League Championship side Bolton Wanderers Owner EDDIE DAVIES reportedly gave the club a £5M ($6.6M) loan to help it "avoid administration four days before his death." Documents filed at Companies House show Davies signed the loan on Sept. 7. The money was used to pay off Bolton's main creditor BluMarble Capital Ltd., which "rejected a first repayment offer" (BBC, 9/20). ... League Championship side Aston Villa sacked IAN ATKINS, the club's European scout, in a "major cull" of the recruitment department. Atkins is the "most high-profile casualty," with Villa axing at least five others "in a surprise move." Villa is "making huge cuts" to the staff appointed by former Technical Dir STEVE ROUND (London TELEGRAPH, 9/19). ... Former Olympic and world championship medal winner RENÉ WOLFF will take over as Cycling New Zealand's sprint coach. He will replace ANTHONY PEDEN, who left the organization in the wake of an investigation into the culture of the sports body "amid allegations of bullying and inappropriate behaviour." Wolff "steered the Dutch national team at the last two Olympic Games" (NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 9/20). ... Former test cricketer SHANE WATSON does not want DAVID WARNER to be "lost to the game" in Australia, urging Cricket Australia to "welcome the controversial opener back to the fold after he completes his suspension." Watson publicly endorsed Warner's return next year, saying that Australian cricket "could not afford to lose a player of his quality" (THE AGE, 9/19).
