SO Bolton Wanderers are confident that they are continuing to strike the right balance.

How reassuring for the fans that Burnden Leisure, the club's parent group, is happy that if the club is relegated into the Nationwide League they will not be hamstrung by expensive long-term contracts.

It inspires confidence to note that the club's progress is measured by comparison to the fact that not since the early 1960s has it 'enjoyed more than two successive seasons in the top flight.'

Having been a supporter since before the early 1960s, that scarcely sets my pulse racing.

Don't get me wrong, in the harsh economic climate that is the current world of football, I do agree with financial prudence.

There is no point in spending money you haven't got in pursuit of success which you cannot realistically hope to achieve. Ask any number of former club chairmen or managers.

But whatever happened to ambition or retrenchment?

I have enjoyed the silky skills of Jay-Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff but how can any manager build a settled and successful team by bringing in players who are only here for one season?

Bolton's policy of signing players on short-term contracts or loans seems founded on a strategy and a premise that the club is only looking at short-term survival in the Premiership.

For decades, a string of managers have had to preside over the board's policy of asset-stripping, as a succession of our best players have been sold off.

Never once has the club said it intends to retain its best players and build for the future. Could it be that the Bolton board regard being a 'yo-yo-team' between the Nationwide and Premiership leagues as a success?

After all, it brings in extra revenue during a short stay in the top flight, a 'parachute payment' when relegated, and the prospect of larger crowds in the customary fight for promotion or survival.

I remember the bad old days of empty terraces at Burnden Park and rejoice in the overall progress the club has made since the dark days of Divisions Three and Four.

But I would like someone to tell me where the club is going? What is our aim and purpose? Are we really content to live only for today? What about tomorrow?

Football fans long for a successful team to support and don't necessarily share the accountant's delight with a healthy balance sheet. Is it not possible to have both?

Can anyone tell me if, when and how the millstone of debt is to be removed from the club's neck? Can anyone tell me if, when and how we are to build a team for stability and success? Come on Bolton, what is the big picture?

West Stand View

(Name and address supplied)