Demin funds redesign to make lowly Bournemouth fashionable

Demin funds redesign to make lowly Bournemouth fashionable

With all the talk of football's finances
hitting the buffers, one League One club have
been spending money like it is going out of
fashion.
After years of hardship, Bournemouth
somehow spent more during the January
transfer window than Manchester City,
Manchester United, Tottenham, Arsenal and
Liverpool combined.
Last month was like no other for their fans,
who are more used to fearing which players
they will lose, rather than who they might
buy. Manager Lee Bradbury laid out an
estimated £1.65m – including £800,000 for
Crawley striker Matt Tubbs. Reports also
suggested Bradbury had a £1.2m bid rejected
for Swindon winger Matt Ritchie.
Considering Bournemouth's previous transfer
record was the £210,000 they paid for Gavin
Peacock in 1989, these are astounding
figures and a far cry from the dark decades
of debt that have hung over the club since
former manager Harry Redknapp splashed
out money to attain second-tier football in
the late 1980s.
So what has changed? The club appear to
have had an influx of money from a
mysterious Russian businessman called
Maxim Demin. Little is known about the
multimillionaire petrochemicals trader, who
owns a £5m mansion in Dorset's exclusive
Sandbanks district, and he has said nothing
publicly since buying a 50 per cent stake in
Bournemouth last October.
Signs on and off the pitch appear promising,
though. The club recently made two bids to
buy back their Dean Court stadium – sold in
2005 to raise money – which has also been
spruced up. Around £600,000 is being
invested on training facilities, while chairman
Eddie Mitchell, who brought Demin into the
club after spending 18 months wooing him,
has plans to build a fourth stand, complete
with hotel.
On the playing side, other recent signings
include current top-scorer Wes Thomas
(£175,000 from Crawley), Leyton Orient
left-back Charlie Daniels (£175,000),
Brighton defender Steve Cook (£170,000),
former Manchester City winger Donal
McDermott (£175,000) and Wolves' England
Under-19 midfielder Scott Malone
(£150,000).
The new recruits should form the basis for an
assault on the Championship, if not this
season then next, and have helped the side
rise from relegation candidates to play-off
hopefuls in League One. But how far can a
club this size go? The average attendance
this season is under 6,000, with the maximum
possible until a fourth stand is built less than
10,000.
Bournemouth are the perennial third-tier
club, and have spent just three seasons
above it. But, considering the size of the
catchment area, fans have long believed
they punch below their weight. They
watched enviously as lower-league
opponents such as Blackpool and Reading
were transformed into Championship clubs
who then enjoyed spells in the top flight.
But will Bournemouth be a success story like
those, or overspend and wilt like Leeds and
Plymouth? Mitchell – who came in for
criticism earlier this season for coming on to
the pitch at the end of a game to challenge
supporters, and told critics if they didn't like
what he was doing to the club they "should
go and support Southampton" – is now
making all the right noises with Demin's
apparent backing.
He said: "The club belongs to the supporters
– and myself and Max are managing it. We
have a bigger conurbation than a lot of
Championship clubs and need to get people
through the turnstiles. That would enable us
to build the fourth stand and help us continue
to go through the leagues. It is probably far-
fetched to talk of anything above going into
the Championship but I have always aimed
as high as possible and nothing is impossible."
Unsurprisingly for a club that has lived
through plenty of turmoil, fans cannot agree
whether this new investment is good or bad.
Views range from blind optimism to out-and-
out cynicism, with many in between who
believe there is little to lose.
Charlie Squires, a 48-year-old site manager
from Bournemouth, has been supporting the
club for 36 years. He said: "We have had
years of being poor, and on the verge of going
bust. I'm delighted to see us making bids for
quality players, rather than hoovering up
ones who aren't wanted elsewhere."
However, there will always be those who
do not want to see the club spending beyond
its means. IT consultant Stuart Bramley, 37,
has been a supporter since 1985, and admits
he enjoys supporting the plucky underdog. "I
didn't like seeing Wigan, Reading, Fulham,
Crawley or anyone else buying their way up
leagues and I don't like seeing my club
apparently heading down the same path" he
said. "I don't care for chasing rainbows – I just
want my club to be run in a sustainable way
so it will still be there for my children and
grandchildren to support. The game is littered
with examples of what can happen when
investment dreams turn sour."
Many Bournemouth fans hope for the best
while expecting the worst.
Derek Timoney, 57, is a former chairman of
the AFC Bournemouth Supporters' Trust. He
speaks for many when he said: "As long as
the money invested in the club is not down
to loans that can be called in at any time
risking the club's existence I suspect most
fans are happy to see the investment after
long years of struggling and constant fear of
financial problems. It would be nice,
however, to actually see Mr Demin address
the fans and answer some of the questions
that need answering."
Over to you, Mr Demin.