You've Taken Over Bolton Wanderers.....

Right, so you've just won £600 million on the lottery and you've bought Eddie Davies out and you now own Bolton Wanderers Football Club.

So what would be the first three things you would do? It can be absolutely anything, from sacking the manager to installing heated seats in the North Stand.

My three would be as follows:

1) Rip out all the seats and make the ground 100% corporate. Everyone watches the game from behind a glass screen eating chicken and chips out of a basket. Club turnover doubled.

2) Sack Owen Coyle and his entire backroom staff (except my mole) and replace him with Alan Irvine. Bolton stay up and avoid going bust.

3) Bit more long term this one, might take 10 years or so but I'd purchase a plot of land in or around Kendal in Cumbria and build a new ground. Bolton's long term future secure on gates of 75,000 every week.

And now what would you really do?

That's what I'd do. I'm not saying it would be popular, but the long term future would be secure.

No you wouldn't. Just for once be serious.

what players would like to see brought in?

And don't say Rob Earnshaw ffs.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:No you wouldn't. Just for once be serious.

what players would like to see brought in?

And don't say Rob Earnshaw ffs.

But I'm the owner, I'll trust Alan to sort the players.

of course you would. What a load of nonsense.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:of course you would. What a load of nonsense.

ok clever clogs, what three things would you do?

First thing I would do is call in eith KPMG or Delloite and Touche to check over every single accounting department of the company - see whats profistable and see what is not profitable.

Once in receipt of the report is to strengthen the profitable areas even more and to sort out as to the reasons and probabilities of sorting out the weaknesses.

1st casualty would be to have Gartside step down from his present role and advertise the post to both professionals and fans alike - all in the best interest of the club. Gartside currently has a clash of interest between teh Club, the Premier League, the FA and with Wembley arena company!

2nd casualty would be all in the PR department and actually outsource it.

3rd casualty would be the catering company. Bring in a decent company, with more of a business outlook rather than profyeering on crap outlook

Then I would look at the the managerial and back room staff. Replace if needs be, or even add to it - dependent upon a certain criteria which would be set out to all of them - such as commitment, strengths, admission of weaknesses etc etc etc. Definitely add to the squad as ours is one of teh smallest, if not THE smallest in the Premiership.



Then and only then would I begin to think about feasability studies in building a new stadium at Burnden Park, which would include Compulsory purchase orders, re-alignment of Manchester Road.

With regards to the Reebok Stadium, keep the building and turn it into an exhibition centre and office space. Plus would keep the hotel within the stadium as well, and any surplus land would then sell on to Orbit to expand Middlebrook.

you've got my vote bwfc71!

bwfc71 wrote:First thing I would do is call in eith KPMG or Delloite and Touche to check over every single accounting department of the company - see whats profistable and see what is not profitable.

Once in receipt of the report is to strengthen the profitable areas even more and to sort out as to the reasons and probabilities of sorting out the weaknesses.

1st casualty would be to have Gartside step down from his present role and advertise the post to both professionals and fans alike - all in the best interest of the club. Gartside currently has a clash of interest between teh Club, the Premier League, the FA and with Wembley arena company!

2nd casualty would be all in the PR department and actually outsource it.

3rd casualty would be the catering company. Bring in a decent company, with more of a business outlook rather than profyeering on crap outlook

Then I would look at the the managerial and back room staff. Replace if needs be, or even add to it - dependent upon a certain criteria which would be set out to all of them - such as commitment, strengths, admission of weaknesses etc etc etc. Definitely add to the squad as ours is one of teh smallest, if not THE smallest in the Premiership.



Then and only then would I begin to think about feasability studies in building a new stadium at Burnden Park, which would include Compulsory purchase orders, re-alignment of Manchester Road.

With regards to the Reebok Stadium, keep the building and turn it into an exhibition centre and office space. Plus would keep the hotel within the stadium as well, and any surplus land would then sell on to Orbit to expand Middlebrook.

One of the best posts I've ever read.

Why on gods green earth, with one of the most modern stadiums in the premier league, would you look to build another one.

I would not bother unless i won the american lottery.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:Why on gods green earth, with one of the most modern stadiums in the premier league, would you look to build another one.

