International call ups should help AFCB players

The international fixtures seem the always come at the wrong times of the season for most league clubs. As a youngster I would look forward to the international friendlies and full internationals but I find it harder to get excited these days. As a player though I can only imagine that it must be a feeling of immense pride and achievement to be selected for these games.

At the Cherries we already have a large selection of internationals: Joe Partington (Wales U21), Eunan O'Kane (N.Ireland U21), Josh McQuiod (N.Ireland), Ryan Fraser (Scotland U21), Shaun MacDonald (Wales) and Stephane Zubar (Guadeloupe).

Miles Addisson (U21) and Harry Arter (U19) have made appearances internationally and Arter could well get a full call up for Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic Ireland at some point in the near future. It would be a great achievement for him to break into the squad.

In the Championship there are weekends when there is no football because of the international games. That will be great for AFCB, as we did not get international breaks in League One. As the club establishes itself in the Championship it is likely that internationals will have more impact on the club if we can attract the best talent available. 

The opportunity for our players to mix and play with other internationals should help them improve and should be a positive experience playing in some of the world's best stadiums. Some times just being around winners has a knock-on effect.

The down side is that injuries can occur in these matches and it does mean extra games for some of our players. But I do think the positives far outweigh the negatives. Who for example wouldn't want to line up against Brazil or Germany in a full international?