Where do the Cherries' need to improve?

Happy Christmas everyone! It is perhaps a good time to just consider how the season has gone so far and what expectations we may have for the second half of the season. Bournemouth are just five points off the lead with a two-point gap over the third-placed Swansea City. Are we confident that Bournemouth can do as well if not better between January and May?

Happy Christmas

When we look at the league, Bournemouth have played 20 games which is almost half and they have played most teams once. So with only two defeats, it has been a good start and the real need for the Cherries is to try and convert a few more of the draws into wins. That is how Norwich have clawed themselves ahead.

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Bournemouth can also set themselves the tasks of doing better against the teams in the top six. They have beaten Norwich City but they have drawn with Swansea City, Watford and Middlesbrough. If they can beat these teams second time around they will be opening the gap much quicker on those teams below them.

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Defensively Bournemouth have sharpened up well with nine clean sheets so far. That is still two behind Stoke City and Swansea City. While six of these clean sheets for the Cherries have been at home there are just three away clean sheets. In the away games clean sheet table, Bournemouth are down in 10th and it's a clear indication of where they can improve.

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With 35 goals scored, the Cherries top the goals for table with Blackburn Rovers just a goal behind. The stat which is not so good is goals against column,  as Bournemouth have conceded 16 goals from their 20 games. But that is still the fourth-best record behind Swansea City, Watford and Middlesbrough.

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From Bournemouth's position it would be costly to see them fall back into the third to sixth places, and this is what Bournemouth have to be aware of the most as the pressure builds. It may be a good thing that they have Norwich to chase, as it will give the players more to think of rather than thinking of being caught.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Danjuma only has eyes to get AFCB back to the Premier League

Tindall's attractive football pays dividends in the first game

While Bournemouth fans might not have been too certain about how Jason Tindall would like to see Bournemouth play, fans got a real taste of how the Cherries will look to go forward watching the match against Blackburn Rovers. It did seem a case of we are going to score one more than you, and the enjoyment for the fans will be the attacking nature of JT's team.

Bournemouth brings goals to their game.

There might not be so much pleasure in watching Bournemouth defend this season. At times they do make poor decisions and let teams have shots from distance. That is fine when the goal is well covered, but Mark Travers made a mistake in this first game and it could have dented his and the team's confidence.

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It was very important to win. The fact that it was a narrow victory didn't matter, Bournemouth had shown their superiority first half, and Blackburn had battled their way back into the game well. It took a lot though for Bournemouth to go and get the winner in the last 10 minutes and with that, we can safely say the new era of Jason Tindall is well under away.

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Fans can now look ahead with the first win under the Cherries belt. The goals came from three different goal scorers and we should have known from last season that a defender was likely to get Bournemouth's first goal on the first day of the season. Playing with Kelly, Cook and Mepham at the back really does look formidable on paper, but there is room for improvement at the back. Upfront we still need to see consistency from Solanke, but Danjuma and Stanislas are the creative players that are opening teams up and could have big seasons.

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The optimism is back and the doubts about Jason Tindall may well fade quickly at this rate. He has let the handbrake off the team and the players have responded. Whatsmore, he has done it without needing to play David Brooks or Josh King from the start - that's brave for the new manager. 

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Bournemouth gets off to a winning start beating Blackburn 3-2

Do Blackburn Rovers have a secret weapon for Bournemouth?

Blackburn Rovers are the first test for Jason Tondall's new look AFCB. Tony Mowberry says his team is ready for the game having gone unbeaten in pre-season beating Fleetwood and Blackpool, before knocking Doncaster Rovers out of the Carabao Cup in the first round. However, Balckburn's attacking duo of Bradley Dack and Sam Gallagher are both expected to be out of contention with injuries.

Blackburn Rovers will be the first Championship side 

to visit Dean Court in the 2020-21 season.

