The Disrupted Season (2019-20) - out next month

If you find it hard to believe the last season of football for AFC Bournemouth you will soon be able to read over it in some finer detail to see how things unfolded. The Disrupted Season (2019-20) captures events as they were happening, as I followed the Cherries through the optimistic first few months and then tried to puzzle out where things were going wrong, as the results started to slide away from the Cherries. Little did we know that COVID-19 would stop the Premier League and that Bournemouth would have a massive fight for survival with a dramatic last nine games.

The ebook is price at £9.99 and
has direct web links to Cherry Chimes.

My second AFC Bournemouth book will be released as an ebook for £9.99 on 12 September on Amazon and it will be in paperback format later in the month. I'll soon be providing links to where you can get hold of the book and will be sharing some of the text to give you more of an idea of what is inside.

Like The Eddie Had A Dream book, I'll be donating 15 per cent of the earnings to the Julia's House Children's Charity for which Eddie Howe is the patron.

When I started writing the book I didn't expect it to be Eddie Howe's last season at AFC Bournemouth. I'd hoped it would be a great season with Bournemouth pushing towards a European place or at least on the verge of the top 10. Fearing the worst was always in the background of the games as they were being played out, and it taught me that as fans we do everything we can to instinctively try and hold on to anything that might turn results around.

There were still plenty of high moments for me during the season, and I'll remember 2019-20 for being a very strange season more than anything else with the impact of COVID-19. There were a lot of arguments over whether the season should even have been completed behind closed doors. Picking over the non-football months were some of the most challenging chapters to write, but this extended season was unique for all of us and my aim was to capture the tensions and sense of hope that things would work out okay.

Bournemouth fans soon found that every game became bigger and bigger towards the end. The pressure on Eddie Howe was felt by all Bournemouth supporters and however raw emotions were on 26 July 2020 when the season ended, I hope the book makes fans look back on the season and feel it was an important season to be recorded.

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I hope you enjoy the book. It gives fans a quick visual picture of the recent past Premier League games. I am sure we will compare last season to this new 2020/21 season and we will surely make comparisons between Jason Tindall's management and Eddie Howe's last year, no matter how hard we try not to. It will also put supporters back at Dean Court and remembering visits to some great football grounds in the country which we have enjoyed over the last five years.

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The main thing is we should be proud of our history and what the club has achieved. A fifth year in the Premier League was just another remarkable rollercoaster season for AFCB fans. We shouldn't forget those days.

You can read more about the new book release here on the blog. Look out for more links to the new book in the next few weeks on Cherry Chimes.

The ebook of the Disrupted Season (2019-20) can now be pre-ordered - click this link

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - How might AFCB line-up for Benfica friendly?

Cherries simply have to win against Crystal Palace

The team selection Eddie Howe has to pick from is, as he says, the strongest he has had to pick from this season. Eddie Howe knows he has to go and get the points the clubs need and can't rely on other results. I'm pleased that Eddie has said Ryan Fraser will play no further part, because AFCB need players who can dedicate themselves to the cause over these nine games. But who will fill those 11 shirts on Saturday evening against Crystal Palace?

Go get he points lads.

I don't think there is any fans who doesn't want Aaron Ramsdale to start in goal, and he should be the easiest decision Howe has to make. At right back, Jack Stacey is who I would pick and at left back I think Howe may make a surprise choice by giving Lloyd Kelly his debut. The centre of defence will surely be filled by Nathan Aké and Steve Cook.

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Moving on to the midfield and Eddie should be pleased with his player numbers in midfield. I expect him to start with Jefferson Lerma and Dan Gosling in centre midfield, if Billing is injured. The right wing will probably go to David Brooks and Josh King may well start on the left wing. That would be annoying for Harry Wilson, but I think he will be sharing the role with Brooks and will still see a lot of football in these next nine games.

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That leaves the forward positions and I just feel Eddie will go for it with Dominic Solanke and Callum Wilson playing up front. That would just leave Sam Surridge on the bench as an out and out striker, but Bournemouth simply don't have many choices in that position. The substitutions will be really important with nine to pick from and up to five to field during the game

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Bournemouth need goals and that is why I have gone for an attacking team. I only hope that AFCB's players give their best and go and get the three points they know they are capable of earning.

