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KEN Anderson is looking on the bright side, despite the significant challenges facing Wanderers in the Championship.
The club chairman and co-owner is excited by the prospect of a return to the second tier and a chance to go head-to-head with some of the game’s big names once again.
Anderson had barely got his feet under the table as the Whites ambled to relegation in 2016, the final act of a nightmarish campaign. But as Phil Parkinson’s side reinvented themselves in League One and Anderson went about his unenviable battle trying to stabilise the club’s finances, much was happening in the league above.
An exotic wave of new club ownership, tempted by the riches to be gained in the Premier League, have pushed spending way beyond its previous levels. Big clubs like Aston Villa and Norwich found themselves marooned last term, while Middlesbrough, Hull City and Sunderland fall down with the aid of massive parachute payments.
Anderson is well aware of the restrictions his club have had to work under in the last 18 months. They will go into the new season unable to pay transfer or loan fees, with a maximum of 23 professional players on their quota, and the controversial reduced salary cap still hanging over their head.
And while he is realistic about the size of the task ahead, the chairman is motivated by the chance to upset the odds once again.
“It’s a daunting league compared to the one we left two years ago,” he told The Bolton News.
“People are talking about the Premier League and that £20-40million is standard for a player these days but it seems the same attitude has seeped down into the Championship.
“Forest sell a striker for £15m to Middlesbrough, Villa and Sheffield Wednesday are spending big money and massive salaries and sometimes I read what is going on and just think ‘wow’ – how can this continue?
“It is a massive challenge but we are confident we have got a stronger squad this time around with more options.
“We have more pace in the team, we have kept hold of the majority of last season’s promotion squad, and I’m quite pleased, or should I say cautiously optimistic.”
Wanderers kick the campaign off with a televised game against Leeds United but face the three former top flight clubs in the first six weeks, along with the two sides promoted alongside them in April, Millwall and Sheffield United.
“I look at the start we have got and the first six weeks are tough,” Anderson said. “Personally, I’d have rather played the bigger clubs further down the line but then I said that last season about Sheffield United and we won the game 1-0.
“It’s a great way to open the season against Leeds United, who you know are going to bring a big travelling contingent. There will be a lot of clubs who do the same this season and I’d like to think we can bring back the big numbers we saw at the end of last season, and get towards that 20,000 mark as often as we can.
“It’s not just a money thing. I genuinely want the Macron to have an intimidating atmosphere because I know what impact is has on the players.”
Anderson has to box clever in the coming weeks before the transfer deadline, knowing he must keep within the quota imposed by the EFL. But he is planning to do business, which could make for a busy few weeks ahead.
“We do need some cover in some positions because when you are playing Saturday-Tuesday, the games rack up,” he said. “And we have international breaks again this season – there’s a two-week gap in September – so they come in concentrated patches and we don’t want to be caught short.”
Anderson is also in talks with his manager Parkinson over a new deal.
One of his first acts as chairman was to target the former Bradford City boss as the man to replace Neil Lennon, and he still rates the decision as the best of his tenure.
Parkinson’s influence, in Anderson’s opinion, will be key once again this season if Wanderers are to protect their Championship status.
“You take the game last Saturday against Stoke and I know both Mark Hughes and Mark Bowen well, and they were very complimentary about the attitude of our players and the way they were playing for their manager. I think that bodes well,” he said.
“I think he has got the best out of his players consistently well. And the players appreciate it.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/15456506.Anderson__We_are_stronger_this_time_around/
The club chairman and co-owner is excited by the prospect of a return to the second tier and a chance to go head-to-head with some of the game’s big names once again.
Anderson had barely got his feet under the table as the Whites ambled to relegation in 2016, the final act of a nightmarish campaign. But as Phil Parkinson’s side reinvented themselves in League One and Anderson went about his unenviable battle trying to stabilise the club’s finances, much was happening in the league above.
An exotic wave of new club ownership, tempted by the riches to be gained in the Premier League, have pushed spending way beyond its previous levels. Big clubs like Aston Villa and Norwich found themselves marooned last term, while Middlesbrough, Hull City and Sunderland fall down with the aid of massive parachute payments.
Anderson is well aware of the restrictions his club have had to work under in the last 18 months. They will go into the new season unable to pay transfer or loan fees, with a maximum of 23 professional players on their quota, and the controversial reduced salary cap still hanging over their head.
And while he is realistic about the size of the task ahead, the chairman is motivated by the chance to upset the odds once again.
“It’s a daunting league compared to the one we left two years ago,” he told The Bolton News.
“People are talking about the Premier League and that £20-40million is standard for a player these days but it seems the same attitude has seeped down into the Championship.
“Forest sell a striker for £15m to Middlesbrough, Villa and Sheffield Wednesday are spending big money and massive salaries and sometimes I read what is going on and just think ‘wow’ – how can this continue?
“It is a massive challenge but we are confident we have got a stronger squad this time around with more options.
“We have more pace in the team, we have kept hold of the majority of last season’s promotion squad, and I’m quite pleased, or should I say cautiously optimistic.”
Wanderers kick the campaign off with a televised game against Leeds United but face the three former top flight clubs in the first six weeks, along with the two sides promoted alongside them in April, Millwall and Sheffield United.
“I look at the start we have got and the first six weeks are tough,” Anderson said. “Personally, I’d have rather played the bigger clubs further down the line but then I said that last season about Sheffield United and we won the game 1-0.
“It’s a great way to open the season against Leeds United, who you know are going to bring a big travelling contingent. There will be a lot of clubs who do the same this season and I’d like to think we can bring back the big numbers we saw at the end of last season, and get towards that 20,000 mark as often as we can.
“It’s not just a money thing. I genuinely want the Macron to have an intimidating atmosphere because I know what impact is has on the players.”
Anderson has to box clever in the coming weeks before the transfer deadline, knowing he must keep within the quota imposed by the EFL. But he is planning to do business, which could make for a busy few weeks ahead.
“We do need some cover in some positions because when you are playing Saturday-Tuesday, the games rack up,” he said. “And we have international breaks again this season – there’s a two-week gap in September – so they come in concentrated patches and we don’t want to be caught short.”
Anderson is also in talks with his manager Parkinson over a new deal.
One of his first acts as chairman was to target the former Bradford City boss as the man to replace Neil Lennon, and he still rates the decision as the best of his tenure.
Parkinson’s influence, in Anderson’s opinion, will be key once again this season if Wanderers are to protect their Championship status.
“You take the game last Saturday against Stoke and I know both Mark Hughes and Mark Bowen well, and they were very complimentary about the attitude of our players and the way they were playing for their manager. I think that bodes well,” he said.
“I think he has got the best out of his players consistently well. And the players appreciate it.”
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/15456506.Anderson__We_are_stronger_this_time_around/
