Covid: The Perfect Storm!!!

[Perfect Storm]

              Cheltenham 0 Bolton 1

                 In the 91st minute !!!

              Even the dog dint believe it...

 

Edited December 15, 2020 by Perfect Storm

[Perfect Storm]

A bad result for us last night, but, we can't land every blow, and we have to take some on the chin, but at the end of the day this battle will be won on points, speaking of which...

It was good to see Southend beat Grimsby last night, 3 nice points there for the shrimpers, that will help their cause, the more points they bag the worse it would be for Bolton if they go bust. I see that Bald Fred and the Parasites have shortened their odds against Southend being relegated, they were 1/12 last week, they are 1/2 now, I said I fancied their chance of slipping the noose.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/relegation

The ODD thing is, before the Wunderers played Cheltenham Bet Victor were "offering" 80/1 against the Wunderers being relegated, they won last night, bagged 3 points, you'd think the price against relegation would have gone to 100/1 but it's gone DOWN to 33/1 !!! how the **** can that be ? it don't make sense, unless they've joined the Forum, many a true word spoken in jest, anyway...

I'm still counting on that 17 point Admin deduction if the Club goes bust, if we take that into account this is how L2 would look today...

Mansfield 16 points.

Grimsby 16 points.

Bradford 14 points.

Barrow 13 points.

Stevenage 13 points.

Southend 9 points.

Bolton 8 points.

Can't wait for the Financial Report for be filed with Companies House in a few weeks time. Other than that, can't say I'm looking forward to Saturdays match against Tranmere Rovers, they took a 5-0 battering last night away to Exeter.

So Saturday sees "The Whites vs the Super Whites" looks like I'll have to warm up the wife's Rosary Beads around 2:55 on Saturday.

More so with both Southend an Stevenage playing away, I hope that Southend keep up the good work, I might even throw a few quid on the 11/2 that Billy Hill are offering against Southend to beat draw specialists Mansfield WHO R YA Town !!!

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/mansfield-v-southend/winner

11/2 looks way ore the odds seeing as Southend have taken 7 of the last 9 points they've played for...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2020 by Perfect Storm

[Perfect Storm]

The Wunderers face Tranmere Rovers today, a game that has all the hallmarks of being a dismal, desperate, mid division, mid December dour affair. Bad as Wu Flu is it's done the fans a favour, they won't be shivering in the stands, suffering this 4th Tier  performance.

It's not often I fancy a bet on Bolton but the way Tranmere performed in the 5-0 drubbing they took at Exeter last week the Wunderers must be thinking Christmas has come early this year. Chances are Scott Davies will put in another Panto "it's behind yer" performance, with that in mind I'm on Bolton -1 at 9/2 with Sky Bet, looks like a fair bet to me.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/bolton-v-tranmere/handicaps

I wouldn't be unduly surprised to see Tranmere 1 down in the first 15 minutes, Bolton are likely to come out with an all guns blazing attitude, have to say the Bolton "To score 3+" bet at 11/2 tempts me...

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/bolton-v-tranmere/to-score-3plus-goals

As does the 20/1 against Bolton putting 4 or more past Scott Davies.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/bolton-v-tranmere/to-score-4plus-goals

I might throw a score at that, it seems ore the odds to me...

 

 

 

 

[Perfect Storm]

PS: I forgot to mention, I've had a slice of the 9/2 offered against Southend.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/mansfield-v-southend/winner

 

[Alley Cat Glover]

Not so sure about that Tranmere have had the week off and if you want a physical team, I think Tranmere are that plus ex Bolton manager in Keith Hill going back with a point to prove. Think I’ll avoid it. Getting a bit bullish about Bolton is that the Xmas spirit coming through?

Anyway going to try Scnuthorpe away at Grimsby think they could get the 3 points and may try Southend away as you said previous might have turned the corner. Mansfield have not improved much since change of manager it seems.

[Perfect Storm]

No doubt the Super Whites have some big lads in the team, Scott Davies @ 6ft isn't a midget, nor are is anyone in the back line for Tranmere, but that didn't help much in the drubbing they took at Exeter, add to that, far as I can see Scott Davies has failed to keep a clean sheet this season. As for the Keith Hill connection, on another day that might have got a few more Wunderers supporters out of bed and on their way to the Unibol, but not today.

