Keeper search takes Cherries to Anfield's door

Bournemouth are clearly making their voice heard in search of a new goalkeeper. The Sun claims that their latest target is Liverpool's Simon Mignolet, who has made just two appearances for Liverpool this past season. Mignolet has plenty of experience, but the price is expected to be in the region of £15m and it is anyone's guess whether Mignolet can find his best form again.

Could Simon Mignolet come out of the shadows to star at Dean Court?

The keeper position is going to be perhaps AFCB's most important transfer of the summer. While they have great young keepers, it appears that Eddie Howe wants more experienced hands to rival Artur Boruc for the number one shirt. Since 2016, Mignolet has been more of a spectator than Liverpool's main keeper choice, and while Loris Karius could not keep the shirt long for Jurgen Klopp, Alisson has been one of the best keepers in the Premier League.

AFCB seem to make a beeline for keepers that have fallen by the wayside and attempt to resurrect their careers. It has worked with Boruc and it also did with Darryl Flahavan, and Lee Camp, but Asmir Begovic has been a bit of a disappointment, even if he started well. Mignolet is still going to be in good shape at 31 and he has been at the top of the sport in playing for Liverpool. He'll know what pressure is like and it would be quite a big name for Bournemouth to sign.

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What Mignolet's value is worth is where AFCB might struggle to see Liverpool's point of view on him. AFCB have not paid more than £10m for a keeper and if they are to jump up to £15m there are probably other candidates that also come into the mix. Having been linked with Nick Pope and Jack Butland, AFCB are perhaps just testing the waters of a number of experienced keepers to see where they can perhaps get the best deal. 

What I wonder is would Mignolet have the confidence to be a number one keeper again in the Premier League and whether he would view AFCB as a positive move for his career? While Alisson has not missed many games for Liverpool, Mignolet has been waiting a long time to get game time even if he is the number two for the Champions League final. Severing links with a top four club is never easy for a player and Mignolet would have to see AFCB as a new challenge that could help the Cherries' rise up the league - does he still have the appetite for that? 

You can't reach the Premier League without investing

It is clear that clubs have to invest to make it to the Premier League and AFCB have had a helping hand with the financial backing of Maxim Demin. While the Daily Mail has reported that the Russian owner has stumped up around £25m in the form of loans the club was far from being a major spender in the Championship in the 2013-14 season. AFCB met the necessary Financial Fair Play regulations set for the Championship and a loss of £10.3m in the 2013-14 season will be swallowed up by the successes of the 2014-15 season, although further outlay will have been made in the second return season to the Championship. 

Dean Court has seen much improvement, but to reach the Premier League the club
needed to invest in players, training facilities and infrastructure to compete with the best teams.

Some will have seen Maxim's support as a gamble, but with the talent of Eddie Howe and his coaching staff and the quality of the players that are at AFCB it was more of a shrewd business decision to back a football club that was headed in the right direction. In the last season there has been player investment with Artur Boruc and Kenwyne Jones joining the club on loan and there have been wages to pay for last summer's free signings of Junior Stanislas and Dan Gosling. It has been sensible investment though and the sale of Lewis Grabban and funds from the Adam Lallana move from Southampton to Liverpool have to be noted as well for bringing finance into the club.

Moreover, Eddie Howe and Jeff Motsyn have reiterated how the club could not have got where they are now without the support of Maxim Demin. AFCB still has to operate according to its means and player recruitment we have already heard from Eddie Howe will not see him spending 'silly money', which is not his. It is now important as it always has been to bring the right players in for the right amount of money and the club has announced today that seven players are being released by the club - Ian Harte, Josh McQuoid, Benji Buchel, Joe Partington, Mohamed Coulibaly and Miles Addison, while Darryl Flahavan has asked to seek first team football elsewhere. 

Maxim Demin's financial support will not be forgotten by fans just as the club will not forget the fans that gave all they had to keep the club in business during the dark years. This is a new era and AFCB have the opportunity to secure the club's future. The wage bill is going to be bigger in the Premier League, but as long as the club structures its spending and keeps within its means I expect to see some additions in the next couple of months that will give AFCB every chance to fulfil its next dream of surviving and possibly thriving in the Premier League.

Finally, a big thanks to those players that are being released by the club who all made contributions to the team and all the best for the future.

Lee Camp will have enjoyed the clean sheet at Rotherham

It was a bit of a surprise to hear that Artur Boruc would not be starting in the match against Rotherham. An injured neck has forced him out of training in the week and Lee Camp already had his chance to play at the New York stadium for the second time this year. While it may have come as shock to fans, Lee Camp is the kind of  professional that will have been ready to go and he did not disappoint.

