A home tie next please!

The route through to the Fourth round of the FA Cup was as smooth as it probably could be when taking on a team in the same division. With the Cherries now through, there is great expectation that the draw will be a little kinder than picking out another Championship tie in the next round. I have heard that some fans want Chelsea at home, while others are saying anyone but Liverpool! For Eddie Howe though, it is anyone at home and I tend to agree.

Fingers crossed for a home tie in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

That AFCB took 550 fans to Rotherham was pretty good considering that the league match against them will soon be upon us and having had a hectic Christmas schedule. Had it been a Chelsea or Man Utd match in the last round, I am confident that the numbers would of course been significantly higher (no disrespect to Rotherham), and it comes with the territory that a big name out of the hat on Monday night would bring in some welcome funds at this stage of the competition, although an away draw to a Premier League team would really be better in that respect. If it's Arsenal, I'd better start saving now!

AFCB are getting used to having the cameras down at Dean Court though and getting the home crowd used to big fixtures is great for all the supporters who want to enjoy the team's success at this moment. The only consequence of beating Rotherham at this stage for me is that the Leeds away match in the league is now likely to be rescheduled to a mid-week game, which is a shame as a Saturday afternoon at Ellend Road would have been a game that more AFCB fans would have been able to make.

Who knows, perhaps Leeds will be drawn out of the hat to play AFCB, if they can get passed Sunderland today. There will still be many lower league teams left in the draw though for the fourth round and if the Cherries can get one of those at home it is not that much further from making history with a quarter final place. I don't think Bournemouth will risk taking their eye off of the Championship, but there is much to gain by progressing in the cup.