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Uncertainty Reigns at Bolton Wanderers, A Club Standing at the Threshold

Once a fixture of the Premier League, Bolton Wanderers will play in the third tier of English football next term. With the club standing at the threshold, fans have been left to ponder what lies beyond.
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This article originally appeared on VICE Sports UK.

Of all the clubs set to witness extensive changes in the off-season, few will see anything as drastic as Bolton Wanderers. Before the start of the 2016-17 campaign, there is likely to be an overhaul so thorough, so radical, that fans will barely recognise the club by the time it's done. Sweeping changes will continue far beyond the summer, but the necessary intensity of the next few months will see rapid transformation on and off the pitch. Whether it will be a change for the better is a different matter entirely.

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That may sound like an ominous prospect, but it's nothing compared to the season now coming to an end. A Premier League club as recently as 2012, Bolton's second relegation in four years was confirmed after a 4-1 defeat to Derby County earlier this month. Wanderers will play in League One next season, competing in the third tier of English football for the first time since 1993. Their demotion from the Championship came with five league games left to play, a mere 26 points on the board, and a goal difference of minus 37. It has been a rank capitulation from the players – and that's not even the half of it.

In the last few months, Bolton have been threatened with the possibility of liquidation on several occasions. Though relegation from the Premier League came as something of a surprise for the club, their financial problems predate their tumble through the top-flight trapdoor. On the eve of that first relegation under Owen Coyle, Wanderers had a net debt of £137m with £6m owed in interest to their longstanding owner, Eddie Davies. They made a £22m loss over the course of their last season in the Premier League, and were seeking further borrowing. Likewise, they had paid out the 13th highest wage bill in the top tier, and would struggle to move on many of the squad's higher earners.

All told, that's not a healthy position to be in.

On top of that, the club's hierarchy had singularly failed to plan for life in the second tier. With matchday revenue down – not to mention the loss of television money – Bolton reportedly recorded total losses of £50m over the course of the 2012/13 season, a devastating financial burden for a Championship side. Parachute payments only went so far and, as of this January, the club were reported to be up to £183m in net debt. With Davies withdrawing his financial backing and looking to sell up, the situation was dire.

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Bolton captain Darren Pratley // PA Images

Having struggled to pay their playing staff in the run up to Christmas, with coffers running dry, Wanderers were faced with a winding up order over £2.2m of unpaid VAT and PAYE. In the resulting high court proceedings, HMRC's legal team claimed that the club appeared "to be very clearly insolvent." Wanderers were forced to sell their training ground and stadium car park, just to raise funds. Had the situation continued as it was, Bolton would have been plunged into the abyss.

Thankfully, it hasn't quite come to that. To the backdrop of persistent court hearings and financial ultimatums, the Sports Shield consortium – led by former player Dean Holdsworth – completed a takeover last month in a joint-venture with the Inner Circle Investment Group. The club's sale was confirmed only five minutes before a winding up hearing was due to start. Bolton were essentially handed a last-second reprieve from their death sentence, delivered a heartbeat before the executioner's blow.

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With Davies now honorary president, he is reportedly set to write off the club's massive debts. In a relative sense, Bolton's future seems far more secure. They are no longer facing immediate financial meltdown, and are no longer being threatened with imminent liquidation. However, that doesn't mean that Wanderers are on the road to recovery. At the moment, relegation from the Championship is Bolton's only real certainty going forward.

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Though their fans were hugely relieved by the arrival of new owners, it's yet to be seen whether Holdsworth and co. have sufficient funds to repair the club's fortunes. Moreover, it's yet to be seen whether they can successfully master Bolton's finances. Can they stop the club from haemorrhaging money? Can they hang on to Bolton's remaining assets, and create a sustainable football model in the long term? With their tenure as owners only a few weeks old, it's far too early to say.

Former intentional Emile Heskey has been unable to lift Bolton's fortunes // PA Images

In the short term, there are more pressing issues to contend with. First of all, the club are in desperate need of reducing their wage bill. Many of their players are on top Championship pay, expenditure that will blight the club's finances should it continue into next season. Considering the standard of their performances this season, it will be difficult to secure buyers for some of those players – even if the asking price is drastically below market value.

