TM Trotter

Sadly, i think too many heads have been turned away after years of the match becoming a chore. For a lot of our 'fairweather' supporters, one 0-0 against Oxford United isn't going to entice them back, no matter how much we all sing the praises of the side last night. Happens to us all. Look at Sunderland, they've lost 15k off their attendances since dropping out of the Prem. Seemingly, so many supporters of fallen 'giants' (I'm deliberately letting that word work harder than it should) would rather watch the likes of West Ham v Southampton on TV because it is 'higher quality' football than they've been spoiled with. To be honest, as good as their extra £20 might be, we don't need people like that because they'll add to our already large contingent of moaners.

Skinny Lofty needs to get himself down Bradshawgate on a Friday night - plenty of wildebeest roaming there! 😉

100%. It was also telling that so few went down for an early pint at 35-40 minutes - the applause at the half time whistle was fantastic. As others have said, the bug, the feel good factor... I think it's back.

That was superb, so promising. What an excellent first half, how we went in level I don't know! Was very impressed with Crawford, pinging wonderful through balls that others (and some of our fans shouted for) would have passed to nowhere if they went earlier. Jury is still out on Emmanuel for me, looks like he's running through custard half the time. Thought Buckley did very well in the first half, he looked fucked by about 70 minutes. Probably the hardest he has worked in a white shirt. Lots and lots of positives. Really excited for the Sunderland game now.

Politically, I accept we can't stop Brexit. It's going to happen. I think that's me adhering to the typical immature gloating Leaver request of 'Suck it up, buttercup'. However, the government blindly walking off a cliff just because the people voted for 'it' (even if most couldn't tell you what the implications of 'it' are) would be, while 'democratic', also highly fucking irresponsible. I'd wager that a Brexit with a good deal for the country would be tolerable for most remoaners/losers/sheep/whatever childish name Aaron Banks has told Leavers to use this week. The trouble is, other than isolationist rhetoric around keeping En-ger-land for the Engerlish, there are no proven benefits for the country. We're leaping off into the complete unknown because 'the will of the people' suggested it in an event that was as legally binding as flipping 30 million coins. The government is duty bound to protect the interests of the people it serves, and is doing so by challenging (not necessarily halting) the Brexit issue. That is, until Johnson forced the undemocratic closure of Parliament... Gotta love that democratic sovereignty we're retaining!

Yes, I agree. A united front would definitely have stood us in a better stead at the negotiating table to leave, perhaps saving a fair few quid on the 'divorce bill'. But then we'd be in the same place, with non-financial hurdles such as the Irish backstop in the way, and perhaps the notion that we, as Brits, should always get more. May negotiated a deal but it was shot down in parliament - as a nation, we always expect the absolute best situation and others to doff their caps to us because we've been spoiled for centuries on the global stage. Joining you in hypothesis, who's to say that as a united front, we'd get a deal with the EU, much better than we got a few months back, but then party politics / public backlash would dictate that no, we still want to leave with absolutely no negotiation, no quarter, no surrender. A good debate point, but unfortunately, that ship sailed the very moment Cameron sanctioned a referendum.

This is the overarching issue I have with Brexit. Everything to do with the whole affair is presented as a binary, when there are so many different interwoven strands to discuss, that are on a sliding scale. THAT is the 'mess' - it is such a politically, economically and emotionally complex beast, that to boil it down to a black/white binary (see the general Leaver sentiment of 'out means out') is monumentally ignorant at best. ---- Couple of points to the response to my previous post (I haven't worked out how to multi-quote on my phone): I said Europeans are mocking us - Find a national newspaper from any of the member states and look for a recent article on Brexit. Here are three, from Der Spiegel, Le Monde and El Pais. https://m.spiegel.de/international/europe/boris-johnson-wants-brexit-at-any-price-a-1285550.html https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2019/09/12/le-psychodrame-du-brexit-est-aujourd-hui-le-produit-de-deux-pathologies-dont-on-pensait-le-royaume-uni-indemne-populisme-et-dogmatisme_5509384_3232.html https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/09/13/ideas/1568372806_518859.html Look at the language, the caricatures, their complete disrespect towards Johnson; they are either taking the piss or have pity on us - they are seemingly incredulous that we're actually going to something so potentially self-destructive under the guise of 'taking back control' as a democratic nation (while under the leadership of a man with an electoral mandate that could fit in Wembley Stadium.) --- Miami White said: America, India etc will do business with us, they’ve all already said that. I would never dispute that, yes, of course they will! But my God, it will be on their terms - because what other option do we have, once we've stopping trading on favourable terms with EASILY our biggest trade partner, and as a small part of the biggest trading bloc in the world? Do you, think the rest of the major global economies are going to: A: Roll over and play to the tune of a standalone country that has just thrown away 88% of its comparative bargaining power (comparing EU 27 GDP with the UK alone), perhaps just out of tradition, because the UK once, long ago, used to be the major global player, and it would be lovely to have Rule Britannia played by army bands in every time zone again. Or B: Circle like vultures over post-Brexit Britain, and impose whatever trade terms they want, for the economic benefit of their own countries? Global economics dictates that in this instance, there isn't a sliding scale. We'll be a 'great trade partner' in the same way that there was a transaction of sorts when Tranmere and Ipswich played our knackered kids - for them, it was nothing more than an easy opportunity to bump up their GD.

