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IN among all the denials, the accusations, the legal threats and the business speak this week, where were the answers?
Ken Anderson has said his piece. Dean Holdsworth has put forward his version of events. Neither make pleasant reading for the average Wanderers fan.
But while the laptop is handy and they are feeling verbose – how about both men giving people some reassurance that there is a strategy in place to keep this great football club afloat?
Back in March there was a plan. And presumably it was discussed with the Football League at one stage or another.
BluMarble’s loan anchored the takeover bid and remains at the heart of the dispute between the pair. Refinancing options have been presented and rejected, and though Anderson warned the company ‘could’ call in the debt and force the club into emergency measures, those close to the deal insist there is no appetite on their behalf to do so.
Anderson provided guarantees of funding. He points out that his assurances were made with “personal money” and accounting information now proves he has put in £700,000 on five occasions, withdrawing the same amount when the cash-flow allowed.
The trick, with both, is in the wording. Holdsworth says he did what was required in the original agreement – co-signed by Anderson. In turn, Anderson protests that Holdsworth has since refused to fund the club “pro-rata” – an awkward stand-off which has helped to create the current situation.
Business works like this in the real world. The difference is, as football fans, we are usually shielded by disclosure agreements and sensibility, both of which went out of the window a long time ago at the Macron.
Whereas the men involved have made this personal - me, and most who will be watching the Walsall game this afternoon care only about the club and its future.
Anderson has adopted a sensible spendthrift policy behind the scenes, unravelling some of the complex web of debts he inherited. He warns of difficult financial decisions to come and though he may have to develop a thick skin in the months to come, you would hope his strategy will see Wanderers better off for the savings.
The mess inherited after the takeover is not in question. I actually admire the job Anderson has done in restoring some structure to a club which had been decimated in the six months prior. He has employed some good, knowledgeable people and has a wonderfully loyal staff.
That may have been partially to blame for Deloitte’s reluctance to make any forward projections in the accounts just submitted. The information may simply not have been available, and in that case there is little the club could do but hope for the best.
In their heart of hearts, every Bolton fan knows that costs must come down soon, too. Yes, there was a clamour for new signings in the January window but losses of £11million a year cannot be sustained in this division – so there was a need to keep Phil Parkinson’s team competitive.
The Supporter’s Trust estimated a £25-30m requirement to take the club to the end of next season, based on current levels. Sure, there are plenty of intangibles in that logic – which division Wanderers will be playing in, which players leave, which players come in – but it is clear that Anderson and Holdsworth are going to struggle to foot the bill. Rumours continue to fly around the Macron about potential outside investors – both Chinese and American – and my gut feeling is that something will happen sooner rather than later.
The relationship between the two men appears irreparable. After what has happened this week, even an uneasy truce even looks unlikely.
Holdsworth has been marginalised by events since the summer and continues his contractual dispute against the club. It has been down to Anderson to take the front line - and by extension the slings and arrows.
I cannot imagine the last week has been easy for them, because it certainly has not been easy to read and write about. But if things are to change for the better, then perhaps one or the other, or both, need to budge?
I find it difficult to imagine a happy end to this story if both men remain in place.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/15084798.INSIDE_WANDERERS__Why_this_week_s_events_have_shown_it_s_time_for_a_different_direction/?ref=mr&lp=2