Blackburn Rovers had a pretty poor end to last season losing their last match to Luton Town 3-2 having let in two own goals to see Luton survive on the last day of the season. Since then they have been joined by Tom White, 23, on loan from Bolton Wanderers for the season and by Belgian keeper Thomas Kaminiski, 27, from KAA Gent.  This week Blackburn has also been trying to land James Garner of Man Utd on loan.

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Meanwhile, Rovers has released striker Danny Graham who was picked up by Sunderland. Another big performer they have also lost this summer is defender Tosin Adarabioyo, 21, who was on loan from Man City last season. Stewart Downing has also been released as his contract came to an end in the summer. Other players that departed included Dominic Samuel, Richie Smallwood, Jayson Leutwiler and Sam Hart.

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Rovers finished 11th last season having managed 17 wins and 63 points. They also had 17 defeats which ultimately cost them a higher finishing position. That makes them pretty good opposition for Bournemouth in the first game, if we can consider them as a good mid-table team.

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There has been quite a bit of change at Rovers and some experience has certainly left the team. How they will match up against a Bournemouth team that has more of a sale than a rebuild we will just have to wait and see.

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The Lancashire Live site sees Rovers lining up like this:

Kamianski

Nyambe Lenihan Williams Bell

Holtby

Travis     Johnson

          Brereton                               Rankin-Costello

Armstrong

Striker Adam Armstrong scored 16 goals in the Championship last season so Steve Cook and Lloyd Kelly are perhaps most likely to be looking after him.

In other news, Cherry Chimes takes part in SkySports Championship season predictions

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Can Danjuma become AFCB's new decision

Fixture excitement at the challenge ahead for AFCB

I was waiting with anticipation, not about the fixture release, when it came through, but for the reaction form Bournemouth fans. The mood was quite chirpy as for many they could see Bournemouth striding through some of the games, and for once we might even see some clean sheets. But the Championship is a long race and the first three fixtures look pretty tough to me.

A full fixture list ahead with or without supporters.

Playing Blackburn Rovers at home for the first game is a good way to judge what shape Bournemouth are in, with Blackburn Rovers finishing in a mid-way 11th position last season. A home game always gives your club a chance to make a good start and, with Middlesbrough away and Norwich City at home to follow, Bournemouth would put themselves in a very strong position, if they can beat that kind of quality in their first three games.

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Easier said than done though. Watford and Derby will be big matches in October and November looks a particularly good month with some grudge matches against Reading and Nottingham Forest and a tough visit to Sheffield Wednesday. Whether fans are getting to games by this point we just don't know, but the December games are certainly ones that fans will want to enjoy with so many games. I am expecting Swansea away to be a hard match along with Preston at home, as both sides did well last season. Boxing Day should be fun with Millwall in attendance and Brentford, just before New Year, will be a great time to see their new stadium.

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I am not sure how many will want to brave Stoke in January, but the crazy ones will take on the weather and I think January could be a crunch month with the quality of fixtures. Watford and Cardiff will be big matches to try and win at home in February and there are long journey's up north to Preston and Huddersfield in March. April looks like it could be a strong month for the Cherries as a the run-in goes and a finish at home to Stoke City could be a great way to go up. Let's think positively.

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Here are some of your views:

#afcb. We havent got enough players for all those fixtures ...... 😲

— Paul James (@paul18280) August 21, 2020

Yes, eight games in December! 🍒🍒🍒 #afcb

— Steve Jacobs (@jacobsinskidby) August 21, 2020

It's really weird seeing the AFCB fixtures list and seeing different teams😫 #afcb

— Elena♣ (@Elenaa_xox) August 21, 2020

Tummy tingling. REAL football is back! #afcb

— Sean (@_Salvatori_) August 21, 2020

Quietly confident #afcb

— Berren (@Berren_luc) August 21, 2020

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Are too many changes dangerous for AFCB?

Has Carabao Cup win given Bournemouth the lift they needed?

