There is enough pressure on Howe without outsiders adding to it

I was a bit annoyed about the comments that Martin Keown was making on Final Score on the BBC when Bournemouth had just lost to Man City. He commented that Howe has to come under pressure the way results have been going. Everyone has an opinion, but it is the owners and fans that put managers under pressure, not pundits in their cosy seats in their media castles.

Eddie Howe will need all his experience to guide the team back to winning ways.

Anyone who has seen the recent run of fixtures that Bournemouth have had would know that they have played many of the top six teams in the last few weeks. Bournemouth may be three points off the bottom but they are also six points off of 10th place. You can argue that we are over half way through the season and the team's situation is not good, but it is not as though the Cherries have not shown any good performances or been cut adrift form the pack. One win would shoot them up the table and they have an excellent opportunity to do something about that now.

Just because other Premier League teams have sacked their managers doesn't mean it is the right thing for AFCB. Bournemouth have a man that brings stability and sense to what the club has achieved under his guidance and to replace him would be senseless in the club's most crucial part of the season. It may annoy pundits like Keown that Howe will not change his philosophy of how to play from the back, but it has done the club well through the years and it is what Eddie Howe has taught his players from day one. 

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This season it may not be going as well as everyone would have hoped, but Howe needs support and belief from the fans as well as the players to get through this. We stick together through the good and bad times and we stick up for each other. Bournemouth still play some of the most attractive football in the Premier League, and while we want to win games, some teams are better equipped than AFCB. But you don't have to throw all your ideas out of the window and your manager, just because you need a bounce of two or three wins.

The Observer/Guardian - Cherry Chimes gives a half-term verdict on the Cherries

The Bournemouth Echo reports that Jermain Defoe could be out for 8-10 weeks.