Is Lee Camp about to keep goal again against Leeds Utd on Tuesday? 

The only worry was that he had a tight calf muscle in the second half and he could be a doubt for the Leeds match if he is not 100 per cent. Knowing Lee though, he would be very keen to play in the Leeds match. He will want to show that he is capable of helping the team and the timing of his return to the side is perfect for that.

To get a clean sheet was in part down to Rotherham's poor shooting as they only managed two shots on target, despite being in some great positions to score. On another day, Lee might have had to do more but a clean sheet is exactly that and he will be confident of doing the same against Leeds if he gets the opportunity. If he and Artur are both out for the game against Leeds it would be a problem, although Darryl Flahavan would already be reminiscing of his penalty save last season at Elland Road if called upon. It is a great thing about this squad that they are there for each other and in times of need they are all pulling out performances because they have a common goal.

Hopefully, we will get news on Artur Boruc and Lee Camp and hope that they are both fit and can travel to Leeds Utd. Ryan Allsop could otherwise find himself back at AFCB having played for Coventry City on Saturday.

Eddie moves quickly to sign Artur Boruc

AFCB signed Artur Boruc on loan from Southampton until January next year. The move for the Saints' stopper has come out of the blue I think for many AFCB fans as the one name that has probably been nailed on to the team sheet since his signing for AFCB was Lee Camp. Recent performances by Lee have been questioned a little, but it is still surprising to see Eddie Howe look to ramp up competition to the goalkeeping section of the team at this point. Any loan at this time though is described an emergency loan, so I am half expecting news that one of the AFCB keepers is out of action.

From the outside things can seem very meaningful when you have seen AFCB let in a few goals of late, but of course the signing may have been on the cards for some time. I certainly am pleased if no player at the club feels that their place in the squad is safe and of all the positions in the team I believe the keeper's shirt was the one that everyone would be confident to say that Camp will be the number one. Now that may not be the case up until January. It also perhaps pushes Darryl Flahavan out of a place on the bench, while Benji Buchel who played so well in most of the pre-season matches is not getting further opportunities at the moment.

In some ways this will keep everyone on their toes and shows that the club is willing to improve the squad whenever it can. Whether it is unsettling or confidence boosting we will have to see. It usually takes some time for a keeper to get to know a back four and vice-versa, so it will be of interest to fans to see if Boroc comes straight into the team against Watford. I have not read elsewhere that Boroc is said to be available for selection tomorrow, and reading the comments of Eddie Howe - he has no doubts about the quality of this signing, "a major coup".

Bank on Lee Camp to keep 'em out

All pre-season AFCB have been struggling with keepers. There was usually one on the pitch - Benjamin Buchel - but there was never usually any back up. Then come the first game of the season the Cherries have three keepers limbering up and all is fine with the world. What's been going on?

"It was a race against time with Campy," said Jason Tindall. "But he's trained the last four days and has looked sharp, so luckily for the team he's available for selection and he plays today."

Lee Camp made a great start to his season at Huddersfield.

I don't feel that it was such a gamble to play Lee last weekend as he has such a lot of experience and a sensible head on his shoulders that would say if he was not 100 per cent. So when the first shot was fired in against him he would be more than ready. In the warm up at Huddersfield  I had a bit of a watch of Lee to see how he was doing and sure enough when I saw Neil Moss crack a shot past him into the top corner, Lee's reaction was all I needed to see to know he was going to be okay against Huddersfield. He turned sharply to see the ball he had left had nestled in the back of the net and being angry with himself for getting beat he raised his right foot and kicked the post in frustration. That's Lee - he's back I thought.

The one occasion when things did not look so good for him was when Oliver Norwood thumped a shot against Lee's cross bar but it stayed out and it is no less that Lee and the team deserved as they strangled the Terriers for most of the game. I also thought Lee made some good second half saved from headers and believe he will be looking to retain his number one shirt now for as many matches as he can now.

His exertions on Saturday earned him a rest on Tuesday night when Darryl Flahavan played his first game of the season. Benji Buchel can probably count himself a bit unlucky if that happens but going to places like Huddersfield and soaking up the atmosphere is not such a bad job and he will at some point have to star in a competitive first team AFCB game.

Our fantastic day at the John Smith's stadium

We had an early start for our drive up to the John Smith's stadium in Huddersfield. At least the weather was good and by 8 O'Clock we were on the road. We soon reached Newport Pagnall and stopped for a quick tea before carrying on to the Woodall Services on the M1 where we saw a few AFC Bournemouth fans and a Birmingham fan wearing a Stephen Gleeson shirt - it wasn't going to be a good day for him. We steered into Huddersfield by 1pm and we had a quick look to see where we could get into a main car park for the stadium before finding the one right behind the away supporter's stand. We were a little less pleased with the fee of £7 but at least the car would be safe.