Because the Reebok is not Bolton's home. Its not even in Bolton. In fact moving it back to Burnden Park means there is less travelling for the majority, and would actually bring back fans who felt ostricised by the move to Horwich and would make it more of a true town team with ambitions.

Reebok is a stale environment - no atmosphere, too big and definitely not fan friendly.



In fact at same time, I would even change the clubs motif back to the shield we had when we won the 1958 FA Cup! The circulat BWFC or the present "balloon" have been crap - plus I would bring back the red rose and the motto, The Pride of Lancashire.

Football has changed I'm afraid, fans care about the product on the pitch.

Building a brand new stadium to tempt back a couple of thousand fans who are stuck in the past is just terrible business sense.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Right, so you've just won £600 million on the lottery and you've bought Eddie Davies out and you now own Bolton Wanderers Football Club.


3) Bit more long term this one, might take 10 years or so but I'd purchase a plot of land in or around Kendal in Cumbria and build a new ground. Bolton's long term future secure on gates of 75,000 every week.

Why Kendal?

Do they just care about the product on the pitch or is that just a melancholy ideology forged by The Premier League?

Its not about being stuck in the past, its about prestige, its about honour, its about entertainment in a atmosphere fit for purpose.

You tell me one USP that the Reebok has which Burnden Park didn't.

I can tell you now that the most USP about Burnden Park is that its proximity for the majority of fans and to the town centre, rather than on the outskirts catering mainly for just one section of the population of the borough, whilst wasting money in bringing in the rest of the fans. How many fans would rather meet up in Bolton and walk to the stadium, tahn just catch the football bus to the stadium and back?

xmiles wrote:

Natasha Whittam wrote:Right, so you've just won £600 million on the lottery and you've bought Eddie Davies out and you now own Bolton Wanderers Football Club.


3) Bit more long term this one, might take 10 years or so but I'd purchase a plot of land in or around Kendal in Cumbria and build a new ground. Bolton's long term future secure on gates of 75,000 every week.

Why Kendal?

So she can have the true Kendal Mint Cakes on the menu at half time.

xmiles wrote:
Why Kendal?

Because Cumbria is starved of Premier League football. If we were based in Kendal we'd fill a massive ground every single week. Look at Carlisle, getting over 12,000 in League 1.

We'd basically have a monopoly on Cumbria, ok we'd have to change our name to Kendal Wanderers so that people have a sense of pride in their local club, but it'll be worth it to be up there with United & City inside 5 years.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Right, so you've just won £600 million on the lottery and you've bought Eddie Davies out and you now own Bolton Wanderers Football Club.

So what would be the first three things you would do? It can be absolutely anything, from sacking the manager to installing heated seats in the North Stand.

My three would be as follows:

1) Rip out all the seats and make the ground 100% corporate. Everyone watches the game from behind a glass screen eating chicken and chips out of a basket. Club turnover doubled.

2) Sack Owen Coyle and his entire backroom staff (except my mole) and replace him with Alan Irvine. Bolton stay up and avoid going bust.

3) Bit more long term this one, might take 10 years or so but I'd purchase a plot of land in or around Kendal in Cumbria and build a new ground. Bolton's long term future secure on gates of 75,000 every week.

Points 1 and 3 seem to contradict each other on your "argument". You cannot guarantee 75,000 every week with an 100% coprporate stadium. Plus I would very much doubt you would get Corporates going to Kendal to watch matches as corporates tend to stay within cities and towns of more importance, to due higher business contacts, than one would get in Kendal - therefore I would very much doubt you would get much more, moneywise, than the Reebok does at present, if not less.

bwfc71 wrote:


Points 1 and 3 seem to contradict each other on your "argument". You cannot guarantee 75,000 every week with an 100% coprporate stadium. Plus I would very much doubt you would get Corporates going to Kendal to watch matches as corporates tend to stay within cities and towns of more importance, to due higher business contacts, than one would get in Kendal - therefore I would very much doubt you would get much more, moneywise, than the Reebok does at present, if not less.

Kendal is 10 years away at least. So I'd convert the Reebok to 100% corporate in the meantime, and then let 75,000 plebs into the new stadium in the 2022-23 season.