JEFF MOSTYN gave mind, body, soul and wallet to rescue Bournemouth — and even suffered a heart attack during his reign as chairman.
Bournemouth — currently flying high in second place in the Premier League — would not be where they are now without the assistance, both financial and emotional, provided by their former chairman Mostyn.
Known as “The man who saved AFC Bournemouth“, the 80-year-old and lifelong Cherries fan Steve Sly bought the cash-strapped club in March 2007 and then saved them from extinction two years later.
A simple nod of the head to administrator Gerald Krasner to signify he was prepared to invest £100,000 of his own money to keep the club afloat was monumental.
Though he sold his shares to Russian-born petrochemicals trader Maxim Demin in 2011, he returned as chairman once again in 2013, fulfilling that role through the glory years.
Yet in 2017, he “experienced a heart attack, a profoundly humbling and eye-opening event” while he was with fellow Premier League owners and chairmen in Yorkshire.
FOOTBALL KIDNAP PLOT
Masked gang tries to kidnap Champions League star outside store
BET BOOSTER
Best bet builder sites in the UK for 2025/26
Mostyn, who is enormously proud of Bournemouth’s Prem journey over the past decade, writes about the episode for the first time in his new book, The Chairman.
He said: “I was celebrating another season in the Premier League at the AGM conference in Harrogate with the other chairmen and CEOs when, at around 2am, I started to feel nauseous.
“I spent the next two hours trying to make myself sick and then found myself in the emergency room at Harrogate Hospital at 5.30 in the morning, with a needle in my stomach.
“Desperate to leave, I pleaded with the doctors to let me go home, suggesting I just needed something to make me sick.
“However, they insisted on treating it as a heart attack due to my critically high enzyme levels.
“Roz Donnelly, the Premier League coordinator, was with me. She had the difficult task of breaking the news to my wife, Rose.
“I was too emotional to speak to her. My PA, Alice Jeans, was trying desperately to arrange a flight for Rose but flight after flight was cancelled.
“Eventually, in the early evening a flight was arranged to Manchester.
“The Premier League laid on a car to pick her up and take her to the hospital in Harrogate and also sorted out hotel accommodation for her.”
Mostyn — who stood down as chairman for a second time in December 2022 — continued: “After a weekend of tests on the coronary heart ward, I was then transferred to Middlesbrough for the stent procedure.
“Steve Gibson, the owner of Middlesbrough, demonstrated incredible kindness by asking his chief executive, Neil Bausor, to ensure I didn’t head home immediately after being discharged.
“And then arranged for me to stay at Rockcliffe Hall, his hotel and Middlesbrough’s training complex.
“Upon leaving the hospital, I experienced an overwhelming sense of anxiety.
“As I sat on a wall, I felt pins and needles, a classic sign of a heart attack. I told Rose that I wasn’t feeling well, describing my symptoms of tingling and breathlessness.
“Returning to the hospital was an option but as I had been discharged, it’d have meant starting the whole A&E process again.
“Neil reassured me that a car was on its way and that the club doctor would meet us at the hotel.
“When we arrived, the doctor conducted a thorough check-up and confirmed it was just anxiety.
“The support I received from the entire football family, the Premier League, my club and beyond, was overwhelming.
“Everyone sent their good wishes and it was one of the rare times when I truly felt the love and solidarity of the football community.”
The Manchester-born businessman — responsible for giving Eddie Howe the leg-up into management — is remembered by many for his celebratory jig in the dressing room when the club earned Premier League promotion for the first time in April 2015.
Famously, he screamed: “I love these f***ing boys!” and received a “damn good spanking” by the players live on Sky Sports after a 3-0 home win over Bolton secured their elevation to the top flight.
Mostyn said: “My time as chairman at AFC Bournemouth, supported by many, has been filled with moments of glory I’ll forever treasure.
FOOTBALLER GONE
Football League star tragically dies aged just 42 after cancer battle
CHA-CHA-CHAOS
Strictly’s Amber Davies breaks silence after pro Nikita pictured kissing her
“These experiences, woven into what I consider to be one of football’s greatest ever achievements, is a testament to teamwork, resilience and the joy of the journey.”
The Chairman: The Man Who Saved AFC Bournemouth by Jeff Mostyn is published by Whitefox Publishing on Thursday, priced £25.
Read the full article here