PHIL Gartside voiced his frustrations this week when he questioned whether the town of Bolton really wants a successful football team.

The Wanderers' chairman has become increasingly perturbed at the attendance figures at the Reebok, despite the team spending much of the season in second spot, and believes Boltonians are not doing their bit.

"Bolton is a very large town but the vast majority do not seem to want a successful soccer team," he claimed in his message to fans in the programme for Tuesday night's derby duel with Stockport.

"The board are extremely grateful for the support we receive from the core support, which seems to have risen to an average of around 14,000.

"I am sure all of you are all as surprised as I am that it is only 14,000, however, and we all must wonder what we have to do to raise that number to the levels that our other local clubs seem to be able to attract."

Wanderers deserve 10 out of 10 for effort in trying to attract bigger crowds to the Reebok. A range of schemes, including early purchase discounts and half prices for children, boosted season ticket sales last summer and the club's pledge to listen to fans saw the 'Seats for a Fiver - Family Fun Night' initiative attract a season's best 24,249 for the recent midweek fixture against Grimsby.

The commitment to lobby and listen to supporters through the Fans Focus Groups has also resulted in changes at the Reebok for next season, which will include the conversion of the lower tier of the North Stand into a 'singing section' and the creation of a second family area in the lower tier of the north end of the West Stand.

And TeamCard, the revolutionary combined season ticket and loyalty card, will be central to next season's packages when they are announced next week.

So if the team is doing well and the club is trying its best to satisfy the demands of fans, why do Wanderers trail eighth in the First Division attendance league behind Nottingham Forest, Birmingham, Blackburn, Wolves, West Brom, Sheffield Wednesday and Crystal Palace?

Evening News reader and fan Mr T J Ashley of Hulton Lane suggests the answer is in the balance sheet: "If you talk to the fans, you will find that they feel they have been let down, not by the manager or the team, but by the Board of Directors and Burnden plc.

Figures

"The figures just don't add up. We are told again that there is no money for players. Last year the fans were told that Burnden plc was £24m in the red.

"Sale of players (Gudjohnson, Jensen and Fish etc) brought in about £9.5m and about £2m was spent on new players (mostly small fees or free transfers) who could not command a place in the teams from which they came. So the £24m arrears should have gone down, but we are now told that the deficit is £30m. Where is all the transfer money going? Certainly not on some quality players for which a fee is required.

"Sam stated before the transfer deadline that they needed another striker and one other player. Sam has been badly let down by Burnden Leisure plc and the board of directors.

"Both tell us that Premiership football is their priority but their actions suggest the opposite.

"The present team is not a patch on the team a few years ago that got 98 points and 100 goals. They couldn't keep in the Premier League, so what makes you think that this team could stay up?"