"Bullish on Bolton" ? aye, well, that's a fair comment, but there's an art to betting, gawd help you is yer a Club Fan, you are sure they'll win every game, they are stood way too near the trees to see what they are looking at, maybe that explains why few fans actually bet on the games, they aren't as stupid as they look, chances are they learned the hard way. But the opposite is valid too, if there's a club you (seeing it's almost Christmas, I'll put this politely), if there's a club you aren't all that keen on (that often down to your perception of their fans) you like to see them get beat, and betting on whoever they play. That holds the same pitfalls, a bad strategy to bet with, so being a fan doesn't help, nor does (putting it politely again) not being a fan of a club.

The best ground to stand on is the middle ground, that's almost impossible to find because we all have our preferences, persuasions and prejudice, betting based on emotion rather than cold, clear, calculation is a reliable way to the workhouse. The more analytical we are, the better our chance of winning, we SHOULD know that, most of us don't, BUT, the Parasites do, they spend MILLIONS "weighing up" the odds, to the point where they now have what just a few years ago would have been called Super Computers running Algorithms hell bent on relieving us of our money.

S cun t horpe v Grimsby hey, who would have thought that except for Wu Flu doing the rounds that people would pay good money to watch them two play each other. I wouldn't like to pick the winner there, so I wish you good luck with it, I'll keep my eye on it for you.

As for Mansfield v Southend, I'm going against ALL that I've preached above, I have a soft spot for Southend, but today's bet on them is down to them grabbing 7 of the last 9 points they've contested, I'd like to see them grab 3 more this afternoon, partly because that would keep the pressure on the Wunderers for our relegation bet which by the way not one of the Parasites that I have accounts with will take another shilling off me on that bet, they keep listing the relegation odds, but won't lay me any more bets.

Back to the Wunderers, what's the difference between the Unibol Stadium and a cactus plant ????

On a Cactus plant the pricks are on the outside ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alley Cat Glover]

Well those bets went well, should of gone for Tranmere after all I had one of those suspicions it would go that way. Ex manager rested team happens all the time. See Cheltenham lost again to Barrow this time, some good results to drop Bolton back down the league. Oh what a shame they got 3 points last Tuesday. Still even though Southend didn’t hold on still something to build on for them. Carlisle next up on Boxing Day away. Might try the -1 handicap on that one. Think they are a decent side on form. The relegation bet still looks alive just need to get past these next fixtures and into the New Year without gaining too many points. No more than one win from the next 4 games would be nice.

[Perfect Storm]

What can I say, I'll have to get some of that demister spray for my crystal ball.

I just couldn't see Tranmere winning, not after shipping 5 goals in against Exeter, just goes to show {again} why Bookmakers don't live in Council Houses, my contribution to them today was 200 quid on Bolton -1 and 40 quid on the Shrimpers at 9/2, I thought they would win once they went 1 up, only to see Mansfield draw another game, FFS.

The Shrimpers goal was scored by that Arsenal loanee Olayinka, he could be the key to Southend's survival this season. Having said that, Southend's defence did well enough, not to mention a couple of great saves by Oxley. Mansfield had 61% of the possession, Southend soaked up 17 shots, 6 of them on target. That's 4 game unbeaten run for them now, they aren't 1/12 now for relegation.

Speaking of relegation, there wasn't a game than went against us today including the 4-2 win that Oldham put in against Newport, how the hell did they put that result together, what was I saying about where Bookmakers live when they aren't residing "Offshore." 

The shop is closed now until Boxing Day when Carlisle are at home to Bolton, let's hope that after their 1-0 loss today to Forest Green that their Manager has the team closer to the fire than roasting chestnuts.

That's me signing off until Boxing Day, so with that in mind I'll wish everyone a Merry and Safe Christmas, let's look forward to an eventful and profitable New Year.

From me, to all of you...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Perfect Storm

[StevieDay1983]

Merry Christmas, @Perfect Storm! Here's to 2021 with the optimistic hope that Bolton can somehow turn their fortunes around and once again rise up the leagues! Looking forward to more of your posts after Christmas! 

[harry_rag]

On 12/21/2020 at 11:49 AM, StevieDay1983 said:

Here's to 2021 with the optimistic hope that Bolton can somehow turn their fortunes around and once again rise up the leagues! Looking forward to more of your posts after Christmas! 

Didn’t know you worked for Hills @StevieDay1983 Or do you mean after the relegation that a few of us are fervently hoping for this season! 

[StevieDay1983]

38 minutes ago, harry_rag said:

Didn’t know you worked for Hills @StevieDay1983 Or do you mean after the relegation that a few of us are fervently hoping for this season! 

 Yeah, sorry, not sure my sarcasm translated very well in that post!

