Perfect Storm

Hello Stevie,
Am I a Wunderers Fan ? no, is the short answer, having said that I've been to a lot of their games in the last 50 years, more than a lot of  fans have been to. The reason being, I grew up in the midst of them, some avid, or should that be rabid FANatics. If you were born and bred in Westhoughton you were dyed in the wool as a Wunderers supporter. But, due to living next door to Fred "Punchy" Griffiths the full back for Wigan RLFC my wool was dyed in a different colour, I've always been more into Rugby, League and Union. Add to that a lifelong buddy of mine played RL "in the day" is the father of the Best Defensive Coach that Wales ever had, he's now coaching in foreign fields, I'm sure you know who I mean, "Mr Rugby League" in the 1990's.
The thing is, I can watch and enjoy either of the three games, but one thing I learned FAST was that the Fans are different, if you talk to most football fans about the upcoming game you get the standard responses, if Bolton are playing a crap team the fans don't say "we'll mop the floor with them" they say, "well, Stevenage are having a bad run, but they aren't a bad team, AND, they ALWAYS raise there game when they play us". That's JUST to cover their embarrassment IF Stevenage, Rhyll Academicals or some obscure team turns them over, that's bred in the Wunderers Fans, mind you, it's the same with a lot of other football teams.
On the opposite side of that coin is, if you went, in the day, to what was Central Park and asked Wigin's Fan's how they thought the game against St Helen's would go there'd be no precooked excuses offered, the Wigin Fan's would tell you "we'll bury the Saints" that didn't always happen, but when Saints won the Wigin lads took it on the chin, none of that "well, we were the better team, they scored against the run of play, the Ref and the wind and the pitch were against us, on and on that shyte goes".
Add to that, the violent attitude that "some" football fans have against the fans of who they are playing today beggars belief, some of them would prefer to put you in hospital than shake yer hand if your team beat them. You don't want to be stood in the wrong stand with your club colours on at a football match, yet I (and others) have stood in the middle of Saints Fans with my Cherry & Whites on when I couldn't get into the Wigin end, and NEVER had a problem, the worst you got from those surrounding you was a grimaced look when Billy Boston went ore the line for a try and Punchy converted, same grimace that we had when "the Flying Van Vollenhoven" put one down ore our line.
I put that attitude down to football being a game of frustrations, 90 minutes of stress, begging and praying that your team will score, suffering the agony of tuther team putting one over on you. Rugby is different, it's a high scoring game, often with almost what turns out to be a point scored for every minute (or two) played in the game. But as mentioned above, I can watch and appreciate both games.
Turns out that in the 60's I was rubbing shoulders with some illustrious sportsmen, Punchy Griffiths, Francis Lee (ex Man City), I knew Franny well used to have a drink with him now and again.  Franny lived in a thatched cottage in Westhoughton, right next door to Peter James, father of Michael James (now part owner of BWFC). So one way and another I had a foot in both camps, went some weeks to watch the Wunderers other weeks with the Wigin lads to watch Punchy kick more goals (again) than Neil Fox of Saint Helens, they were ALWAYS the top two in the goal kickers league table in the Sunday papers...
One I learned FAST was never listen to what a football team fan has to say about how the game will go, I lost a fair bit of money doing that. My "sport" is having a bet, I don't "bet for fun" it's no fun losing money, you need to know more about an even than the Bookies know, don't bet until YOU have the edge, that don't happen often, you just need the discipline, something that most punters DON'T have, as the old adage says "Bookmakers don't live in Council Houses".
I don't mind waiting weeks or longer before I wade in, lads I know say "I can't afford to bet with the stakes you put on" the truth of it is, they are often loosing £200 to £500 or more a month, but they "can't afford" to put £100 on South Africa to win the RU World Cup at 9/2, I had a grand on that, most of my mates back England (no matter what sport they are competing in), that's just about the worst betting strategy to work with. If you are a FANatic you can't see anything other than your team, the Bookmakers love it...
Betting is a HARD game, the games "may not" be rigged, but the odds are, 12% to 15% in the Bookies favour as soon as you slide your cash over the counter. Here's a RULE that I picked up on from Gus Demmy (Bookmaker & Boxing Promoter, in the day), I knew Gus well too, Gus told me the "secret" of betting, that being "The more often you bet, the more often you lose, the less often you bet, the more often you win". The logic being, if yer only betting a couple of quid a time, you don't really care what the Fav is in the 2:30 at Redcar, you just NEED YOUR GAMBLING FIX !!! you stand there all day sticking that 2 quid needle in until the pain and the money has gone.
If you quit betting in damn near every race, every day, the way the addicted masses do you're halfway there, just bet once a week, you can afford to place bigger stakes, that in itself doesn't guarantee that the horse or whatever will win, but if you've gone from losing a tenner a day, frittered away at 2 quid a time, and you can't even remember what you backed during the day, or WHY you backed it, other than, WELL, IT WAS THE FAVOURITE ?
So if you don't squander a tenner a day away on asking yer mates "what do you fancy in this race" just because you need a 2 quid FIX, soon enough Saturday will come round and you'll have 50 quid in yer ass pocket (itching to get out), but, 50 quid is 50 quid, yer unlikely to be asking what yer mate thinks of the 2 year old selling handicap at Ripon. You might fancy a bet on Saturday, but you have to ask yourself is it worth chancing 50 quid on ? often as not you'll decide it's not, so the sequence starts again on Monday, forget about that "good thing" at Plumpton, stay with the DISCIPLINE, if you can, by the next Saturday there's 100 quid waiting to get out.
The point that Gus was making was, if you're betting 2 quid here and 2 quid there, you WILL get skint, yer addicted to "gambling" and that's gambling against dice that are LOADED against you. But, IF you bet less often, HOPEFULLY you will be more careful on what you bet on, HOPEFULLY you will do your homework, HOPEFULLY you will find something that the Bookie doesn't  know, then the odds will be in your favour, all you need is what most folks DON'T have, DISCIPLINE.
Gus was right, and I learned from him, met Gus at Salford Dog Track in the 60's when he stood the rails there, a character if ever there was one. Bookmakers then were men who would take your bets without "speaking to a Trader" they weren't AFRAID of risk, but this lot now do their utmost to avoid risk, if you win consistently they either Ban you, or limit your bets to an amount they know you can't be bothered with, so you place the bet with someone else, that's exactly what they want, been there done that...
These stuffed shirts aren't even called Bookmakers now, they call themselves Turf Accountants, note the Accountant moniker, anything that an Accountant gets their paws on goes rotten real fast, the less I say about that the better, but it's easy enough to find how these leeches set up Offshore Accounts for the Billionaires who don't fancy paying Tax, anyway, being careful not to digress, I'll stay on track.
Brings me back to "knowing what the Bookies don't know" getting an advantage over them, knowing what I know, being on the inside track re the Wunderers and the folks holding the hot iron right now I was astonished to see that 50/1 was being offered against the Wunderers being relegated into OBLIVION, so I filled my boots with it.
The thing is, the Wunderers AREN'T last years team, they've gone, it's a new team, a Lad's & Dad's team, a team that will take a while to gel, that's IF they ever gel, so on their ability (or lack of it) they could drop through the relegation trap door, but...
We have two horses in this race, the second one being if Football Ventures owners of BWFC can't pay their way. WHERE does the money come from to keep the Hotel and the Club afloat ? they have to find £3.4 Million to pay off existing debts less than 12 months from now, plus £1 Million to HMRC,  plus £59,000 a month / 2,000 quid a DAY interest on the mortgage for the Hotel, how much business do you think the Hotel is doing right now, Bolton is the epicentre of Covid right now, and is likely to be that way for months. The Hotel doesn't seem to be an asset to the Club right now, in fact I'd bet it's a bloody headache. I guess FV (Football Ventures) could sell it, but, who to ? who's looking to buy an Hotel in Bolton right now. Other than that, where is the money coming from to pay for the football side of things ? how long do you think it will be before the turnstiles are clicking again ? would you fancy carrying to Club until the Fans are allowed back ?
It's not often you can find an edge against the Bookies, I don't think they have taken the above into account, so I took a few £1,000 to £20 bets, once I'd "got my money on" I joined Punters Lounge simply to give you guys a heads up, the more folks the Bookies have to pay out the happier I'll be, that's why I'm here... As mentioned, it's not a certainty that the Wunderers will be relegated, but I wouldn't be laying 50/1 I wouldn't lay better than Evens, knowing what I know. It wouldn't surprise me if Football Ventures throw the towel in before Christmas...
As mentioned owning football clubs is a VANITY VENTURE for Billionaires, Millionaires can soon find themselves way out of their depth.
ANON.

