“Everything that he’s done so far has been successful”

Ex-AFC Bournemouth chairman Jeff Mostyn heaped praise on the club’s new ownership group headed by Bill Foley. 

Mostyn, who stepped down from his role after the takeover in 2022, believes that Foley has done the best possible job to maximise the club’s success. 

Speaking at Bournemouth University today, Mostyn said: “It’d be very difficult to do anything differently [to Foley], because everything that he’s done so far has been successful.  

“I think that the club is now at a level, that on our journey from the 2nd division to the Premier League, [European contention] was just not possible. 

“Most of the investment that we put in as a group during that early period was to retain our position in the Premier League, and the only people that could do that were the players as opposed to the structure.” 

Mostyn took over as chairman of the club in 2006, when the club was in League One. 

After Bournemouth were relegated to League Two, the club went into administration in 2008. 

However, within the space of six years, the club went from the brink of relegation from League Two all the way to promotion to the Premier League in 2015. 

Despite this, Mostyn conceded that there were stricter financial limitations during his time at the club. 

He said: “One would have to say that I’d be doing the same thing if I had the same support from his consortium and the same level of finance to be able to complete what he’s doing. 

“I think the club can achieve anything that the owner and the coach wants it to achieve.” 

Mostyn’s involvement with the club continued until December 2022, when the club was taken over by Bill Foley’s Black Knight Football Club Group, with Mostyn having to step down as chairman. 

His new book, The Chairman – The Man Who Saved AFC Bournemouth, which was released on 30 October and is available to buy.