Stephen and Robert fully refreshed.

At the stadium at last.

John Smith's stadium - one bit that hasn't got beer logos all over it.

The club shop could just about squeeze a small coach load of people into it, but we were happy enough to wait our turn and have a look at the red and white away shirt and a few of the Terrier mascot soft toys and goodies that were on view. We also spoke to a few Huddersfield fans about the stadium and we were shocked to hear that it was 20 years old now.

Stephen looks a bit more comfortable than Robert
who's choice of seat was perhaps not the best. 

Inside The Rope Walk there were plenty who decided
standing was the only option while many spilled outside.

AFCB and Huddersfield fans found plenty to talk about.

Our next target was the Rope Walk Bar just behind the stadium and we rushed inside to get a drink and to sit down to see the Sheffield Utd v Bristol City game on the box. Much to our delight we saw Wade Elliott get the winner. The bar got full very quickly and Huddersfield fans were happy to chat to us about their hopes for the season. Many seemed content with a position around 18th which is something that I don't think any AFCB fan would be pleased with this season for our team. Little were we to know that Mark Robins would leave the Yorkshire club the next morning after the poor result for Huddersfield Town.

It would be tempting to try and sneak in as a player but I think the
steward behind the door may have had something to say about that.

It was 2pm by now and just an hour until kick-off so we thought we would head on up to the gate and see if we could get some early photos of any of the players warming up. Walking back past the main reception we saw the programme sellers trying to get us to buy one of their newspaper programmes for £2. Apparently the home fans had asked for a more traditional newspaper programme rather than a push bound booklet this season.  I was not convinced that it would really add to our day greatly and decided to give it a miss having heard a few comments from fans. Today, I think many of the home fans would be happy to use them as fish 'n chip paper!

We had a full security check at the South stand and a bit of fun with the steward who was most intrigued at what I had in my pockets but was slight disappointed with a set of keys and a tattered old wallet. "I'll need those keys to get home," I said and he quickly decided that I was not going to do any one any harm with my Ford keys.

We were immediately please with the space around the facilities on the concourse and hundreds of fans could stand around and talk without falling over rows of chairs or down loads of steep steps. We wanted to get to see the pitch though so hurried down to our seats and started to take in the scenery. Darryl Flahavan had ventured out first and was warming up all by himself in the sunshine. I started to take pictures for Cherry Chimes and Robert and Stephen listened to the radio. I had bought a new splitter jack so they could both listen to the same radio but all we could find was the BBC Radio Leeds station which did not cover the Huddersfield game at all. It was all a mess of wires and bags around us but the boy's didn't seem to mind.

Darryl Flahavan puts a bit of swerve on his kick.

Fraser and MacDonald did lots of sprinting reps away
from the main squad and I expect they will feature on Tuesday
in the Capital One Cup game against Exeter City.

As there was such a lot of space in the stand, we decided to vacate our ticket seats and sort out a place higher up. It did mean we could not see the big score board, but it would have been a stretch behind our heads to see it any way if we had stayed in our original positions. You didn't really need a clock though to see that Marc Pugh had put the Cherries ahead in less than 30 seconds! It was bonkers and the AFCB fans didn't hesitate to start partying from the first minute to the last.

The game sped along with AFCB passing the ball well and Ritchie looking to get on the score sheet  whenever he could. Most eyes were on Callum Wilson and we were all soon singing "Callum Wilson - Bournemouth's goal machine!" It was 0-2 by half time and there was no real fear of Huddersfield being able to create anything that was going to change things in the second half.

You'll have seen from the match report that I had a bit of fun in trying to do a Chimes fan cam at half time. I'll have to think a bit more about the setting for such reports next time as we were rather drowned out by the tannoy system, while my friend Damien Hill was rather silhouetted against the backdrop of the John Smith's stadium.

AFCB players and Huddersfield Town come out for the second half.

AFCB went on to register a 0-4 win and we felt that while the Terriers might have scored a goal if they had had a bit more luck, Lee Camp was never in great difficulty during the afternoon and probably was pleased that his comeback was not too strenuous.

Coming out of the car park was a bit more of an exercise for us but eventually we got going and to avoid some of the traffic heading south on the M1 we headed down the A roads to Sheffield as I knew United played early at midday and that Sheffield Wednesday were away at Brighton, so we could go past Hillsborough and have a quick look at the ground before heading off back to Redhill still singing: "We're top of the league, we're top of the league".  