I think you have me mixed up with someone else. I've only ever had one name on this forum. Long-time lurker, medium-term member, relatively new poster.

I'm also a remoaner, a lefty snowflake, and a communist anti-patriot who gives reach-arounds to ISIS members on Saturday nights Such is the total non-discourse we're left with following three years of political chaos. I put down three quotes from leading names in the Leave campaign, made in 2016. We've all been sold a lie, no matter how much you or I or anyone else wanted/did not want to leave the EU. That is fact - three years ago, nobody (not even Farage) canvassed for this omnishambles. I tried very hard to avoid 'opinion' because I know the Pandora's box of talking about politics on general football forums, let alone with my fellow Wanderers. Believe me, I'm not here to play the WUM.

Nobody in their right mind voted for a hard, No Deal exit. We were all promised by the liars running the Leave campaign, that this would be a walk in the park, that coming to a Free Trade Agreement would be 'one of the easiest in human history' (Liam Fox), that 'getting out of the EU can be quick and easy as the UK holds most of the cards' (John Redwood), that leaving would be 'like threading the eye of a needle... it is easy enough' (David Davis) I could quite happily accept the referendum result if it was backed with any modicum of an economic and/or social plan to deal with it, but nothing from government over the past three years has been anything more than piss and panic. The continent is laughing at us, the global superpowers are rubbing their hands together thinking about how easily they'll be able to bend us over once we're out on our own. BTW, I'm not spreading 'project fear', I'm just exhausted with the mountains of bullshit we have all been fed from the likes of Johnson, Rees-Mogg and Farage, all of whom are the most self-serving, arrogant c*nts in British politics. You might even say that the personal gains they stand to make from Brexit is an 'act of politicial bastardry' and is as 'anti-democratic as it gets'.

Anyone see that letter to the BN - 'An open letter to Michael James', concerning some sour plank wanting the upper tiers open and (I shit you not) proposing shutting the ESL instead. Thankfully it appears the BN have taken it down, as the backlash of comments strongly shut 'Tony' down. Was it one of you lot having a laugh? I know we have some simpletons in our fanbase, but surely not to that extent...

The dullards in the Bradshawgate pubs on Saturday afternoons will have plenty of unfathomable excuses to stay away. As they're often the kind of miserable prick who groaned when footballing royalty such as Gary Speed or Fernando Hierro misplaced a pass, their presence in this new era of BWFC won't be missed. I'm hoping there's enough intrigue and positivity around the town to attract younger fans in - that's where the difficulty is, getting teenagers arsed about the club when City and United are on our doorstep. I'm hoping FV shut off parts of the ground on matchday so we're huddled in with a good 'away day feel' atmosphere, and people buy into the kind of 'fuck em all' siege mentality that might actually get us dreaming of staying up. FV's professional performance in the administration process, along with MJ's fan presence, has me feeling positive that they're going to actively try to connect with the fanbase. I'm excited about it all, genuinely excited. Until Will Buckley pings yet another cross into Row Z and I can BOOOOOOO like fuck... (OK, I'll behave)

Sluffy, for what it's worth, I thought that was quite a balanced, sensible post. Not once have you defended Anderson's character or forgiven his actions, you've just put yourself in his sweaty, weight-crushed shoes for a different take on the passionate 'fuck the Andersons' discourse we all like to participate in. No way are you deserving of being mentioned in the same breath of some of the Anderson apologists on here and beyond.

