We've got the special one

It reads well doesn't it. Eddie Howe 1, Jose Mourinho 0. A defeat of Chelsea though only brings three points in terms of the table and Eddie Howe has another game fast approaching with Luis vaan Gaal, who is another leading manager that has managed internationally as well as at club football. So what does Eddie Have to do to really become the special one?

Well beating Jose in his own backyard was an impressive start. Longevity in the game though is what Eddie Howe will have to aim for if he is to truly challenge winners like Jose and of course he needs to win silverware if he is to be ever judged against the best who have managed in the Premier League. The first task of just staying in the Premier League with AFCB this season is no less a task. We saw that Burnley's Sean Dyche could not manage it last season with his team, and in football there are no guarantees about what is around the corner.

Eddie Howe just keeps getting better.

It says much though that Eddie did not want to take any credit for the win at Chelsea for himself. Yet, the crowd only wanted to sing one name louder than any other, and to AFCB supporters there is a clear belief that what he has done for the club in the last seven years marks him out as the special one. Having already picked up the manager of the decade award from the League Managers' Association in 2015, Eddie has nothing to prove down on the south coast, but is still intent on challenging himself to get the best out of this current crop of extraordinary players.

In many ways Eddie is brave to continue to work at AFCB as he could look to work with a bigger club with a bigger budget. Eddie seems to want to build AFCB up though and as a result everyone is benefiting from the experience that Premier League football has brought to the Dorset club. If he can keep AFCB in the Premier League though, it will be the biggest achievement in his career.


AFCB have  drawn Birmingham away in the FA CUP Third Round. The ties are played between 8-11 January 2016.

Don't forget to get down to Altamira, sponsors of Cherry Chimes, to find that special Christmas present for your loved one!

50 goals up:sparkling Cherries are in devastating form

I bought a new car home on Saturday and was rather pleased with my purchase and yet i won't remember Saturday 20th December for that. There was something gleaming and shiny that was noticeable that day, but it was not something with four wheel, it was the polish with which an AFCB side finished off a Blackpool team that needed points more than any other team in the Championship. 

The Cherries are on target having scored 50 goals already this season.

John Williams at BBC Radio Solent said it all when he commented that: "This is not pretty football, it's devastating football." Bournemouth had just put six goals past Blackpool and in all seriousness it should have been double figures. But how did  Bournemouth get this good? Fellow Championship managers can forget their jibes about finances and this not being 'Little Bournemouth anymore', there is more than just money being thrown at this squad to do well. They are working harder and playing their passing faster and faster as they speed towards their goal. Liverpool showed them how they need to be slicker and more precise in their build up play and that knowledge was consumed and exacted on a Blackpool side that was unable to cope, and by the last 20 minutes of the game the Tangerines hanging on just to keep the score down.

These are very intelligent players at AFCB. Eddie Howe has them playing well but they are the ones on the pitch that are setting their own standards now. While they could have put in a limp performance after going out of the Capital One Cup they used that disappointment to achieve what Eddie Howe himself admitted was probably their best performance so far this season.  

Again there were five different scorers in the team for the second weekend in a row and the total of 50 goals at this stage is a sure sign that 100 plus goals is not beyond reach of a team that is now trying to power its way to the Premier League. Forget about hiding beneath the radar. AFCB beginning to win fans everywhere for their entertaining style, imaginative manager and dedicated backroom staff.  

All Department's podcast is out which reviews the 1-6 win against Blackpool. See All Departments' website or scroll down the Cherry Chimes' side panel until you come to the All Department's sound bar and click on it to listen.

Feet on the ground, but keep the wins coming

We have all enjoyed the last week and why not? The Birmingham match was a terrific advert for AFCB and to encourage more fans to come and see this exciting team. Not every match is going to be like that, but the players are professional and they know that they have to keep performing if they are to keep in the hunt with the top sides in the Championship. The timing of this run in October though has come early in the season, and it is now a season that potentially offers much more than just a big win against a Birmingham side, followed by the WBA game.

