Latest shit from the ST

I signed up to the ST from the off,but I can't help feeling they're turning into a rather amiable version of The Lavender Hill Mob.

Sluffy wrote:

bwfc1874 wrote:

Sluffy wrote:They want to take over the club (we already know that) but if you are not for the them (the ST) you can go and fuck yourselves as they won't work with you if you want too save the club too (even if you were a billionaire)!  So much for what might be best for the clubs interests then!


When speaking to all of these potential partners, we have made it abundantly clear that this is a scheme to bring BWFC back into the heart of the Bolton community. We will not be working with anyone who is not committed to this fundamental aim.

Funny how differently we interpret the same thing isn't it, seems reasonable to me that if they're running a 'community led project' then any potential partner is on board with that.

A football club (or at least as we want them to be) isn't a 'community led project' though.

Football supporters themselves are a minority in their own community for a start!  The population of Bolton Metro (the club is situated in Horwich remember) is roughly 260,000 - less than 10% than that bother to actually support the club during its best days.

No community led ventures will take on financial risk - their constitutions prohibit them - so say good bye to any player transfer costing more than say £50,000, they aren't going to happen.  Similarly players wages will be limited to what the club can afford on people coming through the turnstiles, so expect them to be at best £150,000 per year, so we aren't going to ever be able to keep any decent player for more than a season until he is snapped up from us from a non 'community led club' like a Wigan or a Burnley because they can invest in their team at a risk to their owners bank accounts whilst we simply are not allowed to do.

If people want us to be a bottom feeder club - possibly even going part time and entering the conference league and lower - then congratulations as this is what a 'community led project' will take us.

If you do want one of them, then there are plenty about all ready - go and follow your local one like Atherton Collieries, Daisy Hill FC, Bromley Cross, Tempest United or go glory hunting at even bigger clubs like Chorley or Leigh Genesis because these are the type of clubs with severely limited financial ambitions and aspirations that BWFC will become.

Professional football is all about risk taking, to dream the dream, to fantasy what might be and try make it reality - not to stay and remain playing on the local park for the rest of our lives.

It's great to proclaim Bwfc until I die but how many of us will actually be bothered to go out and spend our money watching them play the likes of Bury and Rochdale week in and week out!?

Not many - I guarantee you that.

Suppose they'd  be looking at the Swansea supporters trust as a model, they've sold the majority of their stake now but still have a voice on the board and are certainly community led in the decisions they take.

Not sure where you've decided the limitations of finances form by the way considering we don't even know who's been approached.

Sluffy wrote:

bwfc1874 wrote:

Sluffy wrote:They want to take over the club (we already know that) but if you are not for the them (the ST) you can go and fuck yourselves as they won't work with you if you want too save the club too (even if you were a billionaire)!  So much for what might be best for the clubs interests then!


When speaking to all of these potential partners, we have made it abundantly clear that this is a scheme to bring BWFC back into the heart of the Bolton community. We will not be working with anyone who is not committed to this fundamental aim.

Funny how differently we interpret the same thing isn't it, seems reasonable to me that if they're running a 'community led project' then any potential partner is on board with that.

A football club (or at least as we want them to be) isn't a 'community led project' though.

Football supporters themselves are a minority in their own community for a start!  The population of Bolton Metro (the club is situated in Horwich remember) is roughly 260,000 - less than 10% than that bother to actually support the club during its best days.

No community led ventures will take on financial risk - their constitutions prohibit them - so say good bye to any player transfer costing more than say £50,000, they aren't going to happen.  Similarly players wages will be limited to what the club can afford on people coming through the turnstiles, so expect them to be at best £150,000 per year, so we aren't going to ever be able to keep any decent player for more than a season until he is snapped up from us from a non 'community led club' like a Wigan or a Burnley because they can invest in their team at a risk to their owners bank accounts whilst we simply are not allowed to do.

If people want us to be a bottom feeder club - possibly even going part time and entering the conference league and lower - then congratulations as this is what a 'community led project' will take us.