Fans may not be at the game but we are there in spirit. UTCIAD!

Possible AFCB line up

AFCB Subs: Boruc, Simpson, Francis, Rico, Mepham,
Danjuma, A Smith, H Wilson, Surridge

Cherries need to take this period as a new beginning

The past has been pretty difficult viewing this season for AFCB fans. It is now time for the team to make this a new beginning. They can right some of the wrongs that they feel have happened in 2019/20, but they have to be stronger than ever as a group to beat some of the best sides in the Premier League and wins are what it is all about now.

Bournemouth have to pick themselves up and go again.

The players and staff know now that football will restart, barring a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases, and if they play to their very best ability they could secure a sixth season in the top league. That would be no mean feet, as Bournemouth are marked down by most bookies to be one of the three teams that don't start the Premier League 2020-21 season in the Premier League.

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It has been many seasons since AFCB have been in fear of relegation. They have climbed so high that it had to come one season when the drop was a real possibility. Now the team has to embrace the challenge and stand up for what they want to cling on to. The team can talk about looking forward to getting matches on again, but they will only be content if they start to win games again.

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I can't imagine how immense the first game will be. The tension will be huge and Bournemouth players will need to be super concentrated. It will set the mood for the following games and if they can beat their opponent, I think the fans will also feed off the win. But if it goes wrong and Bournemouth fall even further back in the race to stay up, it will be hard to be optimistic for a good end to the current season for AFCB. 

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The fixture list might not be so important once we get going, but the players must view this period as a new beginning. They know the task ahead What has gone before is basically irrelevant to how they can look to perform now. They start from 27 points and need to add four wins - it's a big ask but striking a win in the first game would be a huge lift.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Three weeks to get AFCB up and running

Chimes Newsletter - out tomorrow!
Cherry Chimes' June Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blog and the thoughts behind them from last month. The newsletter has a special story - The wait will soon be over

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Do fans want season ticket refunds?

I was thinking myself about whether I wanted to see AFCB offer a refund on the home games that are left this season or whether they would offer something in exchange for the money paid for games that have yet to be paid. Then I saw BBC had a news story on Saturday on how some fans of lower league club fans were needing to support their clubs by donating the money they had paid for remaining games, just to help keep their clubs afloat.

Money to be refunded?

With AFCB it might be a different situation, but the club is by no means making a profit every season despite being in the Premier League. AFCB are not about to go under but they will no doubt be grateful of any revenue they can hold on to because their out goings have been greater than income for the last few years. I suppose you can blame this on the wages they are offering to players and some of the high transfer fees. It is the environment in which they operate, although perhaps other clubs are able to manage their finances better, especially when they have bigger fanbases.

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It will be of interest to see how AFCB approach the question of offering a refund or vouchers perhaps in the club shop or a discount on the 2020-21 games, or anther incentive for them to try and keep the funds that have already been paid. It might well depend on what league AFCB are playing in next season as to what kind of deals they offer, but as we approach June, the clock is already clicking on working out how the club will go about sorting season tickets for the next season, which is still scheduled for an August start as far as we know.

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For fans the debate will depend very much on personal circumstances. Some may have been furloughed and would be very glad of having a refund to which they are surely entitled. But for others who can afford to give the club the five games without asking for a refund, it could save the club hundreds of thousand pounds. And at the moment the club is having to spend itself on getting its social distancing right and changing things around the training ground and stadium to prepare for games.

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AFCB  fans have always been generous and it may just be that the majority decide that the club needs the money more than themselves this season and we hope that prices don't go up in 2020/21.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Where will AFCB pick up enough points to survive?

Bundesliga will set the pace for football's return

While the Premier League still has some squabbles to sort out, the Bundesliga in Germany is firing up its resumption this weekend. Bayern Munich are likely to wrap up another title, but at the bottom it is a fight for survival for Paderborn, Werder Bremen and Düsseldorf. UK fans might not have a favourite football team in Germany, but  there will probably be quite a few of us logging on to see just how close to normal these games are.

Will the Bundesliga's return be successful and lead to the resumption of football in England?

The good point for the bottom teams is that they are getting the chance to try and play their way out of trouble, and that is all we can hope for AFCB. To be relegated without kicking another ball would be awful and whether the authorities looked at points per game or the table half way through the season, there will not be any satisfaction in how the big issues are settled.