[Perfect Storm]

I was tempted last night to have a Monkey on Carlisle at 3/5 but the price has gone, it's a 4/7 chance now, much as that still tempts me, few teams in L2 put in more shots than Carlisle. I haven't seen a home game this season where they've put in less than 20+ shots with on average 30% of them "shots on target".

That's about the only thing you can count on in the game, after that the bet is will the Wunderers defence crumble under the weight of the Carlisle attack, probably, then it's down to will Gilks in goal play a blinder or will he have "one of those days" chances are the gilt and the adrenalin of going from goalkeeping coach to being first choice is wearing off 38 year old Gilks.

Should be a walk in the park for Carlisle, but I won't be jumping off the couch to throw a Monkey at a parasite, I've enough interest in the relegation bet to sit this one out.

Mind you, it's a pity they aren't laying odds on how many shots Carlisle put in, over 20 looks 2/5 to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2020 by Perfect Storm

[Alley Cat Glover]

Well going to try -1 handicap with Carlisle hopefully winning by a clear goal @ 7/4. Even with Tutte back have to fancy the Cumbrians plus will have their supporters. Think Morecambe should beat a struggling Grimsby side. Be interesting to see if Stevenage can start to pick up some points but will be tough against Cheltenham 1st game after a COVID break. Nice to see Southend already 2 up. Too early for me though.

[Perfect Storm]

I'm glad I didn't get involved in the Carlisle v Wunderers game another example of why Bookmakers don't live in Council Houses. Carlisle were 2-0 up in 7 minutes, then made it 3-0 at that point they were 1/50 to win the game, the draw was offered at 20/1, the game looked over, even when the Wunderers pulled one back just before HT.

I was gutted to see the Wunderers make it 3-3 and believe me it damned near went worse, they came very close to making it 4-3 in the last seconds of the game, so I'll settle for them taking just 1 point home with them.

There must be something in the Cumbrian air for the Wunderers, they did exactly the same thing against Barrow, coming from 3-0 down to snatch 3-3 at the death. The thing is though, for 80 minutes of the game they were absolute and utter shyte, but in the last 10 minutes or so they played in desperation, nothing to lose and scored 2 goals, scrambled goals / goalie errors, but that's how cookies sometimes crumble.

It wasn't determination that got them the draw it was desperation, maybe Evatt had told them they've be walking back, but they raised then game just at the time when Carlisle were thinking they'd done enough being up 3-1 with 10 minutes to go.  For the last 20 minutes or so Carlisle's players were walking about as though they were down 3-1, they'd switched off and couldn't switch back on, never seen owt like it !!!

 

It wasn't all bad news though, Southend put in a great effort to beat Colchester, thanks again to Akinola that loanee from Arsenal. That's 5 games without getting beat for the team that just a couple of weeks ago were 1/12 to be relegated, so Sarfend are doing their best for us, long may it continue, I have a soft spot for them, I'd like to see them move "up, up and away" from fear of Relegation.

As for the others, well, Stevenage who look likely candidates for the drop managed a 1-1 against Cheltenham, WHERE did they get that result from, thanks to that point they have kept pace with the Wunderers, so no hole under the water line for us there...

Fellow trap door candidates Mansfield WON AWAY at "who put the **** in S****horpe" not sure what that says about Mansfield or about S****horpe, but I don't see either one of them being relegated {alongside Stevenage}.

Can't complain about Barrow either beating Port Vale, where did that "Punter Buster" result come from. Same with Bradford's 1-0 win at Tranmere, another incredible result, one that will have helped line the pockets of more than one parasite.

Even with the 3-3 draw the Wunderers bagged it was a decent day for our relegation bet, most of the teams languishing at the foot of the table either closed the gap on the Wunderers or at least kept pace with them, that'll do for me.

It helps to note that of the teams below Bolton them, Sc.unthorpe and Southend have a game in hand on Bolton and Stevenage have two games in hand, hopefully they'll take a couple of points from those games, as the monkey said, every little helps.

The next game for the Wunderers is at home to Morecambe, almost a local derby, it'll be a needle match, not sure how much recent form will predict the result, but at least Morecambe have found their scoring boots yesterday putting 3 past Grimsby to win 3-1.

Here's what Bald Fred and the parasites think...

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/bolton-v-morecambe/winner

Other than the above, I'll have to ask Stevie who he lets in here, looks like we have a 5th Columnist in our ranks, I can't think of any other reason how being in the League position that the Wunderers hold right now, how come they are only 33/1.

https://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-2/relegation

If you weren't counting on them going bust they'd have to be a 100/1 chance, looks like someone's got wind of it, mind you, if it's the same wind we have had round here today everyone will know about it...