How much of a blow will it be if Camp does not play?

I have not heard any great detail on exactly what Lee Camp's injury is apart from it was a bit more serious than first thought and that he has not been rushed back into action. I am hoping that AFCB don't have the same bad luck as last season with keepers, but if you think about it they always say you have to be a little nuts to be a keeper. Even today's lighter balls can break fingers and sprain wrists quite easily and no matter how much padding keepers may have it is not difficult to pick up injuries with the intensity of play that goes on in training and pre-season friendlies.

Lee Camp could be set the play at Huddersfield
having missed all the pre-season matches.

So what if Lee Camp becomes unavailable for the first few games of the season? It does not look like Darryl Flahavan is any better shape as we have not seen him in the warm up games either. Benjamin Buchel will do a capable job I am sure, but if he did get injured during a game it might be interesting to see who Eddie would have put on the bench to cover the keeper position - Jordan Holmes? Surely Lee Camp will recover in time for the Huddersfield game, but if there are any worries I imagine a clause was put into Ryan Allsop's loan move to be recalled if really necessary.

The form of the keeper has been a big part of the success of AFCB's climb up the divisions. I thought Shwan Jalal played some amazing games in the lower leagues and was set for big things before his back problems really set him back. David James added massive confidence to the back line while he was at the club. Ryan Allsop was unbeatable for times during the 2012-13 season and yet the Championship was a different test for him that he will no doubt conquer in time. Darryl Flahavan has not let the team down either when he has been between the posts.

It is only now that the thought of not having Lee Camp available that starts you thinking did he become indispensable last season? While Lee has been good and will be missed the team has to learn to be without players at various parts of the season and that includes keepers. It is not an ideal situation but I prefer to see it as a fabulous chance for some one else to may be come in and step up. I think Lee will do everything he can to be at Huddersfield and so we'll just have to see if he is 100 per cent fit to put the gloves on next weekend.  

Can Flahavan and Buchel put any pressure on Camp?

When it comes to goalkeepers every club has a clear number one who they want to see hold the keepers jersey for most of the season. It is no different at AFCB. Lee Camp is the prime candidate to fill that role on last season's performances and I have no doubt he will do an excellent job. But will Flahavan and Buchel be able to push him hard enough for that place to have a realistic chance to wear the jersey for more than a couple of league cup games?

Darryl has not been between the sticks for a while now for AFCB.

I do hope that Eddie Howe gives Buchel or Flahavan a chance to perform in some of the cup games. While I want AFCB to progress as far as they can in all competitions I don't think that a season sitting on the bench is really good for any one and while the Development squad will have some proper competition this season, I don't think anything beats playing in the first team for sharpness and experience. 

Benjamin Buchel is an international keeper for Lichtenstein and should be pushing to get ahead of Flahavan to see if he can be the number two keeper. Unless you have been able to watch Dorchester or Poole Town though last season you probably won't have seen much of the 25-year-old keeper. My first real look at him was the FC Copenhagen live stream game and the ball was not down his end too much in the first half. I see that he also played against Eastleigh in mid-week as Lee Camp is still getting back to full fitness. If some of you have seen Buchel play regularly let us know what you think of his performances - could he step up in a goalkeeping crisis?

Lee Camp has a great presence about him and put in some
great performances last season. I feel really confident with him in goal.

Darryl Flahavan has also had his problems in being injured for a lot of last season even if he made an incredible penalty save at Elland Road last season. He will perhaps have the chance to play some games this season now that Ryan Allsop has gone out on loan, but it can't be easy for any number two knowing that you have to wait to come off the bench and have to be ready straight away to take over if required. I think an experienced keeper is always best for that role and Darryl will no doubt be talking to Lee and Benjamin as much as he can when he sees things that might help them.

Lee Camp will have all the pressure on him to perform though, week in and week out. He has shown how his confidence has added steel to the defence and he will be looking to earn more clean sheets this time around. I expect him to win a couple of man of the match awards, because on his day he can really make the difference for AFCB.     

Seeing is believing and Bingham looked the part

It has been a long time since I have seen the Cherries kicking the ball about. The Millwall away games seems years ago, but it was a real treat to see the team play at Vulkanlandarena in Austria against FC Copenhagen. You could see that there is plenty of work still to do but in the first half I felt that Arter really got a grip of the game while Ritchie was trying to get in the ball as much as he could. The passing was what I looked most closely at and while there were quite a few long diagonal balls from one wing to another the movement of the players seemed fairly strong and FC Copenhagen took a while to match the Cherries' performance.