Here's one for the early birds, a 50/1 chance that's starting to look like an odds on chance.
The Bookies have Bolton Wanderers as 5/1 favourites to win League 2, their reasoning being that Bolton wouldn't have been relegated last season if the club hadn't gone into Administration, but they did, 12 points were deducted, the trap door opened and down they went, that was bad enough but this doesn't help.
On 21 November 2019, Bolton were handed a five-point deduction, suspended for 18 months, and fined £70,000, half of which was suspended for 18 months, for failure to fulfil two fixtures (against Brentford and Doncaster). The points would not be deducted if Bolton fulfil all fixtures during the 18-month period.
So if the club goes into Administration again they wouldn't just have 12 points deducted it would be 12 points plus the 5 above, put it this way, a 17 point deduction would have relegated 9 teams in the Premiership last season, that's how bad a 17 point deduction would be.
But what's the odds of Bolton going into Administration again, would you offer 50/1 if you weren't a Wanderers Fan ? the question is, what could trigger the trap door to see the club relegated again, give this some thought. The club and the adjoining hotel were bought out of Admin last August for around £17.4 million by a consortium headed up by local millionaire businessman Michael James, multimillionaire Sharon Brittan and a couple of smaller players. At the time there were four Directors, but within just a few months two of decided to walk, to Football Ventures is now down to just two Directors, Michael and Sharon, that's the absolute Legal minimum for a company to operate in the UK.
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/11761052/officers
Football Ventures took over the club and the hotel last August, no clouds on the horizon then, the attendance at the club has kept the club afloat for years, chances are the hotel was doing well too, but Covid changes everything. Future Ventures have to find £59,000 a month towards the hotel at a time when hotels are struggling, it doesn't help that Bolton is now the epicentre for Covid, so chances are the hotel won't be bringing in much money. If that's not bad enough, there's no gate money right now, games are played behind closed doors, that's going to put a lot of PRESSURE on a lot of clubs in every league not just BWFC. 
The arrangement with Quantuma, who oversaw the administration of the Bolton Whites Hotel, and David Rubin and Co, who undertook the football club administration, has been secured with club assets. It also included an agreement with Quantuma to defer some payments during lockdown while the hotel was not in operation, with the process set to resume shortly at a reported cost of £59,000 a month.
 
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18687275.bolton-wanderers-owners-say-will-pay-3-5m-bill-avoid-efl-penalties/
Owning a Football Club is a Vanity Venture for Billionaires these days, Millionaires can soon find themselves out of their depth.
Looking at who's who in League 2, last season just 5 teams of the 24 teams averaged more than 5,000 per game, that's OK if the overheads for your club are as low as Macclesfield, Crawley, Morecambe, Stevenage, Cheltenham and the like, but which club in League 2 do you think has the highest overheads, chances are the bike shed at Bolton is bigger than the Stand at Morecambe, are any teams carrying more debt ? BWFC owe HMRC over £1 million. I don't know about you, but I've lost count already !!!
So where does the money come from to keep the club going, I suppose Michael and Sharon could keep pumping money in, or look for a wealthy Russian or a wealthy Saudi, good luck selling League 2 to them.
Is that 50/1 on offer for Bolton to be relegated into oblivion looking over the odds yet ? I don't think the Bookies considered any of the above, chances are they are thinking a League 1 club playing in League 2, but the team isn't what it was last season, it's now a lads and dads team, youth players and a few can I say OLDER players, that can work, but so far it hasn't clicked, it's P5 D3 L2 and in the process Bolton got beat at home by Bradford City a team who hadn't won away since October 2019 !!!
I fear that Bolton's team look more like Fray Bentos than Juventus, I don't see them doing well in League 2, certainly not well enough to have 17 points deducted and survive the drop.           No doubt the Loyal Fans think the Wanderers will come straight back up, but I fancy the Titanic will come back up before the Wanderers do.
The writing will be on the wall if they don't beat Forest Green this Saturday, that 5/1 to win the league might soon become 50/1 and the 50/1 against being relegated will soon be rubbed off the boards. https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/relegation
Perfect Storm.
PS: in case your wondering, my money is on already...
 
 
 

Hello Alley Cat, I hear what you say, but I'm up to me rollocks with that 50/1 Relegation bet and being a tad superstitious I fear jinxing myself by betting on whoever the Wunderers play, but that 6/4 {see below} beggars belief, how can they make Cambridge 8/15 at home to Scnuthorpe and anything other than that at home to the Wunderers ???
https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/cambridge-v-bolton/winner
At 6/4 with the Goals For 15 Goals against 3, League topping Cambridge would be 2/7 if I HAD to lay them. I wouldn't fancy taking 700 quid to lose 200, and I wouldn't even dream of taking 7 grand to lose 2 grand, so I don't know what's going on in "the Traders" minds, maybe their braces are too tight or the 2/- Corona's are fogging their minds.
As for giving a goal start, I've burned several fingers and a good many £ notes over the years giving goals away only to see my team win 1 bowt, so I steer clear of handicap bets now, but I can't argue with the value that's on offer.
 
 
 

Forget Tuesday nights match with Barrow that could be a bit of a coin toss. Now next Saturday Bolton away to Cambridge. You can get 6/4 with Bet365 currently. With Paddypower you can get 4/1 on -1 handicap or 10/1 on -2 handicap. Cambridge have scored 15 in 6 games and conceded just 3. To say you can get 4/1 on -1 handicap for Barrow who have only scored 4 and conceded 7. I know where my money will go.

Bolton Wunderers 1 Oldham Athletic 2
 
What a game that was, Oldham went for it straight from the kick off, putting in a more "Athletic" performance than the Wunderers. Oldham could have gone at least 2 up in the first 20 or so minutes. The ball finally figured out where it's supposed to go in the 28th minute. I have to give credit where it's due, it was a wake up call for the Wunderers and within 4 minutes it was 1-1, that took the top off my celebratory pint.
They went in at HT still 1-1 both teams had their chances but the closer calls came off the Oldham boots of Rowe and Barrnett.
Second half was end to end stuff, both teams going for it, beggars belief how McAleny's chip shot over Bolton's goalkeeper Crellin didn't go in the net, hitting the INSIDE of the upright and bouncing back out. Less than a minute later McAleny's shot at goal was inches wide. By now it was wave after wave by Oldham, playing with confidence, but Bolton weren't idle either, they had their chances but didn't know what to do with them, squandering more than a few opportunities.
Here's what the Stats say.
Possesion: Bolton 61% no wonder with all that back passing and own half passing.
Shots Bolton 11 Oldham 17.
Shots on Target: Bolton 3 Oldham 3.
Corners: Bolton 2 Oldham 9
That gives you an idea that it was end to end stuff, but, at...
60 minutes 1-1
70 minutes 1-1
80 minutes still 1-1 but Oldham throwing the kitchen sink at the Wunderers, but they had a couple of chances on break aways. Wunderers Gnahoua faced an open goal, but he shoots straight at Oldham's goalie. At this point with both teams committed you could sense there'd be a late goal. So at 85 minutes, not wanting it to go the wrong way I'm reaching for the wife's Rosary Beads, they've conjured up many a last gasp goal for me, and I needed one now...
90 minutes still 1-1 the bloke with the board says 5 minutes left to play, it amazing how many Hail Mary's per minute you can say when you need a goal. I must have been doing something right, it's all Oldham again now, one corner, then another. Oldham knew defending set pieces is the Wunderers Achilles Heel. The Wunderers clear both corners, but the second one falls for Oldham who attack again, like men possessed.
The ball falls for Dearnley, he slaps it straight into the net in the 93rd minute. If I'd been on the field for Oldham I'd have been looking for Row Z every time the ball came near me, but they're going for another goal and damn near made it 3-1.
With a last gasp rescue mission in mind the Wunderers threw all the Mid fielders and Forwards into the fray but that went wrong. Oldham got the ball and went 4 against 2 heading for the penalty box, how they muffed that up gawd only knows.
Moments later the Ref blew the whistle. Can't say I've ever seen a team walk off the pitch looking more dejected than the Wunderers looked, not to mention that their Manager had a longer face than Red Rum, Pas Moi though, I'm "made up".
Not sure what to make of their next game, away to Barrow on Tuesday. Barrow is the stone the Wunderers Manager crawled out from under before heading to Bolton, so there'll be needle in that match too. If they can't beat lowly Barrow the Bookies might as well start paying up on the Relegation bets.
Their game next Saturday is against Cambridge United, gawd help them in that game, Cambridge are top of League Two, P6 W4 D1 L1 Goals for 15, Goals against 3.
If only Harrogate had seen Bolton off hey, but with 18 points played for and only 4 points in the bag that 50/1 is looking promising.
C'mon Barrow, see 'em off ?
Chances are Michael dint want much for his tea tonight...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I noticed that, with a result like that you can count Grimsby out of the Relegation Battle...