Onwards and upwards it is then, for our allies at the wrong end of L2, keep up the good work...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2020 by Perfect Storm

[Perfect Storm]

Bolton v Morecambe ?

Aye, well, Wu Flu has put paid to that, at least for now...

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18973244.bolton-wanderers-v-morecambe-game-postponed-following-coronavirus-outbreak/

[Perfect Storm]

Some decent results yesterday by a couple of the trap door candidates, no better performance than Stevenage, bagging all 3 points by beating Cambridge 1-0. It wasn't just the win, it was the way they did it, keeping a clean sheet against one of the better teams in L2. Especially how they did it, Stevenage soaked up the 60% possession Cambridge had, not to mention the 12 shots and 15 fouls Cambridge laid on Stevenage. That bodes well for Stevenage IF they can defend that well whilst putting in 11 shots of their own, 3 of them on target, maybe / hopefully Stevenage might have turned a corner.

That 3 pointer for Stevenage and Southend's 2-0 loss to the Ham an' Eggers of Leyton Orient dropped Southend back into the dungeon of L2, but that was the Shrimpers first defeat in 5 games, and with Akinola on loan from Arsenal I'd bet money that Southend will pull clear of the drop.

Sc**thorpes 2-1 win at Walsall did us a favour too, that puts them on 23 points a bit of breathing space for The Iron.

As for the other trap door candidates, chances are point apiece from the 0-0 fought out between Grimsby v Oldham is as good as it gets for either of them, every point they collect helps our cause. As does the point apiece from the 1-1 Barrow v Tranmere game, but of all the teams in the relegation zone Barrow just 4 points above Southend who have a game in hand on Barrow look to be sinking faster than the submarines they build.

Every point gained by the trap door teams pulls the Wunderers back towards oblivion due to the 17 point deduction IF the club goes bust, here's how that table would stand right now.

Barrow       20 points.

Mansfield   20 points.

Grimsby     20 points.

Stevenage  17 points.

Southend   16 points.

Bolton          9 points.

Our 17 point deduction table above, looks a lot better than it was just two weeks ago, when it looked like this, with the Wunderers just 1 point adrift of Southend.

Mansfield    16 points.

Grimsby      16 points.

Bradford     14 points.

Barrow        13 points.

Stevenage  13 points.

Southend     9 points.

Bolton           8 points.

No matter how bad Barrow are, or how bad any of the others might be I can't see Bolton making up the points they would need to survive a 17 point deduction.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/51020339

Time will tell, but the 80/1 the 55's and 50/1 laid looks like a fair bet to me, I just wish I could get a few more quid on, a couple of the Parasites still list the odds, but they won't lay them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Perfect Storm

[Perfect Storm]

Bolton boss Ian Evatt admits,

"some players have asked to leave club in January !!!"

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18980003.bolton-boss-ian-evatt-admits-players-asked-leave-club-january/?ref=ar

Trouble int Mill then hey ?

Players looking to step into a lifeboat before this ship sinks ?

Edited January 1, 2021 by Perfect Storm

[Alley Cat Glover]

Happy New Year all, so today we are looking for a favour from Crawley after their good result against Forest Green, whilst Bolton had there feet up resting. That could count for a lot but I still think Crawley won’t let this get away from them, although think it will be a tight affair.

I think these next few weeks are going to be very testing as a January transfer window develops. Will not be easy to shift people out at this level especially if not been seen playing in a good way as no one will want to take the risk or additional overheads. Keeper position seems critical, no new keeper coming in yet, is Billy going back to Fleetwood? Quite a few teams wait until after the FA Cup 3rd round when they play a rotated squad to give frontline players a rest after the Xmas period, so many teams are not bothered about it now if they are in the promotion hunt. Then when they are knocked out will try to trim their own squad but if these players are on healthy contracts they might sit there until the summer. Can not see Clubs offering lucrative contracts to anyone at present.

So where does that leave Bolton? Fans want to see a minimum of 4 new faces before you include a goalkeeper. Think that will be tough. They have not even signed a free agent who has been training with them since beginning of December. Think they need to shift some before bringing in too many. Not a great fan of the loan system in January as not sure the player buys into the new club. Bit different on season loans but then players are not always getting the game time they want as seems the case at Bolton and now they want to cut that short unless you mention the Luton player Kioso be interesting if they recall him, not that I think they will.