Without wishing to labour a point that really isn't my area is expertise, I'd assume that their saleable assets (i.e. contracted players) made it considerably easier to fund administration and the club in the interim. We didn't have that safety cushion. To a degree, Bury did, but they also haven't had a serious buyer lined up, or any form of funding from that charlatan who took them over. Add in the fact that summer is a massive drain on any clubs finance (minimal income, with continued overheads), and it was, unfortunately, inevitable for them. **By the way, the Heathcote puns have really lifted my spirits on what has been quite a miserable day. Some of you have quite a skillet making cookery puns.

This. Add in that the selling party is notoriously difficult to work with, and most likely, would fold the club over completing administration if it meant he gained an extra 50p.

You do realise how long a football club takeover from administration typically takes, don't you? Leicester City were in admin for 18 months once upon a time. Palace were in admin for 6 months. Coventry four. Portsmouth were in administration for about 2 years! The most recent English football administration, Aldershot Town, took over a year. Without understanding every individual circumstance, they were able to turn up, play and compete, as they still had senior players under contract, and clearly, had proof of funds to run the club. Neither Bolton nor Bury have been able to satisfy both of those criteria. The fact that we're even close to finalisation after two months is nothing short of impressive. But then, many within our fanbase simply don't look at it like that - they seem to expect the fabled magic money tree to make these problems go away, then cob up if the club charges £24 for a ticket.

'Sails close to the wind' has been one consistent description of Anderson while he has been here, and it may ring true in his final act. Your final sentence is very interesting. Is there some kind of red flag with Companies House/other relevant bodies regarding such an action? When someone sells a business with a stipulation for immunity (for want of a better word), surely this must ring alarm bells. And yes, while this person is innocent until proven guilty, this action alone must surely be a mark against them the next time they try to take over a company? If you've nothing to hide, why would you impose this? Is there actually a legal mechanism to stop Anderson taking over A.N.Other financially struggling business (football or non-football), running the business in an, ahem, questionable manner for personal gain, and hiding it all through a legal clause during a sale through administration?

While you may know everything there is to know about the club finances through this whole sorry neverending saga, you've done two things: - Assumed a superiority complex above your fellow posters because the topic so happens to align with your career specialism - Diluted the occasional nuggets of useful accounts information you've shared with a barrage of speculation, hyperbole and arrogance However intelligent you see yourself, you really need to learn to know your audience. Nobody needs to read pages of accountancy dick-measuring, we're all here simply because we care about a football club.

Your tone suggests that you believe that anyone with a negative view of Anderson's management of the club is automatically inclined to discredit the fantastic support ED gave to BWFC. Outside the minds of the occasional simpleton on Twitter or raging lunatic on the BN comments page, I genuinely don't believe you'll find many normal fans falling into that category. A little less of the condescension on this topic, perhaps?

I had a season ticket for 9 years before I went away to university in 2011, and have some impossibly great memories of that time. Although I've been back in Bolton for 5 years, I've not had one since (gone to about 7-8 home games a season since, and a few of the northern away days). Last season, I gave up after that mauling at home to Norwich, and I haven't been since. However, this summer made me realise that I had been taking it all for granted. Genuinely don't know if I could follow football again if the unthinkable happened. So, against my better judgement (and that of my football-hating missus), I'm 100% coming back this season. I don't really care if our ragtag squad of kids and flids get stuffed every game - I just want to see 11 blokes give their all for that famous white shirt. Count me in - £20, £24, £240, whatever. I can't sit around half-listening to Tower FM while the existence of the club I've followed all my life hangs in the balance.

A combination of Time and Money, and we'll be able to Breathe again. Until then, I think the uncertainty is giving me Brain Damage...

Done wonders for site traffic though, even if it's been a bit of a (not my words) 'idiot magnet'! Hopefully the staff here have been able to negotiate a better rate for advertising space/pay per click since Howard arrived. Silver linings, and all that.

Positive to hear the kids looked decent, but (and making a lot of assumptions here), does anyone think they'll be used more often in League 1? We won't have a pot to piss in, playing against weaker opposition, so it would surely make sense to look within, especially if the youth setup is the one half-decent thing we have going for us. Surely, if he's still here (and the club is too, of course), Parkinson would be obliged to actually develop the youth?

With Sam Allahdyce as Director of Football?

More mysterious and unknown than the 'H' in the BBC's 'Line of Duty', our very own H-equivalent has brought the end to weeks of deafening silence with a volley of rapid-fire posts late at night, and quite a lot of members are unwilling/unable to question her/his motives. There are an awful lot of people jumping the gun here. Again. Isn't it better to take it with a pinch of salt, read with interest but not hang onto Howard's every word?