A note from the Chairman

Since our last game at Macron Stadium, there has been change across the club both on and off the pitch, most notably regarding my acquisition of Dean Holdsworth’s shares, taking Inner Circle Investments Limited’s stake in Burnden Leisure Limited to a 95% shareholding.

The situation regarding Sports Shield BWFC and BluMarble had dragged on for far longer than anybody could have envisaged, but I am very pleased that a conclusion has now been reached.

These distractions and the ensuing uncertainty over the past few months have been far from ideal but I am delighted to say that our focus can now be firmly fixed on football matters and getting behind Phil Parkinson, his staff and the players.

Now that the BluMarble and the shareholding issues have been resolved, I am now in a position to take this club forward and we can look towards a brighter future together.

With this in mind, I will be looking to make a number of strategic board appointments in due course - ones that will add value and experience and which will ultimately benefit Bolton Wanderers across the entire business. This development will see my wife Patricia step down as a director of all the group companies.

Discussions are now underway meanwhile with EFL about us exiting embargo and l will keep you all abreast of the situation when I have further information.

In the meantime, there have been comments in the media and social media about a points deduction following the liquidation of Sports Shield BWFC, but my understanding is that this will not happen.

In regards to footballing matters, we strengthened our squad with the acquisition of Craig Noone on transfer deadline day.

Craig has a tremendous amount of experience at Championship level and is a very talented, attacking footballer who will give us additional options. I’m sure, like myself, that you are all looking forward to seeing him put on the white jersey and helping the squad over the coming months.

It’s also important to clarify that we have 24 registered players and not 23 as has been erroneously reported elsewhere, while we have a number of players who are training with us with a view to earning a contact as and when our current situation changes.

I would like to reiterate however the situation regarding our former player, Jay Spearing. No discussions have taken place with him and he is not in our future plans.

I am a little surprised that he hasn’t been snapped up by another club given his talent, but I am sure that will change soon and believe that  he would be a credit to any team that he joins. 

We have a number of players still to figure so far this season, but I am sure it's only a matter of time before they are called upon, with so many games coming thick and fast over the few months. .

There has been a great deal of media comment on Chris Taylor recently, which is not surprising in view of him having spent much of the 2016/17 campaign out on loan.

It has not been easy  for him to make his mark on the team since his return to the club, but he is working extremely hard however every day in training in a bid to break into the manager's reckoning and I hope that all of you will get behind him as he looks to help the Bolton Wanderers cause this term.

We did have clubs willing to take him out on loan again during the recent transfer window, but we declined their offers as we consider him a valuable squad player.

As supporters, if you see players giving their all, l know you will support them and I know that will be the same for Chris and other players currently on the fringes of the first team.

Aside from the first team meanwhile, there is still a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes within our scouting and recruitment team, focusing on adding to the Under-23 and Academy players that we currently have at our disposal.

This will continue throughout the season, while our team are already starting to identify potential first team additions that we can pursue come January.

Even though the window has now shut, there is no let-up and our scouting network will continue to find the best players to enhance our playing squad. 

Going forward, this club will have to source and produce quality players with a similar model to Peterborough United and Barnsley, with player trading the key to a financial sustainability and the potential revenues of such dwarf anything else.

Hopefully, it will also help us achieve our aim of promotion back to the Premier League in due course which would be of incredible benefit to us from a financial standing.

We have been dealt a number of cruel blows inside the opening months of the season in regards to injuries too, but we have been pleased with the progress of those involved so far.

The hope is that the likes of Sammy Ameobi and David Wheater will be back in contention sooner rather than later, in turn giving the manager further options as we look to secure our first league victory of the campaign.

It was great to see the latter meanwhile, alongside Josh Vela, nominated for accolades at the North West Football Awards. Please show your support for both of our players by casting your votes HERE.

Of course, our start to the season hasn’t been as we would have hoped, but the team spirit that the players showed throughout the course of last season is still clear to see and once we get that inaugural win under our belts in the Sky Bet Championship, I am confident that the team will kick on.

Off the pitch, the work we are all doing to get the club financially sustainable has continued but there is still some way to go.

Costs are slowly being dealt with, but we need to increase income from season ticket and matchday sales, commercial and merchandise revenues and this is very much the key to achieving our collective goals.

This is where you, our supporters, come in and you can show your support by telling your friends, colleagues and local business owners about the football club and encouraging them to get involved.

Spread the word of Bolton Wanderers wherever you go - it is an organisation steeped in history and after the successes of 2016/17, now is an extremely exciting time to be a part of it.

This weekend meanwhile, please welcome our new cheerleaders, the Bolton Belles, who will be performing for the first time at our game against Middlesbrough.

As usual, let’s be loud, let’s be proud and let’s get right behind the team.

Kind regards,

Ken

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