Bolton seem to have a fairly tight squad and have been relatively lucky with playing injuries. Seem to also have a team spirit their as well, still throw in plenty of unexpected results still can’t work out how they went from winning run to lose 6-3. Here’s hoping for the results we need. Not sure points deduction will be coming our way to help us currently. But still a long way to go.

Keep safe people, long a bumpy road still ahead.

 

 

[Perfect Storm]

Bolton v Crawley hey, a tricky match indeed, can't back the Wunderers and I don't want to jinx Crawley, it's one of those games, so...

Wanting to be involved I've just taken Bolton +1 off Bald Fred to £360, that's my bet for today.

 

 

[Perfect Storm]

As for the New Year for the Wunderers, well, it seems like the Devil or the Deep Blue Sea. They don't have any money to buy any decent players, and even if they did I think they are already leaning on the salary cap, add to that there's already more deadwood sat on the bench than the bench is made of, deadwood that no one this side of Atherton Collieries might want. So they can't buy players, and they can't get rid of the ones they don't want or need, interesting times indeed...

But it gets worse than that, Sharon Brittan, majority share holder in the Wunderers put out her version of the Queens Speech didn't get the response she'd expected from a good many of the Wunderers supporters, see the link below...

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18981349.bolton-chairman-hails-fans-praises-ian-evatt-new-year-message/

As for "Team Spirit" aye, well, there's more chance of the horse making a come back than seeing it in the Wunderers dressing room right now. It's not the bad players that want to leave and word on the street is some of the players don't care for Evatts "don't blame me" style of Management.

 

 

The Wunderers are a ship without a rudder, with a makeshift crew skippered by a Management Team that to me at least, look to be well out of their depth.

Time will tell, speaking of which, it looks like the Accounts are due in at Companies House by the 10th of this month, and will be published at the latest 3-4 weeks after that.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Perfect Storm

[Alley Cat Glover]

Well that went about as expected. Tight 1-0 to Crawley, just what was needed to start the New Year. Now 8pts from play offs and 6pts off the relegation zone. Almost bottom of form table, kept off bottom by Port Vale who beat them 6-3 figure that out. Two teams below Bolton lost but both lost to teams that were below them to tighten everything up nicely to give everyone something to play for. 
The fans I think could have a long cold January if they need to move players out first before bringing anyone in, everything will probably happen late. Next match for Bolton not until 12th away at Exeter by which time they might be lower in the league and closer to the wrong zone for them. If they get Exeter on the wrong night could get a nice handicap bet covered. 

[Perfect Storm]

That's a first for me, the Wunderers helped me burn £360 but the smell of the smoke was sweet enough to compensate for the loss of the £ notes. That's the 3rd Home defeat on the trot for the Trotters, the way they are going the club might not need to go into Admin.

Other than that, a couple of decent results from our Allies fighting a rear guard action against relegation. Mansfield beating Port Vale 4-0 where did that result come from and Stevenage beating S.cun.thorpe 3-1 that puts Stevenage just 6 points behind Bolton with a game in hand of them.

Every team down from Bolton in 15th slot looks vulnerable to say the least for relegation.

As for the fans feeling the cold, it's quite the opposite, they are FLAMING one another. Some of them known locally as "The Teachers Pets" will swallow anything Evatt says, others are white hot raging against the FV Punch and Judy no show. No wonder when someone is stoking the flames revealing how Ms Brittan loaned the Club £20 Million at 4% try getting 4% from Barclays.

The more you look at it the more it starts to look like a shell game.

I think the way to buy a Club is, you form a company, with yourself as the majority shareholder, say 60% then you personally loan the company £20 Million at 4% that's from £20 Million you borrow, if you can't find it at the bottom of yer handbag.

If you don't find the money in yer handbag you borrow £20 Million from Barclays, or the like, at say 2% to 3% and re-loan it at 4% pocketing the difference, say around £8,000 a week for your troubles, 8 grand a week might not sound a lot, but it adds up over the years.

The company that you set up, the one you own 60% of, buys a stadium and all that comes with it, then starts paying you off from the gate money, so far so good, as long as there is gate money...

Normally there wouldn't be much risk, because the money you loaned is secured against the value of the property that your company purchases.

But it ain't Normal times is it, if the turnstiles aren't clicking how does the Club you own pay you the interest on the money you borrowed to lend to the Club you own 60% or so of !!!

What should have been a very lucrative roll of the dice starts to come up with all the wrong numbers when you finish up with a goalkeeper who would struggle to catch a cold, a team made up of Lads & Dad's recruited by an ex-train driver who fancies himself as Head of Football Operations. Throw in a Manager who thinks he's in charge of Barcelona and it has all the hallmarks of a disaster of Titanic proportions, and that's before you throw Wu Flu into the mix.

