Ken Anderson - update.

Ken's article on Wednesday implies that all adult tickets will be a fiver for the Ipswich game in April.Fair play Ken, im looking forward to our biggest gate of the season in what might be a relegation 6 pointer.

Growler wrote:Ken's article on Wednesday implies that all adult tickets will be a fiver for the Ipswich game in April.Fair play Ken, im looking forward to our biggest gate of the season in what might be a relegation 6 pointer.

Sorry, I've been really busy recently and haven't been around much so please forgive me for the delay in putting up KA's most recent notes - and the ones with all the discounted game offers!

Anyway here it is now -

I’d like to start these notes off by welcoming Stephen Ireland to the club.
Stephen is a hugely experienced and talented player with plenty of Premier League experience and I believe he will be a tremendous asset to the squad as we head into a very busy period of fixtures.
We welcome him to the team and are looking forward to seeing him take to the field.

It was a pleasure for me to have met up with our supporters last Saturday before the Blackburn Rovers game and to be able to answer the questions they put forward.
It is important that we have this two-way dialogue.
On Monday, I followed this up with interviews for the Bolton News and Radio Manchester and hopefully all the questions have now been answered and we can move on.

One of the common themes was about the price of match tickets and I’m pleased to say that we have fully taken these points on board.
The club has discussed a range of initiatives which we believe will make the opportunity of watching Bolton Wanderers more affordable for certain matches whilst also not adversely impacting the value of those who purchased season tickets before the current campaign got underway.
For the Swansea City game on Saturday 10 November, all season ticket holders will be able to purchase up to four additional tickets for the match, at a discounted price of £10 per ticket. Tickets for this fixture will go on sale on Monday 15 October at 9am and more details will be announced later this week. We hope that many of our loyal season ticket holders take advantage of this offer and bring their family, friends and colleagues to help boost the attendance and atmosphere.
Half season tickets, which will commence on Boxing Day for our fixture with Rotherham United, will go on sale next week and those who sign up for them will benefit from some incredible savings as opposed to buying tickets on a match-by-match basis.
Prices will be confirmed on the club’s website in the coming days and those who commit to a half season ticket early, will also be able to benefit from the season ticket holder offer for the Swansea City game as mentioned above.
To further strengthen the benefit of being a season ticket holder, we will also be introducing a ‘bring a friend for free’ offer for a home game in the New Year. Again, this will be an opportunity for a Wanderers season ticket holder to bring a close associate with them at no extra charge. This offer will also be extended to those who purchase a half season ticket.

Our Community Fixture for this season will be the Ipswich Town game on Saturday 6 April and in conjunction with the Bolton Wanderers Community Trust and their partners, Bolton At Home, we will be donating 1,500 tickets for this match to the local community. Further to this, I am delighted to confirm that we will be returning with our ‘Community Fiver’ pricing policy whereby all tickets for this match will be priced at £5.00. I really hope that the game will be sold out and that the University of Bolton Stadium will be greeted by a very special atmosphere.
Please stay tuned to the club’s communications channels, where all the information will be available in due course.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions please write to the club or email our head of marketing and communications Paul Holliday at [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].
Your feedback is very important to us and we do listen and take on board your comments.

Next week, the Bolton Wanderers International Football Programme (BWIFP) will be hosting its Elite Pro Club Experience (EPCE) at the training ground and Bolton Whites Hotel.
Over the duration of the past year, the BWIFP has delivered its talent ID clinics in countries such as the USA, Canada, Colombia, Italy, Australia, UAE, South Africa and Poland and has engaged with over 900 participants from under 9s to under 19s.
The high achieving players from these coaching clinics have been hand selected to take part in the prestigious EPCE which is held annually at the club and hotel.
The players involved will work with the club’s Academy staff on a variety of sessions, seminars and strength and conditioning built in and around a competitive games programme as well as playing a variety of academy opposition over the duration.
The EPCE has grown annually with this year’s event set to welcome 26 of the best players (under 14s to under 17s) they have engaged with.
This year’s participants will be the strongest cohort the EPCE has seen so far and the coaching team are all looking forward to the intensive week of training and fixtures ahead.
I cannot praise enough the work the Hotel and BWIFP staff undertake to make this programme a massive and continued success.
I am hugely proud of them all as not only does the IFP bring in additional revenue but it also attracts and generates some fantastic PR for the club and town all over the world.
Special credit must go to Suzanne Speak, Margaret Graham, Danny Clarke and James Ward for their drive to make the IFP the success it is, whilst praise must also go to Sam Redshaw and Peter Alymer who have both been instrumental in supporting the success of this programme.
Please follow them on social media to witness at first hand the excellent work they do both here and overseas. They can be followed on Twitter at @BWIntFootball and Instagram at bwfip. For further details please click here.