The dramatic way in which Bournemouth won through against Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup should be a morale booster for the squad. It took the likes of Josh King, Marc Pugh and Callum Wilson to come on and make a difference for the Cherries to get over the line and to avoid penalties in a game that was starting to slip away from them, as Blackburn had made a spirited comeback.

Bournemouth had a fright against Blackburn but came through stronger.

While it is important to win games to keep a dressing room happy, I think the way in which games are won can have the biggest impact on how players feel after a win. The scenes on Tuesday night were evidence that Bournemouth were over the moon to have gotten through a really difficult game which could have swung away from them, and with penalties it would have been down to mental toughness and holding the nerves to get over the line. The way Wilson wanted to get on the end of that last minute cross will have done wonders for the team this week.

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It is even better that Wilson was the player that got the goal as we know how important it is for him to know that he is scoring goals. Having been at home the players responded well to being pegged back to 2-2 and that all helps the togetherness of the team after a week when its performance had dipped against Burnley.

Now there is a fresh feel to the training pitch and the players can look forward to their next game knowing they are in the hat for the next round of the cup.

Wilson can have a big smile on his face again

The form of Callum Wilson is going to be key for Bournemouth this season. Callum only had some 20 minutes to make an impact against Blackburn Roversm but he came good with a special spell. While Eddie Howe will be disappointed that two goals were conceded again in the Carabao Cup, when Wilson is on form Bournemouth can get results.

Callum nets his third goal of the season.

Callum was unlucky when he hit the cross bar just before getting his late winner. It is rare for Callum to score headed goals, but he made his effort count just in time against Blackburn. Callum needed a goal and he will be pleased to have just made a contribution after some goalless games, even if his general play has been good.

What I do like about Callum is that he can have a quite game and still score a goal when he has not seen much of the ball. That's why it was a surprise to me against Burnley when he was substituted. He does seem to specialise in late goals and that's no bad thing.

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While Howe could have been beginning to think a change up top might be necessary, Callum is now much more likely to keep his starting place. The Blackburn game also saw a good appearance from Marc Pugh and sometimes I think being familiar with what Callum wants in terms of a delivery can help the team, so maybe Callum just needed someone like Pugh to help him get back on the scoring path.

Wilson's late winner beats Blackburn Rovers 3-2

AFCB v Blackburn Rovers

25 September 2018

Carabao Cup 3rd round

AFCB official image: AFCB win through to fourth round.

A Callum Wilson stoppage time header put the Cherries through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup in a five goal thriller at Dean Court. Junior Stanislas got Bournemouth off to a great start in the Carabao Cup with his first goal of the season after 14 minutes when he converted a cross from Simon Francis. Jordan Ibe then made it 2-0 early in the second half from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by Darragh Lenihan, but Blackburn fought back with Craig Conway unleashing a powerful shot from distance that beat Artur Boruc and Ming's foul on Brereton in the box gave a penalty to Blackburn which Adam Armstrong scored from to make it 2-2 with 19 minutes to go. Everything looked set for penalties until added time when Williams received a straight red for a fouling Callum Wilson and for handball. Wilson then scored from the corner heading in to make it 3-2 in stoppage time.

Bournemouth put out a strong team to play Blackburn with Adam Smith and Jefferson Lerma keeping their places from the weekend's game against Burnley. Junior Stanislas was given his first start to the season.

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Live match texts

1 | Here we go... We're off and underway in round three of the Carabao Cup

8 | Great play on the right. Francis puts a low ball into the box, it hits a Rovers defender, and almost deflects in, but Raya does well to claw over.

14 | He's back!! Francis does well to get down on the right and pulls one back for Stanislas, who hits it on the volley and fires home! 1-0

29 | Good block by Mings. The defender throws himself in front of an Armstrong corner to avert the danger for now.

32 | So close to a second! Francis again bursts down the right and swings one in for Defoe, but it takes an excellent save from Raya to keep the shot out.

35 | Brilliant through ball by Stanislas. Defoe races forward to latch onto the winger's ball, but the Rovers 'keeper gets there first.

