Andoni Iraola's impressive Bournemouth are stuck in the silverware paradox

The Guardian

29-03-2025

The first time Bournemouth played in an FA Cup quarter‑final was 1957 when they faced Manchester United. They were still called Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic in those days and played in the Third Division (South). They had put out Wolves and Tottenham in the previous two rounds, the excitement enticing a record crowd of 28,799 to Dean Court to see them play Matt Busby's side.
The United centre-half Mark Jones was carried off early on and, nine years before the introduction of substitutes, Bournemouth took the lead against the 10 men, Brian Bedford nudging in after Ray Wood had flapped at a corner. Two Johnny Berry goals, the second a penalty, in the space of five second‑half minutes, though, saw United through. They went on to lose to Aston Villa in the final, when Peter McParland fractured Wood's cheekbone after six minutes, forcing the centre-half Jackie Blanchflower to take over in goal.
There's a terrible poignancy to the Pathé footage now. Six of the United side from the quarter‑final would die in the Munich air crash the following February while Blanchflower, who did not play at Dean Court, was so badly injured he never played again.
Bournemouth finished that 1956-57 season fifth, a place above Brighton and three above Brentford, two of the other upstart clubs who have thrust their way into the top half of the Premier League this season. Bedford joined QPR a couple of years later and, under Alec Stock, an inspiration for The Fast Show's Ron Manager, he became a prolific forward there, although he left before the League Cup win of 1967.
Bournemouth would eventually beat United in a Cup tie at Dean Court, although not until 1984, by which time they were managed by Harry Redknapp and Ron Atkinson had acceded to the United dugout. That season Bournemouth finished 17th in the Third Division. It wouldn't be until 2021 that they reached the last eight of the FA Cup again.
Does any of that matter? Perhaps not, but if the FA Cup can't facilitate nostalgic discussion of greats of the past, it really has lost its purpose. And if nothing else that Bournemouth have reached this stage of a competition that began in 1872 only twice before says a lot about their ascent and the rarefied position in which they now find themselves.
That other run to the quarter‑finals was rather less storied than the first. As a Championship side, Bournemouth beat Oldham, Crawley and Burnley before going down 3-0 to Southampton. But now they are back again. Sunday's game against Manchester City will be their first FA Cup quarter-final as a Premier League side and the first time there has been a realistic possibility of Bournemouth winning a major trophy.
Bournemouth beat City 2-1 at the Vitality in November. They were one of the sides Pep Guardiola listed as playing the most up-to-date form of the game, a mantle Andoni Iraola has accepted, discussing how the positional play Guardiola helped popularise can become predictable. The approach Iraola favours, with runners tearing in behind opposing defences, is just the sort of style that tends to unsettle Guardiola teams.
But Bournemouth have failed to win any of their last five games. Having passed through an injury crisis with a minimum of fuss, they have suffered an unfortunate regression to the mean just as it appeared that Champions League qualification was within their grasp. Iraola's frustration at his side's occasional inability to finish games off has been clear, particularly after they squandered a two-goal lead to draw at Tottenham in a game they had dominated.
Though Bournemouth are 10th, the gap to City in fifth is only four points, and none of the other contenders entirely convince. Which is why the next couple of weeks feel so vital for their short-term future. As it stands, Bournemouth are three games from the first major trophy in their history, one of two routes that still lie open to them for a first qualification for Europe. But equally, should they lose to City and then drop more than a couple of points against Ipswich, West Ham and Fulham in the three games that follow, this season could dwindle, the promise of winter melting away.
Sign up to Football Daily
Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football
after newsletter promotion
Win the Cup and Bournemouth would have achieved something that nobody could possibly have imagined two decades ago when they had the buckets out collecting to save the club. They would have generated memories to stand alongside Brian Bedford and sustain the club's fans for decades. Qualify for the Champions League and they would have generated a source of revenue that would make a profound difference to Bournemouth's spending capacity and raise their profile immeasurably. Not that it's necessarily an either/or: against Wolves in the last round, Iraola did not pick a weakened team.
Fans tend to prioritise silverware, particularly at clubs for whom trophies are a rarity. They would get their Wembley final, their name on the Cup, their permanent place in history. Playing in Europe is fun but transient, as the example of Leicester showeds. It might be fun to be playing Porto, Sevilla or Atlético, but that can have a negative impact on league form and, if the revenues generated aren't invested wisely, it doesn't protect a club from relegation. Recent recruitment has been of a level with that of Brighton or Brentford, but smaller clubs are always walking a tightrope; errors of judgment hurt them more than the elite.
But directors are drawn primarily to money, which will always be the paradox for clubs such as Bournemouth, having to focus less on winning trophies in order to be better placed to win trophies. Although there has been bold talk from Tim Bezbatchenko, the president of the Black Knight Football ownership group of which Bournemouth are a part, of 'matching Iraola's ambitions', Bournemouth remain Bournemouth. There are plans for a larger stadium but there is a reason the capacity is 11,000. Champions League money could add a layer of security, but Bournemouth can never be a super-club.
Bournemouth's rise has been remarkable, but clubs of their stature do not endure at the top for long. These could be the greatest two months in the club's history; another such opportunity may not come along any time soon.