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WANDERERS were not ‘supposed’ to get promotion from League One last season.
Nowhere in the original script did it say a club which had nearly been consumed by financial ruin and still healing from its mismanagement could right itself so quickly.
And yet there we found ourselves in April, sum beaming, beer flowing, Neil Diamond booming. After all that pain, the good times never seemed so good.
Three months on from the town hall parade and Wanderers go into this season on a more sober note.
Phil Parkinson said back in April the club had “got away” with working under a transfer embargo. And in many ways he was right. Had it not been for Ken Anderson’s skills of negotiation, who is to say we would now be looking forward to facing the likes of Sunderland, Aston Villa and Leeds United once again?
The Whites chairman bartered hard to get the best out of a difficult situation and enabled his manager to sign a strong squad. But by his own admission, not everyone in EFL circles was sympathetic to his plight.
Parkinson has again had to work within an embargo this summer, now governed by even tighter restrictions. He is still unable to pay transfer or loan fees – limiting the pool from which he can fish considerably and has a salary cap of just £4,500, way below the divisional average.
Yet again, however, the standard of his recruitment looks solid.
The vast majority of last season’s squad have been re-signed on streamlined contracts, in line with Anderson’s pledge to curb future losses.
Fan-favourites like Adam Le Fondre, Andy Taylor and Sammy Ameobi now belong officially to Bolton Wanderers, while the loan market has again been put to good use with the addition of Josh Cullen, Reece Burke, from West Ham, and Adam Armstrong from Newcastle United.
Will Buckley, Mark Little and Stephen Darby were snapped up on free transfers, all ticking the ‘hungry, point to prove’ box in Parkinson’s estimation and Jem Karacan’s return in midfield already looks a good deal.
Parkinson branded the new EFL restrictions “unfathomable” and if history shows anything, Anderson will scrap to get the best deal for his club. But in a division skewed like never before by TV money, it is going to take an extraordinary effort from all involved to avoid taking a backwards step.
“You can’t argue it is a massive challenge,” Parkinson told The Bolton News. “We have got to accept where we are and the market place we’re trading in compared with the clubs who are spending millions and millions. We are ready to take them on.
“One thing we have got is a terrific attitude among this group of players. And we have to fight tooth and nail for every point we get this season.
“I said at the end of last season, everyone from Ken right the way through the club know that things are stacked against us.
“The players understand that and that’s what I want from the supporters.
“The supporters have got to come in and be the most vocal support in the division, the staff has got to work harder than any other staff and the players have got to give everything they have got for every single minute of every game.
“It make it an exciting prospect for me. We face challenges but let me tell you, there are a lot of people in this camp who are willing to give it a go.”
While it is easy to list the factors counting against Wanderers, it is also only fair to list those in their favour.
Momentum will play a big part. A team which looked almost mechanical at times last term forgot how to lose games. If they can carry through their defensive resolve it will be one big step towards safety.
Some of Parkinson’s players are in the best form of their career.
Josh Vela has found a niche and is rewarding his manager’s faith with goals, drawing comparisons with Kevin Nolan’s early years at the club.
Gary Madine has rediscovered his swagger and finally appears to have won over his doubters, signing a new two-year deal in the summer.
And in Mark Beevers and David Wheater Wanderers possess two fearsome centre-halves equally proficient in either penalty box.
His squad may not possess the depth of his rivals but with luck on his side, Parkinson will hope his knack for organisation and getting the extra five per cent from his players will once again do the trick.
Few expect the Whites to be challenging up the top end of the table this season, indeed the bookmakers make them second favourites for relegation. Plenty of people would be happy to report on a campaign of demise.
But since arriving from Bradford City last summer Parkinson and his staff have continually re-written Wanderers’ destiny. Who is to say they cannot do so again and stay up against all expectations?
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/15456512.COMMENT__Can_Wanderers_beat_the_odds_once_again_/?ref=mrb&lp=5
Nowhere in the original script did it say a club which had nearly been consumed by financial ruin and still healing from its mismanagement could right itself so quickly.
And yet there we found ourselves in April, sum beaming, beer flowing, Neil Diamond booming. After all that pain, the good times never seemed so good.
Three months on from the town hall parade and Wanderers go into this season on a more sober note.
Phil Parkinson said back in April the club had “got away” with working under a transfer embargo. And in many ways he was right. Had it not been for Ken Anderson’s skills of negotiation, who is to say we would now be looking forward to facing the likes of Sunderland, Aston Villa and Leeds United once again?
The Whites chairman bartered hard to get the best out of a difficult situation and enabled his manager to sign a strong squad. But by his own admission, not everyone in EFL circles was sympathetic to his plight.
Parkinson has again had to work within an embargo this summer, now governed by even tighter restrictions. He is still unable to pay transfer or loan fees – limiting the pool from which he can fish considerably and has a salary cap of just £4,500, way below the divisional average.
Yet again, however, the standard of his recruitment looks solid.
The vast majority of last season’s squad have been re-signed on streamlined contracts, in line with Anderson’s pledge to curb future losses.
Fan-favourites like Adam Le Fondre, Andy Taylor and Sammy Ameobi now belong officially to Bolton Wanderers, while the loan market has again been put to good use with the addition of Josh Cullen, Reece Burke, from West Ham, and Adam Armstrong from Newcastle United.
Will Buckley, Mark Little and Stephen Darby were snapped up on free transfers, all ticking the ‘hungry, point to prove’ box in Parkinson’s estimation and Jem Karacan’s return in midfield already looks a good deal.
Parkinson branded the new EFL restrictions “unfathomable” and if history shows anything, Anderson will scrap to get the best deal for his club. But in a division skewed like never before by TV money, it is going to take an extraordinary effort from all involved to avoid taking a backwards step.
“You can’t argue it is a massive challenge,” Parkinson told The Bolton News. “We have got to accept where we are and the market place we’re trading in compared with the clubs who are spending millions and millions. We are ready to take them on.
“One thing we have got is a terrific attitude among this group of players. And we have to fight tooth and nail for every point we get this season.
“I said at the end of last season, everyone from Ken right the way through the club know that things are stacked against us.
“The players understand that and that’s what I want from the supporters.
“The supporters have got to come in and be the most vocal support in the division, the staff has got to work harder than any other staff and the players have got to give everything they have got for every single minute of every game.
“It make it an exciting prospect for me. We face challenges but let me tell you, there are a lot of people in this camp who are willing to give it a go.”
While it is easy to list the factors counting against Wanderers, it is also only fair to list those in their favour.
Momentum will play a big part. A team which looked almost mechanical at times last term forgot how to lose games. If they can carry through their defensive resolve it will be one big step towards safety.
Some of Parkinson’s players are in the best form of their career.
Josh Vela has found a niche and is rewarding his manager’s faith with goals, drawing comparisons with Kevin Nolan’s early years at the club.
Gary Madine has rediscovered his swagger and finally appears to have won over his doubters, signing a new two-year deal in the summer.
And in Mark Beevers and David Wheater Wanderers possess two fearsome centre-halves equally proficient in either penalty box.
His squad may not possess the depth of his rivals but with luck on his side, Parkinson will hope his knack for organisation and getting the extra five per cent from his players will once again do the trick.
Few expect the Whites to be challenging up the top end of the table this season, indeed the bookmakers make them second favourites for relegation. Plenty of people would be happy to report on a campaign of demise.
But since arriving from Bradford City last summer Parkinson and his staff have continually re-written Wanderers’ destiny. Who is to say they cannot do so again and stay up against all expectations?
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/15456512.COMMENT__Can_Wanderers_beat_the_odds_once_again_/?ref=mrb&lp=5
