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Saturday's defeat at Swansea City has left Wanderers seven points adrift of safety in the Championship and seemingly staring relegation straight in the face.
But with 11 games to go, is it too late to write Phil Parkinson’s side off completely?
We asked our panel of three readers in this week’s Fans’ Jury.
As I write on Monday morning, I sit here wondering whether all will be well when these words are published.
Maybe I will be able to look at them in bewilderment as to how I thought things were so desperate as I, like many other Bolton fans, will be toasting our new owners.
Sadly, I suspect this won’t be the case.
Some of the reports that have come out of the club towards the end of last week were nothing short of shocking.
Unpaid wages are not something to be taken lightly and those affected certainly will not be reassured by a reported internal email that seemed short of responsibility. I don’t doubt that the Wanderers ownership is keen to relinquish control of the wheel, but the lack of encouraging noises isn’t good for anyone.
The professionalism of the staff has been inspiring and essentially kept the club running.
Sadly, on the pitch, things aren’t much better.
In quite a sulky comment over the weekend I suggested that situations have determined that even if a takeover was completed this weekend and a billion was made available, it would be very difficult to survive this season.
That isn’t for the lack of effort, I just feel the rot is beginning to spread, and it is beginning to look a lot like 2016, where it seems the gutsier performances are punished with the more disappointing setbacks. I cannot and will not criticise them though, their professionalism should be admired as well.
If you are looking for any hope about how things can change quickly, look at Widnes Vikings’ last two weeks. We need to keep the faith.
Liam O’Meara
Given the increasingly worrying turn of events in regard to the off-field crisis which currently has our wonderful club by the throat, it almost seems like an irrelevance to turn our attentions to the question of Championship survival.
However, life must go on and with only 11 games and 33 points left to fight for, the results on Saturday seem to have secured the proverbial coffin lid in place, even if the screws have not yet been drilled into place.
However hard I try I simply cannot see any way we can now avoid relegation. Twenty-one defeats in 35 games suggests salvation is a pipe dream that even the most optimistic supporters must surely have given up on.
Twenty-two goals scored in those games. Need we interrogate the statistics any further?
I get quite annoyed when fans suggest there is a lack of effort, because blood, sweat and tears have never been lacking.
Quality has, though, and I can’t any longer disagree with those who also cite our beleaguered manager’s tactics as a part of the problem.
With a seven-point chasm –realistically three wins because of our horrendous goal difference deficit – before we can even dent the scratchcard to survival, it would take a change in form and fortune of biblical proportions to achieve safety.
Nottingham Forest fans could well be singing “Accrington Stanley, they’re coming for you”, once more in our season-ending game. This time they will sadly be correct with their tongue-in-cheek banter.
But hey, do you know what, I just want Bolton Wanderers Football Club to have a future. I don’t care remotely if that is in League One.
Someone needs to stop this runaway train before it crashes into the sidings, because there are many of us who love and cherish it and we are very worried.
Steven Battersby
In the past few months I have seen Phil Parkinson age years as he plods around the technical area with his hands in his pockets.
It has been horrible to see Bolton Wanderers wither on the vine like this and there have been times when I have shouted from the stands and questioned what the manager is doing.
The football has been hard to watch and even harder to pay for, yet can we honestly pin the blame all on him? Would the team be playing this brand of hoof-ball if he was able to buy the players he wanted to sign? I expect not.
We performed a miracle by staying up last season and were told by Ken Anderson that he would find a new owner, or at least some new investment to make things better and ensure we didn’t have to bite our fingernails down to the quick like that again.
This season started well and we beat West Brom against the odds. A few of us were getting giddy and saying we could reach the play-offs but we knew that was rubbish unless we could sign a decent striker.
We got one in Christian Doidge and I think he would have scored goals if another one of Ken Anderson’s cost-cutting measures hadn’t got in the way.
The rest of the strikers are okay but they won’t get us out of trouble.
Why Parkinson isn’t giving Connor Hall more of a go is beyond me. We should be giving him a game, even if it is to see whether he can cope with League One next season, because that is where we are heading.
Even a takeover will not save us now. Maybe a few weeks ago but not now. Anyone who wants to buy us had better get their head around a trip to Gillingham, Southend or maybe even Bury!
The club will survive, even if someone does put us into administration but I just hope the man who is responsible for all this – Mr Anderson – does not walk away with a penny of profit from what he has done.