A strategy cleverly thought out for normal times, but right now it starts to look like a house of cards. The Club has little / if any income so how does it pay the £20 Million loan off, if the loan can't be serviced someone somewhere along the debt chain will pull the plug.

The problem being, the assets that secured the loan may have dropped like a stone. The Club could go bust, if it does the assets pass to the loaner, they finish up with the assets, but the assets now don't cover the debt.

Seems to me that someone in the middle will feel the pinch, to say the least, but it looked like a clever move before the dice were rolled, must have looked like a way to print money at the time...

It's 10 out of 10 if you can follow the above, it took an Accountant half an hour to explain it to me how shell games like this are played...

 

                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Perfect Storm

[Alley Cat Glover]

Not sure about the Accounts stuff, when they are due etc take your word for it. Can’t see how a Club like Bolton are not bleeding money though especially with a Hotel in tow.

Bolton were 80/1 a month ago now from what I can see 25/1 or 22/1 with the only firms betting on the market.

So bottom up Southend much improved over last month, ok lost last one to Orient but that’s no disgrace, probably will lose to Newport but they are not the ones where they need to get points. Home to Barrow next well winnable.

Grimsby I would be worried about them, no form to speak of, new manager, big January needed.

Stevenage seem to be going the right way, no game until 16th Jan?

Barrow, mini turn around having changed manager, still work to do but opportunities will come along I’m sure.

Scnuthorpe can’t work them out win ones you don’t expect lose ones you think they would win.

Mansfield seem to be on upward trend now with Clough in charge turn a few draws into wins think they will be ok.

Bradford see above comment re upward trend after change of Management.

Port Vale well what can you say one win in last 10, yes 6 - 3 against Bolton I would be worried for them.

Harrogate struggling in first season in league but well run club and would expect them to battle there way to survival.

Above Bolton 4 teams with negative goal difference but not form wise likely to drop like a stone to the foot of the table. So who are likely relegation candidates? All things being equal might want Grimsby on side, be worried for Scnuthorpe think Southend and Stevenage will both survive funnily enough. Port Vale and Bolton are just games away from being in difficult positions, with limited resources to get out of trouble.
 

 

[Perfect Storm]

The Accounts for the Punch & Judy Show aka Football Ventures are on the link below, having said that, I'm no accountant, so although it's easy reading to someone in the trade it's heavy weather for me. Thankfully that buddy of mine being an accountant is able to give me the jist of it. It's all on the link below, for those familiar with Company Accounts...

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11761052/filing-history

Seems that it's common to buy a football club using schemes like this, reminiscent of how the Glazer Brothers got control of Manchester United, but they weren't alone.

There's been some ruthless b*ggars who wangled their way into ownership of Football Clubs, look at what happened at Wigan Athletic after Dave Whelan retired, one of the Old & Respected Brigade Whelan was, he was in it for the good of the Club, the same way that Nigel Doughty of Notts Forest was, decent men, but there's few of their calibre around these days, just look how Owen Oyston ran Blackpool, or Douglas Craig when he near ran York City into oblivion, others that spring to mind include...

Ken Bates during his 20+ years at Chelsea.

Mike Ashley at Newcastle.

Roland {the Axe Man} Duchatelet of Charlton Athletic.

Peter Winkelman when he dismantled Wimbledon and moved it to Milton Keynes.

George {safe cracker} Reynolds, he did 4 years inside before ruining Darlington FC.

Craig Whyte, the guy who dropped Rangers through the trap door into the Scottish 4th Division, that takes some doing...

Enough said about owners of Football Clubs...

The Relegation Battle is already on, it looks like a 10 runner race to me, from Bolton on down they are all staring into the abyss, but, some like Stevenage and Southend do seem to have found some form, especially Southend with Olayinka on loan from Arsenal I reckon he's possibly the best player in L2, having him in the squad should see Southend mid table by the end of the season, the Bookies got that 1/12 drop price wrong.

If Southend escape it's down to which 2 out of the 9 left fall through the trap door ?

Bradford could buying their way out in the January sales, maybe Harrogate too ?

As for the rest of them, I reckon they are all on banana skins, the first one to slip up this month won't get back up, if I had to say who that might be I'd go for Barrow. Whoever hits a bad patch now will be demoralised and the other teams will be encouraged to tread on their heads. The thing is, if the next 3 or 4 games go against the Wunderers and if it's their better players who want to go and do go, it will be a TKO for Bolton.

