 |
| AFCB still hope they have something to play for come next weekend. |
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Harry Wilson puts his hands 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.
Tuesday, 21 July 2020
Bournemouth have to hope for one more chance
Tonights night's games take on even more importance for Bournemouth, if that is possible, after the defeat to Southampton. In a way, looking at the bottom teams of Aston Villa, Bournemouth and Watford, they are all as bad as each other. None of them deserve being saved, and to me, it wouldn't be unfair to see all three along with Norwich City being relegated.
But one team out of Watford, Aston Villa and Bournemouth will survive. They may even survive on 34 points and with less than 10 wins in the season. That is looking quite likely now, as none of these teams has found winning easy. If the season does go to the last day, with Bournemouth still involved with a chance of staying up, then it is perhaps not a great advert for the Premier League. Yes it will be exciting, because any one of three teams could stay up, but it shows how poor four teams are compared to the rest of the league.
There may be satisfaction if Bournemouth stay up. But the team will need a drastic overhaul no matter what happens. Of course, Watford can take it completely out of Bournemouth's hands, if they get a point against Man City. It will all end there and then, if they do. But if Villa and Watford fail to get above 34 points this season, Bournemouth fans will have another nail biting weekend to suffer.
Advertisement
I am not sure if I want it to be all over. The suffering is never ending and in a way, it will be a relief when the season is over. I have been predicting relegation ever since Bournemouth lost away to Norwich City. They are bad enough to be relegated. If they stay up it will only be via the back door now. That might be good enough for Eddie Howe and the AFCB board, but this season has been anything other than fun to watch as a Bournemouth supporter. Yes, we are in the top league and it has been a pleasure to be a part of it for five seasons. But is it wrong to want more? Have Bournemouth overstayed their welcome? We may find out on tonight. Then again we might have to wait until next weekend. Drawling a line under this season might not quite be done this evening.
Advertisement
I don't really think AFCB are an inferior team to say Brighton, Newcastle or West Ham. We are slightly behind Southampton and Palace. If you look at the squad personnel and recent performances, are they really any worse than Leicester? The fact is we didn't turn up for games we could and should have won - such as Palace and Newcastle. Clearly something was amiss with post lockdown preparation. Add in the loss of Fraser and returning fitness of Brooks (our two most creative players) and you have a fairly rational explanation.
ReplyDeleteThe Premiership is brutal, and roughly 15% of the teams have to be relegated each season. Since the big six are unlikely to be in the mix, this is in reality more like 20% ! Eventually your luck is likely to run out.