Bournemouth not hanging about

[Rupert]

I would like to put the following into this discussion-

We currently sit between Newcastle and Sunderland in the table. Both could lay claim to being sleeping giants as both have large catchment areas and larger stadiums (almost twice the size of the Cottage). Under the new financial rules, both are likely to have more monetary muscle than us. London is undoubtably an attraction, but London costs more to live in too.

Are we that great a draw, in comparison?

Going by the current table, I would argue that we are a better run club than both of them. Could we be better run? Well, yes, of course. We could be a lot worse too.

Both Bournemouth and Brentford are punching well above their level, I suggest they have taken risks to do so, and up until now those risks have paid off. Yet both are only three points ahead of us. Palace are on a par with us, more or less, and are level on points, more or less. Burnley, Wolves and Forest are more or less our size, all are struggling or relegated. Leeds are bigger, but have the excuse that this season was about staying up, which they have almost accomplished. Brighton are often held up as the model for us smaller clubs, and there they are, two whole points ahead of us.

After that you have the 40,000 seater plus teams, who can crush us with their buying power, and just look at Tottenham and West Ham, scrapping over who can finish 17th.

I personally am satisfied with our current plight. Yes, I would love us to do better, but that is the same for just about all supporters of all clubs.

[General]

And now they've announced that Marco Rose will be taking over next season,
Absolutely seamless 👏🏻

And he seems to have done pretty well in the Bundesliga, with his teams being consistently top 10, and often in the top 4/5/6 in the league. Solid appointment from the initial impressions from Bournemouth which is impressive.

The interesting thing it does say to me though is that top managers can go to Bournemouth (Iraola too), and get them performing well on a modest budget, then Fulham really should be able to offer the same thing and attract arguably better players and managers (assuming Marco doesn't stay), as we're a bigger club in terms of history, facilities, and general stature in the league and internationally