37 | Raya to the rescue for Rovers again. Defoe is found in space in the box, but the 'keeper makes himself big and saves well.

AFCB official image: half-time - Junior celebrates his goal

46 | We're back underway here at Vitality Stadium.

53 | Dangerous ball by Mousset. The Frenchman puts a low ball into the box and the Rovers defender is forced to clear for a corner.

56 | Penalty for the Cherries! Ibe is fouled on the by-line and the referee points straight to the spot. 1-0

58 | Ibe steps up and sends the 'keeper the wrong way to give his side a two-goal cushion.

61 | Really good build-up play for the Cherries. Stanislas finds Ibe who squares for Defoe, but the striker's curling effort is just over.

62 | Goal for Blackburn. Conway shoots from range and finds the back of the net to reduce the deficit.

64' - Substitution for #Rovers, with Butterworth replacing Palmer. 2-1.

69 | A double change for the Cherries.off go Mousset and Stanislas on come Pugh, King

70 | Penalty for Blackburn. Mings brings down Brereton and the referee points to the spot.

71 | Boruc goes the right way, but Armstrong's shot goes in off the post.

73 | A final change for the Cherries... Defoe off and Wilson on

82' - Substitution for #Rovers, with Travis on in place of Brereton. 2-2.

83 | The Cherries work it forward and it falls to Ibe, who's eventual shot is saved by Raya.

90+2 | Red card for Blackburn!Williams is shown a straight red for handling the ball under pressure from Wilson.

90+4 | Super Cal!! The forward jumps highest from a corner to head in past Raya!

What a finish. A last-minute winner from Wilson sees us progress to round four

AFCB Line-up

AFCB Subs: Aké, Pugh, Wilson, King, Travers, Dobre, Ofoborh

Blackburn are worthy opponents in the Carabao Cup

Blackburn Rovers have had a pretty productive start to their season. They have got themselves within two points of the play-off positions in the Championship and their Carabao Cup form has seen some high scoring with a 1-5 away win at Carlisle Utd in the last round and a 4-1 defeat of Lincoln City in the first round.

AFCB lining up against Blackburn back in 2015, when it was a 0-0 draw.

Premier League clubs are already looking at Bradley Dack who was the League One player of the year last season and he has started in impressive form in the Championship with four goals so far. Dack scored two goals and had an assist in the match against Carlisle. Adam Armstrong is another of their players in form who made it 11 goals in 23 appearances when Blackburn played Carlisle. Danny Graham didn't play in the last round of the Carabao Cup, but he has formed a good partnership with Dack and is the experienced striker in Blackburn's squad.

Kasey Palmer is on loan from Chelsea and he scored in the last two rounds of the Carabao Cup for Blackburn so is a likely starter. Joe Nuttall may also feature as an attacker.

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Tony Mowbray has the players' confidence up after their 2-3 win over Stoke City in the league and Blackburn have only lost one game this season to Bristol Rovers on 2nd September. Blackburn were 3-0 up though against Stoke in their last match and had to hang on for the win, so seeing out wins might be something that Blackburn would find hard if they do get in front at Dean Court.

Mahoney is another exciting young addition to the Cherries

AFCB signed Connor Mahoney from Blackburn Rovers on 4th July and he joins the club's U23 squad. The club says a fee still has to be agreed with Connor's former club, but he has signed on a four-year deal. The Lancashire Telegraph reveals that Mahoney was formerly an Accrington Stanley player.

The BBC reports that AFCB beat Nottingham Forest to the signing of the 20-year old. Celtic and Wolves were also in the hunt for the winger, according to the Daily Mail. Mahoney has made 21 appearances for Blackburn since he was 16 and has featured in England U17 and U18 squads.

Eddie Howe makes another AFCB signing.

Eddie Howe said: "AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe said: “I’m very pleased to welcome Connor to the football club.

"He is a player we have very high hopes for. He has a lot of potential and hopefully it will be a really good deal for both him and us.