Kermorgant and Arter kept FC Copenhagen busy first half.

You can't put too much ficus on such games as they only give you a glimpse of how the players are doing. I thought Eddie Howe would have taken a close look at the play of Adam Smith who looked quite settled at right back. I did not see much of Pugh or Gosling although that might have been a bit down to the the camera being on the right side of the pitch and further away from them.

What I didn't expect was to be shown that we have a young striker who has such good control and a bit of confidence about him. Rakish Bingham looked the part and I expect even Eddie Howe will have been watching him with a smile on his face. Bingham is currently on trial with the Cherries but he is a Wigan player and played 11 games on loan at Falkirk last season. I thought he offered himself to the ball well and linked with Rantie especially well. He is only 20 years-old so a good potential signing for the first team let alone the Development squad from what I saw. Sticking a goal away in the FC Copenhagen friendly won't have done his case any harm. I'd like to see more of him and hope he plays in some more of the friendlies coming up.

Bingham was one of the more exciting aspects of the second half of the FC Copenhagen game, but the players on show in that half seemed to find it more hard going against the Danish team. Flahavan also had a bit more to do apart from picking the ball out of the net twice. I did not see FC Copenhagen's first goal or the penalty incident that led to the second, (O'Kane was said to be the culprit) but it is fair to say that the start of the second half was none too good for the Cherries as they conceded two goals in the space of a couple of minutes. Concentration was probably not what it could have been and we know what that is like when you are playing in the Championship so I hope Eddie makes the players switch on to such things. Gisalson and Mussis scored the goals for FC Copenhagen.

Last night the club put up the full 90 minutes again on the official AFCB website so you could see the goals but it appears to have been taken down again. Perhaps they don't want Championship teams making too many notes. I did find a back link to the first half though here while it is kept alive. Some how it still edits out Ritchie's first half goal!

After a bit of digging though I have found the match highlights with some goals for you all.

Kyle Cotter and his World Cup Watch is back to preview the third/fourth place play-off match between Brazil and Netherlands on World Cup Chimes - is it a waste of time?   

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. 


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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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Allsop will gain from more match experience

I see Ryan Allsop as a goalkeeper that rose so fast up the football pyramid with his excellent performances in League One that perhaps the enormity of suddenly being the Championship and having the responsibility of being he Cherries No1 had come a bit soon for him. His glandular fever will have been an added blow that would ultimately ensure that he spent time resting which was probably beneficial for him last season, but now he should be looking to get back in the saddle.

Ryan needs to get himself back on track.

I think the idea of a loan spell elsewhere would be a good option for Ryan as he would have a fresh sheet and could concentrate on his football without having to be reminded of last season. I want to see Ryan do well whether it be with the Cherries or elsewhere. There are some areas of his game that have now been identified where he can improve and he can go away and work on them at a lower league club. I don't think sitting on the bench at AFCB will really do a great deal for his nerves or confidence if he is always waiting for a chance to play and the Cherries have just extended Darryl Flahavan's contract.

Lee Camp continues to lead the way in terms
of goalkeeping ability at AFCB.

So what would be a good season for Ryan Fraser? A couple of loan spells at clubs with an enhanced reputation and a rebuilt confidence to challenge Lee Camp for the No 1 jersey? I wonder why it is an option that Eddie Howe is said to be pondering over. I think it would be a good option for both parties while it would also perhaps give Benjamin Buchel the chance to be a goalkeeping backup when Flahavan is unavailable.

World Cup Chimes previews the Group A match as Mexico take on Croatia.

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De Vere's Urban Village Hotel in Bournemouth are sponsors of Cherry Chimes and are getting ready for England's next game. 

Tuesday 24th June, England’s third Game.
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Not everything is going Howe's way this summer

While Eddie Howe usually has a lot of optimism and encouragement to give others I sense a shade of worry to his voice this week and perhaps a feeling that he is getting supporters ready for some possible disappointments regarding players down the line. How far talks have already been progressing with some of the players is starting to surface. We know Darryl Flahavan has signed up for another year along with Ian Harte and many of the players are on long term contracts. But we also know that bigger clubs could be in for some of them at any time and it appears that the Cherries are bracing themselves for a series of possible bids from other teams for some of AFCB's best players.

A few headaches are mounting for Eddie. 