I'm looking forward to cheering the team on against Brighton
 - let's make in nice and loud for the TV audience at home.

Nobody wants to get carried away too early as we have seen how quickly results can go against you in the Championship. Usually there is a team like Leicester last season that does conquer the nerves and starts to make its dominance in most games count. AFCB had some bad luck in September and were not really getting much luck at all, but things have turned around and the results are currently on a par with any of the teams that are looking at promotion.

The next sequence of matches are certainly difficult with a TV spectacle awaiting the Cherries against Brighton and two hard away games at Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough. AFCB are now the team that everyone wants to get a result against as the form team and the pressure on the team now is to keep playing confidently and making the correct decisions. I am impressed that the whole squad seems to be on the same wavelength at the moment and every time a player gets his chance to play he seems to excel. We have to see if Artur Boruc is fit to play but if Lee Camp has to come in we have seen that he can also keep clean sheets.  

AFCB have been winning games in style and with ease in their last three league games, but they will also need to dig out results when the flowing football just comes off the boil and I hope that the work rate does not fall off, because AFCB could really take a grip on this league if they can keep the wins coming. The immediate task is to try and surpass the number of wins that AFCB had in the Championship in a row last season - five - so let's hope today's game takes us another step closer to that record as we have four league wins in a row. And no, I'm not forgetting the Capital One Cup win over WBA, how could we forget that!

More moments like this is what we want - Callum Wilson turning agony into ecstasy. 

Cherry Chimes' November Newsletter is out today! It was a historic month for the Cherries, and you can catch up on last month's big stories and read the special newsletter story - Are the Cherries destined for Cup success? - just by signing up below.

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Cherries dish out first half lesson to Pompey 2-3

The Cherries set out to play Portsmouth with a fair few rested presumably for the Swansea fixture in a few days time. Eddie Howe is still likely to be concerned though at the missing figure of Lee Camp, while Darryl Flahavan is also out for the moment. Cargill was again given a chance to impress and on the bench it was pleasing to see both Matthews and Stockley.

On the Pompey side Danny Hollands got a start while Agymang would be the threat up front. Sadly as noted yesterday Wes Fogden was injured. AFCB lined up in their home kit while Pompey wore their home blue kit. Some 4061 fans turned up with 267 AFCB fans.

The first belonged to AFCB with most of the action down at Pompey's end. The big talking point though was Tokelo Rantie. I still think he is the player that splits opinion like no other at the Cherries. To score in three minutes though he instantly becomes a hero in my book and many others. Brett Pitman is also often seen as back up striker but he is coming into some good form and notched up his fourth pre-season goal before half time to make it 0-2 to the Cherries. Harry Arter then got in on the act on 36 minutes to make it 0-3 as we wondered what kind of score AFCB might end up with by the end of the night.

Pompey made nine changes though for the second half and on 74 minutes James Dunne scored the best goal of the night - a stunning volley to make it 1-3. That was not all the goal scoring though as Eunan O'Kane brought down Maloney in the box and Wallace made it 2-3 from the penalty spot. There was plenty of action and much for Eddie Howe to ponder on after a game like this.

Official AFCB Tweets.

01: The game is underway here at Fratton Park. #afcb #pompey

03: Goal to #afcb! #pompey

SNAPSHOT: Rantie volleys the lofted ball through Paul Jones in the @officialpompey goal to break the deadlock.

Rantie slots his chance away to give AFCB the lead. AFCB photo.

03: #afcb take the lead as Rantie receives Francis' ball over the top of the defence & hits it first time beyond Jones. #pompey 0-1 #afcb.

Apparently it went straight through the keeper's legs

14: Ritchie drills in a low shot from the edge of the area but it is just wide. #afcb dominating possession - they still lead #pompey 1-0.

21: Goal to #afcb! They now lead #pompey 2-0.

Pitman puts AFCB 0-2 up. AFCB photo.

21: Ritchie sends a sublime cross into the area for Pitman to head beyond Jones. #pompey 0-2 #afcb.

