Deano and Stelios "fail to meet the criteria"

With Trevor Birch's announcement that BWFC's position is becoming "increasingly perilous" was the comment that none of the bidders had met the requisite criteria to buy the club.

No details of what the criteria are, but I'm guessing it's not the "fit and proper persons" test as a bidder can always find one of those at the drop of a hat.

So is ED being deliberately obstructive in order to maximise his payoff or is he protecting the club by insisting that any new owners guarantee not to strip the assets?

Maximising his pay off???

Somebody needs to pick up around £1 million for last months wages.

Whoever buys the club right now will be taking on a loss making business, with urgent need of multi-million pound investment and no immediate chance of any profit.

How the hell is Davies in a position to maximise his pay off?

I beginning to think you really are turning into a wum about all of this.

They didn't meet the criteria? You're joking.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:They didn't meet the criteria? You're joking.

That is what Trevor Birch said. That can be



1) no proper business plan
2) cash wasn't really there
3)didn't fit the "fit and proper person criteria"

I could have told you all that.

one was dean holdsworth and the other was Stelios. 

I can't believe they actually agreed to meet them.

I'm sure somebody's mole on here will eventually come up trumps!?!

Soul Kitchen wrote:I'm sure somebody's mole on here will eventually come up trumps!?!

Enriques maybe

Sluffy wrote:Maximising his pay off???

I mentioned that because several people on this forum have suggested that ED is not in fact the altruistic owner his public persona suggests he is. If that were the case the terms of the sale would determine EDs payoff - or more accurately, the less he concedes to the new owners, the less he'd lose.
Personally I would like to believe that ED has put the club's interest ahead of his own and the sticking point is that he is looking for a deal that will protect the club.
Ultimately, I don't know but as the application of these criteria is critical to the future of the club, I thought we might at least discuss it.

All the more interesting because "no proper business plan" is subjective and dependent on the objectives of the plan, "cash wasn't really there" sounds like they haven't checked it out properly (why else use the word "really"?) and it's not clear whether or not the "fit and proper persons" test was actually conducted by the ruling body or was a subjective assessment of Trevor Birch.

It's important because these bids have failed to meet the criteria and what does that say about the chances of any future bids - if any are made. The tone of Trevor Birch's announcement seemed to imply that we have run out of interested parties.

Sluffy wrote:
Somebody needs to pick up around £1 million for last months wages.

Whoever buys the club right now will be taking on a loss making business, with urgent need of multi-million pound investment and no immediate chance of any profit.

How the hell is Davies in a position to maximise his pay off?

Surely the question should be "how the hell is Davies in a position to start laying down criteria to be met when we are so desperate for money?"

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Neil Lennon‘s future at Bolton — as well as that of players — is in doubt

BOLTON are facing meltdown with the futures of the players and boss Neil Lennon in fresh doubt.

Wanderers had a crisis meeting with troubleshooter Trevor Birch and the PFA about unpaid wages, with the troubled club unable to find the £750,000 needed.

Birch may even put the club into voluntary administration by Friday if a buyer is not found in time.

That would be the ultimate nightmare as the club would lose 12 points, putting them on zero. They would face certain relegation and have to sell players to pay the wages.

And the crisis deepened yesterday as the players learned they will NOT be paid immediately by the PFA.

Union chief Gordon Taylor — a former Trotters player — will only be able to step in if the club goes into administration.

Young hopeful Zach Clough, striker Max Clayton and midfielder Mark Davies — their most sellable assets — could be sacrificed in the new year.

Bolton will need around £5million to get through the rest of the season, with no takeover close at this point.

Boss Lennon will not be paid this month either to add to his misery as Bolton unravel before his eyes.

Lennon, 44, feels badly let down by he club.

He has put on a brave face in public but insiders reveal he is at the end of his tether just a year after taking charge.

Owner Eddie Davies turned off the financial tap some time ago and Lennon was led to believe there were funds by chairman Phil Gartside.

However, Wanderers have simply been trying to make ends meet as they bid to cover their £5m annual losses.

Bolton sold their best player Chung-Yong Lee to Crystal Palace for £500,000.

Deals galore collapsed, with the final humiliation coming when Lennon agreed a move with Wolves for Rajiv van la Parra only to be told the club could not pay for him.

Birch has met interested parties. There is British-based interest featuring ex-player Dean Holdsworth’s group, a Far East group and an Arab investor who is keen but worried by their position.

There is no sign of an immediate deal and every week that passes sees the value of the club drop.

Any takeover would see Davies writing off the debts he ran up but there are still huge loan and tax bills to pay.

Wanderers has turned into a personal disaster for Isle of Man-based Davies, who made his fortune in kettle elements.

The lifelong fan admitted: “We’re continuing to negotiate but unfortunately no interested party has demonstrated all the elements needed to conclude a deal yet. The club’s position is increasingly perilous and new investment is needed quickly.”

bwfc1874 wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Sensationalist, but WOW!

Can someone copy and paste. I don't have an account for the sun

y2johnny wrote:Can someone copy and paste. I don't have an account for the sun

Just done it, post 10 (74's) but you didn't need to be a member for this article for some reason.

karlypants wrote:

y2johnny wrote:Can someone copy and paste. I don't have an account for the sun

Just done it, post 10 (74's) but you didn't need to be a member for this article for some reason.

Cheers kp. Link wouldn't work for me for some reason

The Far East Group? (a chink of light perhaps?)
Nervous Arab Investor? I think Boggers mentioned this.

It's good that they are confirmed because that means I can cling to the straw that Trevor Birch made the announcement to put some pressure on them in a "shit or get off the pan" kinda way.

Come on Boggers - what's happening?

A chink of light?  Seriously?

karlypants wrote:A chink of light?  Seriously?

Unreserved apologies. In mitigation I regress to the '70s when I'm depressed.

wanderlust wrote:

Sluffy wrote:
Somebody needs to pick up around £1 million for last months wages.

Whoever buys the club right now will be taking on a loss making business, with urgent need of multi-million pound investment and no immediate chance of any profit.

How the hell is Davies in a position to maximise his pay off?

Surely the question should be "how the hell is Davies in a position to start laying down criteria to be met when we are so desperate for money?"

Surely the question is 'does anybody really believe anyone wants to buy the club right now?'!

wanderlust wrote:

karlypants wrote:A chink of light?  Seriously?

Unreserved apologies. In mitigation I regress to the '70s when I'm depressed.

Sorry Wander, I seem to be barking up the wrong tree with that one.

Good morning all. It's been a while. 

Well, that which many of us predicted five years ago seems to be coming to pass. Is there anyone left who still clings to the delusion that it's "not real debt" because it's owed to Eddie?

My prediction, gloomy as it is is that we will enter administration sometime in early January. I'm far from certain we'll get out of it.