Fan Talk with Matt Tong: Why I'm banging the drum for Iraola at Bournemouth

Former Bloc Party drummer Matt Tong believes Bournemouth's summer business is a statement of intent as he readies himself for following another campaign from New York.

Hooked by the drama

My introduction to Bournemouth was pretty random.

It was in January 1995 and we were playing Plymouth, who one of my mates supported. We thought it would be funny to troll him so we went.

I remember the linesman made a really bad decision to deny us a goal in the last minute and I just loved the theatre of it all. It became like a pantomime.

I just wanted to keep going back after that and of course it ended up being the Great Escape season, when we stayed up from nowhere.

The underlying narrative of that run meant I went to most of the games and I was hooked by the end.

Following from afar

I have lived in New York for a long time now so I have followed the club's incredible period since that time from afar.

It is a bit weird, feeling the anticipation and excitement of big games and promotions through various online forums, updating the scores on my phone and so on.

Obviously while we were playing in the lower leagues it was not easy to watch live but we have a pub called Legends in Manhattan that shows most of the games and the barman will put on Bournemouth whenever they are televised.

I remember watching the Middlesbrough game, which felt like the key one when we first went up to the Premier League in 2015. 

Harry Arter scored from nowhere and me and my mate were running around screaming. There were two or three Boro supporters who were not very happy with us.

Howe's heroes

It is difficult to pick out one favourite player from that rise up the leagues under Eddie Howe because they were such an incredible unit.

I guess Yann Kermorgant, because he had this nonchalance and confidence that we had never really had as a team. Some of the stuff he did was so subtle.

Ryan Fraser was one of my favourites until he scratched himself off the list — and I always liked Jefferson Lerma, too, even though his shooting was a bit erratic. He gave everything until the end.

It was such a great time for the club, though, and it genuinely felt like it was not about individuals.

Brutal O'Neil call

Football is a brutal sport nowadays. I thought Gary O'Neil did a brilliant job given the mess he inherited from Scott Parker last season.

His style was definitely a bit too conservative for those of us who fondly recall the Howe era but to galvanise a side that had been totally written off before the season had even started was a fantastic achievement.

Appointing Andoni Iraola and making the signings of Justin Kluivert and Milos Kerkez are quite the statements of intent, though. 

Iraola also seems happy to improve the players he already has, which is a very Howe-esque trait, and he wants his team to entertain.

I am very happy being a mid-table side that occasionally flirts with the top seven or bloodies the nose of a big side. We might even take a point off Man City one day!  

Matt Tong was speaking to Adam Drury