Aye, well, the devil is always in the detail, so it should help folks if you give them the detail, plus an insight into the logic and discipline that I deploy.
Betting is a COLD / HARD game, one that few people manage to break even on, let alone show a profit, and if you do show a profit the algorithms that the Bookies now employ will soon root you out and kick you out. No one runs a tighter ship with their algorithms than Bet365 or Billy Hills, but all the Bookies are at it.
I've served my time betting, had some memorable wins, but over the last 50 years I guess I've burned £250,000 possibly more, does that sound like "betting for fun" to you ?          
Knowing how hard a game betting is I try my best to steer young lads away from it, one of the lads in his 20's that goes in the pub I drink in always asks me if I'm having a bet, ever since I put him onto South Africa to win the RU World Cup, he had 200 quid on at 9/2 and since then always asks if I'm having a bet. I try to slow him down, but when yer young you want it now, patience doesn't run in their race. We walked into Billy Hills yesterday to get a few more quid on the 50/1 shot, I was already well invested on the bet, but I couldn't resist throwing another 20 quid on it, a grand to 20 quid is warth taking, Jim had the same. I'm amazed that the odds are still there. Anyway, as we went in I asked Jim "which one of these ragged assed owd men would you like to be 40 years from now". I think he got the point..
They, like me, were all Jim's age 40 years ago, they started out with nothing and, thanks to Betting Shops they still have most of it left. None of them ever looks back as what this addiction cost them over the last 10, 20 or 40 years, more than their house is worth for some of them, but almost certainly more than they have in a bank account after a life time of grafting.
It's not even as though it's "easy come, easy go" most folks in my generation worked / grafted for their wages, so it never was "easy come" but due to the addiction that gambling is it certainly is easy go, never to be seen again. The Bookies are RUTHLESS those machines they put in their shops they have cost some folks their every penny they had, some even went into debt to continue getting their Fixed Odds Terminal Fix, sadly some lost more than their money, some lost everything and finished up topping themselves.       I wouldn't touch FOBT's with a barge pole, they are the crack cocaine of the Betting Shops, thousands of lives have been ruined due to FOBT's.
Knowing how RUTHLESS Bookies are I put my "work" in where they don't look. When Saturday rolls around I scour the non league games looking on Twitter for teams that are struggling to put a full team out, without having to call on the coach driver to play in goal or the turnstile man to play centre back, and Office Staff just to make the team up, that actually happened one memorable day. You might remember when Merthyr Town couldn't put a team out a couple of years ago, thanks to Twitter I'd picked up on that Friday night when FEW IF ANY folks outside of Merthyr had heard what was going on, I spent 2 hours backing Chesham {WHO ARE YA} who the **** had EVER heard of Chesham !!!
Most of the online Bookies had a £200 limit on the game, but I hammered them all to whatever limit they had. I was up with the larks Saturday morning putting £100 here and £100 there in the shops until the Bookies cottoned on and started dropping their prices from 11/8 Chesham to 1/3 I even bet them at that. It was pathetic for Merthyr, they were 4-0 down in 15 minutes, and 9-0 down by half time, if memory serves me well Chesham were winning 12-0 when the Chesham supporters were shouting "let them get a goal" they did the decent thing the game finished 13-1. The Man of the Match award was given to Merthyr's 15 year old goalkeeper !!!
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/crisis-hit-merthyr-town-humiliated-13921420
That result got my accounts closed with 7 Bookmakers, they were hissed off because I knew what they didn't, that's the only way to win, now and again, but you have to wait for events like that, most folks don't have that discipline, they NEED their FIX.
Good as it was {to get one ore the Bookies} there was a more memorable bet, a three horse race headed by Little Owl the horse that had at one time won the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, race in a 3 horse race, against Venture to Cognac {a good but past his best chaser} and Great Dean, a decent jumper but I could have done 3 miles faster in my day.
The betting was 1/3 Little Owl, 7/2 Venture to Cognac, 150/1 Great Dean, have you any idea what the Computer Straight Forecast would be in Little Owl didn't finish the course, are you ahead of me yet ? a bunch of us put fivers on here, there and everywhere, can't say why ? but here's what happened...
"The 1982 Fulwell Chase at Kempton Park appeared a mundane contest. True, the Gold Cup winner Little Owl was in attendance but he faced only two rivals in Venture To Cognac and Great Dean.  "Venture To Cognac had some useful form to his credit but had become injury-prone and was considered to need the run. As for Great Dean, he had been pulled up at lowly Fontwell and needed a miracle if he was to win such a valuable prize.

"Little Owl was sent off the 4-11 favourite, Venture To Cognac 7-2 with Great Dean appearing for all the world a lost cause at 150-1. "As far as winning the race was concerned, Great Dean was virtually friendless. On the course and in the betting shops it was only the odd `just-for-fun' merchant and habitues of the `outsider-of-three' system who gave him even a moment's consideration. "Or so it seemed. But dotted about the country were a handful of shrewd punters who had spotted the chance to make a killing on the race. A chance, that's all. Those shrewdies didn't expect to pickup but knew exceptional value when they saw it.

"And what a killing! Not only were these punters expecting to receive odds of around 150-1 on their bet, they were also gleefully awaiting the chance to make fools of the big bookmakers. "For once, the bookmakers had made a `rick' and a mighty serious one at that. "The mistake was in the format for the then relatively new Computerised Straight Forecast (CSF), which allowed for inflated dividends should a long-priced outsider make the frame in a small field.

"The Fulwell Chase offered an ideal chance to exploit this loophole. All it needed was for Little Owl to fail to complete the course (as he had done at Cheltenham on his previous start) and this would enable Venture To Cognac to win with Great Dean hopefully putting in a clear round to come second.

"The race went entirely to script for these backers. Little Owl leading by 10 lengths with just 3 to go, then coming to the second last and seemingly going well, he swerved and was pulled up by jockey and part-owner Jim Wilson at the 10th.

"This left Venture To Cognac clear of the already tailed-off Great Dean a full fence behind. The former sauntered round to win by a distance and Great Dean, with forecast backers holding their breath, Great Dean went over the last like a spider, one leg at a time, completed in his own time to earn a place in the history books.

Jim Wilson reported that Little Owl's bit had reportedly slipped, but the bookmakers were not happy, especially when they realised the extent of their liabilities. "Payment was held back while BOLA and the racing authorities carried out an investigation into the race. No evidence of any misdemeanour was produced and the bookmakers, suitably chastened, eventually paid out.

"They also called in their computer people to change the format of the CSF to avoid such inflated dividends in small fields in the future, and the result was what is disingenuously referred to as the `Harmonic formula' for producing CSF dividends. Today, if Venture To Cognac were to beat Great Dean in identical circumstances, backers would receive odds of only 15-1. But on the day the CSF paid £75 to 50p I had 30 quid on the bet, all in all between me and the lads in the White Lion we had £75 on the bets and we cleaned several Bookies out that day. These events are rare birds, but you never forget how sweet the meat was...  
All in all, REMEMBER what Gus Demmy told me, the less often you bet, the more often you win, if you want to get an edge, do yer homework...
Anon.