If you do want one of them, then there are plenty about all ready - go and follow your local one like Atherton Collieries, Daisy Hill FC, Bromley Cross, Tempest United or go glory hunting at even bigger clubs like Chorley or Leigh Genesis because these are the type of clubs with severely limited financial ambitions and aspirations that BWFC will become.

Professional football is all about risk taking, to dream the dream, to fantasy what might be and try make it reality - not to stay and remain playing on the local park for the rest of our lives.

It's great to proclaim Bwfc until I die but how many of us will actually be bothered to go out and spend our money watching them play the likes of Bury and Rochdale week in and week out!?

Not many - I guarantee you that.

not picking up your other points, which I broadly agree with, but fyi, the bolded bit, if correct, would not be competitive in conference North.

'If correct' being the key part of that statement.

Unless Sluff knows the finances behind the ST... maybe Sluffy is Mike Smith.

Don't believe a word from anybody or anything associated with this club. We have been given BS for ten years now at least.  As far as this ST goes......it's like the government taking over ...too many fingers in the pie .....mass decision making....never will work in the memory of man. Sadly I think we will just about football our way out of the bottom three only to be given the 12 point penalty and doom us. So thanks in advance to the fooking idiots that run our club.

What do we think this garbled bollocks actually means?

Is it an admission that they've ballsed it up and Supporters Direct have told them as much?

In keeping with everything else they've ever said, it's vague rubbish which is designed to sound professional but doesn't actually offer any insight into what's going on.

Bunch of knobs.....

"Following this advice and guidance and in consideration of the regulatory guidelines issued by the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], the BWFCST has identified some important features that will need to be explicitly considered if the Trust were to follow the example of clubs like Hearts and Portsmouth in raising funds from BWFC supporters to buy a stake in the club. Many aspects are currently being evaluated and we will report out findings and conclusions for further consideration as soon as possible. All information being reviewed will be assessed with the purpose of achieving stability and sustainability of the club for the future and for the supporters."

I would think so.

There is a vast difference of what you can do and act with your own money and what you can with public money and it as always been obvious to me that certainly the initial Steering group members had utter disregard or complete lack of knowledge about that and acted like they probably do all the time.

Yes the money would have come from members of the public rather than a public body but the organisation accountable for it - in this case the ST is formed and regulated in much the same way a public funded body would be.

It is rather worrying to me that the more recent added members of the Steering Group didn't appear in someway to have addressed these issues but rather seemed to jump on board with the rest of these chancers.

Similarly I would have hoped even a semi-competent journalist would have been questioning how and why a body formed a month ago with as yet no election, constitution, mandate or even a bank account could possibly be making a Preferred Bidder status for a multimillion pound business rather than Iles who clearly is as sycophantically behind them as anyone could ever possibly be - so much for independent reporting then!

I guess people may say that the ST and Iles may have let their hearts rule their heads and they had all the right intentions but they have responsibilities and accountabilities to others and they simply can not act like they have without due process being undertaken and complied with.

All of this undermines the credibility and the integrity of both those involved with the ST so far and Iles.

It also makes you wonder what part the club had in all of this with Birch being notably involved in all the two highest profile handovers of clubs to ST's.


I find the Steering Groups statement intriguing too on a different level (link to the full statement below) in that it comes not from Hurst the chair of the ST, nor Banks or Crispy who seem to have been their two major spokesmen up until now but Website Boy, Jamie Gregory who was brought in to set up the ST's website!  

Considering the Steering Group is composed of people including a Barrister, Accountants, Businessmen, a former Councillor, a self proclaimed 'Public Relations Guru' and Hurst who seems to sit on most public bodies in the Bolton area I find it rather strange that this announcement is published under the name of the Steering Groups tea boy!

(no offence intended Jamie, I just wanted to emphasise the gravitas of your authority compared to the other more 'vaunted' self appointed Steering Group members).


