Thursday 2 January 2014

Lee Camp sign here for AFCB!

After his epic performance at the Amex yesterday all Bournemouth fans seem united in calling for the permanent signature of Lee Camp in this January transfer window. The experienced shot stopper has become an instant favourite at Dean Court and his decisive decision making and safe hands at the back of the Cherries defence has seen the team become far more solid and less shaky against the attacking power of other teams in the Championship since his arrival. Now the difficult part comes in enticing him to stay permanently at AFCB and to make the south coast his new home.


Lee Camp is in demand at AFCB. 
While AFCB have had the good fortune in the recent past to sign a renowned keeper like David James and have seen the experienced Darryl Flahavan often out through injury, adding a new experienced keeper to the squad of the calibre of Lee Camp is surely something that Eddie Howe will do everything he can to accomplish. There are no guarantees in football but if the game against Brighton was a final audition for Lee Camp, who soon becomes a free agent, then he passed with flying colours.

Some of the saves he made at the Amex can be put in the world class category. Brighton may well feel that they would have won the game by four or five goals on another day had it not been for the stunning short stopping power of Lee. It was not merely that he made finger tip saves and formed a brick wall barrier in front of the Brighton strikers, it was the way he commanded his goal area in conditions that would have been perilous for most goal keepers. The rain and the swirling wind were a complete nightmare and at the other end we saw Thomasz Kuszczak have problems when confronted with the conditions and Bournemouth players chasing him down.

Lee Camp set the example for the rest of the AFCB players to follow in the New Year derby. He was not going to let anything get past him and he almost succeeded in defying a Brighton team that virtually threw the kitchen sink at him. It could have been very different as early as the 10th minute when Crofts sped his shot away and it slithered cruelly underneath the goal keeper's frame, but a slight touch on the ball was enough to see it come off the post and from that moment on Lee Camp grew in confidence and stature at the Amex.  

It has been a long time since AFCB fans have seen a commanding keeper performance like this one. Sure Ryan Allsop had some good games in the 2012/13 season, but this was in the truly outstanding bracket. Lee did not put a kick wrong all game, he put his body on the line countless times and his heroics encouraged others to play more determinedly.

As Eddie Howe put it: "A special mention to our goal keeper today who was very good. he hasn't had a lot to do in recent games, but today he did and he saved us time and again." 

As long as AFCB can meet Lee Camp's wage demands, I for one would hope that we have a new permanent keeper signing from West Brom in the next few days. If AFCB want a stable Championship side, Lee Camp is a good place to start building some solid foundations. As the away supporters at the Amex demanded, "Sign him up!"          

There is a midday pitch inspection today, because of the overnight heavy rainfall. Lee Camp did not sign in time to play in this game.

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