Hello Stevie,
Am I a Wunderers Fan ? no, is the short answer, having said that I've been to a lot of their games in the last 50 years, more than a lot of  fans have been to. The reason being, I grew up in the midst of them, some avid, or should that be rabid FANatics. If you were born and bred in Westhoughton you were dyed in the wool as a Wunderers supporter. But, due to living next door to Fred "Punchy" Griffiths the full back for Wigan RLFC my wool was dyed in a different colour, I've always been more into Rugby, League and Union. Add to that a lifelong buddy of mine played RL "in the day" is the father of the Best Defensive Coach that Wales ever had, he's now coaching in foreign fields, I'm sure you know who I mean, "Mr Rugby League" in the 1990's.
The thing is, I can watch and enjoy either of the three games, but one thing I learned FAST was that the Fans are different, if you talk to most football fans about the upcoming game you get the standard responses, if Bolton are playing a crap team the fans don't say "we'll mop the floor with them" they say, "well, Stevenage are having a bad run, but they aren't a bad team, AND, they ALWAYS raise there game when they play us". That's JUST to cover their embarrassment IF Stevenage, Rhyll Academicals or some obscure team turns them over, that's bred in the Wunderers Fans, mind you, it's the same with a lot of other football teams.
On the opposite side of that coin is, if you went, in the day, to what was Central Park and asked Wigin's Fan's how they thought the game against St Helen's would go there'd be no precooked excuses offered, the Wigin Fan's would tell you "we'll bury the Saints" that didn't always happen, but when Saints won the Wigin lads took it on the chin, none of that "well, we were the better team, they scored against the run of play, the Ref and the wind and the pitch were against us, on and on that shyte goes".
Add to that, the violent attitude that "some" football fans have against the fans of who they are playing today beggars belief, some of them would prefer to put you in hospital than shake yer hand if your team beat them. You don't want to be stood in the wrong stand with your club colours on at a football match, yet I (and others) have stood in the middle of Saints Fans with my Cherry & Whites on when I couldn't get into the Wigin end, and NEVER had a problem, the worst you got from those surrounding you was a grimaced look when Billy Boston went ore the line for a try and Punchy converted, same grimace that we had when "the Flying Van Vollenhoven" put one down ore our line.
I put that attitude down to football being a game of frustrations, 90 minutes of stress, begging and praying that your team will score, suffering the agony of tuther team putting one over on you. Rugby is different, it's a high scoring game, often with almost what turns out to be a point scored for every minute (or two) played in the game. But as mentioned above, I can watch and appreciate both games.
Turns out that in the 60's I was rubbing shoulders with some illustrious sportsmen, Punchy Griffiths, Francis Lee (ex Man City), I knew Franny well used to have a drink with him now and again.  Franny lived in a thatched cottage in Westhoughton, right next door to Peter James, father of Michael James (now part owner of BWFC). So one way and another I had a foot in both camps, went some weeks to watch the Wunderers other weeks with the Wigin lads to watch Punchy kick more goals (again) than Neil Fox of Saint Helens, they were ALWAYS the top two in the goal kickers league table in the Sunday papers...
One I learned FAST was never listen to what a football team fan has to say about how the game will go, I lost a fair bit of money doing that. My "sport" is having a bet, I don't "bet for fun" it's no fun losing money, you need to know more about an even than the Bookies know, don't bet until YOU have the edge, that don't happen often, you just need the discipline, something that most punters DON'T have, as the old adage says "Bookmakers don't live in Council Houses".
I don't mind waiting weeks or longer before I wade in, lads I know say "I can't afford to bet with the stakes you put on" the truth of it is, they are often loosing £200 to £500 or more a month, but they "can't afford" to put £100 on South Africa to win the RU World Cup at 9/2, I had a grand on that, most of my mates back England (no matter what sport they are competing in), that's just about the worst betting strategy to work with. If you are a FANatic you can't see anything other than your team, the Bookmakers love it...
Betting is a HARD game, the games "may not" be rigged, but the odds are, 12% to 15% in the Bookies favour as soon as you slide your cash over the counter. Here's a RULE that I picked up on from Gus Demmy (Bookmaker & Boxing Promoter, in the day), I knew Gus well too, Gus told me the "secret" of betting, that being "The more often you bet, the more often you lose, the less often you bet, the more often you win". The logic being, if yer only betting a couple of quid a time, you don't really care what the Fav is in the 2:30 at Redcar, you just NEED YOUR GAMBLING FIX !!! you stand there all day sticking that 2 quid needle in until the pain and the money has gone.
If you quit betting in damn near every race, every day, the way the addicted masses do you're halfway there, just bet once a week, you can afford to place bigger stakes, that in itself doesn't guarantee that the horse or whatever will win, but if you've gone from losing a tenner a day, frittered away at 2 quid a time, and you can't even remember what you backed during the day, or WHY you backed it, other than, WELL, IT WAS THE FAVOURITE ?
So if you don't squander a tenner a day away on asking yer mates "what do you fancy in this race" just because you need a 2 quid FIX, soon enough Saturday will come round and you'll have 50 quid in yer ass pocket (itching to get out), but, 50 quid is 50 quid, yer unlikely to be asking what yer mate thinks of the 2 year old selling handicap at Ripon. You might fancy a bet on Saturday, but you have to ask yourself is it worth chancing 50 quid on ? often as not you'll decide it's not, so the sequence starts again on Monday, forget about that "good thing" at Plumpton, stay with the DISCIPLINE, if you can, by the next Saturday there's 100 quid waiting to get out.
The point that Gus was making was, if you're betting 2 quid here and 2 quid there, you WILL get skint, yer addicted to "gambling" and that's gambling against dice that are LOADED against you. But, IF you bet less often, HOPEFULLY you will be more careful on what you bet on, HOPEFULLY you will do your homework, HOPEFULLY you will find something that the Bookie doesn't  know, then the odds will be in your favour, all you need is what most folks DON'T have, DISCIPLINE.
Gus was right, and I learned from him, met Gus at Salford Dog Track in the 60's when he stood the rails there, a character if ever there was one. Bookmakers then were men who would take your bets without "speaking to a Trader" they weren't AFRAID of risk, but this lot now do their utmost to avoid risk, if you win consistently they either Ban you, or limit your bets to an amount they know you can't be bothered with, so you place the bet with someone else, that's exactly what they want, been there done that...
These stuffed shirts aren't even called Bookmakers now, they call themselves Turf Accountants, note the Accountant moniker, anything that an Accountant gets their paws on goes rotten real fast, the less I say about that the better, but it's easy enough to find how these leeches set up Offshore Accounts for the Billionaires who don't fancy paying Tax, anyway, being careful not to digress, I'll stay on track.
Brings me back to "knowing what the Bookies don't know" getting an advantage over them, knowing what I know, being on the inside track re the Wunderers and the folks holding the hot iron right now I was astonished to see that 50/1 was being offered against the Wunderers being relegated into OBLIVION, so I filled my boots with it.
The thing is, the Wunderers AREN'T last years team, they've gone, it's a new team, a Lad's & Dad's team, a team that will take a while to gel, that's IF they ever gel, so on their ability (or lack of it) they could drop through the relegation trap door, but...
We have two horses in this race, the second one being if Football Ventures owners of BWFC can't pay their way. WHERE does the money come from to keep the Hotel and the Club afloat ? they have to find £3.4 Million to pay off existing debts less than 12 months from now, plus £1 Million to HMRC,  plus £59,000 a month / 2,000 quid a DAY interest on the mortgage for the Hotel, how much business do you think the Hotel is doing right now, Bolton is the epicentre of Covid right now, and is likely to be that way for months. The Hotel doesn't seem to be an asset to the Club right now, in fact I'd bet it's a bloody headache. I guess FV (Football Ventures) could sell it, but, who to ? who's looking to buy an Hotel in Bolton right now. Other than that, where is the money coming from to pay for the football side of things ? how long do you think it will be before the turnstiles are clicking again ? would you fancy carrying to Club until the Fans are allowed back ?
It's not often you can find an edge against the Bookies, I don't think they have taken the above into account, so I took a few £1,000 to £20 bets, once I'd "got my money on" I joined Punters Lounge simply to give you guys a heads up, the more folks the Bookies have to pay out the happier I'll be, that's why I'm here... As mentioned, it's not a certainty that the Wunderers will be relegated, but I wouldn't be laying 50/1 I wouldn't lay better than Evens, knowing what I know. It wouldn't surprise me if Football Ventures throw the towel in before Christmas...
As mentioned owning football clubs is a VANITY VENTURE for Billionaires, Millionaires can soon find themselves way out of their depth.
ANON.

