Fulham 0-1 Bournemouth (Rayan 53′, Christie sent off 41’)
CRAVEN COTTAGE – Vinicius at the Vitality. Quite the ring to it.
One incredulous corner of Craven Cottage sang of Bayern Munich, Lazio, Roma. If Bournemouth still need to cement sixth place to reach the Champions League and hope Aston Villa come fifth and win the Europa League, this was no time for technicalities. And they sang a long farewell to Andoni Iraola, with two games left to deliver the ultimate parting gift.
In Marco Rose, Bournemouth have in practical terms, if not emotional ones, already moved on. In turn Iraola has had an approach for the soon-to-be vacant job at Crystal Palace.
In any other set of circumstances, it would be an unremarkable if sideways move. They accept it may be wishful thinking. Iraola has admirers among La Liga’s biggest clubs. He is on the radar of Chelsea’s munificent if muddled bigwigs.
Victory at Fulham reiterated everything Bournemouth have got right. The discovery of Brazilian teenager Rayan, the teenager from Vasco da Gama and scorer of the winner from 20 yards after drifting deftly into Adam Smith’s eyeline, was impressive in itself. All the more so because he had Champions League teams competing for his signature.
Bournemouth are getting everything right
Junior Kroupi was unlucky not to join him on the scoresheet, rattling the woodwork. Another shrewd find from Lorient, who may yet make the club upwards of £70m. Equally, he may not – Bournemouth are growing both in stature and confidence. They are in a better position than ever to keep hold of their biggest assets. Palace, by contrast, are not, stuck in a strange hinterland between project and established club.
Swapping that milieu for Selhurst Park, at the end of one of the most chaotic seasons in Palace’s history, would be as big a gamble as Bill Foley has seen in Vegas. The same could be said of whoever takes charge, even if it is one of fellow candidates Sean Dyche or Frank Lampard.
Palace have not got their recruitment right since Dougie Freedman left in March 2025. Jorgen Strand Larsen and Brennan Johnson cost a combined £83m – one has three league goals since January, the other none. A move for Dwight McNeil collapsed. If Marc Guehi’s exit felt inevitable, the manner of it turned surreal and ultimately prompted Glasner’s very public fallout with Steve Parish.
The summer brings renewed doubt over Jean-Philippe Mateta’s next move, regardless of whether he has brought fans back on side after a combination of a failed AC Milan move and a three-month drought.
How Iraola’s Palace would set up
There are elements of Iraola’s Bournemouth he can seek to replicate in south London, deploying Yeremy Pino in a similar way to Amine Adli, drifting between the wing and the centre.
Iraola’s 4-2-3-1 feels more compact but also less stale than Glasner’s system, which has too often in its dying days struggled against low blocks.
Bournemouth were in fact better after the reshuffle, having lost Ryan Christie to a red card for a rash challenge on Timothy Castagne. They have the fourth worst disciplinary record in the Premier League, which is is not necessarily a charge to be levelled at their manager, but it certainly was at Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior at Chelsea. So it is a point worth considering.
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The reset nevertheless meant that Antonee Robinson had less joy down the left, helped too by Emile Smith Rowe’s substitution, enforced by Joachim Andersen’s own red card. But in that time Iraola had replaced Evanilson with Tyler Adams and the damage was mitigated.
The deep runs Smith and Adrien Truffert made into Fulham’s third were not dissimilar to how Daniel Munoz and Tyrick Mitchell benefit from Palace’s three at the back. It is not difficult to see Iraola’s blueprint plastered onto Palace’s fatigued squad which is still in a European final.
If anything it is the disconnect between expectation and grounding at Palace that catapulted Glasner into civil war with Parish. The mild-mannered Iraola has the same quandary under his current employers. Still, without Glasner’s history-makers they would not even be attempting such a noteworthy successor.
