Bolton in possible take-over bid....

Well, he's back home (he was at the match last night), so let's see if anything develops.

Knowing how guarded the club have been about all this, I don't think we'll hear much, if anything, until it's either a done deal or dead in the water.

Fingers crossed.

I know nothing of business and have not had a chance to listen to the piece on talksport. I also know nothing about the potential new owners of our club. People seemed a little pessimistic to begin with but I'm getting the feeling a few on here are hoping it will happen. Just wondered what the basis for that opinion is? I am genuinely interested as I have no reference. Would this really be a good thing?

Bwfc1958 wrote:I know nothing of business and have not had a chance to listen to the piece on talksport. I also know nothing about the potential new owners of our club. People seemed a little pessimistic to begin with but I'm getting the feeling a few on here are hoping it will happen. Just wondered what the basis for that opinion is? I am genuinely interested as I have no reference. Would this really be a good thing?

Personally I am not convinced that it would be. The history of foreign ownership of UK football clubs is very mixed. Some have done reasonably well (Liverpool,Chelsea and to some extend Villa). Others have seen traumatic times(Cardiff, Leeds. Hearts). For others the jury is out. Has ownership of Man Utd by the Glazers been a good or a bad thing?
That to me is the worry - are we going to see benevolent owners (as Eddy Davies is) or manic interferers like the Venkys who can bring a club to its knees. Despite a  single radio programme with an exfootballer (Peter Wythe) saying that these guys are sound, that doesn't give me much comfort. They might be fine in Bangkok, but Bolton ,its club,its history and culture are entirely different.
Where is the evidence that they will pump money in? There isn't any. Where is the evidence that they have any money in the first place? There isn't any.
For me there are no promises of glory and I would prefer to stick to the devil you know than the devil you don't.
Last night showed that this club ,with or without large capital injections, can compete.
We all know that the glory days of the Prem are now unsustainable and all we'd do if we got there would be to get relegated but with a load of dosh- and where might that end up, with foreign owners.
If it goes ahead I really hope that I'm completely wrong- but at the moment there are no promises of anything- apart from the risk that these guys might have other intentions and be a set of asset strippers

Problem is the devil we know wants out.

B.D.P wrote:Problem is the devil we know wants out.

....and that only compounds the problem as it makes it a buyers market.

Seems like a reasonable assessment Rammy. I would like a few more facts rather than guesswork and hearsay but I don't think that will be forthcoming any time soon. For now I think I'll reside in the pessimistic camp and wait for a bit more solid info.

If the Thai business men had people at the match last night i'm sure I saw them in the club shop - one guy suited and booted with 2 other men who looked like his body guards the way they followed him around.

rammywhite wrote:

Bwfc1958 wrote:I know nothing of business and have not had a chance to listen to the piece on talksport. I also know nothing about the potential new owners of our club. People seemed a little pessimistic to begin with but I'm getting the feeling a few on here are hoping it will happen. Just wondered what the basis for that opinion is? I am genuinely interested as I have no reference. Would this really be a good thing?

Where is the evidence that they will pump money in? There isn't any. Where is the evidence that they have any money in the first place? There isn't any.
For me there are no promises of glory and I would prefer to stick to the devil you know than the devil you don't.

Fair enough but we are all speculating wildly.
Of course there is no evidence that they will pump money in - but there is a lot of evidence that the current owners DEFINITELY WON'T pump money in - so on that measure it couldn't be worse and could improve.

Can we compete as we are? Possibly, but if we look at last night with the same degree of speculative questioning you are applying to the prospective new owners...
Where is the evidence that last night wasn't just a flash in the pan??
Where is the evidence that they can consistently deliver performances of that quality and intensity?
Where is the evidence that Vela and Ream won't get reamed when we come up against a team with decent wide men?
Will the whole thing fall apart when Pratley gets himself suspended?

There is no evidence either way so we'll just have to see how it pans out. In both cases.

Lines I never thought I'd read on here - No 47:

"Will the whole thing fall apart when Pratley gets himself suspended?"

Breadman wrote:Lines I never thought I'd read on here - No 47:

"Will the whole thing fall apart when Pratley gets himself suspended?"

I am naughty sometimes. Or a tw@t depending on your view. (No need for a poll - I can self-flagellate)

Breadman wrote:Lines I never thought I'd read on here - No 47:

"Will the whole thing fall apart when Pratley gets himself suspended?"

Well it's happened. It was inevitable after all. So tonight we'll see how we do without him.

He's been playing left side so I'm wondering if Lennon brings back Spearing and shuffles the other 3, reverts to 2 defensive mids, Trotter or sticks to his earlier principles and bring in someone like Hall who could offer width?

It's been quiet about this for a few days now. Was it just a rumour, and now its a dead duck.
I hope so.
Anyone have any further info about it?

Quiet usually means things are progressing - they are pretty quick at distancing themselves from a rumour if it comes to nothing. I suspect they are discussing valuations and that's when they'll find out if there is any common ground.

I have no problem with new owners as it will mean an injection of new capital, but it's always a worry as we don't know what the new guys will be like - they could be worse or they could be the best thing to ever happen to the club. Only time will tell.

If there is a genuine deal to be done it will probably take some time. A major purchase won't be done overnight.

Still nothing. Starting to feel it may actually happen as it certainly seems as if the approach is being taken seriously. There would have been a press release if it had fallen through.

Look for any brand new Thai Chip Shops around Horwich.  That's the tip off.

terenceanne wrote:Look for any brand new Thai Chip Shops around Horwich.  That's the tip off.

hmm........okay

There's a new S & M bar near the Beehive - Thai Rack.

Is the takeover going through?

scottjames30 wrote:Is the takeover going through?

Very much doubt it