In previous seasons it would probably have been greeted with some enthusiasm for a cash stretched club but when you are trying to build the team it is frustrating and disappointing to see what you were building being slowly taken apart. I already sense that the loss of Grabban is being felt more than was first signalled by the club mainly because signings like Callum Wilson are proving far more difficult to land than might have been expected. If the club loses Steve Cook and Eunan O'Kane as well then we are into a rebuilding project.

With Wolves sniffing around Cook it is important
 the Cherries offer him a salary to keep him at the club if Howe believes
he is the best man for the team at centre back. 

While some may worry about those potentially favourable for a move away it is noticeable that no other signings have followed Dan Gosling yet as we move ever closer to July and the pre-season friendlies. Not everything is perhaps going the Cherries way off the pitch and turning the transfer window into a successful summer is going to need lots of hard work.    

The fixture list posted yesterday was another difficult hand played out to AFCB with just about the toughest August line up they could have imagined. "We are playing a number of fancied teams in the opening month with three long trips in there as well," said Eddie Howe. Some good news would be nice to hear soon. 

All quiet regarding Eunan at the moment, but let's not talk about him too much.

It's crunch time tonight as England take on Uruguay. World Cup Chimes warms up by assessing what Roy will do with Wayne Roonie. If you are confident of an England win then check out the odds at FreeBetNegotiator. 

Sending out a message - Cook's not for sale

In demand, Steve Cook.

Having lost Lewis Grabban this summer it appears that AFCB are moving fast now to renegotiate the 23-year-old defender's terms of his contract which already will keep him at Dean Court until June 2016 unless someone comes in with an offer that is acceptable. That is the worry if he is currently under valued by the Cherries and there is interest as suggested about.

I also believe Cook's signature on a new deal would be something of a message to other players who might be thinking of a move that Eddie Howe is keen to keep as many of the players as he can from last season's team. There are others that might be targets for other clubs such as Eunan O'Kane or Matt Ritchie, but if new contracts are handed out to lots of players will that reduce the kitty available to bring others in? Will it also unbalance the pay structure and lead to some disharmony? I hope not and that all the players see anyone getting a new contract as a positive thing and that players who do well are rewarded.

The timing of Cook's contract negotiations as yesterday reported by SkySports suggests to me that the Cherries are expecting an approach in the next few days or weeks. Replacing another key player is something that Eddie Howe clearly does not want to have to do this summer and Cook will be the beneficiary of that strategy. Considering that Elliott Ward was brought in to add experience to the centre backs at the club, Steve Cook has done amazingly well to cement his place in the side for so many games last season. There was the odd mistake but he was so often the saviour and he will still probably telling everyone about his last minute goal against Barnsley for years to come. It's those special moments that will help players like Cook to feel that they are key members of the team and that there are more good times to come on the south coast.

Meanwhile, Tony Pulis and others (Wolves for example) can either stump up or look elsewhere. Steve Cook doesn't look like he will be one of those players that Eddie will let go in a hurry. 

Radio Solent also tweeted that Darryl Flahavan signed a one year extension to his contract yesterday as AFCB look to secure the squad for next season. AFCB have also drawn Exeter City away in the first round of the Capital One Cup - tie to be played week beginning 11 August.

World Cup Chimes has reaction to Germany's blasting of Portugal and a preview of Russia v South Korea.

World Cup viewing
De Vere's Urban Village Hotel in Bournemouth are sponsors of Cherry Chimes and are getting ready for England's next game. 

Next Carnival Day Thursday 19th June
England v Uruguay
- Live DJ, Brazilian Carnival Dancers & children’s face painting.
- Entertainment commencing from 17.00, kick off at 20.00

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- The Victory will be serving food until 22.00 for the entire duration of the World Cup.
Download the complete game planner for the Victory pub and kitchen.

Time for a clear out

With John Gregory being quoted this week in The Argos that he'd love Matt Tubbs to be with Crawley next season it appears that AFCB are now trying to clear out those players who have been surplus to requirements. It's really a question of how many players that the Cherries can move on now as they try and get the club more ship-shape for the books. The difficulty with layers like Tubbs is that they are being well paid and they cost the club a lot to bring in in the first place. But perhaps Crawley or another team will be wiling to offer market value.

Miles Addison is another that is said to be likely to move away as he has not been able to win a place in Eddie Howe's side. But there are others too who you can question if they are getting enough games like; Darryl Flahavan, Joe Partington, Shaun MacDonald, Josh McQuoid and Brett Pitman. I don't think all of those will move, but the Cherries can't afford to simply release many players either.

Tubbs in his way out?

No need for Addison.

Is MacDonald happy to stay?

