Sad situation which MUST be a wake-up call for football to help the clubs teetering on the brink
LAST week was one of the most memorable in English football history. This week has seen one of our most famous clubs having to rely on food banks to help feed staff who have not been paid.
The disparity between the Champions League millionaires celebrating reaching the lavish final in Madrid and the growing number of clubs struggling just to stay afloat has never been greater.
Bolton Wanderers highlight the difference between the haves and the have-nots in English football – and they are the tip of the iceberg. It is a sad story of a club formed 145 years ago, famous for Nat Lofthouse and the glory days of the 1950s up until Sam Allardyce leading them into Europe while they were mainstays of the Premier League. But now an emergency food bank has been set up to help staff, who have not been paid since April, after a potential takeover deal fell through. Local businesses have made donations, another Championship club – believed to be Preston – has donated shopping vouchers, while employees have had their accounts locked by their banks.
The club has been plunged into administration, docked 12 points and the outlook is as grim on the pitch as off it.
This is a desperate time for many clubs trying to stay afloat, spending more than they can afford to try to earn the riches in the Premier League – and paying a heavier cost in the long run.
But the human cost and the huge effect on staff, as well as the supporters, should never be forgotten. These are not millionaire footballers, but ordinary people left with little or no hope.
It is a story which should embarrass and shame English football that one of the great old clubs has been left in ruin.
But the reality of staff having to rely on food banks should be the wake-up call needed for English football to do something – not just for Bolton, but the many other clubs teetering on the brink.
We should have nothing to celebrate while Bolton and its loyal staff and supporters have been left in crisis.