I am sure I am not the only supporter who thinks he has had enough.
Sue Talbot
Source
But with 11 games to go, is it too late to write Phil Parkinson’s side off completely?
We asked our panel of three readers in this week’s Fans’ Jury.
As I write on Monday morning, I sit here wondering whether all will be well when these words are published.
Maybe I will be able to look at them in bewilderment as to how I thought things were so desperate as I, like many other Bolton fans, will be toasting our new owners.
Sadly, I suspect this won’t be the case.
Some of the reports that have come out of the club towards the end of last week were nothing short of shocking.
Unpaid wages are not something to be taken lightly and those affected certainly will not be reassured by a reported internal email that seemed short of responsibility. I don’t doubt that the Wanderers ownership is keen to relinquish control of the wheel, but the lack of encouraging noises isn’t good for anyone.
The professionalism of the staff has been inspiring and essentially kept the club running.
Sadly, on the pitch, things aren’t much better.
In quite a sulky comment over the weekend I suggested that situations have determined that even if a takeover was completed this weekend and a billion was made available, it would be very difficult to survive this season.
That isn’t for the lack of effort, I just feel the rot is beginning to spread, and it is beginning to look a lot like 2016, where it seems the gutsier performances are punished with the more disappointing setbacks. I cannot and will not criticise them though, their professionalism should be admired as well.
If you are looking for any hope about how things can change quickly, look at Widnes Vikings’ last two weeks. We need to keep the faith.
Liam O’Meara
Given the increasingly worrying turn of events in regard to the off-field crisis which currently has our wonderful club by the throat, it almost seems like an irrelevance to turn our attentions to the question of Championship survival.
However, life must go on and with only 11 games and 33 points left to fight for, the results on Saturday seem to have secured the proverbial coffin lid in place, even if the screws have not yet been drilled into place.
However hard I try I simply cannot see any way we can now avoid relegation. Twenty-one defeats in 35 games suggests salvation is a pipe dream that even the most optimistic supporters must surely have given up on.
Twenty-two goals scored in those games. Need we interrogate the statistics any further?
I get quite annoyed when fans suggest there is a lack of effort, because blood, sweat and tears have never been lacking.
Quality has, though, and I can’t any longer disagree with those who also cite our beleaguered manager’s tactics as a part of the problem.
With a seven-point chasm –realistically three wins because of our horrendous goal difference deficit – before we can even dent the scratchcard to survival, it would take a change in form and fortune of biblical proportions to achieve safety.
Nottingham Forest fans could well be singing “Accrington Stanley, they’re coming for you”, once more in our season-ending game. This time they will sadly be correct with their tongue-in-cheek banter.
But hey, do you know what, I just want Bolton Wanderers Football Club to have a future. I don’t care remotely if that is in League One.
Someone needs to stop this runaway train before it crashes into the sidings, because there are many of us who love and cherish it and we are very worried.
Steven Battersby
In the past few months I have seen Phil Parkinson age years as he plods around the technical area with his hands in his pockets.
It has been horrible to see Bolton Wanderers wither on the vine like this and there have been times when I have shouted from the stands and questioned what the manager is doing.
The football has been hard to watch and even harder to pay for, yet can we honestly pin the blame all on him? Would the team be playing this brand of hoof-ball if he was able to buy the players he wanted to sign? I expect not.
We performed a miracle by staying up last season and were told by Ken Anderson that he would find a new owner, or at least some new investment to make things better and ensure we didn’t have to bite our fingernails down to the quick like that again.
This season started well and we beat West Brom against the odds. A few of us were getting giddy and saying we could reach the play-offs but we knew that was rubbish unless we could sign a decent striker.
We got one in Christian Doidge and I think he would have scored goals if another one of Ken Anderson’s cost-cutting measures hadn’t got in the way.
The rest of the strikers are okay but they won’t get us out of trouble.
Why Parkinson isn’t giving Connor Hall more of a go is beyond me. We should be giving him a game, even if it is to see whether he can cope with League One next season, because that is where we are heading.
Even a takeover will not save us now. Maybe a few weeks ago but not now. Anyone who wants to buy us had better get their head around a trip to Gillingham, Southend or maybe even Bury!
The club will survive, even if someone does put us into administration but I just hope the man who is responsible for all this – Mr Anderson – does not walk away with a penny of profit from what he has done.
I am sure I am not the only supporter who thinks he has had enough.
Sue Talbot
Source