AFCB have everything to gain

AFCB are just a win away from sitting a bit more comfortably in mid-table. I thought that win would come against Birmingham City but sadly it did not. By just winning two games in a row the plight of the Cherries season could alter substantially, but a couple more defeats at this stage would see dark clouds starting to gather on the club's Championship credentials. But those kind of thoughts are the views of outsiders, because AFCB see that there is everything to gain in the coming period of games.

AFCB knuckling down to business over the Christmas period.

The players and the manager at AFCB seem very upbeat, which I am pleased to hear. There is more thought going into enjoying this season and relishing the fact that the team is going to some big grounds, but of course we would like to win enough games to stay up.

While AFCB were always stepping up in class there is a little frustration in having seen them perform so well on occasion only to see them come away with no points. Sometimes I wish they could play not so well, but still take the points. I think it was Mick McCarthy last weekend who said that he did not want Ipswich to be known as a team that plays well but gets no points, and I have the same feeling about our club.

We have seen other teams start to struggle though at the moment. Watford are falling at such a rate that Zola has left them and, even with some managerial changes, the bottom three have been their virtually all season, while Charlton and Doncaster have always been in the bottom six. So while AFCB are finding it hard to pick up points at home especially, there are signs that it is not just the Cherries that are finding things tough going.

How will it all turn out? Well it's too early to say at this stage, but it could well turn into a big dog fight with any clubs from around Watford downwards fighting to stay in the Championship in the second half of the season. The gap at the bottom has been closing to teams just above the drop zone and every match against the clubs in and around AFCB is massive now. We saw that with Birmingham who clambered above us last game. 

The mini-leagues are important and we have two more such games coming up against Sheffield Wednesday and Yeovil. It's time to widen the gap. If AFCB want to avoid that dog fight they really could do themselves a big favour by winning the next two games.