Link here (spot the typo in it!) -

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They've opened a bank account at long last - a CBS one (!?).

I wonder how many of the 6,000 will pay their £10 in after all the shenanigans they've been up to before they've even constituted their elections yet!

Also it seems that Chris Manning (Kane 57) will be holding a podcast just for them this Sunday on his LoV site.

Whoopy do!

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Very popular with cowboys.

Sluffy wrote:They've opened a bank account at long last - a CBS one (!?).

I wonder how many of the 6,000 will pay their £10 in after all the shenanigans they've been up to before they've even constituted their elections yet!

Also it seems that Chris Manning (Kane 57) will be holding a podcast just for them this Sunday on his LoV site.

Whoopy do!

Nah not for that, just a Q&A bit amongst the usual nonsense spouted on the podcast. You're welcome at any time too.

Think after what we been through setting up a supporters trust is more important than ever. Hopefully now the take over and bank account are sorted there can be elections and candidates who put forward realistic proposals and sugestions about how the ST can properly operate for the benefit of the fans.

I'm just glad they didn't take over the club. FFS our fan base isn't big enough for it. Think they were all high when they came up with the idea.

I was gonna buy my club....but then i got high
I was gonna name myself as sub.......but then i got high
Now weve already been taken over, and the limits the sky

Because i got high

Because i got high

Because i got highhhhhhh

y2johnny wrote:I was gonna buy my club....but then i got high
I was gonna name myself as sub.......but then i got high
Now weve already been taken over, and the limits the sky

Because i got high

Because i got high

Because i got highhhhhhh

Haha they live in a dream land.

Kane57 wrote:

Sluffy wrote:They've opened a bank account at long last - a CBS one (!?).

I wonder how many of the 6,000 will pay their £10 in after all the shenanigans they've been up to before they've even constituted their elections yet!

Also it seems that Chris Manning (Kane 57) will be holding a podcast just for them this Sunday on his LoV site.

Whoopy do!

Nah not for that, just a Q&A bit amongst the usual nonsense spouted on the podcast. You're welcome at any time too.

Thanks for the invite.

However I don't think most people would want to hear my views and opinions and if they did they would find them here on Nuts already.

As for the ST I've nothing against it really except that I simply can't see it working in any meaningful way.

What I mean is if the club was well and truly skint and no longer had a pot to piss in, yes the ST would be the saviour of the last resort but all they could do was keep the club on life support until someone came in and were willing to invest money in it and take risks again.

All I can see the ST achieving now is to be nothing more than Holdsworth's lap dog at best.  

It will be the people behind Holdsworth who will call the shots and they wont want any interference from amateur do gooders in the execution of their business plans.

Some good news might be fed to them from time to time to break in order to give them some credence but they will not get any information from nor any influence over the new owners, than they would wish to give to the ST.

A few bones might well be thrown their way but they will be kept in the dark about all the important stuff that matters.

It's just common sense really - why would anyone who has put millions of pounds into a business want someone off the street tell them what to do with their money!

It simply isn't going to happen and those who think otherwise are simply deluded.

Congratulations with your podcast interview with Holdsworth by the way.

Link here for anyone who wants to hear Holdsworth views following todays takeover.

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I thought they already had an IT expert who was one of the top social media people in the UK....?

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Imagine I went up to a girl like "oreet love I'm gasm you'll find out why later" and I just pull out me phone and show her my twitter


The above is the pinned tweet from the student who they have got in contact with.

Another top signing for the ST then.

News from tonight's meeting.

Over 400 tickets not taken up (venue capacity 1,000?) so clearly not a full house attendance.

Members of the Steering Committee introduced - includes a Maggie Tetlow who no one has ever mentioned before (background in film and media).

Richard Hurst: We all have a common objective. We want to see some success annd more community involvement with our club. I have been a supporter for 60 years and in those days it was very much a part of the community - I want to see more of that.

Q - When are the elections?

A - It looks like we will be announcing results about July time.

