Bolton have had there game tonight postponed I think this is going to be the tip of the iceberg. Who is going to be next glad we are in the position we are in financially. The EFL have to sort this out the fixture pile up is going to get worse we will end up playing 3 games a week. Bury have until this Thursday to sort things out we shall see. I would give Wednesdays a bye in the car boot competition. Ì can't see Bury playing all of there games even if they come up with a rescue plan just let them play there league games
Bring Man U & Man C under 21's in league 1 in there place! A few on here wouldn't be happy with that. Me would be good for us cause we'd have to up our game & get shut of that dreadful 4-3-3
Nice one Gwru. The top two sides in the premier league last season were Man City and Liverpool. Now i wonder what formation they play? Never that dreadful 4.3.3 surely.
whiston01 sure Liverpool play 3 up front but theirs are worth in total bout 200 M. Ours wouldn't even get in their under 21 side if they have one. They must have but I only know Man U & Man C have cause we've played them.
For those of us who have lived through some dark football days with the Millers, bought bricks and walked to Huddersfield, you have to feel sorry for the true fans. Whoever's fault it is, it's not theirs. It also makes us realise that despite our complaints about not spending enough on our own team, we can’t forget it could be much much worse for us…
I think there are many reasons for their failure, but not checking an owners financial history and viability for a 'worse case scenario' has to be one, plus I do think the enforced transfer windows is another - where player agents and the false market forces smaller clubs out of the market or forces them into paying too high wages for players, and make it hard for clubs to close deals.
Also, the rich Premiership should pay more of their TV & other revenue into the EFL to support the other leagues. The English/Wales league is the best in the world, and despite what some may argue, the Premiership needs to keep the full league structure viable or it will fail itself. We need to have the fairytale prospect for smaller clubs kept alive, where 'one day' they might get into the top league.... there are plenty of clubs in the premiership now that have been small lower league clubs in the past. Lose this dream and it would destroy the game, and getting into the premiership has to be a positive financial incentive (like any promotion) and it’s the owners failure to plan for the long term that makes clubs fail, not the fact they have got to the top flight as a ‘small club’.
“We can’t afford to be in a higher league” is a fallacy… it’s business sense and good or bad people that makes or breaks a club, like any company.
I've lived in Scotland for 15 years and the way they have messed with their leagues has destroyed the game, with most clubs getting smaller gates in the SPL that some of our league 2 clubs. The reason for this is that it is not competitive - in Scotland the 'fairytale' of long term success that still exists with the EFL is dead, so fans don’t turn up just to see the same happen every year with no hope of the dream… This should be a warning to the Premiership, that if they 'break away' or create a smaller non competitive league, they will destroy the game (and themselves)
The premiership and EFL need to get together and work out how we can protect the structure as it is, and minimise the possibility of losing more clubs.
-- Edited by Davidedin on Monday 26th of August 2019 11:53:08 AM
Bolton have had lots and lots of time to face the reality of their situation but never have. Each owner and benefactor has never made the simple choice to cut the cloth. They have existed for many years on loans and goodwill.
Like many other clubs they have manipulated to stay playing well above their means and that has sometimes been at the cost of the more honest approach of others.
They had many seasons in the top division and were a welcome addition with some great football and great personalities. However, they paid the price of unsustainability and once Eddie Davies was no longer able to write off their debts it was over. Of course, he perhaps shouldn't have done that at all , certainly not to the tune he did.
Anyway, both clubs looked doomed and one way or another the suffering of the poor fans will continue a long time until they and those who run clubs realise it has to be sustainable.
HERE IS A CUT AND PASTE ABOUT ANOTHER FOOTBALL CLUB: The moral of the tale is that any club except the top 4 can pretty much find themselves sliding down and out: greed, dishonesty and a lack of a clear financial plan are all in the little bit I have cut and pasted. Remarkably, the blaming of players at the end shows to me that the financial investors still haven't learnt.
A sorry tale and wake up for all of us:
“I only went in to invest money; my ambition was to get into the Championship and flog it,” he said. “But they wanted more money within months. I’ve put a hell of a lot of money in. I’m very sad and I also feel very bitter.”
" "latest accounts show having loaned almost £6m on top of his initial £4m investment for 80% of the shares, and he continues to fund heavy losses for a club relegated with a £2m wage bill, League sixth highest.
" "made the play-off semi-final for promotion to the Championship as recently as three years ago but lost, then " "took up an offer to manage . They sold players, for £1.3m, in an effort to balance the books, but said he agrees with many at the club that the subsequent departure, who headed player recruitment, was a severe loss.
when he asked the other directors to set aside repayment of their own loans and waive interest. Some at the club say the directors were prepared to do that except for one loan from a director’s company; responds that “collectively” they did not agree. He immediately resigned from the board, and has barely been to the stadium since.
Personally I’m devastated.”
The view was that the players themselves must face responsibility: “Football is sometimes about self-analysing, about going home, looking in the mirror and asking yourself: ‘Have I done enough for this football club?’ Clearly the answer is no, and I’m included in that.
