Randy Lerner

[tomd2103]

I remember watching Forest in there death throws, I bet none of them thought it would last as long as it has.

I worry that we will follow a similar path.

With all due respect, we are a different proposition to Forest.  I was talking to a Notts County fan (he may have had a vested interest!) I know the other day about our situation and mentioned Forest.  He said that apart from their time under one brilliant manager, they have always been a fairly innocuous club, a bit like Coventry and have spent a lot of their history outside the top flight.     

[hvkfa1]

I don't think either of them was

We wanted Ellis to go for a bloody long time before he did. On his own terms.

Quite. All this Doug revisionist shite. If he'd been serious about selling when he should have, we might have had a takeover before citeh spoiled things and maybe had a better chance of that top 4 thing. We were heading for relegation by the time he left, as a result of which Lerner started from a low base.

Funny how a few years ago it was 'Lerner appointed O'Neill', now it is 'Ellis appointed O'Neill'. Thinking back to the day that Lerner joined us, we were in a far better position than we are now. My post that was replied to was not a 'Doug revisionist post'. You seized on it in the manner of many who try to deflect blame away from Lerner by dredging up things about Ellis. What do you hope to achieve by this blind loyalty?

I don't know what my post contains that suggests blind loyalty to Lerner. I think, overall, they were both fairly poor owners. But I don't buy this new version of history where Doug wouldn't have got us into this mess, because, as AV82EC points out, he pretty much did.

What is undeniable is that he was much better as protecting his own interests and that he walked away from us with a damn site more out of the transaction than Lerner will.

We can harp on all we like about Ellis but the current situation is worse than we have ever been in our history. I've taken a punt on that without looking at the record books. We will achieve nothing by fighting battles that have long ended. All energy must be spent on the current problem. I say Lerner out!

[Villa in Denmark]

I don't think either of them was

We wanted Ellis to go for a bloody long time before he did. On his own terms.

Quite. All this Doug revisionist shite. If he'd been serious about selling when he should have, we might have had a takeover before citeh spoiled things and maybe had a better chance of that top 4 thing. We were heading for relegation by the time he left, as a result of which Lerner started from a low base.

Funny how a few years ago it was 'Lerner appointed O'Neill', now it is 'Ellis appointed O'Neill'. Thinking back to the day that Lerner joined us, we were in a far better position than we are now. My post that was replied to was not a 'Doug revisionist post'. You seized on it in the manner of many who try to deflect blame away from Lerner by dredging up things about Ellis. What do you hope to achieve by this blind loyalty?

I don't know what my post contains that suggests blind loyalty to Lerner. I think, overall, they were both fairly poor owners. But I don't buy this new version of history where Doug wouldn't have got us into this mess, because, as AV82EC points out, he pretty much did.

What is undeniable is that he was much better as protecting his own interests and that he walked away from us with a damn site more out of the transaction than Lerner will.

We can harp on all we like about Ellis but the current situation is worse than we have ever been in our history. I've taken a punt on that without looking at the record books. We will achieve nothing by fighting battles that have long ended. All energy must be spent on the current problem. I say Lerner out!

And so say all of us.

Just need to find a buyer that's got the necessary readies and is either competent him/herself to run the club, or is competent to hire the right people to do it.

Easy isn't it.

[themossman]

Spot on VID.

We're in a bad place but there have been plenty of worse owners than Lerner, it's ridiculous to think otherwise, and we could yet end up with one of them.

By the way I'm not harping on about Ellis and I agree he's completely irrelevant to the current predicament. Which is why I don't understand these people suggesting we'd be so much better off now if this new sanitised version of HDE was in charge. A. So what. B. We probably wouldn't.

[Villa in Denmark]

One that had passed me by, but I've just read that Bolton are bottom of the Championship, £173M in debt and subject top both a transfer embargo and a winding up petition from HMRC?

[Chico Hamilton III]

One that had passed me by, but I've just read that Bolton are bottom of the Championship, £173M in debt and subject top both a transfer embargo and a winding up petition from HMRC?

The Macron curse

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/dec/01/sale-money-bolton-relegation-administration

[joe_c]

Wasn't there a rumour that our "transfer committee" wanted to sign Vardy, but Sherwood wanted Gestede?