Over the past few months the Cherries have already been doing a lot of house cleaning. Wes Thomas, Wes Fogden, Shwan Jalal, Richard Hughes and Stephen Purches have all come off the player wage bill and the possibility of more is fairly high. I don't think the club is as lean as it perhaps could be yet but with a few more going out the door it will leave some room for a few new faces which is what the Cherries will need if they are to challenge for a play-off spot next time around. Even just staying in the Championship is something that will be hard to achieve if you stand still. The challenge is that there are many other clubs out there trying to off-load players as well and they will be in similar positions looking to get some return on assets that no longer feature for them.  

Will Eddie be in for Wes Foderingham?

There are changes already afoot at AFCB with players like Shwan Jalal becoming a free agent in the summer, while the future of Darryl Flahavan has not been cleared up yet. Shwan had a few loan deals in the last 12 months and has not been such a part of the first team squad as in recent years but his departure will leave space for a keeper to join the team. This will be made even more evident if Darryl Flahavan's one year contract is not renewed and with Lee Camp and Ryan Allsop the main contenders for the number one shirt, there could be a move for a player such as Swindon's Wes Foderingham who Eddie Howe is said to have been watching a few months ago. 

Who will make a good support keeper for Lee Camp?

I think another young support goal keeper to push Ryan Allsop would be a good thing as Ryan will need time to get his performance levels up to what we have seen from Lee Camp. If Lee were to get injured then you wonder if Ryan has overcome his first season nerves in the Championship and could now be the confident goalkeeper that we saw in League One. Coming for crosses and making decisions on when to narrow the angles for one-on-ones and distribution from the back are all things that I would expect Ryan to have been working on, because his chance to play at the Championship level again is going to happen sooner than later.

Is Ryan ready for his second season in the Championship if he has to step up?

Whether Foderingham is the right keeper to come in as another understudy to Lee Camp is something that AFCB might well be pondering, but I don't feel that Darryl Flahavan has really been available enough to win another contract. If he does though he must be showing something amazing in training. Darryl Flahavan's contract runs out in June 2014.

Will Macca's wait go on?

Dedicated followers of the Cherries will know that Shaun MacDonald has been sat on the bench for rather a long part of the second half of this season. The Welsh Wizard has been kept out of the team by the combined form of Andrew Surman, Eunan O'Kane and Harry Arter while Adam Smith has also scored a few substitute appearances ahead of him. As we come to the final two games of the season it may seem harsh, but I can see Shaun and others though still missing out. 

Eddie will of course pick the best team he can in the remaining two games. At the end of the season he will want to know exactly how good the squad has been in terms of their points total and what they are capable of achieving. So it is unlikely that we will see any favours, but at least those players who have played their part in training and as substitutes can take in the thanks of the crowd on Saturday when they will get a chance to share in the congratulations that I am sure will be coming their way.

Shaun MacDonald at Yeovil. 

Macca is not the only one who has not won as many starts as they might have this season. Mohamed Coulibaly has suffered with injuries for most of the time while we have only seen Richard Hughes on a few occasions. Brett Pitman and Tokelo Rantie have only been making fleeting substitute appearances of late and you can also add Ryan Allsop to the bench warmers, while Darryl Flahavan has not been near the 18 man squad very often this season. 

You never really think what it must be like for the players that have missed out on more games they would have liked. It must be difficult even though you can see the team doing well. But not playing is not playing and however successful the team is you want to be a part of it, and training does not come close to that match day experience for adrenaline and excitement. the Forest game will be a great occasion as the last home match, but Eddie can only pick 11 to play.

It could be the last we see of some of the players as a lot can happen over the summer months so we wait with anticipation to see who will come in and who will be leaving. Poor Eddie Howe won't get much chance to reflect on what has been a terrific season, because it will all be starting again so very soon. 

Have the Cherries got the belief to beat Leeds Utd?

Off the pitch matters are more in the papers following Leeds Utd than happenings on the field of play. While the Italian takeover may have hit a bit of a brick wall concerning Massimo Cellino's ambitions it must be having a big affect on how the Leeds team is preparing itself for games at the moment. Brian McDermott has to be worried about what happened in February when he was sacked and his players need to know that he is there to take them forward.

But this is football at Leeds Utd. It's not an ordinary club. If they could only get it together for one season they surely would again be a big force once they got into the Premiership. But their recent form has just about stalled any hopes they had of squeezing into the play-offs. One draw and three consecutive defeats to Burnley, Reading and Bolton hardly got March off to a good start for the Yorkshire giant. Against Millwall it was a lot better for Leeds with a string 2-1 home win and morale will be up after that.