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Playing behind closed doors is not going to be particularly exciting for the players but may well remind them of their earlier school or college days, when their matches were perhaps less well supported. It's funny that school children and teenagers have no less enthusiasm for the game when they play and are not shouted on from the sidelines. Getting back to just enjoying football for the game is why this weekend will be well appreciated, not only in Germany, but over most parts of the world that can get to see the games.

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Eddie Had a Dream eBook version -£7.99!
You can also read many opening pages for free on Amazon

It may help the Premier League and Government here look all the more strenuously to get 'Project Restart' finalised. But for Bournemouth watching on TV is going to be just a prelude to the resolution of training, which is due to return next week, although training with no tackling and social isolating is going to be more than a little strange for our AFCB heroes. At least we should see a few new images of the players and hopefully they have a few things to smile about, as they build up to the potential games that are going to decide their Premier League fate in 2019-20.

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In other news, Cherry Chimes contributed to the Daily Mail's Fans' view on 'Project Restart' this week.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Bournemouth's concentration need to be fully on relegation scrap

Bournemouth's concentration needs to be fully on relegation scrap

While we come closer to the possibility of matches resuming, Bournemouth players need to get themselves out of the bubble of thinking about what has been happening in regards to COVID-19 and fully concentrated on the task ahead. It seemed in February and March that the Cherries were building some momentum and were up for the challenge of staving off relegation, despite being in the bottom three now. They played well against Chelsea at home and nearly got a reward at Anfield. But now they have no match form and have to get points on the board as quickly as they can.

Success will depend on how ready AFCB are for the restart.

The first game is going to be massive for AFCB. I am not sure if the league will pick up from where to was originally going in the fixtures, but if so it will be Crystal Palace next at home in front of an empty stadium. At one point it was going to be Wolves away, but whoever it is going to be Eddie Howe will have had time to go over notes on all the remaining nine teams that Bournemouth have to play.

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If Bournemouth can get three points from that first game they will more than likely escape the clutches of the bottom three at least for a week. That would turn things around a lot in peoples' minds and it is the positivity that AFCB need to get some immediate belief back into their campaign. While a defeat wouldn't necessarily be all doom and gloom, it would just make things all the more harder and the pressure would continue to build on the players.

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Getting away from distractions is going to be harder than ever though with so many safety rules and procedures that will be added to the match preparations. That is why it will be vital that AFCB have given their players a clear idea of everything that will happen before they play. If they have that out of the way, they can then commit fully to the game. AFCB should forget about what they can't have an influence on, in wondering whether 'Project Restart' happens or not, and prepare for it expecting to happen. They will then be in the best position to attack those nine games rather than being surprised and unprepared.

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Previous Post on Cherry Chimes - Dean Court may yet host some more games this season

Will five playable subs make much difference?

We recently heard that FIFA was agreeable to allow five substitutions per game to help with the completion of the leagues that remain dormant. The Premier League always has seven subs in the bench but only three can be used in a match. So will it make much of a difference if Project Restart goes ahead? I have visions of the days when Sven-Göran Eriksson used to make 10 subs at half-time.

Will five subs really make a difference to matches?

On the face of it, the initial reaction may seem quite calm and unbothered about the option for more subs. We haven't heard as much criticism as we have over playing at neutral grounds, but I do see an advantage to some clubs with the new declaration of five usable subs. It will be another advantage to the bigger clubs that have more expansive squads and more experienced players. They will be able to get more of their millions on the pitch, whereas smaller teams, like dare I say Bournemouth, won't have the same kind of player depth in their squads.

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Looking at Bournemouth's squad and the possible players that would fill the seven places on the bench it might also be a bonus in that the Cherries have quite an attacking squad. Eddie Howe could have the likes of Harry Wilson (if he can continue his loan from Liverpool), Junior Stanislas, Sam Surridge, Dominic Solanke, Arnaut Danjuma and Lewis Cook among their bench options for attacking players, as well as a keeper and defender. But it is more likely that Howe would pick at least two and possibly three defenders on the bench  - Diego Rico, Chris Mepham and Simon Francis.

