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Dean Holdsworth has discussed his views on EFL ownership – and the questions he feels are still unanswered on Ken Anderson’s involvement at Wanderers.
Back in 2016 the former Bolton striker was spearheading the Sports Shield consortium looking to buy the club from Eddie Davies.
The withdrawal of a key backer, believed to be Bruce Gordon who ran the venture capital fund, Thames Valley Ltd, led to Holdsworth offering Anderson a chance to step in.
Anderson had previously been handed an eight-year ban from being a company director in September 2005 for a misdemeanour he claims dated back 20 years.
He had been acting as a middle-man in the negotiations to that point but his involvement was accelerated to get the deal over the line quickly, and eliminate any threat of the club being placed into administration.
Anderson passed the EFL’s fit and proper tests and provided the necessary proof of funding, which eventually saw the deal sanctioned by the league after several weeks.
"It seemed good, it seemed fine," Holdsworth said on BB Radio Four’s File on Four. "I believed what I was being told or wanted to believe it because we literally had to have certain things in place for the EFL.
"He was offering that and that's how it all came about."
The BBC programme examined the EFL’s controversial protocols on football ownership, which have come under increasing scrutiny after issues of increasing severity at Bolton, Wigan, Charlton, Bury and Macclesfield.
Holdsworth felt the checks done on him and his business plan – which involved a high-interest loan from finance firm BluMarble in its early stages – were adequate.
"For me personally, and the finance people we were using, they had to pass quite an extensive period of questions - the same as myself," he said.
"I felt, for me personally, the EFL had done a good job - passports and anti-money laundering - it wasn't something which you could just be blasé about. You had to give that, and they had to approve it."
But asked whether he knew what research had been done by the league on Anderson, he added: "No - not one bit.
"It wasn't something I was ever given. I asked the question and was never given an answer."
Holdsworth and Anderson’s relationship quickly unravelled and a bitter legal argument ensured over the repayment of the BluMarble loan, which led to him leaving the club completely in 2017.
Anderson took sole control until the club and hotel were placed into administration in May 2019 and eventually bought by Football Ventures later the same year.
Asked if Anderson should have been given permission by the EFL to hold a controlling stake at Wanderers, Holdsworth said: “In my opinion, no. Not one bit.”
The unhappy way Holdsworth left the club at the time was in stark contrast to the elation he had felt in taking control of the club from Davies in early 2016.
"Being involved with the takeover and ownership at Bolton was an incredible experience," he said. "I was in my office and you'd think I'd just scored the winner at Wembley.
"It just felt like such a release after what we'd been through. It was an incredible moment - a massive release and punching the air was all you could do at the time."
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Back in 2016 the former Bolton striker was spearheading the Sports Shield consortium looking to buy the club from Eddie Davies.
The withdrawal of a key backer, believed to be Bruce Gordon who ran the venture capital fund, Thames Valley Ltd, led to Holdsworth offering Anderson a chance to step in.
Anderson had previously been handed an eight-year ban from being a company director in September 2005 for a misdemeanour he claims dated back 20 years.
He had been acting as a middle-man in the negotiations to that point but his involvement was accelerated to get the deal over the line quickly, and eliminate any threat of the club being placed into administration.
Anderson passed the EFL’s fit and proper tests and provided the necessary proof of funding, which eventually saw the deal sanctioned by the league after several weeks.
"It seemed good, it seemed fine," Holdsworth said on BB Radio Four’s File on Four. "I believed what I was being told or wanted to believe it because we literally had to have certain things in place for the EFL.
"He was offering that and that's how it all came about."
The BBC programme examined the EFL’s controversial protocols on football ownership, which have come under increasing scrutiny after issues of increasing severity at Bolton, Wigan, Charlton, Bury and Macclesfield.
Holdsworth felt the checks done on him and his business plan – which involved a high-interest loan from finance firm BluMarble in its early stages – were adequate.
"For me personally, and the finance people we were using, they had to pass quite an extensive period of questions - the same as myself," he said.
"I felt, for me personally, the EFL had done a good job - passports and anti-money laundering - it wasn't something which you could just be blasé about. You had to give that, and they had to approve it."
But asked whether he knew what research had been done by the league on Anderson, he added: "No - not one bit.
"It wasn't something I was ever given. I asked the question and was never given an answer."
Holdsworth and Anderson’s relationship quickly unravelled and a bitter legal argument ensured over the repayment of the BluMarble loan, which led to him leaving the club completely in 2017.
Anderson took sole control until the club and hotel were placed into administration in May 2019 and eventually bought by Football Ventures later the same year.
Asked if Anderson should have been given permission by the EFL to hold a controlling stake at Wanderers, Holdsworth said: “In my opinion, no. Not one bit.”
The unhappy way Holdsworth left the club at the time was in stark contrast to the elation he had felt in taking control of the club from Davies in early 2016.
"Being involved with the takeover and ownership at Bolton was an incredible experience," he said. "I was in my office and you'd think I'd just scored the winner at Wembley.
"It just felt like such a release after what we'd been through. It was an incredible moment - a massive release and punching the air was all you could do at the time."
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