Looks like things are back to normal with the Wunderers, today's game against Grimsby finished 0-0 if that's not bad enough there wasn't a shot on goal from either team.
To make it worse, the Wunderers were playing a team that hadn't kicked a ball in anger for 3 weeks due to Wu Flu infecting their ranks. It's a bad do when you can't beat a team that aren't match fit and rock bottom of the league, that don't bode well for future games, but that point today rockets the Wunderers up to 18th of 24 in L2, just 3 points ahead of Oldham who have only played 3 games, to Bolton's 5  ?
On the downside for the Wunderers, they still haven't scored a goal at home this season and the way they played today they could have played until midnight and still not scored.  
I'm gutted that Harrogate lost to the Wunderers last week, we would have been P5 W0 D1 L4.
There's another critical game coming up, the Wunderers at home to the side who just inherited the bottom spot, Oldham. That's likely to be a nail biter for both Managers, players and Owners. Oldham aren't as bad as their league position might suggest P5 WO D1 L4 but since September they have shown a bit of form, and they haven't been goal shy.
Sept 5th   EFL Cup: Oldham 3     Carlisle 0.
Sept 12th L2:           L Orient 1     Oldham 0
Sept 19th L2            Stevenage 3 Oldham 0
Sept  22nd EFLT      Oldham 4     Wolves U21 0
Sept 26th  L2           Oldham 2      Crawley 3
Oct 3rd L2               Colchester 3  Oldham 3
October 6th L2        Oldham 2      Doncaster 0
October 10th           Oldham 2      Morecambe 3
That's P8 W4 D1 L3.
Goals for 16 Goals against 13.
Not bad for a team that's presently bottom of L2, today's 2-3 loss to Morecambe was no disgrace, Morecambe are on fire right now, top of L2. Add to that the game between Bolton and Oldham being a local derby is likely to be a needle match.
There's more pressure on the Wunderers than there is on Oldham, so it depends on how the Wunderers respond to that, and everything else swirling around {in the background} of the Club and the Hotel, but that's another story...
 

Aye, well, the devil is always in the detail, so it should help folks if you give them the detail, plus an insight into the logic and discipline that I deploy.
Betting is a COLD / HARD game, one that few people manage to break even on, let alone show a profit, and if you do show a profit the algorithms that the Bookies now employ will soon root you out and kick you out. No one runs a tighter ship with their algorithms than Bet365 or Billy Hills, but all the Bookies are at it.
I've served my time betting, had some memorable wins, but over the last 50 years I guess I've burned £250,000 possibly more, does that sound like "betting for fun" to you ?          
Knowing how hard a game betting is I try my best to steer young lads away from it, one of the lads in his 20's that goes in the pub I drink in always asks me if I'm having a bet, ever since I put him onto South Africa to win the RU World Cup, he had 200 quid on at 9/2 and since then always asks if I'm having a bet. I try to slow him down, but when yer young you want it now, patience doesn't run in their race. We walked into Billy Hills yesterday to get a few more quid on the 50/1 shot, I was already well invested on the bet, but I couldn't resist throwing another 20 quid on it, a grand to 20 quid is warth taking, Jim had the same. I'm amazed that the odds are still there. Anyway, as we went in I asked Jim "which one of these ragged assed owd men would you like to be 40 years from now". I think he got the point..
They, like me, were all Jim's age 40 years ago, they started out with nothing and, thanks to Betting Shops they still have most of it left. None of them ever looks back as what this addiction cost them over the last 10, 20 or 40 years, more than their house is worth for some of them, but almost certainly more than they have in a bank account after a life time of grafting.
It's not even as though it's "easy come, easy go" most folks in my generation worked / grafted for their wages, so it never was "easy come" but due to the addiction that gambling is it certainly is easy go, never to be seen again. The Bookies are RUTHLESS those machines they put in their shops they have cost some folks their every penny they had, some even went into debt to continue getting their Fixed Odds Terminal Fix, sadly some lost more than their money, some lost everything and finished up topping themselves.       I wouldn't touch FOBT's with a barge pole, they are the crack cocaine of the Betting Shops, thousands of lives have been ruined due to FOBT's.
Knowing how RUTHLESS Bookies are I put my "work" in where they don't look. When Saturday rolls around I scour the non league games looking on Twitter for teams that are struggling to put a full team out, without having to call on the coach driver to play in goal or the turnstile man to play centre back, and Office Staff just to make the team up, that actually happened one memorable day. You might remember when Merthyr Town couldn't put a team out a couple of years ago, thanks to Twitter I'd picked up on that Friday night when FEW IF ANY folks outside of Merthyr had heard what was going on, I spent 2 hours backing Chesham {WHO ARE YA} who the **** had EVER heard of Chesham !!!
Most of the online Bookies had a £200 limit on the game, but I hammered them all to whatever limit they had. I was up with the larks Saturday morning putting £100 here and £100 there in the shops until the Bookies cottoned on and started dropping their prices from 11/8 Chesham to 1/3 I even bet them at that. It was pathetic for Merthyr, they were 4-0 down in 15 minutes, and 9-0 down by half time, if memory serves me well Chesham were winning 12-0 when the Chesham supporters were shouting "let them get a goal" they did the decent thing the game finished 13-1. The Man of the Match award was given to Merthyr's 15 year old goalkeeper !!!
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/crisis-hit-merthyr-town-humiliated-13921420
That result got my accounts closed with 7 Bookmakers, they were hissed off because I knew what they didn't, that's the only way to win, now and again, but you have to wait for events like that, most folks don't have that discipline, they NEED their FIX.
Good as it was {to get one ore the Bookies} there was a more memorable bet, a three horse race headed by Little Owl the horse that had at one time won the Gold Cup at Cheltenham, race in a 3 horse race, against Venture to Cognac {a good but past his best chaser} and Great Dean, a decent jumper but I could have done 3 miles faster in my day.
The betting was 1/3 Little Owl, 7/2 Venture to Cognac, 150/1 Great Dean, have you any idea what the Computer Straight Forecast would be in Little Owl didn't finish the course, are you ahead of me yet ? a bunch of us put fivers on here, there and everywhere, can't say why ? but here's what happened...
"The 1982 Fulwell Chase at Kempton Park appeared a mundane contest. True, the Gold Cup winner Little Owl was in attendance but he faced only two rivals in Venture To Cognac and Great Dean.  "Venture To Cognac had some useful form to his credit but had become injury-prone and was considered to need the run. As for Great Dean, he had been pulled up at lowly Fontwell and needed a miracle if he was to win such a valuable prize.

"Little Owl was sent off the 4-11 favourite, Venture To Cognac 7-2 with Great Dean appearing for all the world a lost cause at 150-1. "As far as winning the race was concerned, Great Dean was virtually friendless. On the course and in the betting shops it was only the odd `just-for-fun' merchant and habitues of the `outsider-of-three' system who gave him even a moment's consideration. "Or so it seemed. But dotted about the country were a handful of shrewd punters who had spotted the chance to make a killing on the race. A chance, that's all. Those shrewdies didn't expect to pickup but knew exceptional value when they saw it.

"And what a killing! Not only were these punters expecting to receive odds of around 150-1 on their bet, they were also gleefully awaiting the chance to make fools of the big bookmakers. "For once, the bookmakers had made a `rick' and a mighty serious one at that. "The mistake was in the format for the then relatively new Computerised Straight Forecast (CSF), which allowed for inflated dividends should a long-priced outsider make the frame in a small field.

"The Fulwell Chase offered an ideal chance to exploit this loophole. All it needed was for Little Owl to fail to complete the course (as he had done at Cheltenham on his previous start) and this would enable Venture To Cognac to win with Great Dean hopefully putting in a clear round to come second.

"The race went entirely to script for these backers. Little Owl leading by 10 lengths with just 3 to go, then coming to the second last and seemingly going well, he swerved and was pulled up by jockey and part-owner Jim Wilson at the 10th.

"This left Venture To Cognac clear of the already tailed-off Great Dean a full fence behind. The former sauntered round to win by a distance and Great Dean, with forecast backers holding their breath, Great Dean went over the last like a spider, one leg at a time, completed in his own time to earn a place in the history books.

Jim Wilson reported that Little Owl's bit had reportedly slipped, but the bookmakers were not happy, especially when they realised the extent of their liabilities. "Payment was held back while BOLA and the racing authorities carried out an investigation into the race. No evidence of any misdemeanour was produced and the bookmakers, suitably chastened, eventually paid out.

"They also called in their computer people to change the format of the CSF to avoid such inflated dividends in small fields in the future, and the result was what is disingenuously referred to as the `Harmonic formula' for producing CSF dividends. Today, if Venture To Cognac were to beat Great Dean in identical circumstances, backers would receive odds of only 15-1. But on the day the CSF paid £75 to 50p I had 30 quid on the bet, all in all between me and the lads in the White Lion we had £75 on the bets and we cleaned several Bookies out that day. These events are rare birds, but you never forget how sweet the meat was...  
All in all, REMEMBER what Gus Demmy told me, the less often you bet, the more often you win, if you want to get an edge, do yer homework...
Anon.