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I think we will only know if it is good thing to increase the number of subs if a team uses the option well and starts making the changes work on the pitch. We don't know if players will find it hard going because they haven't played for weeks, and I don't see it really a measure that I can see will protect the players from the virus, even though it has been described as a player welfare measure. You are just replacing one player with another, so a risk has been taken by the player coming off and the one going on. It's just going to be five subs being exposed to the game instead of three. If anything you are risking more players to contact. But the option is there, and AFCB have to make sure that they know how best to work it when the games start again.

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In other news, the Premier League met yesterday and proposed that the league should be finished on 'sporting merit' in an effort to rule out a 'null and void' season and any objections to the neutral ground proposal for 'Project Restart'.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - The Championship would be worse for AFCB than for the fans

Will AFCB feel pressured to train soon with other teams already starting?

This week we have seen the likes of Arsenal, West Ham, Brighton and Spurs all deciding that their players need to start returning to the training grounds. But others like Watford's Chairman have said it is too soon, and the players that are able to train at their club's training ground are only able to do personal training on their own. Where does this leave AFCB?

Do AFCB have to start asking their players to come in to train at Kings Park?

TalkSport did a survey on club's positions and with Kings Park closed off to recreation it doesn't look like AFCB are easily going to get a go ahead to get back to their training ground. But will other teams gain an advantage by getting back in the groove earlier? They may do and it may make little difference, but once one looks like they are benefitting, other clubs will want to follow like sheep. I suspect Bournemouth will ask to start up training again, if more than half of the Premier League clubs are doing this.

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At the end of the day, nobody wants to get left behind, and the league is so competitive that the owners have to be seen to be giving their teams the best chance of having a good finish if the league resumes. Bournemouth might look most closely at the other bottom five clubs. With Brighton and West Ham already looking to start up their training, it may be thought that the Cherries wont want too many others around their league place starting up before them. Yet, the club may be more concerned with the teams they still have to play and how quickly they return, one of which is Spurs.

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Whatever AFCB decide it has to be what is the best decision for them and their players. The club has to see how much training the players are doing in self-isolation and whether they could do more if thy are in a big field, not far from their team-mates. Is it psychologically good to be around fellow players? Probably yes, but once players go back, they have to make sure they can do something worthwhile on the training ground or the players will soon tire of having to go in if they can't train fully as a team.

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In other news, France has postponed its football and major sporting events until September, effectively ending any chance for Ligue 1 resuming this season. The Bundesliga (Germany) is looking to start behind closed-doors in June and La Liga (Spain) is set to restart training on 4 May. Meanwhile, Fifa's Chief Medical doctor, Michel d'Hooghe, has also warned that football should not try to restart too early.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Is Jack Stacey ready to dominate AFCB's right-back position?

Has Chris Wilder shown Eddie Howe and others a better way to manage?

I think we have to be careful when judging manages of one club against another. For a start they don't have the same players and probably play in different ways, but results are of course the bread and butter of the game, and you'd have to say things have gone rather better for ChrisWilder than most English team manager's this season, including our own Eddie Howe.

Eddie Howe has been well behind the results of Chris Wilder this season.

Does this mean that Eddie Howe should take a leaf out of Chris Wilder's book? Some would say yes, a stronger back line and an ethos of not to concede would surely do wonders for Bournemouth's game. But in trying to do that, it can take away the best part of Bournemouth's offensive game, and in some ways I think that is partly what has happened this season. There has been bad luck and injuries but Bournemouth's defence has worked hard to try and be more effective.

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So what has Sheffield United got over teams like Bournemouth? I think they haven't been scared to play their game as they know it. They haven't been overly worried about how other teams might play and set up, but have stuck to their own game plan and looked to repel teams first and then build their game as the minutes go by.

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The Blades might not have top strikers or midfielders, but as a unit they are extremely effective. They play for one another and being a team is half the battle. How much team spirit is really at AFCB now is perhaps not as much as Eddie Howe would like us to think there is. There have been problems with players like Jordan Ibe and absentees from the long injury list which hits morale. Morale is great when you are winning, but when one problem is added on top of another and another, things spiral out of control and AFCB have been in that spiral.

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Breaking the fall is perhaps possible now with this COVID-19 outbreak, but the strength of AFCB will only be better if they come through the end of this season by escaping the drop. If they fail to do that, then we could see how deep the divisions really have been. It is not a case of other managers having better styles or players all the time, sometimes your club needs to look at home to see where it has slipped up.