I heard that too.

Signing a player in his late twenties who had scored five goals for a side who had just avoided relegation would have had people up in arms. This is in no way a defence of the previous incumbent but at the time, this would be the equivalent if Gabby going the other way.

[rob_bridge]

I don't think either of them was

We wanted Ellis to go for a bloody long time before he did. On his own terms.

Quite. All this Doug revisionist shite. If he'd been serious about selling when he should have, we might have had a takeover before citeh spoiled things and maybe had a better chance of that top 4 thing. We were heading for relegation by the time he left, as a result of which Lerner started from a low base.

Funny how a few years ago it was 'Lerner appointed O'Neill', now it is 'Ellis appointed O'Neill'. Thinking back to the day that Lerner joined us, we were in a far better position than we are now. My post that was replied to was not a 'Doug revisionist post'. You seized on it in the manner of many who try to deflect blame away from Lerner by dredging up things about Ellis. What do you hope to achieve by this blind loyalty?

I don't know what my post contains that suggests blind loyalty to Lerner. I think, overall, they were both fairly poor owners. But I don't buy this new version of history where Doug wouldn't have got us into this mess, because, as AV82EC points out, he pretty much did.

What is undeniable is that he was much better as protecting his own interests and that he walked away from us with a damn site more out of the transaction than Lerner will.

We can harp on all we like about Ellis but the current situation is worse than we have ever been in our history. I've taken a punt on that without looking at the record books. We will achieve nothing by fighting battles that have long ended. All energy must be spent on the current problem. I say Lerner out!

And so say all of us.

Just need to find a buyer that's got the necessary readies and is either competent him/herself to run the club, or is competent to hire the right people to do it.

Easy isn't it.

Indeed any suitable buyer who won't do to us what Lerner has not done to us (and hopefully never will) which is fund the purchase of the club with debt secured against the club.

[themossman]

And this was before Gabby had definitively revealed himself to be an ex footballer, so you can sort of follow the Sherwood's logic on this one.

[CJ]

The days of wealthy people queuing up to pour buckets of money into a PL club may have come to an end - hence why no buyers yet for us, the Bitters or Everton. The next/last of these maybe this chap Hasan Ismaik who might have been mentioned before Christmas. He's looking for either a Prem club (check), or even a Championship club (check, next season), a big team (check) with a big history (check),that wants to grow (check) and have fun (check). What's he waiting for? Of course, you never know whether you're going to get a Tan, Yeung or Venky, and as the saying goes - be careful what you wish for, but he sounds like someone Lerner might want to talk to.

[Dave Cooper please]

Hands up who knew the names of our chairman, secretary or even a director or two before the advent of the Internet? I know I did. I even heard them speak via the media. It's almost being suggested that before the age of the Internet fans didn't know their arses from their elbow when it came to their football club and who was in charge.

I knew who the chairman was and could probably, at a push, have named a director but as for the rest, without sneaking a peek at the programme, I wouldn't have had a clue, nor actually cared that much. I was a season ticket holder from 1979 to 1984 as well.

[Risso]

One that had passed me by, but I've just read that Bolton are bottom of the Championship, £173M in debt and subject top both a transfer embargo and a winding up petition from HMRC?

Yep. Eddie Davis lives over here, and doesn't want to keep propping the club up any more. A cautionary tale about what happens to clubs who make losses, get relegated and then don't go back up quickly.

[olaftab]

One that had passed me by, but I've just read that Bolton are bottom of the Championship, £173M in debt and subject top both a transfer embargo and a winding up petition from HMRC?

And they are owned by this chap Garside a pillar of football establishment in this country.
It can be a very dangerous game.

[Chris Jameson]

One that had passed me by, but I've just read that Bolton are bottom of the Championship, £173M in debt and subject top both a transfer embargo and a winding up petition from HMRC?

And they are owned by this chap Garside a pillar of football establishment in this country.
It can be a very dangerous game.

He isn't the owner, he's the Chairman.

[olaftab]

Fair enough Chris but as chairman it was his job to ensure fiduciary.