Hello Stevie,
Am I a Wunderers Fan ? no, is the short answer, having said that I've been to a lot of their games in the last 50 years, more than a lot of  fans have been to. The reason being, I grew up in the midst of them, some avid, or should that be rabid FANatics. If you were born and bred in Westhoughton you were dyed in the wool as a Wunderers supporter. But, due to living next door to Fred "Punchy" Griffiths the full back for Wigan RLFC my wool was dyed in a different colour, I've always been more into Rugby, League and Union. Add to that a lifelong buddy of mine played RL "in the day" is the father of the Best Defensive Coach that Wales ever had, he's now coaching in foreign fields, I'm sure you know who I mean, "Mr Rugby League" in the 1990's.
The thing is, I can watch and enjoy either of the three games, but one thing I learned FAST was that the Fans are different, if you talk to most football fans about the upcoming game you get the standard responses, if Bolton are playing a crap team the fans don't say "we'll mop the floor with them" they say, "well, Stevenage are having a bad run, but they aren't a bad team, AND, they ALWAYS raise there game when they play us". That's JUST to cover their embarrassment IF Stevenage, Rhyll Academicals or some obscure team turns them over, that's bred in the Wunderers Fans, mind you, it's the same with a lot of other football teams.
On the opposite side of that coin is, if you went, in the day, to what was Central Park and asked Wigin's Fan's how they thought the game against St Helen's would go there'd be no precooked excuses offered, the Wigin Fan's would tell you "we'll bury the Saints" that didn't always happen, but when Saints won the Wigin lads took it on the chin, none of that "well, we were the better team, they scored against the run of play, the Ref and the wind and the pitch were against us, on and on that shyte goes".
Add to that, the violent attitude that "some" football fans have against the fans of who they are playing today beggars belief, some of them would prefer to put you in hospital than shake yer hand if your team beat them. You don't want to be stood in the wrong stand with your club colours on at a football match, yet I (and others) have stood in the middle of Saints Fans with my Cherry & Whites on when I couldn't get into the Wigin end, and NEVER had a problem, the worst you got from those surrounding you was a grimaced look when Billy Boston went ore the line for a try and Punchy converted, same grimace that we had when "the Flying Van Vollenhoven" put one down ore our line.
I put that attitude down to football being a game of frustrations, 90 minutes of stress, begging and praying that your team will score, suffering the agony of tuther team putting one over on you. Rugby is different, it's a high scoring game, often with almost what turns out to be a point scored for every minute (or two) played in the game. But as mentioned above, I can watch and appreciate both games.
Turns out that in the 60's I was rubbing shoulders with some illustrious sportsmen, Punchy Griffiths, Francis Lee (ex Man City), I knew Franny well used to have a drink with him now and again.  Franny lived in a thatched cottage in Westhoughton, right next door to Peter James, father of Michael James (now part owner of BWFC). So one way and another I had a foot in both camps, went some weeks to watch the Wunderers other weeks with the Wigin lads to watch Punchy kick more goals (again) than Neil Fox of Saint Helens, they were ALWAYS the top two in the goal kickers league table in the Sunday papers...
One I learned FAST was never listen to what a football team fan has to say about how the game will go, I lost a fair bit of money doing that. My "sport" is having a bet, I don't "bet for fun" it's no fun losing money, you need to know more about an even than the Bookies know, don't bet until YOU have the edge, that don't happen often, you just need the discipline, something that most punters DON'T have, as the old adage says "Bookmakers don't live in Council Houses".
I don't mind waiting weeks or longer before I wade in, lads I know say "I can't afford to bet with the stakes you put on" the truth of it is, they are often loosing £200 to £500 or more a month, but they "can't afford" to put £100 on South Africa to win the RU World Cup at 9/2, I had a grand on that, most of my mates back England (no matter what sport they are competing in), that's just about the worst betting strategy to work with. If you are a FANatic you can't see anything other than your team, the Bookmakers love it...
Betting is a HARD game, the games "may not" be rigged, but the odds are, 12% to 15% in the Bookies favour as soon as you slide your cash over the counter. Here's a RULE that I picked up on from Gus Demmy (Bookmaker & Boxing Promoter, in the day), I knew Gus well too, Gus told me the "secret" of betting, that being "The more often you bet, the more often you lose, the less often you bet, the more often you win". The logic being, if yer only betting a couple of quid a time, you don't really care what the Fav is in the 2:30 at Redcar, you just NEED YOUR GAMBLING FIX !!! you stand there all day sticking that 2 quid needle in until the pain and the money has gone.
If you quit betting in damn near every race, every day, the way the addicted masses do you're halfway there, just bet once a week, you can afford to place bigger stakes, that in itself doesn't guarantee that the horse or whatever will win, but if you've gone from losing a tenner a day, frittered away at 2 quid a time, and you can't even remember what you backed during the day, or WHY you backed it, other than, WELL, IT WAS THE FAVOURITE ?
So if you don't squander a tenner a day away on asking yer mates "what do you fancy in this race" just because you need a 2 quid FIX, soon enough Saturday will come round and you'll have 50 quid in yer ass pocket (itching to get out), but, 50 quid is 50 quid, yer unlikely to be asking what yer mate thinks of the 2 year old selling handicap at Ripon. You might fancy a bet on Saturday, but you have to ask yourself is it worth chancing 50 quid on ? often as not you'll decide it's not, so the sequence starts again on Monday, forget about that "good thing" at Plumpton, stay with the DISCIPLINE, if you can, by the next Saturday there's 100 quid waiting to get out.
The point that Gus was making was, if you're betting 2 quid here and 2 quid there, you WILL get skint, yer addicted to "gambling" and that's gambling against dice that are LOADED against you. But, IF you bet less often, HOPEFULLY you will be more careful on what you bet on, HOPEFULLY you will do your homework, HOPEFULLY you will find something that the Bookie doesn't  know, then the odds will be in your favour, all you need is what most folks DON'T have, DISCIPLINE.
Gus was right, and I learned from him, met Gus at Salford Dog Track in the 60's when he stood the rails there, a character if ever there was one. Bookmakers then were men who would take your bets without "speaking to a Trader" they weren't AFRAID of risk, but this lot now do their utmost to avoid risk, if you win consistently they either Ban you, or limit your bets to an amount they know you can't be bothered with, so you place the bet with someone else, that's exactly what they want, been there done that...
These stuffed shirts aren't even called Bookmakers now, they call themselves Turf Accountants, note the Accountant moniker, anything that an Accountant gets their paws on goes rotten real fast, the less I say about that the better, but it's easy enough to find how these leeches set up Offshore Accounts for the Billionaires who don't fancy paying Tax, anyway, being careful not to digress, I'll stay on track.
Brings me back to "knowing what the Bookies don't know" getting an advantage over them, knowing what I know, being on the inside track re the Wunderers and the folks holding the hot iron right now I was astonished to see that 50/1 was being offered against the Wunderers being relegated into OBLIVION, so I filled my boots with it.
The thing is, the Wunderers AREN'T last years team, they've gone, it's a new team, a Lad's & Dad's team, a team that will take a while to gel, that's IF they ever gel, so on their ability (or lack of it) they could drop through the relegation trap door, but...
We have two horses in this race, the second one being if Football Ventures owners of BWFC can't pay their way. WHERE does the money come from to keep the Hotel and the Club afloat ? they have to find £3.4 Million to pay off existing debts less than 12 months from now, plus £1 Million to HMRC,  plus £59,000 a month / 2,000 quid a DAY interest on the mortgage for the Hotel, how much business do you think the Hotel is doing right now, Bolton is the epicentre of Covid right now, and is likely to be that way for months. The Hotel doesn't seem to be an asset to the Club right now, in fact I'd bet it's a bloody headache. I guess FV (Football Ventures) could sell it, but, who to ? who's looking to buy an Hotel in Bolton right now. Other than that, where is the money coming from to pay for the football side of things ? how long do you think it will be before the turnstiles are clicking again ? would you fancy carrying to Club until the Fans are allowed back ?
It's not often you can find an edge against the Bookies, I don't think they have taken the above into account, so I took a few £1,000 to £20 bets, once I'd "got my money on" I joined Punters Lounge simply to give you guys a heads up, the more folks the Bookies have to pay out the happier I'll be, that's why I'm here... As mentioned, it's not a certainty that the Wunderers will be relegated, but I wouldn't be laying 50/1 I wouldn't lay better than Evens, knowing what I know. It wouldn't surprise me if Football Ventures throw the towel in before Christmas...
As mentioned owning football clubs is a VANITY VENTURE for Billionaires, Millionaires can soon find themselves way out of their depth.
ANON.