Former post on Cherry Chimes - How should we rate Philip Billing's first season at AFCB?

We now know football is a luxury to watch

This week has been surreal. Nobody ever expected the world to be turned upside down with the coronavirus. Now we can see that football was just one of the first things to be suspended and the virus is going much deeper into society now. Football is certainly a luxury item, and while it is great to have a team to follow that other fans also share their love for, there are more important things in life and I hope teams in the Premier League do what they can to help others in society who are less fortunate in this period.

When will we see scenes like this again? The FA hope by the end of April. 

The fact that mass meetings are now advised against makes it difficult for outsiders to go into care homes, schools and places where local communities would have previously met. But football clubs are hopefully supporting the charities that cater for the less fortunate in society now as salaries and wages from workers come under pressure when their businesses are no able to stay open.

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We are used to seeing players go and speak with the local community but that is all going to be harder to do now with no usual football life. It will be good to see the richer clubs support their non-league cousins though and those at the bottom of the pyramid will need special help to remain open after this period. AFC Bournemouth has itself shut its club shop to visitors even if it remains as an online service, but it has plenty of infrastructure to know it will be fine as a club after COVID-19 passes.

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AFCB is indeed one of the stronger clubs now and those at the top of the club should recognise that they are a club that can share some of its good fortune in times of need. Charity does begin at home and it is good to hear that AFCB are paying wages of those who are now being told to stay at home who offer administration services for the club.

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At the end of the day, whether AFCB stay up or are relegated we will still have a club to go and see football at and that is a luxury that even Bournemouth fans didn't think they would have some 12 years ago, and several years previous to that. 

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While the FA has announced the football season can be extended indefinitely, matches have been put back to start on 30 April. I have a feeling we wont see football until something like September, but who really knows.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - AFCB make loss of £32.4m in annual accounts ending 30 June 2019. 

Eddie Had A Dream - Dressed in Claret extract

While most of the recent years have seen Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall dressed in Red and Black at AFC Bournemouth, there was a period when things were very different. It seemed quite strange to see Eddie Howe dressed in Claret at Burnley FC, yet we had lost our converted manager to a Championship club. How would AFC Bournemouth recover from this? Here is another extract from 'Eddie Had A Dream'.

Eddie Howe found it a real challenge when he decided

to join Burnley as manager in the Championship.

As we near the release of the paperback version of 'Eddie Had A Dream', here we take a snippet of the text from the chapter 9. 'Dressed in Claret' from Eddie Had A Dream and remember what it was like to suddenly realises that Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall really had left AFC Bournemouth in January 2011.

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Extract from Eddie Had A Dream
When Eddie Howe was asked whether it had been hard to leave the south coast club, he replied: ‘Extremely difficult. I’ve had a fantastic time here. The majority of my career has been spent here and you know I love the club deeply, but I just feel this is too good an opportunity to turn down,’ said Eddie…’I leave with real sadness. I don’t lack drive or ambition,’ he added.

He had turned down two clubs on the Tuesday, but by the Thursday he was sure that Burnley was a club where he and Jason could develop. They would take over from Brian Laws, who had been sacked on 29 December 2010 after a 0-2 home defeat to 22nd placed Scunthorpe United. Everything was set-up to have a tilt at promotion with Burnley, lying in 10th place and just six points off the play-off positions.

Yet, Howe had inherited a team that had been relegated from the Premier League. It was a rebuilding job that meant stripping out the big wage earners and starting again. Howe was intrigued by the project. It was a club with heritage and in a small town, many miles from the south coast. Howe knew his credentials would be tested in a league where he hadn’t managed before. He would sign a three-and-a-half year contract.

Online-Bookies.org.uk

Here is a little bonus clip relating to when AFC Bournemouth were closing in on promotion to the Premier League in 2015 with some nervy matches against Reading and Brighton & Hove Albion. Do you remember the scores and goalscorers?

The paperback issue of 'Eddie Had A Dream' is due to be released on Monday  21 October 2019. The link will be posted on Cherry Chimes, but you will also be able to find it by typing in Eddie Had A Dream in the search field on Amazon. The price of the paperback is £13.49.
For the moment AFC Bournemouth fans can read a few sample pages and download the ebook at this link. Please leave a review if you do download the ebook and please keep spreading the word.