A week that started so well, has ended with Bolton fans shocked and worried, as the financial accounts for 2010 reveal huge losses.

After the weekend demolition of Tottenham Hotspur, things were looking promising for Bolton Wanderers.

Kevin Davies and Gary Cahill impressed in front of Don Capello.
Gareth Bale is still trying to find his way out of Steinsson's pocket
Stuart Holden enhanced his reputation as one of the best all-round midfielders playing outside the top five clubs.

By Wednesday night we were seconds away from another three points, this time at Goodison Park- never usually a happy hunting ground.

But if Jermaine Beckford's last minute strike was a kick in the teeth, the bigger kick came the day before.

When news broke that the latest financial reports showed losses across the board that have left Bolton with a staggering net debt of £93m- our fans took a deep in-take of breath.

Being in the red is nothing out of the ordinary for the Wanderers, ambition costs money, we've had ambition for years, and for the size of our club, to have remained in the Premier League for ten years is a remarkable achievement. But has it come at a price?

In our current precarious position, Premier League football is no longer a luxury, far from it, it's a necessity.

The club showed their ambition again, removing the Ginger Gardner and bringing in former player and connoisseur of fine football- Owen Coyle.

The big turnover of staff cannot have helped our financial situation.

But when you look at the facts and realise that 86% of our annual turnover is spent on wages, you get a big idea where our problem lies.

We have a squad of 57 players(across senior and youth level)- and this will need to be cut as quickly as possible.

Club Chairman, Phil Gartside, attempted to allay worries of major crisis but was straight to the point admitting that the club may have to cash-in on prize-assets if a good enough offer comes in.

It would seem cashing in on Gary Cahill and replacing him as effectively but cheaply as possible will become of premium importance in January.

Selling Cahill would be nothing of a shock to me, his value will never be higher than it is in January(without a new contract) and it makes every bit of sense to cash in now.

GC is a superb defender, and destined to play for a top club. I'd argue anyone that he is the most technically gifted centre-back in the Premier League.

But as well as being able to bring in a 10M+ fee, he's a high earner and with his wages off the bill, it should ease the short-fall.

Elmander is another top earner who may make way. From the mid-week reports it appears he's reluctant to take a wage-cut- something I'm very disappointed about given that he has done nothing for the fair majority of his contract. If he remains his firm stance, trying to cash in on him in January will be again, of premium importance. Whether he will fetch much- if any- fee, given that his contract expires in six months time, is another situation altogether.

As well as the afformentioned players; Bogdan, Steinsson, Cohen, Samuel, Gardner, Riga, Lainton, J.O'Brien, A.O'Brien are all out of contract. I would hope the first two are given new deals- and if possible, there might still be a chance to cash in on one or two of the others in January.

Of course, things sound negative, selling-players, reducing debt, they are terms fans never want to here.

But take those players (Cahill and Elmander included) out of our team. Are we THAT much weaker?

Ricketts has always done a sterling job when required- and I'd expect us to have some money put aside to replace Cahill. Elmander has had a good run of form- but he'll still be one of the last names on our teamsheet, and he's far from irreplaceable.

Even without these players- we have a good young squad and a good manager, well capable of keeping with the top 10 in the Premier League.

The only concern is whether Owen Coyle see it this way.

He's an ambitious manager, and he's proven with Burnley, he has no problem walking away to a club that can match his ambitions.

If there is suddenly a short-fall of cash available to him- and he's being told to sell players, then we might have to be a tad concerned.

But a final, positive, point of importance is that the majority of our debt is owed to our owner, Bolton fan, Eddie Davies, OBE, and to his company, Burnden Leisure PLC.

While this doesn't excuse us from our debt, it eases the short-term burden. We don't run the risk with unstable and unhappy banks knocking on our doors demanding money or administration.

You can't sugarcoat it, the news this week isn't good, but I don't think we're (as you might say) "doing a Pompey" just yet.

We have the same Bolton-fan based stable board as we had last Sunday, when everything seemed rosy and perfect. We still have the same promising squad, the same brilliant manager.

The football is good, the results are good. Now we need the fans to come back. We can make a difference.

COYWM!