KEN Anderson has sent an impromptu email to Wanderers season ticket holders attempting to ‘set the record straight’.
After composing two substantial and acerbic web columns in the last two days, Anderson instructed staff to send out a mail-shot to fans earlier this evening.
The email – seen by The Bolton News – included three anonymous messages of support for the Bolton chairman, who has engaged in a public spat with his Forest Green counterpart Dale Vince over the collapsed transfer of striker Christian Doidge.
It also lists nine points, addressing what he termed “recent fiction” in the press, which include an admission he paid himself promotion bonuses as part of the £525,000 consultancy fee detailed in the club’s previous set of financial accounts, published in June 2017.
In 2017, players received bonus payments late after their promotion to the Championship from League One and in 2018 the squad went on strike, forcing the postponement of a pre-season friendly against St Mirren because of a similar problem, which eventually required mediation from the PFA.
Coaching staff, including manager Phil Parkinson, had still not received their bonuses in November, when monthly salaries were also paid a fortnight late.
The letter read…
In case you hadn’t seen them, I wanted to ensure that you have the opportunity of reading my latest set of web notes.
“Since they were published on the website, I have received numerous messages of support from fans and people involved within the game.
“One supporter wrote: ‘(I am) ignoring all the rubbish in the press regarding our club and chairman, I would like to thank you for your continued good work. As a businessman you obviously do not suffer fools gladly.’ “Another person said: ‘Thank you for standing up to that individual Vince. Put me down for a T-shirt. I can honestly say the trotters now have six more supporters.
“A former employee of Vince added: ‘I’d just like to say that I’m fully in support of what Ken is saying and from experience with working for ecotricity and having been in meetings with Dale, I’d fully agree with what Ken is saying about Dale and his egotistical ways. It’s a real kick in the teeth to many when the day after over 100 employees were made redundant at Ecotricity last summer (FGR) then signed George Williams the next day!”
As I have mentioned in the past, a great deal of what is written in the local and national press is factually incorrect and for that reason alone, I thought I would correct some of the recent fiction. As no doubt, you have noticed that to protect themselves they often say a source or an insider. If that is the case they need to review their sources and insiders (sic) credibility.
1) Dean and I did not pay £1 for the club. We paid £1 plus the debts which as everyone knows were substantial.
2) Dean and I did not take out a £4.4m loan to cover tax debts.
3) I did not pay £150,000 for my shares, it was substantially more than that.
4) The Club did not pay me consultancy fees of £525,000 in 2017. This spanned 2016 and 2017 and included promotion bonuses.
5) As far as I am aware no players have asked for a transfer. Furthermore, we have not received any offers for players.
6) The PFA did not pay the November player salaries.
7) No players have been signed without the manager’s approval. The manager decides who we sign not me.
8) We did not owe £300,000 to Heathcotes/SCC Catering in December and they did not issue a writ.
9) I am not resident in Switzerland, I am a Monaco resident.
Anderson also included, in full, his web-notes published on the official website on Wednesday afternoon.
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