story.
Like i said above, i have screenshots of said things, so not just conjecture.
Now speaking of intentions, my intention for joining the BWFCST is because i want US, the fans, to have a voice in the boardroom, to be able to know what is actually going on. I DO NOT want the BWFCST to own or part own the club. Why i hear you ask? Well it is quite simple really. We are a northern town vying with big clubs and have a limited fan base. As fans we can't fund a club who has premier league ambitions, not without huge investment from local businesses who will then take the power away from the fans anyway. The best we can hope for as a fan owned team would be league 1! Would you seriously be happy with that? If we don't have the ambition of being in the top league and playing with the best the country has to offer then what is the point? Why limit ourselves to FA Trophies and celebrating making round 4 of the FA Cup like we have won the whole thing?
As fans we need to state what WE want from the supporters trust. It is OUR trust after all and if the majority do or don't want to go down the road of being a fan owned club then that is what needs to happen. A handful of people do not reflect the entire fan base, yet at the moment that is what is being publicised.
ALL decisions need to be put to the fans and if it takes longer for the ball to get rolling because of it then at least it will be done the right way with the fans best interests at heart.
Once in, Never out.
Bolton til we die!
Eddie Davies' reluctance to pass on the baton and let someone else takeover seems to be the latest in a long line of "rumours" that has turned Saint Eddie into public enemy number 1. 4 Bidders or interested parties are "rumoured" to be interested in taking over yet no one has shown Eddie the colour of green. For the one that seems to have done so, the goal posts have then been moved.
Will we see a light at the end of the tunnel in this ongoing saga or will it result in administration on the 22nd of Feb?
What role will the Supporters Trust play going forward?
Well let's look at this a bit more in depth and see whether we want a supporters trust in it's current guise or whether the BWFCST themselves have moved the goal posts.
These opinions are my own and in no way reflect the opinion of the site i am posting them on and all the information i am using is publicly available online at the time of writing. Screenshots have been taking as evidence in case anybody see's their arse!
The Supporters Trust is a good thing, there you are, i will start on a positive. In the modern game when the game is surrounded in so much controversy and secrecy surely it is a good thing to have someone who can approach or even sit on the board and represent the fans in a manner fitting that will have their best interests at heart.
So why is there such a split on our own? Some 5000 people have already "pledged" to be a part of the trust. Yet, some of those are regretting the decision. The divide is quite clear on forums across the net and particularly on comments sections on some newspaper sites.
The founding members themselves have stirred mixed emotions too, with some well known in online circles and not doing much for the credibility for the trust.
Let's have a look at our New Chair person;
Richard Hurst (Chair of Steering Group) Let me be the first to point out that whilst Hurst has a vast amount of experience that could be necessary to helping the trust get off on the right foot, who decided to actually put him in charge? I've pledged my support and was never asked about his appointment. Also with his close links with certain members of the current BWFC board, surely this should be seen as a conflict of interest. If needs be, people should be allowed PUBLICLY to express their interest and then a vote to get things moving. A vast number of emails and questions seemingly being ignored by the current set up is doing nothing for them amongst the rumour mills.
The others who are involved have also put themselves in the firing line. One who bought a domain similar to that of a rivals website and pointed it to an adult website. One who used a random image from the internet as his profile pic on the BWFCST website instead of his own. Contradictions of their intentions at every twist and turn in this doomed and saddening story.
Like i said above, i have screenshots of said things, so not just conjecture.
Now speaking of intentions, my intention for joining the BWFCST is because i want US, the fans, to have a voice in the boardroom, to be able to know what is actually going on. I DO NOT want the BWFCST to own or part own the club. Why i hear you ask? Well it is quite simple really. We are a northern town vying with big clubs and have a limited fan base. As fans we can't fund a club who has premier league ambitions, not without huge investment from local businesses who will then take the power away from the fans anyway. The best we can hope for as a fan owned team would be league 1! Would you seriously be happy with that? If we don't have the ambition of being in the top league and playing with the best the country has to offer then what is the point? Why limit ourselves to FA Trophies and celebrating making round 4 of the FA Cup like we have won the whole thing?
As fans we need to state what WE want from the supporters trust. It is OUR trust after all and if the majority do or don't want to go down the road of being a fan owned club then that is what needs to happen. A handful of people do not reflect the entire fan base, yet at the moment that is what is being publicised.
ALL decisions need to be put to the fans and if it takes longer for the ball to get rolling because of it then at least it will be done the right way with the fans best interests at heart.
Once in, Never out.
Bolton til we die!