Home
Let's not kid ourselves, things are far from perfect, but compared with six months ago the Macron is positively idyllic.
There were times last season when I wondered if there would be a Bolton Wanderers to cover at the start of the 2016/17 campaign.
As frustrating as the under-performance was on the pitch – and it certainly was frustrating – it paled into insignificance when you considered the other problems at the club.
The uncertainty was crippling. How people carried on regardless, I will never know.
It didn’t get much better in the immediate aftermath of the takeover. Nerves were still very raw among the supporters and we wanted guarantees that the new owners would treat the club and its staff with more respect than the last.
We predicted a summer of change on the playing front and in the manager’s office but that too has panned out very differently than first thought.
Phil Parkinson’s appointment came after a very public courting of three other men – Phil Brown, Nigel Adkins and Steve Cotterill. It has since been described to me as a game of poker, Wanderers’ owners not wanting to show their hand in public, but the appointment was nevertheless very well received.
The former Bradford boss knows how to be successful in League One. He comes across as the kind of thoughtful, organised character who can instil some discipline in a squad that had undoubtedly gained some ragged edges in the unreliable era of Neil Lennon.
Wanderers’ ownership said ridding the club of the transfer restrictions which had been placed on them during the financial crisis was their number one priority back in February. But that proved much more problematic than first thought.
Exactly what embargo remains in place is still a mystery, with chairman Ken Anderson able only to offer assurances that players can still be signed after meeting with the Football League.
In fairness, the additions of Chris Taylor, Mark Howard, Mark Beevers and Jamie Proctor look very solid, even if there is still a worrying lack of pace in some areas of the pitch.
When Wanderers dropped down from the Premier League to the Championship just four short years ago they failed to heed the warning signs and budget accordingly. As a result, that first season spent initially under Owen Coyle and then Dougie Freedman, became a huge gamble.
Things are slightly different this time around. Big cuts have been made, with 20-odd professional players trimmed off the wage bill at the end of June, but the changes we all predicted back in May have not quite been as far-reaching as first thought.
Wanderers did not force the big earners out over the summer, which makes for a curious mix in Parkinson’s squad. The manager’s own signings have been made with a League One budget in mind and younger players like Zach Clough, Alex Finney or Josh Vela are nowhere near the top end of the wage scale.
The so-called big hitters, among them Liam Trotter, Mark Davies, Ben Amos, Darren Pratley, Jay Spearing and Dorian Dervite, face a running battle to win over the fans based not only on their under-performance last season but also the salary they were given by the previous board.
Parkinson has appealed for a clean slate, for everyone to put the past behind them, but he has been in football long enough to know it isn’t that easy. The majority of supporters will forgive but they will not forget.
The question is now whether the players can follow suit? Most of the squad went through the mill last season and Parkinson needs to find a way of lifting spirits enough to at least stop the slide.
Talk has been confident over the summer but the time for that will soon be over. Fans expect stability at the very least.
Source
There were times last season when I wondered if there would be a Bolton Wanderers to cover at the start of the 2016/17 campaign.
As frustrating as the under-performance was on the pitch – and it certainly was frustrating – it paled into insignificance when you considered the other problems at the club.
The uncertainty was crippling. How people carried on regardless, I will never know.
It didn’t get much better in the immediate aftermath of the takeover. Nerves were still very raw among the supporters and we wanted guarantees that the new owners would treat the club and its staff with more respect than the last.
We predicted a summer of change on the playing front and in the manager’s office but that too has panned out very differently than first thought.
Phil Parkinson’s appointment came after a very public courting of three other men – Phil Brown, Nigel Adkins and Steve Cotterill. It has since been described to me as a game of poker, Wanderers’ owners not wanting to show their hand in public, but the appointment was nevertheless very well received.
The former Bradford boss knows how to be successful in League One. He comes across as the kind of thoughtful, organised character who can instil some discipline in a squad that had undoubtedly gained some ragged edges in the unreliable era of Neil Lennon.
Wanderers’ ownership said ridding the club of the transfer restrictions which had been placed on them during the financial crisis was their number one priority back in February. But that proved much more problematic than first thought.
Exactly what embargo remains in place is still a mystery, with chairman Ken Anderson able only to offer assurances that players can still be signed after meeting with the Football League.
In fairness, the additions of Chris Taylor, Mark Howard, Mark Beevers and Jamie Proctor look very solid, even if there is still a worrying lack of pace in some areas of the pitch.
When Wanderers dropped down from the Premier League to the Championship just four short years ago they failed to heed the warning signs and budget accordingly. As a result, that first season spent initially under Owen Coyle and then Dougie Freedman, became a huge gamble.
Things are slightly different this time around. Big cuts have been made, with 20-odd professional players trimmed off the wage bill at the end of June, but the changes we all predicted back in May have not quite been as far-reaching as first thought.
Wanderers did not force the big earners out over the summer, which makes for a curious mix in Parkinson’s squad. The manager’s own signings have been made with a League One budget in mind and younger players like Zach Clough, Alex Finney or Josh Vela are nowhere near the top end of the wage scale.
The so-called big hitters, among them Liam Trotter, Mark Davies, Ben Amos, Darren Pratley, Jay Spearing and Dorian Dervite, face a running battle to win over the fans based not only on their under-performance last season but also the salary they were given by the previous board.
Parkinson has appealed for a clean slate, for everyone to put the past behind them, but he has been in football long enough to know it isn’t that easy. The majority of supporters will forgive but they will not forget.
The question is now whether the players can follow suit? Most of the squad went through the mill last season and Parkinson needs to find a way of lifting spirits enough to at least stop the slide.
Talk has been confident over the summer but the time for that will soon be over. Fans expect stability at the very least.
Source