Here's what Ian Evatt {Manager of Bolton Wunderers} has to say about tomorrows game, chances are some of the players are feeling more relaxed about the game seeing as "Shaun was back on the grass this week" ?
Ian Evatt has revealed both new signings will not be a part of the squad travelling to Harrogate this weekend.
Miller has not featured since scoring against his former club Crewe in the EFL Trophy last month, while Isgrove made his debut off the bench against Newport last weekend.
The Bolton boss explained: “Shaun was back on the grass this week. It all looked very promising but he had a slight setback yesterday. I would think he’s still another couple of weeks away.
"Lloyd I would think a couple of weeks as well, but that will involve some physical efforts, like a mini boot camp and pre-season. "Because what you find is because they’ve missed so much time and you’re throwing them into where we train really intensely. 
"We demand nothing less, so when you’re coming out of nothing to that, you’re going to break so we have to be a little bit more patient with especially the ones we’re signing that haven’t been attached to clubs. "Loan players that are in with clubs or players we’re singing from other clubs are fine, they’ve had a pre-season, they can deal with it day-to-day.
"The other lads we’re finding that they’re going to break so we have to be more careful, more cautious and get them up to speed first."
Check out what their Fans think of the Wunderers chance against Harrogate.
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18767012.bolton-wanderers-miss-attacking-pair-least-fortnight-says-ian-evatt/
 
 
 
       

Hello Harry,  I hope you took a bit of that 15/2 that the Wunderers would finish up in the bottom half of League 2, it's looking like 2/15 right now, 15 hundred to 2 hundred would have been a nice bet, but £150 to £20 ain't bad either. If the Wunderers get beat by Harrogate this week end the Bookies might as well start paying up. As mentioned before it's not just the dire performances on the pitch it's what's going on "in the Board Room" it looks like clouds are gathering for Football Ventures, on that front, won't be long before it's a "read all about it" as this ship ploughs into another iceberg, you heard it first here.

Hello Harry,  I hope you took a bit of that 15/2 that the Wunderers would finish up in the bottom half of League 2, it's looking like 2/15 right now, 15 hundred to 2 hundred would have been a nice bet, but £150 to £20 ain't bad either. If the Wunderers get beat by Harrogate this week end the Bookies might as well start paying up. As mentioned before it's not just the dire performances on the pitch it's what's going on "in the Board Room" it looks like clouds are gathering for Football Ventures, on that front, won't be long before it's a "read all about it" as this ship ploughs into another iceberg, you heard it first here.

Hello Harry,  I hope you took a bit of that 15/2 that the Wunderers would finish up in the bottom half of League 2, it's looking like 2/15 right now, 15 hundred to 2 hundred would have been a nice bet, but £150 to £20 ain't bad either. If the Wunderers get beat by Harrogate this week end the Bookies might as well start paying up. As mentioned before it's not just the dire performances on the pitch it's what's going on "in the Board Room" it looks like clouds are gathering for Football Ventures, on that front, won't be long before it's a "read all about it" as this ship ploughs into another iceberg, you heard it first here.

Looks like most if not all Bookies don't want to lay Bolton to be relegated, BetVictor is listing them at 33/1 still a fair bet, but I'd be surprised if they'd take much at that price. The 55/1 they offered and I took is looking to be a decent bet even though it's still early days yet, well, at least on the pitch, but that 6/4 against Harrogate for the next game looks tempting, but, being superstitious, not fancying stiffening my long term bets I'll sit Bolton's games out.
You were lucky that it was 0-0 at HT I watched the game on ifollow, Newport were "all ore um" how they weren't 3-0 up by HT beggars belief. Newport hit the woodwork more times than a woodpecker. They were ripping the Wunderers defence apart, it was just a matter of time, and nicely timed for your bet, 11/4 was a great price.
As for the 50/1 bet going to plan, well, you should see what the Wunderers Fans have to say in the Bolton Evening News, they are furious about this "Lad's & Dad's" team, but as I expected they really are shyte, even so I think our other runner in this race, the potential for the club to go into Admin {again} is looking even stronger, see the comments from Wunderers Fans, cut and pasted from the Bolton Evening News.
The club have won five games in all competitions since Football Ventures acquired the club. That is in leagues 1 and 2, been relegated and now sit in the lowest position in their history having lost their first five matches and failed to score against teams who were not even in league when we scoring at the Allianz.
Add to that Football Ventures are now on their second management team, they sacked the head of recruitment, horribly undermined Hill, Brittan even sacked her long standing friend, the CEO and now they are sacking long term servants of the club.
You can add to that, abandoning 99 years of reserve football, losing the ladies team and appointing a Director of Football who was driving trains for a living until four years ago. Can anybody point to where Kenyon and Football Ventures have been successful in football terms?
Financially the club is imploding, the debt is increasing and we've even had to pay the administrator with land.
We are the only club to ever leave admin owing more than they went in with. The £4m due to CVA creditors in 10 months is looking like another broken promise. The hotel has collapsed, Football Ventures have defaulted and paid neither the administrator nor their CVA creditors. The biggest concern is the club now owes more than its assets and will not survive a further insolvency event.
HOW can FV pay the bills with no gate money, and now more players than Arsenal have on their books. The Club must be haemorrhaging money right now paying off historical debts.
All products of the Tobias Phoenix academy of players who should be playing in non league and that's where they were until Phoenix remarkably saved their careers and gave them contracts at Bolton Wanderers.
What is Evatt supposed to do with players who were playing in tier 7 last season and released by National League clubs. Comley and Taft we're heading into the National League until Phoenix rescued them. And then gives a three year deal to a 32 year old striker whose only desire is his contract, and only consistency is his inconsistency. Alongside a midfielder who in three months wasn't fit and is clearly disinterested in playing for club.
Tobias Phoenix was driving a train four years ago, he should be sent back to continue his career with London Transport.    His gravy train has hit the buffers and somebody needs to look at these deals.   Sounds like there's "Trouble int Mill" to me...   C'mon you Sulphurites !!!            

Bolton Wunderers 0 Newport 2 could easily have been 4 though.
That's the worst start to a season for Bolton since the 87/88 season.
That's the 1887/88 season, and No, I'm not kidding.
Reminds me of when the Wunderers were going through a rough patch at Burnden Park, during the winter of 1964. There was a railway goods line that went right by the ground. The shunter driver (steam trains we're talking about) was a Bolton Fan, he would often stop for a few minutes to watch the game and folks would wave to him.
The Wunderers were playing local rivals Blackburn Rovers, getting beat 5-0, there were more supporters watching the train than the game, no wonder at 5-0. The driver would often wave and sound the whistle, as he did that day.
Blackburn Rovers not being used to it, heard the whistle, stopped playing and walked off the pitch,10 minutes later the Wunderers scored !!! Looks like they are back to those days, sadly without the entertainment of steam trains going by...
 
 
 
 
 

I just got an email from BetVictor offering me a free £5 sports bet if I deposited £10 into my account, thought I'd have a do at that, so I logged on to have £15 on the Wunderers at 50/1, well the free £5 bet would make it near enough 75/1 only to find that you can bet on anything you want for League Two, EXCEPT Relegation bets, they've been suspended ? so I didn't have a bet, but...
I had a look at what BetVictor will let you have on the Wunderers, I can't make my mind up if it's me or them, living in a parallel universe, how the hell can they come up with odds like this...
1/4 to finish in the top half.
5/6 Top 7.
2/1 to be promoted.
9/1 second favourites to top L2 {the Titanic will come back up before the Wunderers do}.
10/1 Eoin Doyle to score most in L2, a safer bet would be the BBC weather man Owain Evans he'll score more often.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello Bookiebasher,
Looks like BET365 might have twigged it, yer lucky to have got 50/1 at Hills, but even at 40/1 it's still good value. As for the 55/1 on offer and laid by the FOBT in BaldFred's I had to do a double take to believe my eyes, I was sure they'd limit the stake to a quid or so, gobsmacked when it took one tenner after another.
As for the League being void, I doubt it, I don't see the Premiership or the Championship being cancelled they still have decent revenue, TV etc etc etc. There's less money floating about in L1 & L2 even less for the non league clubs, but they don't need all that much to get through this season. Having said that, we are in uncharted waters though, so no guarantee's with anything, but at 50/1 I'll take my chance.
 