All to easy for the Cherries. AFCB Photo.

26: Buchel is forced into a smart saves, as he tips over Storey's effort. #afcb #pompey

36: Goal to #afcb! #pompey

Arter makes the most of Holland's mistake 0-3. AFCB photo.

36: Arter adds a third, capitalising on a mistake by ex-Cherries man Hollands to thump the ball into the back of the net. #pompey 0-3 #afcb
Half time at Fratton Park: #pompey 0-3 #afcb.

46: The second half is underway and #afcb remain unchanged. They lead #pompey 3-0.

Apparently Pompey make nine subs! Just Webster and Wallace remain from Portsmouth's starting line up.

Tonight's attendance at Fratton Park is 4,061, with 267 #afcb supporters. #pompey

70: First #afcb substitutions as O'Kane, Pugh, Daniels, Smith and McQuoid replace Stanislas, Rantie, Francis, MacDonald and Ritchie.

74: Goal to #pompey. #afcb

74: Dunne pulls one back for the hosts with a stunning long-range volley. #pompey 1-3 #afcb.

82: Penalty to #pompey. #afcb

83: Wallace makes no mistake from the spot, after Maloney was brought down by O'Kane. #pompey 2-3 #afcb.

87: With three minutes of normal time remaining, Howe replaces Arter with Matthews. #afcb

90: There will be three minutes of added time here. It's currently #pompey 2-3 #afcb.

Full time: #pompey 2-3 #afcb.

AFCB

Buchel, Francis, Cook, Cargill, Harte Arter, Ritchie, MacDonald, Stanislas, Pitman, Rantie

AFCB subs
Pugh, Daniels, Smith, McQuiod, Matthews, Stockley, O'Kane

Portsmouth
Jones, Webster, Shorey, Awford, Wynter, Whatmough, Storey, Hollands, Wallace, Barcham, Agyemang

Pompey subs
Poke, Bird, Ertyl, Devera, Butler, Dunne, Atangana, Maloney, Westcarr.

Referee
A Davies

Is the Championship heading for Premier League 2 status?

The summer transfer window still has some way to go but it is already apparent that there is suddenly a trend for Championship teams to bring in players from foreign clubs. That does not mean that they are all spending big though. Derby were quick to pick up Athletico Madrid star Ivan Calero on a free. Nottingham Forest have paid £1m for Michael Mancienne of Hamburg and have signed Roger Riera from Barcelona on a free. Charlton have gone for Standard Liege's George Tucudean and Tal Ben Haim on free transfers. Meanwhile, Leeds have signed Tommasso Bianchi of Sassuolu and Souletmane Doukara of Catania. Fulham have brought in Kay Voser of FC Basel and Tim Hoogland of Schalke. We might have expected Watford to look towards Italy, but this time they looked at Parma and Daniel Tozer. Middlesbrough have even bought Tomas Meijas of Real Madrid. The BBC has a good list of July's transfers.

So what is going on? Are the prices for players in Europe suddenly much more affordable for Championship sides? Are the foreign players much better than those in the lower English leagues? I believe that there are many reasons and some of them may not be for the better for English football. The amount of foreign club owners and managers may well be a stimulant in the pull to look abroad while the cost of players in League One has been demonstrated by AFCB's signing of Callum Wilson from Coventry. Among other clubs to pick up League One players we can see that Rotherham signed Febien Brandy of Sheffield Utd in June and Ryan Hall of MK Dons, plus Mat Sadler from Crawley, while Brentford signed Moses Odubago of Leyton Orient Andy Gray of League Two Luton and Byron Webster came to Millwall from Yeovil on a free and Lee Gregory from FC Halifax. Stephen Gleeson of MK Dons also signed for Birmingham along with Johnathan Grounds who was at Oldham - both were frees.

There are fewer big money moves though from the lower leagues to the Championship and League One and Two will be all the more poorer for it in the end. If Championship clubs continue to go abroad for new players that will cut the amount of money going down through our leagues and while transfers between League One and Two remain high they are not of the value of the Championship signings.