Finally, I would also like to take this opportunity to praise our Head Groundsman Chris Simm and all the groundstaff. Following a very busy summer schedule with the concerts and Rugby League Challenge Cup semi-finals, the pitch still looks in top shape at this stage of the football season.
This is down to Chris and his team’s diligence and expertise which is appreciated by everybody connected with the club.

Best wishes,
Ken

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I am sure, like myself, you are all hungry for football to return this coming weekend following a two-week break from our Sky Bet Championship exploits.

Our game against Blackburn Rovers feels like a very long time ago now, but the past week or so has given the manager Phil Parkinson, his backroom staff and players the opportunity to put in the hours on the training pitch.

And with three quick-fire games set to come over the course of seven days, that hard work will be put to the test and I am confident that the players’ efforts will reap the rewards they deserve in the coming weeks and beyond.

The team travel to Rotherham United on Saturday to face a side who won promotion back to the second tier at the first time of asking back in May.

They have experienced a hit and miss start to their respective campaign, but currently sit 19th in the table, just four points behind ourselves.

They will certainly head into this weekend’s game determined to reduce that gap, but we need to look at this fixture as one which could put daylight between ourselves and the chasing pack.

Next week meanwhile, we have a home double header against Nottingham Forest and Hull City.

Matchball and match sponsorship packages are still available for these games meanwhile, with more information available by CLICKING HERE or calling our Sales Team on 01204 673 761.

When you have matches in such quick succession, it is always a test for the players to maintain their performance levels throughout as fatigue plays its part, with the manager having a difficult job on his hands to ensure that the team he puts out for each game is capable of picking up maximum points.

That is where squad rotation comes into play and that is why each and every player has to be ready to be called upon.

There is ample competition for places in the squad at present and that is only a good thing as it ensures that every player does not get complacent and let their standards slip.

If they are not up to the mark, they could very easily find themselves out of the team and no player wants that.

I am also delighted to announce that our half season tickets are now on sale, with fans able to watch every home game from Rotherham United on December 26 onwards from just £15.42 per match for an adult and a flat rate of £60 for Under-18s.

Holding a season ticket at Bolton Wanderers will always be the most cost-effective way of following your team and I implore as many of you as possible to take advantage of this opportunity.

Half season tickets can be bought in-store at Bolton Central, online HERE or by calling 0844 871 2932.

Anybody who buys one meanwhile will qualify for our Swansea City ticket offer which allows each season ticket holder to buy up to four additional tickets for £10 apiece.

The next few weeks are certainly busy ones around the University of Bolton Stadium, with many events taking place such as the Bolton Beer Festival in the Premier Suite from Thursday 18 October until Saturday 20 October.

Tickets are still available, with them being sold in aid of Bolton Lads and Girls’ Club and available HERE.

Our young supporters will also have the opportunity to meet members of the club’s first team squad at the BWFC Juniors Halloween Party on Thursday 25 October.

Entry is free for BWFC Juniors members and junior season ticket holders, with adults costing just £1 and non-members £5 on the door. For more details, please CLICK HERE.

Bolton Wanderers’ International Football Programme meanwhile will be in full swing next week when hosting its Elite Pro Club Experience (EPCE) at the training ground and Bolton Whites Hotel.

The players involved will work with the club’s Academy staff on a variety of sessions, seminars and strength and conditioning built in and around a competitive games programme as well as playing a variety of academy opposition over the duration.

It is a very exciting time for BWIFP and I look forward to seeing a variety of nationalities experience the Bolton Wanderers way of life.

I hope many of you has also had the opportunity to visit Bolton Central to view our new range of training wear.

There is a variety of clothing on offer in both adult and junior sizes, with them exact replicas of that which our first team and Academy players wear on a daily basis.

They are also available online by CLICKING HERE.

I would also like to confirm that the HMRC winding up petition which was mentioned in the media recently has now been settled and dismissed.

Finally, I would like to reiterate the club’s support of Stand Up To Cancer this month with our players having recently shown their support by wearing special wristbands and t-shirts.

Stand Up To Cancer has raised £38 million since it was launched in the UK in 2012, with the funding used for clinical trials and projects which accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and tests, to help patients and ultimately save more lives.

I hope that everybody will show their own support for the campaign in some way, whether it be fundraising or donating, as we all bid to find a cure for this horrific disease.

Kind regards,

Ken

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Is this nothing more than an advertising exercise, or have I missed something?

gloswhite wrote:Is this nothing more than an advertising exercise, or have I missed something?

