IMHO the Cat 1 status is all about protecting one of their main ways to make money. Without it we would be powerless under EPPP to stop our development graduates from being picked off for peanuts. And we don’t make too much money on trading in first team recruits.

Back then club owners knew that it came with a responsibility rather than the right to do what they like. Football governance has not got to grips with the fact that modern owners are in it for themselves, and when they’ve got what they wanted and got bored or can’t get what they want because they’ve been out-oligarched (I’d be keeping one eye on Chelsea for the foreseeable future) it’s the club that loses. And by ‘the club’ I mean that, when you break it all down, it is still - and always will be - the fans.

That’s a brilliant post.

Bolton survive

Exactly. Jack’s legacy was to set up the next owners for top flight football for the foreseeable future. They utterly trashed everything he created - aside from the bricks and mortar if Ewood and Brockhall - and the likes of Bournemouth and Bumley took our place. I’ll not forgive and forget until they put us back to where we were before they came, and hand over the keys to someone else (minus the debt that their recklessness created).

One of the leagues in the football pyramid will need to gain a team but I guess the EFL will look to protect its 71 members first. Just not the ones who really need help. Or the ones who unscrupulous venture capitalists have their eye on. Or those whose owners “don’t have a clue what relegation is”.

The EFL were in a position where they will feel their integrity would he lost after so many extensions and missed deadlines. What they fail to grasp is that thanks to the fit-and-proper person’s test being a compete misnomer their integrity and credibility as an organisation is already shot to pieces. If we ever had any hopes that there would be some leniency if/when we end up in a similar situation these are gone. We will be reliant on someone buying Rovers (you have to think/hope someone would) and that the EFL will no longer accept shysters out to make a quick if risky buck. Will this be the start of the football implosion we have all been predicting and fearing for a decade? If we lose the higher placed clubs then if the want to approve non-league clubs to keep “the 92” then the EFL may need to lower their standards. Ultimate this has to result in an even wider gulf than we already have between the EFL and the PL.

very good

Dumb, given this wasn’t a game he was that bothered about. Does he get a three match ban?

Completely disagree but respect your opinion.

Yeah apart from the keeper and our engine room.... You honestly thought: great Mowbray is taking this one seriously?

We actually have quite weak squad depth in all positions except centre midfield.

As a fan, I looked at that line up and thought Mowbray wasn’t interested in the game. I wonder if the players think the same...

Sometimes certain players represent everything bad about a manager - made worse when they get played after they get found out. Ince had Andrews, Bowyer had Lowe, Mowbray has Evansmallwood.

Bit naughty but given the Evans - Smallwood partnership is a proven failure it’s quite apt. Waste.

As much as I want both clubs to survive these EFL deadlines are a bit pointless really.

“Agenda”

FV do sound like reluctant buyers. I know it is better than losing the club but I do wonder what kind of club it would be. Even the name ‘Football Ventures’ sounds like they would be looking for a new buyer from the day they sign up!

https://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/2019/august/statement-on-behalf-of-paul-appleton-joint-administrator-for-bolton-wanderers6/ I think Bolton will survive.

It’s not about extensions for Bolton, it’s about desperately rescuing a deal with FV or the cannot pay their way.

Really don’t expect anything in this one against a strong side. Play the youngsters. He won’t.

The silence from other clubs on the Bury and Bolton situations is deafening. There but for the grace of God...

Excellent post

The quality of debate in this thread is second to none. Well done everyone. I guess when you combine the demographic and size of the town then we need to be attracting people from the wider catchment area. But if Paul’s experience is a common one then these folks will not travel unless it was to watch PL football on the cheap - unless Rovers were suddenly competing with Liverpool and Man City (the equivalent of what happened between 1992-1996) in which case they would possibly pay. It would be interesting to know how many of these fans now have Burnley STs for the PL football attraction. So how do you attract non-Blackburners to Ewood without PL football? With great difficulty it sounds like. If we turn our attention to the heartlands then, imho, the draw has to be price. I take the point that there are no top 6 PL names to being in the crowds so it has to be about being part of a culture of watching live football and it meaning something to you. Being part of a community. That won’t get off the ground, barring the generation game (dads and kids) while our pricing is at the levels it is - particularly walk on prices so our income may need to take a hit if we are to increase crowds. Although if we get double the attendance for half the price then it breaks even. If the only alternative is PL football then we need a manager who can deliver it. You could well imagine there being a large increase in ST sales if we did get into the PL - particularly if that lot stayed up.

It’s funny though isn’t it. People think he’s great - but he is nullified as soon as he’s man-marked - and he has been subbed for tactical reasons in recent games. Last season he was an unknown quantity and surprised a few people. I’ll say it again, he has a lot to do this season. Let’s hope everyone else is right and it’s just a loss of form. Mowbray has thrown another huge wedge on a forward and it looks like he has to make it work. Instead of building a team to get the best out of Dack, we seem to be trying to use Gallagher as much as possible in a far more agricultural role. If Dack continues in this form and people still think he’s our best player then more questions need to be asked of Mowbray.