We do see Championship sides willing to loan out players to the lower leagues and this may well be the main way that the transfer market works in future years. For teams like AFCB, the signings from Premier League teams have been possible because they have been on free transfers and this goes for a lot of the signings we have seen coming from the Premier League to Championship clubs. The most telling signing from a Championship club to another Championship side has to be Fulham's capture of Leed's Ross McCormack for an estimated £11m. 

Whether you think that foreign signings are bargains or gambles it appears that the Championship will be full of them. I can see this league becoming Premier League 2 which will be yet more bad news for the FA and the hopes of English fans that want to see their national side do well. If there is some good to come of the foreign player attraction it is that the quality of the league is likely to rise and with that the FA has a much more marketable product than it had only a few years ago as seen by SKYBet's sponsorship of the Championship.

Just as a final word, I had some communication with Liz Finney, the general manger at AFCB, and she informed me that the reason for so many mid-week kick offs this season in the Championship was mainly down to two things. Firstly, the clubs had all voted to start the season one week later and also there will be three international breaks in the 2014/15 Championship season.

You can also vote in our poll for where you think AFCB will finish next season - scroll down the right side panel to vote and see the results so far..

Season's DVD should be a thriller for Cherries fans

I purchased the promotion winning season DVD in 2012-13 as a reminder of how AFCB managed their incredible run to second in the table. Now there is a new DVD out that highlights the team's first year back in the Championship (2013-14) for over 20 years. It is very hard to decide what the best highlight could be. Would it be the away performance at Reading perhaps, or the home win against promotion winning QPR or the comeback thumping of Millwall at Dean Court? Fans will have other games that they particularly want to see again and in the comfort of your own home with a free night to watch the Cherries the offer should seem tempting to many.

Elphick led the team out against QPR at Dean Court last
season in one of the highlight games for AFCB.

It will be strange to see Lewis Grabban appearing on some of those matches knowing that he won't be appearing in an AFCB shirt next season. I don't tire of seeing his 25 yard turn a shot to score past the Bolton keeper back in February.. The DVD will also show a reminder of the speed and trickery of Tokelo Rantie. I am still not sure how the team did not manage to win when two up against Middlesbrough after only a few minutes, but TK's pace frightened the Middlesbrough back line to death and his goal against Burnley away was simply stunning. I bet you'll enjoy Marc Pugh's celebration of his added time equaliser against Nottingham Forest again as we as Steve Cook's winner away against Barnsley, and his overhead kick against Ipswich should put a smile on your face.

There will also be some low points like Allsop's red card at Elland Road that was followed by Flahavan's fantastic penalty save. The Sheffield Wednesday home defeat is probably the game that will hurt the most as it ended any realistic chances that AFCB had for the play-offs. But I'll also have my eye's shut for the 6-1 spanking that Watford handed out to the Cherries last August, while thoughts of going up to Huddersfield next season for the first league game will hopefully give us all happier memories than what we will be left with on this DVD from last season at the John Smith's stadium.

You'll remember the day though when Liverpool came to Dean Court in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup and all the press around Luis Suarez, Stephen Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge. That day was perhaps eclipsed by the earlier visit of Real Madrid which will also be on the DVD, so we can look forward to seeing Ronaldo and co set about AFCB again. Hoepfully they show some of the warm up as Ronaldo was doing some great showboating.

It is also good to see that the price has been set a bit lower than last time at £12.50. It should give some of you a few hours of happy viewing before the start of next season. The AFCBDirect site also has the DVD available to order online. 


De Vere's Village Urban Resorts in Bournemouth is still enjoying World Cup viewings. If you want to go down for one of the quarter finals check out the complete game planner for the Victory pub and kitchen.

World Cup Chimes reports on Argentina's close scrape with Switzerland and an absolute belter of a game between USA and Belgium - if you missed that one catch up with the highlights because it was a remarkable game.

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