As for the odds presently being laid, what sheet are the parasites reading off to be offering, but not actually laying no better than 25/1 against a team mid table !!!

Ah, well, that's me for the day, no bets today, but a bit of excitement none the less thanks to Bitcoin, my lad talked me into Bitcoin a couple of years ago, I knew NOTHING about them at the time, but seeing them as a GAMBLE rather than an investment I stepped in, stepped in to what looked like the Doldrums for quite a while, I barely bothered looking at the price for most of 2020 until the price started to move, next thing this App that I have on my phone is sending me voice updates almost every hour saying "Bitcoin had gone up $500" it's happened that many times that "Jimmy" our Norwegian Blue parrot keeps repeating it now. Worse still I'd promised the wife a fiver every time Bitcoin goes up $500 it was only this morning I realised they were whacking the money between them !!!

If yer into Bitcoin or any Crypto this free App is really good...

https://thecrypto.app/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by Perfect Storm

[Perfect Storm]

Not sure if any of you might be interested...

I just started a Bitcoin chat in the "Off Topic" forum...

 

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by Perfect Storm

[yossa6133]

Pretty inexplicable how they won 4 in a row in November! Now lost 4 out of the next 6. Seems like their wheels are coming off at the moment and that run of wins stands out like a sore thumb.

[Perfect Storm]

Hello Yossa,

Not sure about if the 4 wins were inexplicable, 3 of those wins were against teams that were going through miserable times including Southend, Stevenage & Sc.unt.horpe who between them were propping L2 up.  If there were any {almost} inexplicable results they were when the Wunderers beat Salford and Cheltenham, but a close look at some of their inexplicable results shows why there's more punters with holes in their pockets rather than £ notes.

What I found inexplicable, or should I say exasperating was how the Wunderers clawed their way out of the grave when they managed 3-3 draws against Carlisle & Barrow, but...

Picking up points won't be as easy in the next 4-5 games starting with an away game at Exeter, then at home to Cheltenham who hopefully have the guts to be looking for Bolton's scalp. After that the Wunderers are away to Tranmere and then Mansfield, then closing out the month at home to Leyton Orient, after those 3 games the Wunderers might want to change their colours to Black & Blue.

So there's 15 points to play for in January, I wouldn't want to bet on them bagging more than 6 of those 15 points, but you never know "on the day."

It's not just what goes on in the game / on the pitch it's what's going on in the back room, inevitably that filters down to the team, maybe the ones who have had or seen enough have concerns about the viability of the club ?

Here's Evatt's master plan for January, there must be some Lad's & Dad's looking for someone to lace their boots on for ? surely there's players no one else wants ?

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18983666.bolton-wanderers-close-loan-deal-swansea-city-defender-declan-john/?ref=ar

The only players I can imagine wanting to sign right now for the Wunderers either have no pride or no prospects, the "ham & eggers".

January is often the sink or swim month for clubs battling relegation, the first team to slip won't have time to recover they will lose heart knowing they are doomed, the other teams fighting to survive will redouble their efforts to put distance between them and the trap door that drops clubs into the obscurity of Vanarama League and Vanarama wages.

It won't help their cause playing games like this with visiting teams...

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18982927.bolton-wanderers-made-crawley-town-change-hotel-kick-off/

Playing mind games like that invokes comments like this...

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/18983315.crawley-boss-delighted-get-better-big-club-bolton/?action=success#comments-feedback-anchor

If the Wunderers go bust or get relegated on points the result will be the same, that will be the end of BWFC. They can't carry the overheads the stadium brings with it from the limited income of L2, it's only a couple of years ago they were getting £12 Million from the TV rights, all that's gone now.

Relegation one way or the other sends the Wunderers the way of the Dinosaurs...

After looking at the documents on the Companies House web site I'm still trying to figure out who would "inherit" the stadium, and what debt would go with it, I'm damned SURE that right now it's only worth a fraction of the £10 Million that FV paid for it, add to that the Hotel they paid £7.4 Million for must be a millstone, it never made much / if any money when it was running at 80% occupancy, right now they'd be luck to have 8%.

