Sixty six points up and there's more to come

Well, AFCB have reached the 66 points that they achieved last season and don't seem like they are going to be at all satisfied with that. At the start of the season Eddie Howe was asked about targets and what he expected the team to do in this season. One of those challenges was certainly to take the team forward, to do better than last season and to get a higher points total. That may seem obvious now, but back then the fans were still staggered that the team had done so well in its first season back in the Championship. Some fans even probably thought are you sure Eddie?

True to his word, Eddie Howe has taken the Cherries forward this season.

The bit that we all miss is that Eddie and Jason, Simon Weatherstone and Neil Moss work really hard with the players in pre-season and Eddie knows now the kind of talent he has at the club and what they can do in training. It was a matter of taking that onto the pitch and keeping those standards high once they had performed well and we can see that this side is a problem for any other team when confidence is high. How much more there is to come we will just have to wait and see. I still hear people say that AFCB have no stars, that they are just a great all round team and to some extent that is probably true, although I am pretty sure that Callum Wilson is headed towards star status and there are plenty of flare players like Pugh and Ritchie to get people on their edge of their seats.

So the first hurdle of beating last season's total is just about there now and I am pleased that Eddie just says it's about getting as many points as they can now. I certainly don't want to put a figure on what points total anyone needs to get to win promotion and by just looking at the next game ahead, and then the next as they come up, the worries and problems over what everyone else is doing just fade away. There is enough to do just working out how to beat the next team without all the extra stresses which would just put pressure on the players. Keeping things simple now is something that I am sure Eddie will do. That includes resting players when it is best that others come in for a game or two. We have seen how that is helped in recent games and as the last few games come, it will need a further push from everyone to realise the ambitions that are their to be grasped by at least three teams that will go up this season.

All Departments has released a podcast on the emphatic AFCB win at  Fulham. Visit All Departments or scroll down the right side of Cherry Chimes to the All Departments' logo and click on the sound bar to listen.