Marco Rose is the new name in the Bournemouth dugout following Andoni Iraola’s exit this summer.

The German arrives with eight seasons of Champions League and Europa League football under his belt, which is handy because the Cherries are about to experience European action for the first time in their history.

Let’s see what the 49-year-old’s arrival could mean for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.

CAREER SO FAR

As a player, Rose started out at hometown club VfB Leipzig before joining Hannover in 2000. Following promotion, the left-back joined Jürgen Klopp’s Mainz team, starting his education on the Gegenpressing way of life.

Above: Marco Rose’s league record as a manager

Upon retirement, Rose felt the urge to become a coach. He progressed through RB Salzburg’s U16 and U18 teams, winning the 2017 UEFA Youth League by overcoming Benfica in the final.

That helped him take over as first-team boss for 2017/18. Two seasons brought in a couple of Austrian Bundesliga titles and deep Europa League runs, which caught the eye of Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Rose had Die Fohlen second in the German Bundesliga by the 2019/20 winter break, eventually finishing fourth. This allowed a subsequent UEFA Champions League (UCL) run to the knockout rounds, though their form nosedived once it was announced midway through that he’d join Dortmund in the summer.

That one season in charge of Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and others ended in second place, but poor cup performances saw both sides agree to part ways.

However, it didn’t take long for another role to pop up. Welcomed back into the Red Bull family, he became Leipzig’s head coach.

Two-and-a-half years brought a DFB-Pokal trophy and UCL qualifications, but ended with a terrible run of form. Such underperformance led to Klopp sanctioning Rose’s dismissal in March 2025, meaning he’s been unemployed for over a year.

PREFERRED TACTICS

As for playing style, Rose prefers a 4-4-2 diamond, but has used other formations like 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 when necessary. Not that there’s much difference in these fluid times.

What FPL managers really want to know is his principles. And, having played under Klopp, Ralf Rangnick and Thomas Tuchel, it won’t be a surprise to read that he’s all about fast transitions, vertical football and aggressive pressing high up the pitch. His teams were usually among Germany’s best for shot-ending high turnovers.

This is similar to Iraola’s style, making this appointment feel like a clever continuation of Bournemouth’s success.

“If you see how Andoni’s team were playing last season, it’s very close in style. They were very front-footed, always proactive, always brave, and the football was vertical. We’ll keep most of these things because it’s the identity of the club and I think that’s why Bournemouth are so competitive in the best league of the world. Because they play like this. So, that’s what we have to maintain. We will try to adjust small bits, some little details and minor structural things, but we will not change the approach.” – Marco Rose to The Athletic

In fact, when Iraola was at Rayo Vallecano, he said in an interview that Rose’s Gladbach were one of his favourite sides to watch.

“I like that football where the player does everything. The attackers press as defenders, central defenders drive forward and hold the last line. It is a very complete and tactical football. That’s why I liked Rose’s Gladbach; you could see they were well coached.” – Andoni Iraola, in 2023

Then again, this Opta Analyst graph suggests that Rose likes being less direct.

At least he’ll be used to off-the-pitch philosophies. Both Bournemouth and RB Leipzig rely on player development, selling them for a big profit, then using smart recruitment to fill that hole.

SHOULD FPL MANAGERS INVEST?

The Cherries ended 2025/26 as an incredible force. Their 18-match unbeaten run is still going, helping them finish at a dizzying sixth, despite selling Antoine Semenyo, Dean Huijsen, Illya Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez.

On the other hand, our Fixture Ticker believes they have the hardest six-match start to 2026/27.

• READ MORE: Which teams have the worst early fixtures of 2026/27?

So, while Rose has had plenty of time to evaluate his squad, managers might want to wait before investing in them. A new boss, plus transfer activity and the unprecedented addition of European football to their schedule.

Instead, our ‘jump on jump off’ article points out a good fixture run between Gameweek 9 and 16.

FPL ASSETS TO CONSIDER

When that time comes, Bournemouth have a bunch of intriguing names.

As a team, they conceded last season’s joint-third fewest big chances (76), while only Arsenal had a lower number of expected goals conceded (xGC) at home than 16.55.

Marcos Senesi, the king of defensive contribution (DefCon) points at the back, has left for Tottenham Hotspur, but partner James Hill was ever-present from Gameweek 19 onwards, outdoing him and all other defenders in that timeframe (28 points).

Left-back Adrien Truffert started all 38 encounters, assisting six times along the way. Amongst defenders, he accumulated the second-most bonuses (19) and third-most crosses (143), ranking sixth for points (165).

In attack, exciting January arrival Rayan settled quickly, delivering five goals and two assists in 15 matches. The teenager is currently representing Brazil at the World Cup.

Teammates Evanilson (-3.67) and Marcus Tavernier (-3.01) concluded the campaign as the league’s worst two finishers when looking at non-penalty Shooting Goals Added (SGA). This compares the quality of chances presented to the eventual efforts.

Furthermore, Tavernier also seems to have lost penalty duties to Justin Kluivert.

If managers use pre-season and these tough early fixtures to assess Bournemouth’s in-form players and favoured XI, the latter months of 2026 could prove profitable.