Then there's the added complication of their current transfer embargo, imposed after they received their first winding up petition from HMRC. New chairman Ken Anderson is hopeful of having it lifted ahead of the summer window, but whether that hope will be realised or not remains to be seen.

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Add to that the need to replace departing players – again, dependent on their transfer embargo being overturned – and it's quite possible that Bolton's playing staff will be unrecognisable next season. Will the squad be able to gel? Will they be able to bounce back up to the Championship at the first time of asking? For a club of Bolton's size and standing, that will be the expectation. Nonetheless, that's all dependent on the freedom to do business. If their transfer embargo is upheld, it's hard to see how the club can make any progress at all.

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Finally, there's also the small issue of finding a new first-team manager. With Neil Lennon leaving the club in the wake of the Sports Shield takeover, it's still unclear who'll be in charge of the new-look squad for their League One campaign. Phil Brown, Chris Wilder and Steve Cotterill are amongst the bookies' favourites; the sooner one is appointed, the better.

Manager Neil Lennon left the club by mutual consent in March // PA Images

All in all, then, Bolton need new players, a new manager and a new financial structure by the start of the 2016/17 season. These are the minimum requirements for success. With so much to do, with so much margin for error, the club seems defined by uncertainty at the moment. Still having to fulfil their last few Championship fixtures, stuck between the recent past and the near future, Bolton are in a uniquely nebulous situation. The club stands in an ambiguous middle ground and, at present, nobody really knows what lies beyond.

To get a fan's perspective on all this, I spoke to Ian Bridge, a prominent member of the Bolton Wanderers' Supporters Trust, about the current state of the club. Though he seemed cautiously optimistic about the future, he stressed that supporters aren't taking anything for granted.

When asked about the new ownership, Ian said: "When anything new happens at the club, fans get a buzz. They think things are happening. However, only time will tell whether the finances are there in sufficient quantities to take the club forward.

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"As we all know, talk is cheap. People will be judged by their actions."

When it came to the prospect of bouncing straight back up from League One, Ian was similarly cautious. "So much depends on what happens over the close season," he said. "What players are moved out, if any. What players are brought in, if any. Don't forget that the club is still under a transfer embargo. There are so many variables, things that need to be put into place for the club to move forward.

"It's a very, very fine line that the club are going to have to tread. We all – as Bolton Wanderers supporters – hope that they can achieve that balance."

The formation of the Supporters' Trust is one way in which Bolton fans are trying to have a say in the future of the club. Ian tells me that, prior to the Sports Shield takeover, there was a significant disconnect between the club hierarchy and the support. With Wanderers seemingly hurtling toward the precipice, the fans needed a voice. Though the Trust is still at an early stage of its development, its growth over the last few months speaks volumes.

New chief-exec Holdsworth (centre) played more than 150 games for Bolton between 1997 and 2003 // PA Images

Officially registered on 15 January, Ian tells me that their initial pledge list attracted over 6,000 potential members. The Trust have been taking memberships for just over two weeks, and around 2,000 fans have already joined. That number is growing by the day. When the idea of a Supporters' Trust was suggested a few years ago, it drew little interest from either fans or the club. Now, having seen Bolton teetering on the brink, supporters are signing up in their droves to help steer Wanderers in the right direction.

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That's a positive change off the pitch, and will hopefully be followed by positive change on it. Speaking to Chris Manning, editor of the fan-run Lion of Vienna Suite blog, I get the impression that the resolution of Bolton's immediate financial problems has allowed the fans to turn their minds back to matchday.

Asked about next season, Chris said: "I think regrouping is essential – we have no choice but to do it. I still have concerns, mainly due to some foggy answers regarding the present debt and the status of our mortgaged assets. But, to be honest, I'm sick to death of talking finance.

"I'm more interested in just enjoying the football for a change."

If all goes well in the next few months, football – as opposed to off-the-field issues – will remain at the forefront of supporters' minds. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees when it comes to Bolton's future. The club stands at the threshold, and fans will have to hope that Wanderers can cross it with care.

@W_F_Magee