"He put in a number of eye-catching appearances for Blackburn in a short space of time at the end of last season, so we quickly evaluated the situation and made a move for him.

"There’s a lot more to come from him and we will look to develop his talent."

AFCB will be hoping that Connor is as successful as their last signing from Blackburn Rovers - Josh King.

The full AFCB press release can be read at Connor Mahoney.

Josh just needs to keep adding more goals

It was a telling interview that Eddie Howe had with Chris Wisely after the Newcastle match about how highly he rates Josh King. Eddie always believed he had the kind of talent that would work well in his team in the Premier League. Making the jump from the Championship has not been a simple transition, but AFCB are starting to see the benefits of being patient with Josh King.

There's more to come from Josh.

My only concern with Josh has been his unfortunate habit to pick up hamstring pulls at regular intervals. I would like to know more about what AFCB's physio team believe is the reason behind it as he had similar problems at Blackburn which made him sit out games. Twitch-fibre nerves are very easily damaged and I suspect that Josh has a high level of them as his bursts of speed are a match for anyone at the club. He is 24 now and his body should be getting used to the strains of being a professional footballer so hopefully he will start to find it easier to stay on the pitch.

Having shrugged off a calf injury in midweek, Josh was excellent up at Newcastle. He has been making much more intelligent runs to create space for others and when he collects the ball in wide areas he is linking much better with Matt Ritchie. I like to see Josh playing in the whole behind Benik Afobe as he brings in midfield players and is a threat himself when positioned centrally, as we saw for the second goal on the day.

Josh still has some way to go to be a natural finisher in my view but he is thinking quicker and holding off defenders better. His first touch was a good one on his goal and with another step to set himself before shooting, he really took the net off with the ferocity of his strike. Josh has four goal this season and it is the area if his game that he needs to improve on next. If he gets that right, AFCB could have a very big talent on their hands.

New signing Josh King may share workload with Wilson

AFCB have moved very quickly to secure the services of Josh King. I see him as a possible alternative to Callum Wilson as both players have drive and  power to their game and although Josh may not have broken through as much as might have been expected for a former Man Utd young player it is likely that the best years are ahead of him and he has done his hard work in the lower leagues. He's another international player and at 23 he should win a lot more caps for Norway.

Last season I didn't feel that the Cherries had much back up if Callum had been injured and the long season did start to tell on Callum's body towards the end. The injury history of King does not look great but with AFCB's physio team he can hopefully play more games than he did for Blackburn Rovers. Matt Ritchie began the 2013-14 season with hamstring problems and AFCB got him right in a few months and now he has had a brilliant last 12 months, so I don't think Josh King could be at a better club if he is prone to such problems.

When I have seen Josh play I have been impressed with his aggression and pace and he'll be a handful for defenders. It appears that Eddie Howe certainly will go attacking teams in the Premier League with players that are quick and have strength in their game. If Christian Atsu is also added to the line up then I would be wondering which of AFCB's players would be the quickest?

Josh's FA Cup hat-trick against Stoke this year.

It does look like AFCB are going to be very careful with their spending. Perhaps this still gives them the opportunity to bring in a couple more players who do come with big price tags. If the club can stay up without over spending then it will help the long term future of the club.  

Congratulations to Harry Arter as well on being voted the PFA Fans' player Award for the Championship in 2014-15. You'll also find All Departments has released Cherry Culture Part 4: Kits.

Blackburn's Josh King - a risky signing for the Cherries?

Earlier today, Sky Sports was first to break the news that Josh King was thought to be a target for AFCB having not renewed his contract with Blackburn Rovers. The left-sided winger only made 19 appearances for rovers last season and 11 of those were from the bench. With a total of four goals for the season I suppose that you could say it could have gone better for him last season and AFCB were said to be interested in him last January.

