Ken Anderson Statement

With relegation now confirmed, our new chairman has come out with his first statement to the club since taking the job:

"It’s now time to look forward, not back. Whilst this continues to be an extremely challenging and difficult time for us all, it is imperative that we stick together and believe that we will come out the other side a better and stronger football club.

Bolton Wanderers have a fantastic history and a loyal fanbase. We very much have to look to put any past differences behind us, embrace everything that we have going for us and move forward together.

I understand that words can only mean so much at this moment in time and that we, the new board, will ultimately be judged on our actions. We’re not shying away from that fact and we accept that there are going to be a lot of difficult decisions to make, both on and off the pitch, as we prepare for life in the third tier.

One of the most important decisions surrounds that of the club’s manager. That is something that is certainly high on our agenda and I personally have already had a high level of applicants for the job. We have had over 50 applications, which shows just in how much high regard our club is held. That list has been whittled down to single figures and our process of interviewing the candidates is already well underway.

We want to hit the ground running next season, which is why we are getting these building blocks in place. We want to roll our sleeves up and be positive right from the off, play an attractive style of football and really take the game to our opponents.

We’re working tirelessly to try and get the transfer embargo lifted - that is obviously paramount in our planning. We also have a number of key relationships and agreements in place with teams in the top flight with an eye on what we can possibly do in the loan market.

Whilst some of our work has to remain confidential, throughout this process we will do our utmost to be open and communicate our plans going forward. Our supporters and staff will always be the lifeblood of the club, regardless of what division we are playing in.

This is a fresh start for us all. We’ve been working on this plan for some time - we're now in the process of putting it into action.

There is a lot of hard work ahead and we have to be on this journey together.

Thank you for your support.

Ken Anderson."

Read more at http://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/article/a-message-from-ken-anderson-3053592.aspx#OKubOrveVhHwXx2q.99


He is saying the right things, as you would expect, but its nice to have some form of communication following the previous regime of whispers. I think most of us will wait until we start to see actions before we start getting optimistic.

I would like to know who is on their preferred list of applicants. We all know Phil Brown will likely be top, but I would like to see the other options. Looking at the betting odds, the other likely candidates are Chris Wilder of Northampton, who would be a good shout, but having just got them promoted, would he jump ship? Other names include Peter Reid, Steve Cotterill, Billy Davies, Michael Appleton, even Big Sam. Interestingly there are no foreign names on there.