Yesterday, Bolton Wanderers published the Retained List, which was really more of a who's who of players leaving the club. Jussi Jaaskelainen and Zat Knight were also mentioned in that announcement, saying that the club was currently in contract discussions with them, while Sam Ricketts and Kevin Davies have signed new contracts. However in all of this one of our best players of the past season was not mentioned at all. The club was mum about Martin Petrov. Luckily our chairman has been less than mum and taken to the Twitters.

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We got the bad news out of the way early today as the club announced the players that were definitely on their way out. As the exits have been tallied, it is now time for the club to start the rebuilding process. They've done this by extending the contracts of two fan favorites who will lead the charge back to the Premier League for Bolton Wanderers.

We reported last week that Super Kevin Davies had signed a new contract with Bolton and now it's been officially confirmed. Kevin Davies will be with Bolton Wanderers for at least one more year while versatile defender Samuel Ricketts has re-upped for two.

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We've been waiting all week for this day. Bolton Wanderers have released the retained list, which should probably be called the Players Leaving List, and now we have a better idea of the squad, the holes that Owen Coyle will have to fill, and what the club has to work with going into the Championship. The list contains a lot of youth players who never made an impact on the team that much, and some older players who probably were on their way out anyway. But there are also some real losses in there, but sentimentally and purely football wise. Without further ado...

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Bolton News reporter Marc Iles tends not to write something unless he's certain and as a result, has become a good source of Bolton Wanderers news. In a reply he tweeted today, this is the list of players that we know have left Bolton Wanderers so far (not including reserve youngsters).

• Gretar Steinsson
• Nigel Reo-Coker
• Robbie Blake
• Ricardo Gardner
• Ivan Klasnic
• Paul Robinson
• Mark Connolly
• Sean Davis
• Jussi Jaaskelainen (probably gone)
• Zatyiah Knight (probably gone)

Apart from Nigel Reo-Coker and arguably Ivan Klasnic & Jussi Jaaskelainen, a lot of those players we can honestly say we won't really miss. Ricardo Gardner was a great servant to the club but unfortunately injury issues and age caught up with him.

The trouble with recovery from relegation is usually exacerbated by the rumour mill. Some players are definitely gone (Ivan Klasnic among them). Some players are definitely staying (Samuel Ricketts has placed his marker down). But many players (usually the relegated club's best players) live in the ether for weeks, if not months. Neither here nor gone, they leave uncertainty and doubt in the minds of the manager and the supporters. Gretar Steinsson appears to be falling into this vortex.

The Icelandic international has been a solid player for Bolton Wanderers. He has had spectacular moments, as well as a few mishaps he'd rather forget. His massive wages (Funny how Gary Megson claimed he had cut the wage bill) and now-finished contract always made him a strong candidate to depart. The club have offered him a new deal, at reduced wages, which he appears likely to reject, though he has apparently not done so just yet. I always rated him, but his inconsistency under Coyle has seem him fall just short of claiming the right back shirt on a permanent basis. Bolton have three other right backs under contract, so we can afford to let him go, and wish him the best of luck.

Relegation is a big loss not only to the fans but to the club as well when speaking financially. The drop alone means a £25 million loss from TV revenue alone. Then you have the loss that comes from reduced gate turnover as we can most definitely expect lower attendance numbers in the Championship. As a result, Bolton will be forced to cut their wage bill down, by a lot.

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Yesterday, we broke the story of reserves player Mark Connoll leaving the club. Today's loss is a little more grave. Ivan Klasnic, resident fox in the box, number 17, goal machine, announced his exit on his official website. The Croat first came to the club on loan from Nantes for the 2009-10 season, a loan which then turned into a two year contract. However that contract ran out at the end of this season, and given Bolton's relegation, he chose not to extend.

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And so it begins. Bolton Wanderers will be having a tumultuous summer, I have no doubt that many players will leave due to relegation and I hope Owen Coyle will be bringing in young, promising players to begin to rebuild the club and get us back in the Premiership. Today, just two days after the club dropped, the first player has packed up his bags to ply his trade in greener pastures. Mark Connolly, defender, Republic of Ireland U21 player, and captain of the reserves has revealed today that he will be leaving the club.

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