Max and the Money: In Praise of Our Backer

kirsikka

kirsikka

UTC Legend
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 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 Max. 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 complain 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 PL 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 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. He's 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, 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.
 
kirsikka said:
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 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 Max. 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 complain 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 PL 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 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. He's 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, 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.
Click to expand...
Couldn’t agree more. Who is criticising Max ? Or are you talking “social media channels” here ?
 
thegazzyb said:
Couldn’t agree more. Who is criticising Max ? Or are you talking “social media channels” here ?
Click to expand...

Yes, at the moment it's mostly on social media which is generally a cesspit anyway but there's still the occasional sideways dig you see here. Nothing too overt yet but, as I said, it's like some people are sharpening their knives.

As much as it may upset us if he walked away with the money he should still only get a thank you rather than grief after the financial risk he took with us.
 
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.
 
kirsikka said:
at no point has Max given the indication he's about to cash out. He's 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?
Click to expand...


It was the attempted buyout by the Saudis that set alarm bells ringing.
 
kirsikka said:
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 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 Max. 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 complain 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 PL 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 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. He's 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, 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.
Click to expand...
I would not criticise him if he wanted out. I would criticise him if he told the fans that he was committed when indeed his intention was just to get his money back. There is nothing at this point to suggest that’s true case though
 
kirsikka said:
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 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 Max. 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 complain 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 PL 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 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. He's 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, 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.
Click to expand...
All though I've enjoyed being in the premier league and for some he's been the perfect owner but not all. I'd have preferred to follow the Burnley or Norwich example and not spent so much on transfer fees and wages and looked after the long term interests of our club, I know some on here disagree with me and that's fine. And I don't think it's the manager or managing director that would have decided which direction the club is going in but maybe that's why Eddie decided to go, we'll probably never know.
 
Very happy with Max as owner. Don't think Eddie went without in the PL, we certainly spent enough of what was coming in.

In some ways I wish he was a bit stingier in that respect and kept some back to spend on the training ground etc (and increasing the value of his asset too)
 
bog_standard said:
All though I've enjoyed being in the premier league and for some he's been the perfect owner but not all. I'd have preferred to follow the Burnley or Norwich example and not spent so much on transfer fees and wages and looked after the long term interests of our club, I know some on here disagree with me and that's fine. And I don't think it's the manager or managing director that would have decided which direction the club is going in but maybe that's why Eddie decided to go, we'll probably never know.
Click to expand...

But with every penny that Eddie spent, of Max’s money, he would have known that it was players or infrastructure... So following your logic, doesn’t that make Eddie just as guilty...? He was the one that spent it... and in some cases, very badly...
 
Max helped us achieve a dream and we'll never forget that.
But with prodigal son gone the only way he can now win favour with the fans again is to build the training ground and buy the cheaper stadium we play in back. If he doesn't there's going to be alot of unrest as the fans aren't going to like whoever comes in and if we don't go up instantly the blame will fall on the board that's a fact. He was happy to invest in Fortuna Dusseldorf stadium and they have nowhere near the money that has come through this club the last 5 years. Time to back the club off the field.
 
Resevoir_Red said:
Max helped us achieve a dream and we'll never forget that.
But with prodigal son gone the only way he can now win favour with the fans again is to build the training ground and buy the cheaper stadium we play in back. If he doesn't there's going to be alot of unrest as the fans aren't going to like whoever comes in and if we don't go up instantly the blame will fall on the board that's a fact. He was happy to invest in Fortuna Dusseldorf stadium and they have nowhere near the money that has come through this club the last 5 years. Time to back the club off the field.
Click to expand...


We arrived in the prem at breakneck speed without getting off-the pitch sorted out. Most people thought we would get one season in the prem and then, having survived, thought it would be the “difficult second season” that would do us. We had 5 seasons. Why? We invested in players and I am sure we were starting to get infrastructure underway as seen by the training ground plans.

The strategy was clearly to stay in prem for a while and let infrastructure catch up. People may not like that strategy but to the owner that’s what he felt was best. Without covid and the appalling slump in form, the training ground would be well underway now. It’s not Max’s fault this happened. Maybe he was too loyal to Eddie in January but Eddie had earned the right to stay in the job and had started to turn around the home form; 7 points from 3 games pre lockdown was 25% of our 27 points pre Restart.

Eddie is the greatest manager we have ever had and probably will ever have. His achievements are beyond the stuff of dreams or words. I am disappointed he left but not distraught given the timing.

This wasn’t the Eddie of old, something had clearly gone wrong and the team was largely gutless post November. The lack of effort was shocking. Once that sets in it’s hard to turn it around; would it have fully changed if Eddie stayed? I am not sure. 2 years ago? Definitely.

Eddie moving on means the role of manager and duties can be better defined and distributed so they one man isn’t stretched like Eddie.

If Eddie had stayed and we started badly (likely given short turnaround) would it be better to sack him after 5 games? He wouldn’t deserve that. Conversely, with a good start would we have had the “will-he or won’t-he” circus as premier managers began to be sacked and Eddie’s name rightly appeared on the short list. Imagine the chaos losing him in October.

If Max wants afcb to get back to prem (and not lose tens of millions of his investment) we need to go up this season. This means covering post covid operating losses, lower tv money; and ensuring the squad is competitive. Parachute payments give us the edge of several distressed businesses in the championship. Build a training ground or pump that into the squad? The latter for me at this point. A second year in champ will see a further re-setting of the cost base.

Loved Eddie and we will miss him but I haven’t lost faith in max yet. This faith maybe misplaced as I know nothing of events at the club but imho it’s too soon to call that. Eddie leaving may just show how ambitious Max is.
 
Last edited:
Resevoir_Red said:
Max helped us achieve a dream and we'll never forget that.
But with prodigal son gone the only way he can now win favour with the fans again is to build the training ground and buy the cheaper stadium we play in back. If he doesn't there's going to be alot of unrest as the fans aren't going to like whoever comes in and if we don't go up instantly the blame will fall on the board that's a fact. He was happy to invest in Fortuna Dusseldorf stadium and they have nowhere near the money that has come through this club the last 5 years. Time to back the club off the field.
Click to expand...

I hope he does those things but what exactly are you going to do about it if he doesn't? Whatever it is isn't going to make a joy of difference.
 
SteveJonesLegend said:
But with every penny that Eddie spent, of Max’s money, he would have known that it was players or infrastructure... So following your logic, doesn’t that make Eddie just as guilty...? He was the one that spent it... and in some cases, very badly...
Click to expand...
I wouldn't have thought he'd have much say in it but despite his undoubted love for the club even if he did, self interest would have come into it. Ask Dyche at Burnley or the Norwich boss and they'd have loved to have the money to spend on transfer fees and wages that we've had but those clubs chose different routes.
 
The Flying Picket said:
(Here be edited dragons)

Last season saw it was blatantly obvious he has run out of both money and commitment to the club.

1. Tried to sell the club to Saudi Arabians who it transpired wanted to but the club on the cheap.
2. Failed to buy any players in Jan 2020 when we needed fresh blood to stave of relegation.
3. Did not fund the new training ground, but sold Mings to pay for it.
This is shown in documents on the Companies House website for AFC Bournemouth, available for all to see.
4. Would not agree to Fraser's pay deal.

2, 3 and 4 are contributed massively for our relegation. Demin might send nice sounding e-mails which many will swallow wholesale, but look at what is really going on, and you will see that they are such shallow words from a man who must take responsilibity for relegation.
Click to expand...

Before I even address the bulk of your message you may wish to consider rewording the libelous part of your first sentence.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

;