Feel good factor: AFCB have it do you?

Listening to the AFCB players after the Leeds match I sense the feeling that most of them are buzzing and are relishing the chance to play at such places as Elland Road. I am really pleased for them because they are a hard working bunch and they have shown that they want to do the best for the club. It's very easy to be fanatical about our players because they care about their performances and what they give back to the fans.

It speaks volumes for AFCB and the management that a player of the calibre of Jack Collison is excited to be joining the team for a month. What a shame that international break comes in the middle of it because I would like to see Collison have a bit more time with AFCB. Perhaps we can ask Sam to extend that loan until January if Jack does well with the Cherries. West Ham don't really need him do they?

Flahavan looked ready for the opportunity to be number one for a few weeks between the sticks and I like his enthusiasm, but it must be a blow to him that he has now picked up an injury. The way the defence had to cope for 60 minutes against a strong team away from home should help bond them even more. It would have been great to get a point on Tuesday, but as Eddie Howe says there are a lot of positives. I am over the moon that Ward is taking the lead and really starting to be a brick wall in defence. Cookie always throws himself in to challenges and Harte now has more confidence having played well. Francis is having to do more defending than last season but it is making him concentrate more and he can only benefit as a player if he can improve his defensive work which has to be the first thing a right back has to have, even though we love him bombing forward.

It is easy to look at the slip down the table to say, oh things are not going so well, but if you look at the performances I have to say AFCB are not in such bad shape. They out played Leeds and Blackburn for parts of those games and with 10 men. Moreover, they really could have beaten Middlesbrough if they had consolidated that 0:2 lead. It is small margins and despite the results Eddie Howe can see that the performances are on the whole good.

I am becoming more confident about the season that AFCB will have because I can see that the learning curve is not as steep now as it was at the start of the season and the Cherries are mid-table. So enjoy the matches and get behind the team. The team deserve our full  support and our voices behind them can drive them to more success. UTCIAD!