BOLTON Wanderers' chairman Ken Anderson has every right to criticise The Bolton News as he did this week.

That's because we live in a free country where opinions should be heard, considered, in some cases dissected and often debated in order to learn more about the people and organisations that affect our lives.

And, if it is appropriate, they should be commented upon – like I'm doing here you might say.

Mr Anderson is apparently unhappy with what he regards as negative reporting by the town's newspaper of Wanderers' financial situation.

He also believes that what he perceives as this negative reporting of the finances at his club is repeated too frequently.

While he does not name The Bolton News he does refer to "the local press" and says it "seems to be repeated in every article".

While The Bolton News is not the only media outlet that writes articles about Wanderers – there are also fan-related websites – we are the only ones that could be described as 'local press' and we have led the way in the reporting of Wanderers' financial problems over the last few years, so it is reasonable to assume he is referring to this newspaper.

In the interests of clarity, Mr Anderson's exact words, which were published on the club's official website on October 1, were: “A lot has been mentioned in the local press about ‘off-field financial problems’ which is getting increasingly frustrating. It seems to be repeated in every article at the moment yet they seem to forget where the club was financially two years ago.

“The continuous negativity about the ‘financial problems’ and the manager’s perceived defensive style of play does not help anyone and hopefully the people concerned will move on and write about some of the positives going forward for a change.

“I do accept the media’s right to be an independent voice but I do not understand certain individuals’ apparent need to regularly repeat the same negativity on an almost daily basis both in print and on social media.”

All welcome opinion to be thrown in the mix and discussed.

So let's discuss.

I disagree with Mr Anderson. No surprise there you might say coming from the head of sport at the newspaper who works closely with one of the 'individuals' he is undoubtedly referring to in the final sentence of his quotes above.

I believe our coverage of Wanderers' financial situation has been second to none over the last few years when the club has repeatedly sunk so deep into the financial mire supporters have been fearful whether Wanderers were on the brink of suffering a collapse from which they may not recover for many years, if not decades.

I spend a lot of time in the town doing various activities and live on the periphery in Radcliffe and I am forever being told by Wanderers fans that they are worried about the future of the club because of the money troubles.

The question I get asked more than any other is: "What is happening at our club?" And those six words in a nutshell are the answer to Mr Anderson's criticism.

We write the stories to tell the people of the town – the ones who matter most in all this scenario – what is happening to their club.

That's our role and it is our responsibility to try our utmost to do it fairly, accurately, totally without bias or agenda and with the correct tone, context and balance at all times. I am very pleased to say I believe this has been achieved so far and I am confident it will continue to be.

I must say at this juncture I know I am doing the exact thing Mr Anderson has criticised the newspaper for in bringing up the financial situation at the club again, but I would argue it is fair and honest comment in response to his comments.

To be fair to Mr Anderson he does accept the media should be an independent voice (there are many people who run football clubs who don't think the same I can tell you).

I would query his other points that the club's off-field financial problems seem to be repeated in every article, that our writer has an apparent need to regularly repeat the same negativity on an almost daily basis, and that the newspaper has forgotten where the club was financially two years ago.

A quick look through the last 20 Wanderers articles in The Bolton News leading up to Mr Anderson's comments show that six of them made any mention of financial issues.

One was in a match verdict and said: "Events on and off the pitch have tested fans' belief of late," while the others mentioned a pay dispute between three former players and Mr Anderson and how it could potentially block the registration of new signing Lloyd Dyer, which I would argue were all news.

Six out of 20 is hardly every article and, to be honest, I got bored of looking through more articles but a glance at the headlines suggested they were unlikely to contain reference to Wanderers' off-field financial problems, although please tell me if I'm wrong.

The references were brief and none suggested a "need to regularly repeat the same negativity".

On the third point, if Mr Anderson is concerned the paper has forgotten where the club was financially two years ago the offer to be interviewed on the subject is always open.