Paul Tisdale has already said that he won't put his first team out against the Cherries today. It is not surprising as he used 24 players in Exeter's last match against Weston-Super-Mare and like AFCB, Tisdale is looking to get as many players fit for the start of the season as he can. That does make these pre-season friendlies more like training sessions and while it is good to see the new signings fans want to see a good game. AFCB are still expected to rotate players, but Exeter are well aware of the quality that Eddie Howe has in his squad.
AFC Bournemouth enjoyed a 0-2 win over Exeter City in the Capital One Cup last season and for 54 minutes the Cherries found it difficult to score against the Grecians. Only an own goal and a well taken debut goal by Dan Gosling got the Cherries through the tie last August. It was an early season game in which Baily Cargill also played along with Ian Harte and Darryl Flahavan in goal. Time flies and the AFCB team today may include Cargill and Gosling, but even picking from a squad of 25 there are not that many weaknesses in AFCB's line up as Philadelphia Union found out.
Exeter themselves though have some new players. Among those said to have started their Grecian careers well are Bobby Olejnik, 28, who is a keeper who was previously at Peterborough and is a former Austrian U21 international player. Equally as easy to pronounce is the name of Manny Oyeleke, who is a midfielder that was released by Brentford in May. Lee Holmes, a former Saint's player, has also been playing well on the wing having been signed from Preston North End.
Having had reasonable outings against East Fife (1-1) and narrow 1-0 defeat against Arbroath as well as a 2-1 win over Weston-Super-Mare on Wednesday, the Grecians have been fairly tight in defence and they will have to work out a way of stopping the Cherries from having too much possession. I'm hoping that Eddie Howe plays as many of the younger squad members as he can in this one - it would be great to see Cornick and Cargill pushing for places.
PremierTalk asks whether AFC Bournemouth's first league opponents are in turmoil as Fabian Delph decides that his home really is in Manchester after all - you couldn't make it up!
This is a fan’s personal view of AFC Bournemouth from the outside looking in. It reports on the daily official activities reported by the club and comments made by individual fans on social media and fanbase websites. Life as an AFCB fan is never dull. As a life-long supporter of the Cherries, it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that inspired me to write this blog.
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