Championship Chat

Back in the Championship Cherry Chimes' eyes on some of the goings-on with matters that are making the headlines in the Championship tier and to comment on a few aspects on other teams. Some of these matters might also have direct links with gossip around the Cherries as well. 

How will lockdown three impact football?

A new year and another lockdown. While football is set to continue in 2021, we won't see fans in grounds anymore in the UK. It has been a long struggle to get fans back to football and this latest setback is hopefully the last. All the teams know what it is like to play without crowds and again it will be those that adapt fastest that will succeed. A number of games were already postponed in the last weeks of December and no doubt the authorities will have to watch closely on how many teams are struggling to control the pandemic. I see Millwall, whose game against Bournemouth has been delayed, lost their last game since resuming after their spell of COVID-19 and it will be hard for teams to recover. What we want is a fair league and again I can see the game becoming less of competition and more a survival contest. The lower league clubs need money but they won't get much with no fans. The top teams hope to keep their schedules on track but lockdown will make football much harder all around for everyone.

Fans can't expect to go to games yet
I admire fooball's bodies trying to get the fans back to stadiums, as seen through the recent open letter, but football is not like other entertainment venues in attracting attendance. To go and see a stand-up comedian at your local town hall is unlikely to entice people to travel the length of the country. But a football game with your team playing at the other end of the country wouldn't necessarily put fans off from wanting to travel up the country to see the match live. The two are simply not comparable in this era of COVID-19 and for the football authorities to think that they can ask the government to change their view on football because other social entertainment venues may be open doesn't hold water.  We all want to go to games again, but it has to be at the right time and when it is safe to do so. There are many areas of the country that are seeing rising numbers of COVD-19 cases at the moment so I just can't understand how it can be seen as a responsible decision to invite fans back to games yet.

A good start

We are four games into the 2020-21 season and Bournemouth have had a good start and are sitting in third, two points behind Bristol City and Reading. Despite the loss of Nathan Aké, Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser there has been something refreshing about the Cherries. Even with just one new signing who has not played yet, Jason Tindall has mastered a smooth transformation from the Eddie Howe years and he's done it by introducing quite a few home-grown players to the first team.

The picture can change quickly in the next 24 hours or so with the transfer window about to close. The hope is that David Brooks is still a Bournemouth player on 6 October. The Cherries may also hold on to Josh King. With such players available to Bournemouth they really will look like one of the favorites to be in the promotion picture. There has been nothing to frighten the Cherries so far, although bigger tests are to come.