“You can blame all the people you want to blame, you can blame off the pitch, but when it comes down to it, the players on the pitch have not been good enough this season. Simple as that.”
-- Edited by ian on Monday 26th of August 2019 02:53:19 PM
-- Edited by ian on Monday 26th of August 2019 02:53:51 PM
At this moment in time Bolton look to be in a more dire straights than Bury. Take over talks collapsed on Saturday manger has walked out and only 5 senior players find out tomorrow. We are due to play them at home the next few weeks another game postponed. What is happening now this is the tip of the iceberg the EFL don't have a clue what is going on there are few more clubs in the same boat we shall see.
-- Edited by TH MILLER on Monday 26th of August 2019 07:09:33 PM
Bury were expelled from the EFL this evening. It is very sad. Hopefully the supporters will have a new phoenix club to get behind although they might have to work their way up the non-league pyramid.
Some serious lessons have to be learned about how this has come to pass and a lot of people involved in Bury FC in recent years should have a lot of questions to answer. On the face of it, if what is in the press about the club guaranteeing loans of £1m and over to since failed associated businesses at over 100% apr are true, some very questionable things have gone on there.
The EFL needs to think about whether or not it has fulfilled one of its key functions, which is to safeguard the game. That must include a boiler-plated fit and proper person test and proof of sound financial planning. I don't think the EFL can ultimately be blamed for the decision taken today because the season is well under way now and there is no end in sight to the chaos. They have to draw the line somewhere. Are they in any way responsible though for allowing Bury FC to get into this state on their watch? Maybe so.
Bolton may be next, and there are a lot of other clubs out there who will be nervously wondering whether they might not be far away from the same fate.
Football is essentially like any other business. The company makes a product which is sold to customers. The Board of the Company ensure that the organisation is viable, living within it's means, investing wisely and sustainable. If a normal company fails any of these tests, it would either cease trading or would be forced into administration.
Football differs from business norms because of emotion. Chairmen and Directors will often ignore the viability of a club because of their association with the team or the town/area and will pump in their own money to keep a non-viable club afloat. This is fine until the generosity of the Board dries up.
The other key factor which makes football so precarious is greed. The willingness of Boards to invest recklessly to achieve the enormous financial benefits available to those few clubs which reach the top tier is irresistible to some.
The raw materials which the clubs use to make their products are the players. Because of the emotion and greed factors, these players (mainly through their agents) are able to inflate their values enormously thereby increasing the pressure on a club's viability. It all adds up to an extremely insecure and hazardous environment which is ripe for both villains and philanthropists to operate, occasionally successfully but more often disastrously.
Of course, the Shareholders (or the fans) are the ones who bear the ultimate fallout of the Board/Players activities. The difference between normal shareholders and football fans is that the latter cannot withdraw their support and invest elsewhere.
Overseeing this unhealthy environment is the EFL. It's a reactive organisation which responds when the wheels have already fallen off. Could it be more proactive in ensuring that clubs are run more effectively? Sure, but be careful what you wish for - an over-eager regulator could take all the fun out of football and we could be left with a stagnant, boring, over-administered system in which smaller clubs will always find themselves in the bottom leagues.
It's at times like this when the benefits of being under the stewardship of TS and his board are really appreciated. First and foremost, RUFC is a sound business. It might be frustrating that we don't see expensive signings coming through the door on a regular basis, but given the choice between us and Bury/Bolton, I'd rather be a frugal Miller any day!
Yesterday was a very sad day for football a sport that is awash with money poor Bury have to fall on there sword. Bolton next we should be playing them in the next few weeks not holding my breathe. Everyone from the championship downwards
Will be looking over there shoulder the domino effect could be about to happen. Ì know some of you will be bored of me repeating myself especially my new besty mate Brad. If the Rotherham public want a club it has to start with the supporters. That is why I go to every home game have a go on May day buy some merchandise from the club shop. Hopefully Bury can rise again it will have to come from the supporters I wish them all the luck in the world.
I think football lclubs are somewhat different and special compared to other business. Just like a hospital and a fire brigade and a dustbin lorry really. A hospice. A charity of some kind.
Football clubs are usually of a very historic standing and embedded within culture and communities. One could compare the shame of the postindustrial ere in the west. There was no particular reason it ended like it did. The way it was divided up and shipped away. Whole towns and families in despair. wrecked lives. It wasnt that there was an economic argument to be won or a social one or anything. It was just ideology that didnt believe it was important and that people are important. It was a sacrifice of sorts. So it is with Bury and any football club. They dont have to go bust but they do. They dont have to turn a profit and they dont have to lose vast amounts.
Its the will to keep something historic and vital to people and culture thats is missing. The theatre , opera, Athletics, gymnastic and many, many other sports and recreation and arts never make enough money and are often laced with incredible examples of excess but we generally believe in supporting them in some ways...like Womens football...
I feel sorry for Bury but not Bolton who spent like drunken pirates and bought their time in the limelight - now they have to pay the piper. I liked going to Bury - decent little ground and improved of late.
