AFCB Vital Blogs

Max and the Money: In Praise of Bournemouth’s Backer

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Written by kirsikka

In the words of the philosopher Vinny Jones in his seminal celluloid work Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, “It’s been emotional”.

AFCB fan feelings have been riding high of late for many reasons. The world situation had everyone on edge followed by weeks of isolation only for our mood to be discoloured further by three horrendous performances following the restart. Even though our levels picked up we fell just short and so were hit with another blow from relegation. Feeling like we were punch drunk but maybe, just maybe, about to find our legs again and reassess for the future then the Eddie Howe haymaker landed and boom. The outpourings on here have been indicative of a fan base on the canvas.

In such circumstances, it’s common to lash out at any and all targets and one of those that’s picked up some grief in places is AFC Bournemouth owner Max Demin. Sure, some are still keeping their powder dry but somehow it feels like there’s the underlying sound of metaphorical knives being sharpened and, in some quarters, Max’s name being carved on the blade.

We all know this could go horribly wrong from here. Nobody is denying it. There’s something I can’t get away from though.

If Max wants to sell up the squad and pocket the money along with the parachute payments to reimburse himself and make a profit out of the AFCB experience then that’s his right. We might not like it. In fact, we’ll be incandescent with rage about it but take a step back. It’s his money. If he wants it back we’ve no course for real complaint. In that case, it should be thanks for the incredible adventure, one I never thought I’d be going on as an AFCB fan.

I’m reminded of when I used to work with a massive Celtic fan in about 2005. I know nothing about their owners but he was telling me the guy then was absolutely minted and their fans were raging that he wasn’t funding them more. His take on it was ‘It’s his money. If he wants to put some of it into the club then fantastic and I thank him for it but nobody should be angry that he isn’t sinking his fortune into a football team’. Wise and self-aware words you often don’t see possessed by the most hardcore of football fans and trust me he was that.

So far Max has been what I consider to be almost the perfect owner. He’s put money in. He’s backed his manager financially. He’s backed his manager to stay in the job at times when many other owners would have pulled the trigger. He’s kept out of the limelight so it’s stayed about the club and the football rather than him.

I understand people complaining about the stadium and the training facilities but that isn’t his fault. He’s put up a bunch of money since we got promoted, despite all the Premier League tv income. If the manager and managing director decide to prioritise spending on the squad over facilities that isn’t on him. He’s trusting the professionals to make the right decision. Whether they did or not is debatable. We could easily have had one or two seasons in the PL and now be sitting with a white elephant bigger stadium in the Championship/League 1/League 2 wondering why we didn’t sign Benik Afobe in that first season January window or something similar.

Having said all of the above, at no point has Max given the indication he’s about to cash out. Demin has made a clear and unequivocal statement that he intends to back us to try and get back into the PL. In his whole tenure, when so far has he not delivered on the money front? So why suddenly doubt him now? Time will tell but he’s more than earned the benefit of the doubt.

If Max had been born in Pokesdown and maintained a high profile public presence, after the money he’s put into the club and the success it’s helped to bring, he would be lauded on here as much as the other part of the double act. I’m sorry Jason Tindall, the real duo behind the rise was Eddie and Max. Because of his place of birth and wanting some privacy somehow it feels like he doesn’t get the gratitude that he should from the AFCB faithful. Even now there’s still some kind of air of suspicion about him and what he might do.

I don’t know what the future will bring. I don’t know what Max is really thinking. I hope he continues to back us the way he has before but please don’t start questioning him before he’s even made his first post-relegation move.

As I said before though if he does decide to take the money and run can we really criticise him when all he is walking away with is his own money? It would still have been an absolute blast that I’ll be able to enjoy looking back on for the rest of my life. I don’t think the stories over for Max though. This is more end of Part 1 with Part 2 about to kick off. Let’s hope the sequel lives up to the original.

Oh, and let’s start giving the guy his due. Max Demin, I thank and salute you.

Your say…

SlowDownDerek wrote…

Good post and I agree with pretty much all of it.

It was suggested that it was Demin’s decision to shelve the expansion plan because we didn’t own the ground. You can’t necessarily fault his decision not to buy the ground back because the price that David Pearl was asking was reputedly way too high – Pearl attempting to get his share of the PL jackpot. Yet, Demin’s logic on not building an “extension on a house you don’t own” was always a poor analogy and flawed logic.

Not my money though so easy for me to say and there’s certainly plenty on here who wanted to spend tens of millions of his cash without a care in the world. – Join the conversation, click here.

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