Just had a pint with a buddy of mine, he was asking me if I'd had a bet recently, I mentioned the 50/1 bet, gave him the why's and wherefores to see him nip across the road to BaldFred's. He came back waving two slips out of the FOBT a tenner on each at, are you ready for it, 55/1 !!!
Too good to miss hey, so I nipped across and put a tenner on at 55/1, best bet so far other than the free tenner bet I got off BetVictor for opening an account with them. I just can't figure out how the odds have gone out rather that being taken off the boards since the Wunderers have played as bad as they have in their opening games, more so with the next game against Newport County, they beat Watford 3-1 last night. What price relegation if Newport beat them on Saturday...
 

Just been casting my eye over the Wunderers recent overheads, they are mind blowing, well they are to me...
Going off the Joint Administrators report of 17th June the overheads for from May 2019 to January 2020, pre Wu Flu days, when folks were still going to watch the games and the hotel was {presumably} doing OK.
Counting only the overheads amounting to over £10,000 during those 6/7 months they came in at...
Staff &Player wages of      £2,138,750
PAYE/National Insurance  £1,164,732
Heating & Lights                     £189,353
Repairs/Maintenance              £70,450 
Rates                                       £58,312
Pensions                                  £48,785
Insurance                                 £44,000
Lease/HP Payments                £42,881
Consultancy Fees                    £35,794
General Expenses                   £13,582
Stationary                                 £10,463
The total expenditure for the club for those 6/7 months came in at over £3.9 Million !!! that's over £500,000 a month you'd need in income, just to break even...
Fair enough the new owners will have shaved as much as they can off the above, but no matter how much you tighten your belt if there's nowt in yer pocket at the end of the day, yer knackered.
 
 
 

What can I say, you might have some decent bets there, but, "it depends on the day" who knows if the Wunderers will play out of their skins or fold like a pack of cards. Gawd help all who sail on the Wunderers ship if they do fold, that really would cause panic in the ranks, morale would be going out the window faster than the owners money.
I guess someone smarter than me would be able to check out the viability of the club based on the last report filed when the club was going into liquidation, that might indicate what income the club needs to stay afloat, and where it USED to come from, click on the link below. The document dated  3rd December 2019 and 27th January 2020 sets out the financial situation, as it was in BETTER times, gawd knows what it is now...
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/00043026/filing-history
Take special note in the above of section 2.5 Agent's Fees outlining what CLL were paid, nice work, if you can get it...
As for the Hotel, well, here's a cut and paste from the Joint Administrators comments dated 17th June...
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03674979/filing-history
During the Review Period, the sum of £329,400 has been received in respect of deferred consideration. A total of four monthly instalments of deferred consideration remain outstanding, totalling £219,600. During the Review Period the Joint Administrators were contacted by FV regarding difficulties which they were having with maintaining the monthly payments. The reason stated for these difficulties was the global COVID-19 pandemic which INTENSELY affected BOTH the  trade for the Hotel and the Football Club. It was agreed by the Joint Administrators that the remaining four tranches of deferred consideration would be deferred to September, October, November and December of 2020.
If VANITY Ventures were in trouble a couple of months ago, where do you think they are at now, since Bolton's been locked down, where will September's payment come from ? Add to that would you want to be staring into the abyss of the following 3 payments !!!
It don't look good, does it, would you bet they'd still be afloat by Christmas !!!
 
 

Hello Stevie,
I hear you regarding the Wunderers, and I remember JJ and other big names at the club, although I'm not a fan of any club I've attended a lot of games at the old Burnden Park and the new Reebok Stadium, like most "locals" we still call it that. As for following Macclesfield, well, they have the same man at the helm, Macclesfield was a nice little club too, last time I was there was when they played Lincoln City, and they won, won a few bob on that game. As for Bad Luck, it seems like once the flux of the Universe starts to run against you yer knackered, could it get any worse for the Wunderers.
As  for the Newport game, I don't think it will be cancelled, and as you say Newport have put some decent games in recently, but I'll ride the 50/1 wave that I'm on, I don't want to jinx that bet by backing Newport, that would be double jeopardy, sort of, I don't want to be donating anything to the Bookies on this bet, if I placed any bets that 50/1 would start amortising down to 16/1. I'll stick with the 50/1, that'll do for me.
The way things are going in Bolton and Newport you could open a book on who is likely to infect the other, Bolton would likely to do more damage to Newport on that front.
From what I hear on the local grapevine workers at the Hotel and the Club are fearing the worst regarding their jobs, looks like Sharon is desperate to cut her losses, but would you or anyone throw good money after bad, "business is business" even when it cuts staff, or throats. I can't see how they can carry on till Christmas let alone 'till the end of the season, where does the payroll money come from, add in the cost of servicing the debts, the mortgage and the overheads, how do you do that with little if ANY income.
But what's Plan B, where's the parachute, how do you get out of a situation like this, the way I see it there's no saleable assets, well, not saleable at a price that would cover their investment. If the Wunderers get relegated that would be the end of the Club, you can't cover the running costs of the stadium playing non league clubs, just a few years ago they were  playing Man United, next year they could be playing Hyde United.
I think the Club is done for, who would want to put Tens of Millions into a League 2 club, one that's carrying massive debts, even Nebukadnesar can read the writing on this wall.
 
 
 
 

Looks like most if not all Bookies don't want to lay Bolton to be relegated, BetVictor is listing them at 33/1 still a fair bet, but I'd be surprised if they'd take much at that price. The 55/1 they offered and I took is looking to be a decent bet even though it's still early days yet, well, at least on the pitch, but that 6/4 against Harrogate for the next game looks tempting, but, being superstitious, not fancying stiffening my long term bets I'll sit Bolton's games out.
You were lucky that it was 0-0 at HT I watched the game on ifollow, Newport were "all ore um" how they weren't 3-0 up by HT beggars belief. Newport hit the woodwork more times than a woodpecker. They were ripping the Wunderers defence apart, it was just a matter of time, and nicely timed for your bet, 11/4 was a great price.
As for the 50/1 bet going to plan, well, you should see what the Wunderers Fans have to say in the Bolton Evening News, they are furious about this "Lad's & Dad's" team, but as I expected they really are shyte, even so I think our other runner in this race, the potential for the club to go into Admin {again} is looking even stronger, see the comments from Wunderers Fans, cut and pasted from the Bolton Evening News.
The club have won five games in all competitions since Football Ventures acquired the club. That is in leagues 1 and 2, been relegated and now sit in the lowest position in their history having lost their first five matches and failed to score against teams who were not even in league when we scoring at the Allianz.
Add to that Football Ventures are now on their second management team, they sacked the head of recruitment, horribly undermined Hill, Brittan even sacked her long standing friend, the CEO and now they are sacking long term servants of the club.
You can add to that, abandoning 99 years of reserve football, losing the ladies team and appointing a Director of Football who was driving trains for a living until four years ago. Can anybody point to where Kenyon and Football Ventures have been successful in football terms?
Financially the club is imploding, the debt is increasing and we've even had to pay the administrator with land.
We are the only club to ever leave admin owing more than they went in with. The £4m due to CVA creditors in 10 months is looking like another broken promise. The hotel has collapsed, Football Ventures have defaulted and paid neither the administrator nor their CVA creditors. The biggest concern is the club now owes more than its assets and will not survive a further insolvency event.
HOW can FV pay the bills with no gate money, and now more players than Arsenal have on their books. The Club must be haemorrhaging money right now paying off historical debts.
All products of the Tobias Phoenix academy of players who should be playing in non league and that's where they were until Phoenix remarkably saved their careers and gave them contracts at Bolton Wanderers.
What is Evatt supposed to do with players who were playing in tier 7 last season and released by National League clubs. Comley and Taft we're heading into the National League until Phoenix rescued them. And then gives a three year deal to a 32 year old striker whose only desire is his contract, and only consistency is his inconsistency. Alongside a midfielder who in three months wasn't fit and is clearly disinterested in playing for club.
Tobias Phoenix was driving a train four years ago, he should be sent back to continue his career with London Transport.    His gravy train has hit the buffers and somebody needs to look at these deals.   Sounds like there's "Trouble int Mill" to me...   C'mon you Sulphurites !!!            

At 4pm today the FOBT machine in BaldFred's is still laying 55/1 to tenners !!!