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My hopes and dreams for 2020 are best summed up by what should be the song of the year, ‘I can see clearly now’ by Johnny Nash:
I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day
It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day
I think I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is that rainbow I’ve been praying for
It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day
Look all around, there’s nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead, there’s nothing but blue skies
I sincerely hope that by the end of 2020, a clear shared vision of the future of Bolton Wanderers has emerged, which everyone at the club is on board with, from the owners, management, staff and the fans.
If things are not right off the pitch, they are never going to be right on the pitch. We are rebuilding the club from virtually nothing and we need a realistic strategy for a sustainable future.
I hope then that everyone has the patience and strength to make it happen, over whatever time it takes.
There are many obstacles in our way left by the dark clouds from the Anderson era and I hope that during 2020 most of these will be overcome.
The damage done to our reputation in both the football and business worlds is extensive and will need a lot of hard work to put right, something Football Ventures have made an encouraging start and I hope it continues.
The main fly in the ointment is the EFL.
Clubs that get into financial difficulty do not get a lot of sympathy from other clubs, particularly the financially well-run clubs.
They tend to view a club living beyond its means as cheating.
I hope that the EFL can make a final decision in our case and then we can draw a line under our perceived misdemeanours.
On the pitch, there is a massive rebuilding job to be done. We started the season from nowt and who can forget the young lads heroically stepping in to allow us to start this season.
At one stage, I was rubbing the dubbin on my old boots, just in case I was called upon. I still share the ‘Impossible Dream’ of staying up this season but that is rapidly disappearing with each defeat.
But you shouldn’t be a football fan if you’re not an optimist and don’t have a sense of humour.
What I realistically hope is that by the end of this season, we have cobbled a squad together that is reasonably competitive, so that we can start next season and give it a real go, whichever league we’re in.
I’m looking forward to visiting lots of new grounds next season and discovering lots of new pre-match watering holes.
Just how difficult it will be to rebuild the playing side is clearly illustrated now, as the squad we’ve manage to put together, still under the EFL embargo, is currently being decimated by injuries, suspensions and exiting loanees.
We could be asking Rochdale to play a five-a-side match at this rate.
So, I hope that we can pay off any final bills from the administration and get the embargo lifted. Then I hope that Messrs Hill and Flitcroft can do their stuff and bring in enough decent players to give us a chance of a fighting finish to this campaign and do some more rebuilding during the close season to put us in good stead for next season.
I also hope that more youngsters will emerge as first-team material and that we can hold on to them long enough to get things on the up again and if we do have to sell, we get decent market rates for them.
I dream of when all the pain is gone, and all the bad feelings have disappeared.
Looking all around, there is still a lot of cloud about. But looking straight ahead, I dream of nothing but blue skies.
There are going to be bright sunshiny days for Bolton Wanderers, but just not many in 2020.
Source
I can see clearly now the rain is gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day
It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day
I think I can make it now the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is that rainbow I’ve been praying for
It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day
Look all around, there’s nothing but blue skies
Look straight ahead, there’s nothing but blue skies
I sincerely hope that by the end of 2020, a clear shared vision of the future of Bolton Wanderers has emerged, which everyone at the club is on board with, from the owners, management, staff and the fans.
If things are not right off the pitch, they are never going to be right on the pitch. We are rebuilding the club from virtually nothing and we need a realistic strategy for a sustainable future.
I hope then that everyone has the patience and strength to make it happen, over whatever time it takes.
There are many obstacles in our way left by the dark clouds from the Anderson era and I hope that during 2020 most of these will be overcome.
The damage done to our reputation in both the football and business worlds is extensive and will need a lot of hard work to put right, something Football Ventures have made an encouraging start and I hope it continues.
The main fly in the ointment is the EFL.
Clubs that get into financial difficulty do not get a lot of sympathy from other clubs, particularly the financially well-run clubs.
They tend to view a club living beyond its means as cheating.
I hope that the EFL can make a final decision in our case and then we can draw a line under our perceived misdemeanours.
On the pitch, there is a massive rebuilding job to be done. We started the season from nowt and who can forget the young lads heroically stepping in to allow us to start this season.
At one stage, I was rubbing the dubbin on my old boots, just in case I was called upon. I still share the ‘Impossible Dream’ of staying up this season but that is rapidly disappearing with each defeat.
But you shouldn’t be a football fan if you’re not an optimist and don’t have a sense of humour.
What I realistically hope is that by the end of this season, we have cobbled a squad together that is reasonably competitive, so that we can start next season and give it a real go, whichever league we’re in.
I’m looking forward to visiting lots of new grounds next season and discovering lots of new pre-match watering holes.
Just how difficult it will be to rebuild the playing side is clearly illustrated now, as the squad we’ve manage to put together, still under the EFL embargo, is currently being decimated by injuries, suspensions and exiting loanees.
We could be asking Rochdale to play a five-a-side match at this rate.
So, I hope that we can pay off any final bills from the administration and get the embargo lifted. Then I hope that Messrs Hill and Flitcroft can do their stuff and bring in enough decent players to give us a chance of a fighting finish to this campaign and do some more rebuilding during the close season to put us in good stead for next season.
I also hope that more youngsters will emerge as first-team material and that we can hold on to them long enough to get things on the up again and if we do have to sell, we get decent market rates for them.
I dream of when all the pain is gone, and all the bad feelings have disappeared.
Looking all around, there is still a lot of cloud about. But looking straight ahead, I dream of nothing but blue skies.
There are going to be bright sunshiny days for Bolton Wanderers, but just not many in 2020.
Source