At least they have what is by considered by many to be the best striker in the Championship. Ross McCormack could surely have jumped ship if he had wanted by now but he has stayed loyal and Leeds fans must live him for that. He is one of those players who makes something out of nothing and he surely will get 30 goals this season which will be a great achievement. But McDermott has other ways of playing with the sharp finishing of Connor Wickham now available to him. Bournemouth were lucky that Connor was injured when he was at Hillsbrough, but they are likely to face him in a Leeds shirt. Matt Smith is another option up front who could use his physical and aerial abilities to cause the Cherries problems. 

But my eyes will be on Jason Pearce for a lot of the match. The ex-Bournemouth player never shirked a tackle and always gave 110 per cent in a Cherries shirt and I was pleased for him when he first got his move to Pompey and then Leeds Utd. I still ask myself if he might consider a move back to the south coast now that Eddie Howe is at the helm again and has taken Bournemouth to the Championship. It maybe that Leeds do a bit of re-organisation over the summer and McCormack might not be the only player that there is some interest for.

Allsop saw red last time AFCB played Leeds Utd.

AFCB will remember the match they played against Leeds earlier on in the season when Allsop was sent off and Darryl Flahavan came on to save a penalty even if the team went on to lose 2-1 in an exciting game. I hope that the game at Dean Court is not quite as difficult for the Cherries as that game was, being down to 10 men for most of the match. 

Bournemouth have never beaten Leeds Utd I have been told, but they will not get many better opportunities than this. My head tells me that a draw would still be a good result but there are a few teams in this league that make you sit up if they don't win and this is one of those games. AFCB can upset the expected result and with victory would come more belief. We go tonight to the game with hope and a certain amount of confidence that the Cherries will give Leeds a very difficult game.

Leeds Away form:
WLDDL

AFCB Home form:
WLDWD

Make sure to take a look at Rival Lines if you have not read up about The Scratching Post's blogger interview with Cherry Chimes. We talk Massimo Cellino, Brain McDermott and Jason Pearce among other things that are Leeds Utd. 

Make or break time for some AFCB players

While Eddie Howe performed miracles with the team last season and has got the players performing at a high level in the Championship it could be a vital period for many of them between now and the summer. It is important that Eddie sifts out the players that are not going to feature in the first team as soon as he can. I had expected more to go last summer, but with the amount of injuries the team has suffered this season it has been good that the squad numbers were kept fairly high.

Still there are players that have not featured this season and perhaps are unlikely to. Joe Partington is a long term project and a young one for the future and his loan move to Aldershot should be just what he needs to get match fit. Jayden Stockley is another that we can put in this category and hopefully he does well in his spell at Torquay. It seems he will now been joined by Chris Hargreaves who becomes Torquay's new manager and leaves AFCB's backroom staff as first team coach. We all wish Chris the very best as his input certainly helped AFCB to the position it is now in with Eddie and Jason.

Looking after our young players is the way to go if AFCB can build a system like the Saints, where local talent is brought through the ranks. It is the big earners who don't quite fit that are probably the ones that need permanent moves.

Keeping the incentive going for our young players could mean loan spells elsewhere.

Yet the club has also bought big with Miles Addison and Matt Tubbs and while they have now gone out on loan, Matt for the second time, I can't see them staying at AFCB beyond the summer. Darryl Flahavan is on a one year contract and may be surplus to requirement with Lee Camp joining the team. At left back Ian Harte may just be here until the summer and Richard Hughes has been used sparingly. 

Ian Harte will still be hoping to play some more games at AFCB.

Other players that are also probably playing to stay part of Eddie Howe's plans going forward could include Josh McQuoid, Donal McDermott and Wes Fogden. None of them have had much time because of injury but they don't have long to impress Eddie before the summer arrives. There are already rumours that Pompey could be interested in Wes Fogden. I have heard nothing about Stephane Zubar who was linked with Bury last season, but he is also still on AFCB's books. Stephen Purches may also end his playing days this summer.

You could also say that there are question marks over Mohamed Coulibaly who has not really played yet and Tokelo Rantie who has not hit the ground running. It is an important few months for them as with all our players.

Whatever the decisions that are made, it is clear that a few players that may not be here much longer and that does not even include Wes Thomas, who has the opportunity to move this January. Andrew Surman is also on loan and will return to Norwich City in the summer.

When you look at the picture as a whole there will be a fair bit of rebuilding and it may be good to move a few out this window with gradual replacement. It should be an exciting period though because Eddie Howe has never really had the money to make his team, and this time around he is likely to be better funded than any Bournemouth manager in the past. Much of the building will probably come this summer, but between January and May it should be a real testing time for players who want to stay at the club.