Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley hits out at the EFL for handling of situations at Bury and Bolton Wanderers
Lincoln boss Danny Cowley has hit out at the EFL over their handling of the situation at Bolton and Bury - with both clubs having uncertain futures.
Bury are yet to start the season after the League suspended their opening fixtures. The Shakers have until Friday to sort out their future of face their membership being revoked.
For Bolton, they were due to play Doncaster on Tuesday but the game was called off amidst fears from Wanderers about overusing their young players.
Cowley has stated that the cancelation of that fixture hands an advantage to Rovers - with Lincoln traveling to face Darren Moore's side in League One's early kick-off on Saturday.
Speaking to Lincolnshire Live, Cowley said: "It’s a huge disadvantage for us, there's no hiding place from that, and no doubt Darren Moore was here watching us.
"They’ve now had a free week while we’ve played five games this month so far. We’ve got nine games in a month and we’ve only got 18 players and have two long-term injuries.
"So what do I do on Friday? Do I cancel the game and let everyone know by social media?
"I’m perplexed and I’m disappointed by the EFL, but I genuinely feel sorry for Bolton and Bury. I feel sorry for their staff and players, I feel sorry for the people and the communities because I know how important these football clubs are to them.
"But I’m frustrated and annoyed that the EFL have allowed it to get to this stage. They have to do fit and proper tests to ensure the calibre of the person [to take over a club] is suitable. The EFL have got a lot to answer for.
"English football has the best pyramid system in the whole world. We have the Premier League, which is the best league in the world, and the EFL closely follows.
"But the situation now is hugely affecting the integrity of the competition."
Cowley has led Lincoln to three promotions up to Sky Bet League One and he admits that he 'feels sorry' for Doncaster who missed out on a fixture on Tuesday night.
"I feel sorry for Doncaster because they should have played. On the back of Bolton losing 5-0 to Tranmere on Saturday, there’s a good chance Doncaster would have won tonight."
Cowley continued to say that he had similar feelings towards his team, with MK Dons seeing their opening day fixture against Bury called off.
"I feel sorry for us because MK Dons have played 25 per cent less than us because they didn’t play Bury on the first day of the season.
"So there are huge issues with the integrity of the division. A league should be a level playing field and it’s not a level playing field."
The EFL recently expressed its continued frustration with the lack of progress in safeguarding Bury's future.
They were forced to call off the game against Tranmere this weekend - while Sheffield Wednesday were awarded the Carabao Cup first round tie between the two clubs which hasn't been played.
In a statement, they said: "The EFL board continues to be frustrated at the lack of significant progress that has been made by Mr (Steve) Dale in providing the information required.
"However, we will continue to work with the current ownership in an attempt to achieve a resolution ahead of the Notice of Withdrawal deadline of Friday August 23.
"It (the EFL) remains in regular communication with Mr Dale but if a solution is not found by the deadline, the board will authorise the necessary share transfer on behalf of Bury FC which shall be legally binding on all parties and result, regretfully, in the club no longer being a member of the League," added the League's statement.
"Should this happen, Bury's record from the 2019/20 season would be expunged."
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