King is an international player for Norway and having come through the Man Utd academy he certainly has pedigree but the presence of Jordan Rhodes and Rudy Gestede have limited his chance of making a bigger impression at Ewood Park. I do remember him scoring a stunning hat-trick in the FA Cup against Stoke City in February when he tore through the middle of the Stoke defence with great speed and power to take Rovers to the quarter finals.

How much of a risk though would it be for the Cherries to bring King into a 25-man Premier League squad? Frankly, I believe Eddie Howe has to take some risks and if King comes on a free transfer, financially it will be a good deal for the Cherries. Ensuring that King is over his injury problems will be key. In January he suffered a hamstring injury, he also missed the league match at Dean Court for the same reason and March he missed the sixth round tie with Liverpool with another hamstring problem. He did get back into the side as a sub for the Huddersfield game in April and Blackburn's last game of the season against Ipswich. While we know he can score against Premier League teams, Howe will need to know if he can give him enough minutes on the pitch.

A change in scenery for the 23-year-old could help his injury problems and get his career back on track. There has to be a reason why he breaks down so often and a change in training methods could help him to overcome some of his problems, but it would be a risk if the Cherries take him on. AFCB would need game time out of King and the medical could well be the most difficult thing in getting him to Dean Court. If King does come to Bournemouth though it would probably kill off any hopes of Demarai Gray coming to the club, but that would be a saving of £5+ million. 

Can AFCB ride the Wolves storm headed their way?

Wolves have been in good form of late and they will know that a win at Dean Court would put them on level points with the Cherries at a crucial part of the season, but a defeat for Wolves would really harm them. The progress of Wolves has been quite low key but they are now looming large as a potential threat to one of the current top six places and this match is now a six pointer in terms of the momentum it is likely to give a winning side.

Enjoy the spectacle tonight. These games are what the Championship
are all about - two great sides fighting out.

Beating Cardiff  last time out for Wolves was perhaps made a little easier with Peter Whittingham getting sent off in the second half, but Wolves had already got their goal in the first half. Wolves only managed eight shots at goal all match so they may not be firing as much as they would like, but the Cherries know that they never give up and will make things difficult. Kenny Jacket has been saying how spirits are high at their club and it is up to the Cherries to upset their good run. They have sold their ticket allocation of 1273 seats for tonight so will be in good voice.

For the Cherries it will be about keeping it tight at the back again as they did against Blackburn. I hope the pressure of needing a win does not weigh too heavily on the players as they just need to try and enjoy the moment of entertaining the crowd in what will be a special atmosphere. A win against Wolves would set the Cherries up beautifully with a visit to the capital on Friday night, and I think a home win would make that Friday game against Fulham all the more easier as they will be able to take plenty of confidence into it then.

The strain is starting to be felt by all the leading teams at the moment and it is just going to be about trying to beat the team in front of you. That is all our players can try to do and we hope then that the rest takes care of itself. UTCIAD!

Yann offers plan B, C and D

There has been much mention of the so-called plan B or rather the lack of it for this AFCB team, but when plan B for English sides usually means lumping it into the box it is not the most cultured or even scientifically clever way for the Cherries to try and score a goal as they are not blessed with height. But there is one player that the Cherries have that does offer more variety than most in his play and it was great to see him giving Jason Steele all kinds of problems in the Blackburn goal on Saturday.

There's lots to Yann's game.

Yann Kermorgant provided a plan B in his Bullet-like header in the second half that had Jason Steele scrambling towards his left hand post to keep out. Yann was prepared to get his head on the ball while taking a battering from the Blackburn defenders and he was getting up really well despite the close attendance of Alex Baptiste and Matt Kilgallon.

There were other moments as well when I felt AFCB used Yann as a bit of a battering-ram to try and force a goal and the moment when it almost worked was when Simon Francis put in a deep cross from the right wing and Yann gave himself several yards before making his leap. The header was powerful and smashed against the Crossbar with Steele beaten. If AFCB do have a long-ball game about them then that was it right there, but it did not prove anymore profitable than what had gone before.

