If you are around the good folk of people in Bolton for an hour or so you will hear the phrase, "it is what it is" quite a lot.

There is no point in retrospective analysis now. Pace or ALK need to come clean and tell us exactly what it is we are facing and whether they intend to stay and rebuild from the ground up.

Pace has already said we must sell to survive, the sales of Pope, Brownhill, Cornet and McNeil will steady the ship, after that it's anybody's guess.

The future of the Academy is under threat, what is going to happen to the 50 odd young professionals Pace & Co had put so much faith in?

Unless real positive vibes come out of our newish owners and are quickly followed with positive action, sinkov's "Black Hole" will include more than just Gawthorpe.