AFC Bournemouth: ‘shoo-in’ chairman explains the club’s philosophy
Bournemouth are in the Barclays Premier League. Eddie Howe, the manager, and Maxim Demin, the Russian billionaire owner, are the club’s driving forces. But club chairman Jeff Mostyn recalls how close the club came to going out of business. He tells the Times:
“I was doing the mirror test — stick a mirror in front of someone’s mouth and if it steams up they’re alive and a suitable buyer — but we could not find anyone. It was ludicrous. I got home that night and Rose said, ‘I know what you’ve done.’ In that room, knowing the reality that the club was about to be liquidated, I could not let it happen. So I signed the cheque.”
He outlines AFCBournemouth’s transfer poilicy:
“One man is not going to make a team, but one man can destroy it if he upsets the equilibrium in the dressing room.”
When Demin bought out Eddie Mitchell in 2013, he held a board meeting in Moscow. He called Mostyn:
“He rang me and said, ‘Jeff, we’ve had a board meeting here and I’ve learnt two new words — shoo-in. You’re the new chairman.’ It’s probably unique that the manager has helped appoint the chairman.”
The Money:
“Some managers have been notorious for spending other people’s money and taking all the credit when it works, and leaving a financial nightmare behind when it doesn’t. Eddie respects that this is Maxim’s money.”
On the likeable and talented Eddie Howe:
“The ingredient that stands out in Eddie is his insatiable desire for self-improvement. Most managers, certainly Premier League managers, don’t look at self-improvement; they get to a level and believe that, as one of the world’s elite, they have all the ingredients. Eddie’s always got a book in his hand.”
I’m going to the match today. It’s going to be fantastic.
Posted: 8th, August 2015 | In: Reviews, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
