Barney pops in with another concise, well-outlined article
Barney’s fearful he’s over done it on the word-count. I think it just right. Cheers, Barney. Enjoy everyone…
It`s arguably the dream of every footballer in this country to ply his trade in the Premier League at some stage in his career. Equally, it`s also the wish of every fan, to watch his or her team play in it.
But on reflection; is it such a good idea?
Is taking part in the greatest soccer show on Earth (if only for one season) a feasible proposition for every club in the Championship? Or is it just the reserve of an elite few, who have sufficient means to fund it adequately? And more pointedly, how does all this impact on the ambitions of Bolton Wanderers?
Before we even consider the financial aspect, it would be prudent to ask whether watching your favourite soccer team each week in the Premier League- and see them possibly struggling to get a foothold in the match- a sight that most fans want to see? Is being a part of that worth the continual heartache?
Again, do we really want to be on the receiving end of the depressing results, that the small town clubs appear to achieve? And the corollary – the annual fight to avoid relegation, which seems to be the lot of these clubs, nowadays. Exactly what levels of collective masochism are we fans prepared to endure, just to stay in this elite company?
Well strangely enough, some might say a great deal!
It would appear that we gladly accept those odds and still unreservedly crave membership of this very exclusive club!
Reverse the coin and the picture changes dramatically. With average luck, a team playing in the Championship can look forward to an exciting competition throughout. A competition, where it has an even chance of gaining the points come Saturday afternoon. A chance- even for the average fan- to get off his seat and cheer on his team, with more than a hint of excitement and anticipation.
Having said that, quite possibly the nub of the argument, centres on finance. This is likely to be a potential minefield for the average lay-man. Most of us hopefully would grasp the simple problems of ‘profit and loss`. But surely, to make sense of the more complex financial issues involved, necessarily requires an agile mind, with a head for figures; a good working knowledge of accountancy and more than a modicum of business sense? Qualities that have certainly evaded me since puberty.
With this in mind, let me pose one or two more straight-forward questions. Firstly, if Bolton achieve promotion this season to the Premier League, will the club then have the means to go out and buy the talent necessary to give it a chance of success (and by that I literally mean staying there).
Remember, buying ‘premier-type` players doesn`t come cheaply. Not only is there the massive initial outlay in transfer fees, but the equally massive contracts that accompany them. And, if the worst scenario occurs, and the club is relegated, what happens to those players and their big contracts?
Again, our present gates are nowhere near good enough to allow us to dabble seriously in the market for top-class talent. On the surface, it appears our owner rarely offers to pick up the tab, to strengthen the team. Or if he does, we are never told. I`m not saying that he should, but is he really the saviour that most people think he is? I just don`t know? Maybe he is?
Alternatively, can we prosper on what appears to be the mainstay of premier League clubs these days, namely ‘Sky money`? Within touching distance of £100 million per annum, it is without doubt a considerable sum! I have to say, we seem to have failed miserably in that department. It`s fairly obvious that Bolton`s expenses over the years, whilst being a member of the Premiership, have out-grown its income. To the extent, we now owe the owner over £140 million. Not the sort of springboard to help vault us to the highest division!
Perhaps what we now need is an Arab/American/Russian/Asian takeover (but please, no chicken processors – we don`t need any more poultry, I mean paltry exhibitions) to inject some badly needed cash into the club!
Of course that always carries the risk of a change in the management team a la Blackburn and Nottingham Forest. Something I would not want to see at the moment.
In conclusion, I would argue that most fans want to watch the best teams play, week in week out. I presume we are no different. And any football manager worth his salt wants to test his ability in the highest echelons of the game. Again, we must presume our manager is no different. In fact, we`d be appalled if he was!
From the board down, everyone will surely ‘bust a gut` to achieve promotion. After all, it`s human nature to want to win at sport; to gain the ultimate success. It`s what we play for! If not, why bother?
In Bolton`s case of course, this means a return to the ‘millionaires` league`, and correspondingly, a return to the now perennial problem of financial solvency. It is also, where we must reiterate the vital question, “Can we afford it? Can we really afford to be a part of today`s Premiership? Dare we take a chance on going bust? Or is staying in the Championship the fiscal time-bomb?