Presumably he can't discuss the big question i.e. takeover negotiations - or lack thereof - so this can only be expected as it's his default press release.

There definitely seems to be a different agenda to when he first attempted to engage the fans with improved communication through these updates. This one reads to me like it's written to impress potential buyers.

Surely there are more effective ways to promote match days, sell half season tickets and cross-sell events than a note from the Chairman.

I do quite enjoy his slightly passive aggressive reminder to the players that they'd better shape up or be prepared to lose their place in the team though. Probably better communicated through the manager mind.

Fits in with the messiah complex theory

Saturday’s draw against Rotherham United marked the start of another busy period for us with it being the first of three games inside a week.

Wednesday’s encounter against Nottingham Forest quickly follows and it is imperative that we make our home advantage count against Forest and also Hull City who visit us on Saturday.

The manager was able to make a number of personnel changes for the game at the New York Stadium which enabled us to adopt a different style of play.

This highlighted the strength in depth we now have at our disposal given our extensive recruitment and will bode well over what is going to be intense couple of months.

It was a typical physical and hard fought affair with Rotherham battling all the way throughout. They obviously received a tremendous boost when we missed the penalty which they capitalised on to take the lead.

But having gone behind we showed character, tenacity and determination to get back into the game and I’m very pleased for Christian Doidge to open his goal-scoring account for the club. It was a good finish by him and one that will boost his confidence no end.

The game also allowed Clayton Donaldson, Marc Wilson and Lloyd Dyer to get some valuable minutes under their belts and they all worked hard for the team.

It was a blow to lose Gary O’Neil to injury in the first half as he was integral to our attacking threat. Hopefully, he won’t be out for too long and we can welcome him back into contention alongside Sammy Ameobi and Andy Taylor, who have been on the side lines.

The entire squad has its part to play over the coming months.

I must also mention the fantastic support from our travelling fans in South Yorkshire. There were just under 2,000 of you there and you were the loudest in the stadium by far.

That passion and support helps and inspires the players and has been exceptional on our travels this season.

One thing that has become apparent this season is just how wide open the Championship seems to be which has made it more of a level playing field in comparison to last season where Wolves were runaway leaders for the majority of the campaign.

On its day, any team can beat another. At the weekend, several of the leading teams, such as Leeds United, Sheffield United and West Brom, lost their matches which has made it possible for teams to move positions quite significantly.

Looking at our position we are just five points away from a play-off berth, so it’s key to find consistency and get a run of results together.

With the two homes, starting on Wednesday against Forest, we need that passion and support in full voice again at the University of Bolton Stadium.

We know what a positive effect a passionate and vociferous stadium has on our players, so let’s make sure we are in fine voice on Wednesday evening and for the Hull game.

As I have said, these two home games are crucial and a couple of wins will give the club a tremendous boost.

Tickets and hospitality for both games are available to buy and can be bought by clicking here.

I am sure you all have read the media coverage in relation to attendances for midweek matches in the Championship being adversely affected by the TV coverage and live streaming.

Nothing beats watching football in person at a stadium. The atmosphere can be unparalleled and we only need to look at the last game of last season against Forest to understand just what it means. For those of you who were there, the memories will never leave you.

But there is a growing demand for watching football on television and online, and of course this also brings benefits to clubs.

For me, although the jury is still out, the debate will give clubs plenty of food for thought going forward on how they can address this issue.

Our half season tickets are now on sale and I cannot emphasise enough the value for money that they offer if you are to watch us on a match by match basis.

Commencing on our Boxing Day fixture against Rotherham United, the half season ticket, which covers 12 games, works out from just £15.42 per match for adults and a flat rate of £60 for under 18s.

You can buy them online, in-store at Bolton Central or by calling 0844 871 2932.

It promises to be an exciting second half of the campaign for the club and I urge those of you haven’t got a season ticket to get hold of one. Don’t miss out on this fantastic value for money offer.

Also, we are doing a special offer for the Swansea City game on Saturday 10 November whereby season ticket holders can buy up to four additional tickets for just £10 each.

If you buy a half season ticket now, you will also be able to take advantage of this offer.

On Thursday, members of our first team squad will be in attendance at the BWFC Juniors Halloween Party.

Entry is free for BWFC Juniors members and junior season ticket holders, with adults costing just £1 and non-members £5 on the door.

Bolton Wanderers’ International Football Programme are hosting its Elite Pro Club Experience (EPCE) at the training ground and Bolton Whites Hotel this week.

The players involved will work with the club’s Academy staff on a variety of sessions, seminars and strength and conditioning built in and around a competitive games programme as well as playing a variety of academy opposition over the duration.

