After all of yesterday's drama and an apparent end to the misery that has surrounded Bolton Wanderers for the last few months, it's easy for every supporter to feel relived and overjoyed that our great club may finally be able to look to the future again.
However, yesterday wasn't all sunshine and rainbows and there was one moment in particular that stuck in the craw of a lot of supporters. Out-going owner, Eddie Davies, has been made Club President of Bolton Wanderers and his comments after the game about how "we saved the club" certainly rubbed a decent number of supporters up the wrong way.
To get a grasp of how Bolton Wanderers fans think about Eddie Davies I turned to Twitter and some of LovS' comment sections to get some words from other supporters.
Most people replied to me saying that their thoughts on him consisted of two words and weren't really fit for print but some, however, did get in touch and this is what they had to say:
Dave Crompton @Bwfcview, said:
""We've saved bwfc and it's in good hands" words of the newly appointed BWFC Club President. Yes, that's right, it seems Eddie Davies' ego has taken another boost as his current mission seems to make sure we never forget him. Today should never have been as nerve wrecking as it was. The sale of the club went down to the last hour, in fact 30 minutes before we were due in court. We have made £10m+ on the sales of assets in the past two weeks and this should have paid the tax man off at the earliest opportunity. But Davies seems to have pocketed that money and take a suicidal risk which luckily we managed to get through.
Eddie is claiming to have saved the club, but as someone pointed out on twitter earlier today, that's like shooting someone and claiming to have saved their life because you took them to hospital. You haven't saved anything. Sunning himself in Barbados at a time where a make or break deal is trying to be made, isn't the type of action of someone who "loves" the club, more of someone who couldn't really give a shit!
I will never forget the times in Europe, the Premier League era and a Bolton team containing the likes of Okocha, Djorkaeff and Hierro. But now the name Eddie Davies will leave a bitter taste in my mouth, just as Michael Ricketts' does. In the past 2 months, for me, Eddie Davies has gone from Hero to Zero. Don't let the door hit you on the arse on the way out, now just fuck off."
Harry Gavaghan, @harrygavaghan, said:
I think the popular opinion going round at the moment is that Eddie has caused a lot of pain over the last few years, and although this is true, I think it more than overshadows the great times the man has brought us. European Football, Some top quality players, and the most successful time in our history. We can't forget the facts. And let's be honest, anyone that writes off £180m debt has got to get some recognition?
I do, however, feel that making ED the club president was quite a bad move. He has been a major figure in the good times, but after the recent near-demise of BWFC I feel that it will have a negative impact on the fans in the long run.
I'm as upset as anyone with the current off-field antics, and I'm not quite sure what to think of the SportsShield Consortium, but hopefully things turn good.
Sam, @TheSamGASM, said:
It all felt like a marriage; started off too well before it had a bitter end, with each party wanting to take what they could from one another.
The following are comments from site visitors from LOVS articles, published before Monday's court hearing:
Keith693, said:
From farce to tragedy. It may well be a farce at the moment but it is fast turning into a tragedy. The dithering over selling the club is indeed farcical but the selling of the hotel, training ground and car park is a real tragedy. At this rate there will be precious little left for any new owners to buy. it's like putting your house up for sale and stripping out every last bit of it that you can with a screwdriver , and selling your driveway and garage to the bloke in the next street before you'll let someone buy the house!!!!
Skopelos replied to that with:
And then insisting the house is named after you in neon lights and the owner has to contract to still pay you rent for 25 years!
BurndenBarker, said:
And we ALL thought Phil Gartside was the bad guy......... We've all realised who the villan of this piece is !!!!
EDDIE DAVIES THE SOONER WE ARE RID OF YOU THE BETTER
Name a suite after him......... It's more appropriate to name a cell after him !!!!
Robmoss, said:
He's the man who bequeathed us £172.9m and kept the club afloat when it was needed. He could have sold it without the guarantees he wanted in place and we'd have been dumped straight into administration on day one by the new owners. That would have killed his legacy. It's not his fault that it took the BWFCST to make a bid in order for the minds of the rival bidders to be focussed into being serious.
Blackpool White, said:
"A fckn suite after him you couldn't even polish a turd right now with his name. Petulance isn't the word. All this talk of a takeover is bollox The cock wants to drag this out so we get the high court adjourned again......
He also wants bonuses if Wanderers play in the championship before 2021, greedy bastard why don't you just fck off. I put it to you Eddie the cock Davies. You DO NOT have the clubs best interests at heart. Right off debt which are over the top interest payments."
awanderer, said:
I wish he'd just do a straight honest deal then just walk away. He's had his time. He doesn't want to continue funding the club so just leave. Carry on with the Kettles!
The way he's playing around with the immediate future of club means he's lost the respect he perhaps once had.
He doesn't deserve a suite named after him. If he wants to be egotistical he could and should have done that in the glory days when he had the opportunity.
I am starting to wonder if he is actually of sound mind? But I think he knows EXACTLY what he's doing. Too many delaying tactics and unreasonable conditions of sale.
Finally, aussiemike, said:
Davies should not be given credit for the years we had at the top table, Sam Allardyce and the squad he assembled at that time deserve all the credit along with SKY who threw the best part of £500 million at the club during our tenure in the premiership. In contrast Davies simply found himself in the right place at the right time, an outstanding £5 million loan from the Co-op provided Gartside and his mate Davies to grab outright ownership rights, and the Chairman's role , with Bob Hargreaves the victim.
Moving forward at a time the club had no recorded debts, Davies systematically drew £millions from the club over the passing years into companies he owned as commission payments and similar, I would not be surprised if he received far more than he ever put into the club. Current events surrounding the car park sale have his DNA written all over it, as a football club on the edge of extinction desperate for a large injection of capital to pay off HMRC and cover outgoings for the remainder of the season, instead of taking a straight sale on land that has a reported market value of £20 million ( a commercial lawyer quoted that figure ) solving our immediate financial problems in a single hit, Davies choses to dabble in a long term development venture using the clubs assets as collateral, while accepting a pittance up front for the land.
It should come as no surprise that Davies is a director with a Brazilian commercial development company specialising in shopping developments, more than an unfortunate coincidence ?. How the fuck is that deal good for the club ? I am forced to assume Davies and others will be in receipt of financial rewards when the development is up and running, as for the club ? - does he care ? he has played everyone as pawns in his own game, while the end game raises it head over the next few days. Maybe events have finally caught up with him and he can no longer continue fooling everyone, we might get new owners appointed this Friday or he might achieve another stay of execution in the court next Monday, whatever transpires I expect his own interests will be paramount, over and above those of the club.
If you'd like to add your own thoughts on Eddie Davies, positive or negative, than please write them in the comments below.