The main thing is that the Cherries had shown that they do have more than one way of playing when Yann is on the pitch and his performance was close to delivering what the fans so desired. The Directness of AFCB's play when they do hit Yann with crosses is not something that they try and do all the time though and it was no less adventurous to also bring on Matt Ritchie and Tokelo Rantie as Eddie Howe explored different ways to try and get that first goal.

However, on this occasion Blackburn's own defensive plan was just too strong and considering no other team has achieved a nil-nil against the Cherries at home it is perhaps a little unfair to say that the Cherries have not been finding ways to score and win games, because in the main they have been doing better than most with 17 wins so far this season.

Just in case, Yann's also got Flicks as well if you need a plan F.

Creating chances and still believing

Jason Tindall was adamant that the Cherries were still well on course to achieve their highest finish ever in the English Championship and was confident to send a defiant blast out to all those who were saying that the Cherries challenge was starting to fade. Backing it up with wins though is what we all want now and while Jason and Eddie say there is every reason to be positive and pleased about recent performances it has been six games since the last win was put on the board.

Fraser and Smith have added a directness to AFCB's play going forward.

Considering the lack of wins it has not been a failure to create chances that has been hindering the Cherries. Far from it. I struggle to recall every chance during the games because they have usually been packed with goal opportunities and it has usually been down to some splendid saves from keepers that has prevented the Cherries from raising their goal count. 

Marc Pugh has been playing some of the best football that I have seen play at the Goldsands since he came to the club and Ryan Fraser has been fitting in like he had never been out of the team in the earlier part of the season. There are plenty of good vibes going through the team and all the players are willing to shoot, which even includes Andrew Surman who scored a blinder up at the City ground the other week. Now that Harry Arter is back the team will have more power again going through the centre of the pitch and there is a belief that the luck will soon change.

There will be no better time for that to happen than against Wolverhampton Wanderers who our now just three points behind the Cherries and come to Dean Court on the back of a 0-1 away win at Cardiff City, where the home team went down to 10-men. Tuesday night should be a cracker. UTCIAD!

All Departments has released its latest podcast on AFCB v Blackburn Rovers. Go to the All Departments' website to listen or scroll  down the right side panel on Cherry Chimes to the All Departments' logo and click on the sound bar to listen.

Finally, congratulations to the AFC Bournemouth Ladies team who won the Ladies' Hampshre League Championship with a 4-0 win yesterday against Horndean FC

A better day at the back for the Cherries

The match against Blackburn Rovers was destined to be a battle that was mainly played in Rovers half of the field. That perhaps gave the Cherries defenders a bit more time at the back to make sure they were organised and could keep a clean sheet, but there was a good deal of pressing by the wing backs high up the pitch that could have been exploited and the Cherries will have been well pleased to finally get another shut out.

AFCB's defenders got it right against Blackburn.

You have to go back to the home match in late-January against 10-man Watford for AFCB's last clean sheet and it has been a real reason for the team dropping so many points in recent games. The back four in that time has seen little change with only Adam Smith managing to get his way into the team there for a start apart from the usual incumbents. I have felt that Artur Boruc has come under more pressure of late and we saw that again in the Blackburn match when he did not come for a back pass and got a real telling off from his defenders. Communication on the pitch is really important and sometimes the keeper has to bark his orders and give that back four no doubt that he is commanding that box and has everything under control. Indecision simply isn't helpful and when Artur is on his game he puts that confidence out there for others to feed off, but when he is slow to distribute the ball and clear his lines it does unnerve players.

Full concentration please Artur.

Steve Cook has been back to his best recently and it has been good to see him coming out with the ball from the back a little bit more again. He and Tommy Elphick are well adjusted to life in the Championship now and there is not a lot that they have not seen before or haven't been able to deal with, but getting clean sheets has not come easy and Eddie Howe may wonder why? The top teams will look to keep clean sheets now and it is something that will always give the Cherries a point or more if they can do it and in the last frantic weeks of the Championship it could be that keeping the goals out will be what decides the final places.