Can AFCB keep "working smart?"

I'd like to say things get easier as you climb the divisions but it simply isn't the case. AFCB are hitting above their weight in most aspects as a football club in the Championship. Looking at the squad we have, there are not so many players that have not been playing the majority of their careers in the lower leagues. Most of the players have achieved with Bournemouth and rightly have earned their place in the Championship. For outside clubs with bigger budgets looking in though, those who do well make ripe pickings for them. Still Eddie Howe appears satisfied that Lewis Grabban has left for a club record-fee and the onus is now on him and his team to "work smart" in the transfer market.

Farewell Lewis. Use the money well AFCB.

I don't expect Howe to be given all of the Grabban fee, which he says is a "huge amount of money". Does reinvestment mean picking up a League One player with potential? Or could AFCB find that it can spend more if the Lallana deal goes through? It looks like a bit of a poker game is currently going on with regards to whether the Cherries are really going to bring in the talent to push for a top place in the Championship or bide their time and just stabilise where they are if they can. I think the value of the players that Eddie brings in this summer will be a clear indication of what the club's policy is and while they hope to move a few players on I am not sure how easy that will be and some may simply be released like Jalal who is now at Bury.

If you had looked at the Grabban question a year ago and said £3m for the striker in just 12 months time, not knowing how he would do in the Championship, I have to say I would have been pleased to get that kind of return for the club. Manage that for three or four players and the club becomes a bit of a conveyor for fostering talent and making a profit. It is hard to know when a good deal is done but if Eddie Howe is already looking forward then the fans should be excited in what such developments really mean for the club. AFCB have not had such large transfers before and if they are to survive at the Championship level they need to reinvest carefully and aim to maximise the potential of every player on their books.   

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