Q - Should you be pulling together rather than posing the open list of questions to the new owners?
Q - Were the questions (on the trust website) ever answered?

A - No. I think we have to appreciate that these people who have taken over the running of the club are extremely busy and are only two weeks into it. I wouldn't expect them to prioritise sitting with the trust and running through the questions.

We will be looking to sit down with management and Dean Holdsworth in particular. We would look to publish the answers to those questions in due course.

The trust is separate to the club.

Q - Are the trust still looking for a seat on the board?

A - Richard Hurst: No.

Q - Why?

A - Ian Bridge explains that the model rules from Supporters Direct say a trust should get as much involvement as they can - from owning the club to becoming a pressure group.

He asks people to read the rules, if possible.

"We must try to further the voice of the fans and the community. The disconnect that has taken part in that last few years has to be rectified.

"If the situation changes under future or current owners, that may be reviewed."

Q - Are the trust going to raise money to hand over to Sports Shield?

A - George Bower: The critical issue is that you end up raising money for the club. Pompey did a share offer but you can end up becoming a minority and not being able to exert any authority.

In short - IF the trust decided to invest money in the club they would have to be sure what they were getting. It could easily leave them with no say.


Supporters Direct's Andy Walker explaining that all Football League clubs will be mandated next year to meet with supporters groups twice a year to discuss strategic issues.

"Too many clubs have been mismanaged and treated supporters with contempt. It's a big victory."


Q - Will I get a share of the club if I join the BWFCST and pay my £10?

A - £1 goes to a share in the trust. But not the club...

Q - If the trust isn't trying to get on the board, what influence do they expect? Have you asked?

A - Richard Hurst: We haven't asked whether we can have a seat on board. Depends how many people join.

The more people, the more influence.

The professionalism of the elected board is very important.

Numbers speak very loudly. That's the influence we can have in the short term. If we get the respect from the owners they will want us to have a seat because we represent a large number of customers.

Q - If we are not trying to fund a place on the board, what is the money being spent on?

A - The money that is being put in via subscriptions go into the admin and running of the trust. To put events on like this, engage external professional advice, some legal and financial advice, elections.

Bill Dawson: All members of the steering group are completely voluntary and NO expenses have been claimed.

Q - We seem to be saying we won't go for a place on board, won't be a pressure group, not sure if we should invest... So what's the goal? It's brilliant having this goodwill but what's the target?

Round of applause for that one.

Bill Dawson: We need to be mindful that had the Pompey ST not existed they could not have bought the club, in some ways we exist for that fall back position.

Richard Hurst: The stronger the ST is the better position we would be in if another terrible position were to occur.

We want to get the respect of the new ownership. That is the first step.

Q - Why did the trust ask for preferred bidder status and ask to buy the club?

Bill Dawson: Why did we get involved? The trust was asked by Trevor Birch.

I think it was for two reasons: There was a deadline set by Sports Shield after which negotiations ceased. There was a situation where the whole thing could have gone without a buyer.

BD explains trust has preferential treatment in administration - 90 people and 30 institutions were approached. Eight pledged cash of around £7million.

Q - You must have an idea of how much money they have to put into the club.

Richard Hurst: It would be termed commercially confidential in business. They are keeping their financial positon under wraps in the situation we're in.

Ian Bridge: Those kind of questions need to be answered. That's one of the reasons we formed this trust.

There are hard times ahead and everyone in this room would debate the point you made. We haven't got an answer but we do need to be in a position to get them.

Jack Dearden explaining that all these questions have been asked by us local journo types and that the new owners will surely answer them in time...

Round of applause for the steering group.

Richard Hurst: There are a lot of very talented and very professional people on the steering group - I would like to extend my appreciation to them.

Thanks the audience for some good questions and for their backing.

And that is the end of the meeting.

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I've just commented on there that the fact that they've let slip that Birch asked them to get involved in the bidding process proves that what I've believed all along is true: Eddie Davies was behind the setting up of the Truss.

Fucking joke.