MX23RW : Tuesday, November 5 23:45:52| >> :600:179024:179024:

Phil Parkinson tells Laurence Bassini to 'leave Bolton Wanderers alone'

Phil Parkinson tells Laurence Bassini to 'leave Bolton alone'
© Reuters
A rival takeover bid by Football Ventures was halted in the courts by Bassini on Thursday.

Phil Parkinson made an impassioned plea to would-be Bolton owner Laurence Bassini to "leave this great club alone" after Wanderers' youngest team in its history earned a 0-0 Sky Bet League One draw against Coventry.

Parkinson's squad, with an average age of just over 19, including 17-year-old rookie goalkeeper Matthew Alexander, received a standing ovation from the fans at the final whistle.

Bolton's protracted summer-long takeover bid by Football Ventures had been near to completion when Bassini was awarded a court order blocking the sale last Thursday.

"It has gone on for too long," added Parkinson. "It can't be this week, next week, it's got to be now.

"Mr Bassini can you just leave this great club alone and let everyone get on with helping rebuild this club back again.

"I can't fathom it out and we just don't need it.

"The supporters have done their bit. They came down in their numbers to Wycombe and they queued up in the rain on Friday to buy tickets for this game.

"Now, it is up to the people behind the scenes to sort this out and get it back going again.

"If this was a TV drama and some of the things that have happened, people would stop watching it because they would say it was too unbelievable; it was too far-fetched.

"That's how ridiculous some of the situations have been, none more so than Thursday."

On his team's courageous display Parkinson added: "We said before the game we wanted the supporters to be driving away from the ground talking about our young players, collectively and individually. And they will have done that."

Coventry had three goals disallowed for offside by referee James Adcock and his officials.

"The gods were with us but I think the club deserved that," added Parkinson.

Coventry manager Mark Robins did not attend the after-match press conference.

ID:367730: cacheID:367730:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3124:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
General view of Birmingham City's St Andrew's taken 2016
Read Next:
Coventry to play 'home' matches at Birmingham's St Andrew's next season
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Wycombe WanderersWycombe1392231161529
2Birmingham CityBirmingham1292123111229
3Wrexham1374221101125
4Mansfield TownMansfield127322014624
5Lincoln CityLincoln137332016424
6Bolton WanderersBolton137242219323
7Huddersfield TownHuddersfield137151912722
8Barnsley136432118322
9Reading137152120122
10Stockport CountyStockport145632017321
11Exeter CityExeter126151310319
12Charlton AthleticCharlton135441514119
13Peterborough UnitedPeterborough145362526-118
14Rotherham UnitedRotherham144551416-217
15Stevenage145271015-517
16Blackpool134452125-416
17Bristol Rovers135171520-516
18Northampton TownNorthampton134361720-315
19Wigan AthleticWigan133551211114
20Leyton Orient133281118-711
21Crawley TownCrawley143291225-1311
22Cambridge UnitedCambridge123181117-610
23Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury1422101325-128
24Burton Albion130581325-125


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!