It is a very exciting time for BWIFP and I look forward to seeing a variety of nationalities experience the Bolton Wanderers way of life.

Much has been written about the funding of grassroots football in the country, especially after the intended sale of Wembley by the FA fell through.

It’s important that every club does its bit to support their local communities in terms of providing the necessary support for grassroots football.

I’m fully behind this drive and I’m pleased that our Community Trust and International Football programmes provide many opportunities to grow the game at grassroots level.

This is one of the reasons why we are staging the IberCup at the stadium and training ground next year, which will provide tremendous opportunities for grassroots clubs in the local area to take part in a globally recognised competition.

I hope many of you has also had the chance to visit Bolton Central to view our new range of training wear.

There is a variety of clothing on offer in both adult and junior sizes, with them exact replicas of that which our first team and Academy players wear on a daily basis.

They are also available online by clicking here.

Our away and third choice replica shirts have proven to be very popular this season, so much so, that most of the common sizes had sold out quite early on. However, I’m delighted to confirm that we are now taking pre-orders for both shirts in all sizes.

We are expecting the delivery to come in very soon from our suppliers so please pre-order today by visiting clicking here or in store at Bolton Central.

The Octagon Theatre is staging its production of And Did Those Feet in the Lion of Vienna Suite until the end of the month. It’s centred on Wanderers’ 1923 FA Cup final victory against West Ham United and is a must watch for any Wanderers’ fan. Tickets can be booked by calling 01204 520661.

I look forward to seeing you at the University of Bolton Stadium on Wednesday and as usual let’s be loud, let’s be proud and let’s get behind the boys!

Best wishes,

Ken

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I've stopped reading these. They used to be informative, now they're just a repetitive sales pitch.

Natasha Whittam wrote:I've stopped reading these. They used to be informative, now they're just a repetitive sales pitch.

Clearly you haven't.

wanderlust wrote:Clearly you haven't.

I didn't read that one. Was it a sales pitch?

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There is no hiding from the fact that the result was unsatisfactory and we have to improve our points return from games with immediate effect.
I can assure you that I will be doing everything possible and take whatever actions I think are necessary to ensure that our results improve. I fully appreciate and understand that you, our fans and supporters, are the lifeblood and soul of the club and it is my job to try and ensure you that we deliver what you want and is needed to get back on track.

Growler wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There is no hiding from the fact that the result was unsatisfactory and we have to improve our points return from games with immediate effect.
I can assure you that I will be doing everything possible and take whatever actions I think are necessary to ensure that our results improve. I fully appreciate and understand that you, our fans and supporters, are the lifeblood and soul of the club and it is my job to try and ensure you that we deliver what you want and is needed to get back on track.

Clocks ticking, anything but a win on Saturday will see Parkinson off, don't know who will take it on but surely whoever it is will do a much better job than this clueless moonman.

You’re gonna be very disappointed if you think parky will lose his job if we lose the next game.

Boggersbelief wrote:You’re gonna be very disappointed if you think parky will lose his job if we lose the next game.

I can assure you that I will be doing everything possible and
take  whatever actions I think are necessary to ensure that our results improve




That says different.

The only scenario I see Parky getting the push at the weekend is if we get absolutely spanked by Hull.

Natasha Whittam wrote:The only scenario I see Parky getting the push at the weekend is if we get absolutely spanked by Hull.

And he starts his post match interview by saying Hull spend more money than we do.

Paying Parkinson off will be far cheaper than getting relegated, and Ken knows he stands to lose out on all fronts if we are relegated, and let's be honest here it's nailed on with Parkinson at the helm.

MartinBWFC wrote:Paying Parkinson off will be far cheaper than getting relegated, and Ken knows he stands to lose out on all fronts if we are relegated

Yes, relegation will see the TV revenue alone drop from circa £4 million to £1.5 million.
It will be more difficult for Ken to take out his £525k yearly consultancy fee from such meagre TV revenue.Not to mention the drop in value the club will have for potential buyers

MartinBWFC wrote:

Growler wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

There is no hiding from the fact that the result was unsatisfactory and we have to improve our points return from games with immediate effect.
I can assure you that I will be doing everything possible and take whatever actions I think are necessary to ensure that our results improve. I fully appreciate and understand that you, our fans and supporters, are the lifeblood and soul of the club and it is my job to try and ensure you that we deliver what you want and is needed to get back on track.

Clocks ticking, anything but a win on Saturday will see Parkinson off, don't know who will take it on but surely whoever it is will do a much better job than this clueless moonman.

Can we have a bet about this? £10 for charity that if we draw/lose I think he’ll stay and you can have go.

If we win it’s a win all round, except for the charities they lose.