The thing is, it seems like there's a piece of the jigsaw missing, something not on the table, yet, something, who knows what, Wu Flu maybe, that would be the last nail in the Wunderers coffin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 4, 2021 by Perfect Storm

[Alley Cat Glover]

Looked at the accounts for what it’s worth, not really my arena. As I see it 2 x £20M loans charged against the holding company/club with 4% interest but dated 2022 so no one is going to call them in yet I don’t think. One has been settled as I read the docs which was £820,000 to old owner through a trust in a tax haven somewhere. Then another charge which is a property company which is where Michael James comes in he is a director for it assume he owns it. Hotel owner? Next accounts not due until 30th June 2021 which will only cover up to 30th June 2020. 4 shareholders as 10th Jan statement date, next statement date 10th Jan 2021 to be filed by Feb 21st 2021. Will anything change? Can’t see what will force the Club to have admin trouble currently. 
 

Now how can they sign or shift players in the current football climate, still under an embargo I believe, close to the salary cap, have not signed the free agent yet, Kieran Lee, might be injury prone, not played since last season. Declan John, 25 yrs old, 93 appearances in 7 years not settled anywhere, not done much this season. Keeper no sign of a new one, is Crellin still there ? Need to move some out before anyone signs on a dotted line it seems. Who wants players that don’t fit a poor league 2 club, can’t see many non league clubs taking anyone this month, they will probably ride out with what they have, and risk relegation not so big as moving from league to non league.

[Perfect Storm]

The Accounts aren't easy to read, that's for sure, it's easy to get lost in the Maze, but, this is what it looks like to me...

There's only one £20 Million loan, from my understanding most of it that was loaned by Ms Brittan {or a company she has at least influence over} to FV a company that she is the majority shareholder in. While this is going on it looks like Michael {though the property company he owns} throws £5 Million into the hat.

FV then purchases BWFC and the hotel for £17.4 Million, leaving £2.6 Million in the petty cash. At this point FV own BWFC, the Stadium and all that goes with it, including the  hotel.

But, by now FV are indebted to Michael's property company and to Ms Brittan's company for the £20 Million that these separate companies have stumped up.

Still with me ? I don't know about you but I have a job following who owns what at this point, but the waters get muddier...

The £20 Million loaned by the companies owned by Punch & Judy seems to be secured against the assets now owned by FV, basically the Stadium and the Hotel plus other associated assets.

There's several "charges" due on the £20 Million loaned, Ms Brittan as the Majority shareholder of FV agreed to pay herself / OK a company she has influence over 4% on the money loaned, £800,000 a year. Chances are that FV agreed to a similar "charge" payable to Michael's property company.

It's at this point I switch my fog lights on.

If FV aren't able to pay the charges they are liable for, and that's not just charges to Michael & Ms Brittan, there's £5 Million owed to other folks including HMRC, most of those charges are due on or before August this year, so forget the everyday overheads etc etc etc or running the club there's the best part of £1 Million a month to salt away to service these "charges".

If HMRC {or anyone else} pulls the plug FV is done for, they would owe £20 Million or so to companies owned by Michael & Ms Brittan, there would be little if any actual cash to pay any "charges" off, but. The £20 Million put up by Michael & Ms Brittan was secured against the assets, so, FV would essentially go to the wall, then the Stadium and the hotel are handed over to the companies owned by Michael & Ms Brittan.

For a moment there it looks like they have covered their ass, until we look at the value of the assets they have inherited. What price would you put on BWFC by now playing in the Vanarama League ? it's simply not possible to run a stadium like the Reebok playing the likes of Solihull United, Dover Athletic, Wealdstone and the like.

To my way of thinking you'd be lucky to get 50p on the £ for a redundant stadium, add to that what value would you put on the £7.4 Million hotel that far as I can see from the accounts for the last 5 years has been lucky to break even. Let's say they get £3 Million for the hotel, they'd finish up with fire sale assets worth £8 Million if they are lucky, to go compensate for the £20 Million that Michael & Ms Brittan put in to this Vanity Venture.

That's bad enough if the £20 Million came out of yer own pocket, it would be a LOT worse if you borrowed some or all of it from {say} Barclays.

If some or all of the £20 Million was financed, what security would {say} Barclays want ?

It could well be a domino effect if FV goes bust, the "assets" pass to Michael & Ms Brittan, if they are in turn indebted to a bank the bank could finish up with a practically worth-less stadium.

Wouldn't surprise me if Ken Anderson or the like picked it up at fire sale prices.

Who knows how this cookie might crumble, ownership of football clubs isn't as simple as knocking on a Boardroom door with a wad of money in your hand, there's wheels within wheels within wheels, with more levels of mystery than Agatha Christie could dream up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by Perfect Storm

[Alley Cat Glover]

So why two charges one to Sharron and one to a Nick Luckock? Both 20M at 4.00% but different charges against the company neither have been settled raised on the same date, 30/8/2019 can’t see it as a proportion to each person.