This is a fan’s personal view of AFC Bournemouth from the outside looking in. It reports on the daily official activities reported by the club and comments made by individual fans on social media and fanbase websites. Life as an AFCB fan is never dull. As a life-long supporter of the Cherries, it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that inspired me to write this blog.
The January move by Manchester United for Josh King took everyone by surprise. King is of course a Norwegian international striker and he has shown he can score more goals than he does at Bournemouth in this respect. While Man Utd may be his dream move, he'll be aware that the chance to join them again may have gone, but it will have made others aware that he is a striker with high pedigree that could now be lured away from the Cherries.
Josh King could well seek a move before next season.
Josh King has been one of Eddie Howe's greatest successes. Eddie would be reluctant to part company as would many fans, but it may be that ahead of next season King sees his best chance of getting a big move. While Spurs look to rebuild and Arsenal could also be replacing strikers, there could well be interest for King from London clubs.
What is in King's best interest? He is getting to the point in his career when he might be expecting to have a crack at European football, and if he were to get the chance to move to a club in that position he may be tempted to move on. How much could he learn under Howe and could a different voice take his game on further?
It could be that Eddie Howe's most difficult challenge is to put the Josh King package back in the box now that the ribbons were potentially cut last January. Much of the way Bournemouth play is to King's strengths. He is their go to man on the break and he takes the game to the opposition so well when in top flight. There would have to be some very good recruitment to replace King. Man Utd may be more struck on James Maddison for now, but now that King's eyes have been opened to the possibility of a move, it might be harder for Bournemouth to keep hold their royalty for next season.
While AFCB were soaking up the hot temperatures in Dubai, I sent a quick request off to Chris Forryan at Leicester Till I Die to answer some questions ahead of the game with Bournemouth. Leicester City have had am improving season and yet have still changed their manager as well as suffered a horrible tragedy losing their owner. So are their fans confident they can finish the season in good for with a tilt at trying to get into Europe? CC: Has the mood changed much around Leicester now that you have a new manager? LTID: OMG YES YES & YES!!! The atmosphere was flat under Puel. Played like crabs side to side nothing to get the crowd excited, but a top manager has been appointed and the future looks bright with the exciting players we have in our squad. CC: Do you think Brendan Rodgers was the right appointment? LTID: Personally yes, sooner have had Rodgers then Benetiz, as did the majority of the fans so they can’t complain if it goes wrong, that said we are football fans so of course we will. Puel was given the poisoned chalice of breaking up the old Premier League winning squad bringing through and in the youngsters which to be fair he had started to do. But the results were not there as the changes were made. Rodgers likes young attacking teams, hopefully will be a perfect match – time will of course, tell. CC: Are Leicester strong enough to play in Europe next season if you do finish seventh? LTID: Were we strong enough to play in the Champions League when we won the title? Nuff said. CC: Has James Maddison been one of Leicester's best buys in a long time? LTID: Was overjoyed when we signed him, I think Rodgers will give him more freedom to express his natural talents.
CC: The home form has been good but clean sheet seem to have escaped you, but can you see the team keeping more clean sheets in these final games? LTID: Our back 3/4 is a work in progress. Maybe not this season but once Rodgers gets his best players in the positions he wants I think it will come but maybe it will be next season. CC: Leicester had a strange match at Bournemouth earlier this season, but Leicester fought back to get two goals. Do you expect Leicester to be better organised to deal with Bournemouth's pace this time? LTID: I’ll let you know at 5pm on Saturday!! Rodgers came in to steady the ship till the end of the season and see his squad in competitive games, but I really do hope so. CC: Have Leicester got any major player injuries? LTID: Albrighton who is out till the end of the season. CC: How do you expect Leicester to line up for this game? LTID:Its anyone's guess as Rodgers is experimenting, but Morgan should return to defence to cover Maguire’s one game ban. But would like to see Gray get some more time under Rodgers as he is one player that could benefit form Rodgers coming in and he has great potential. CC: Where do you think Bournemouth and Leicester will finish in the table?
LTID: Top 10 for us which I would take after the season we have had to endure, and if you can get your early season form back no reason why you couldn’t join us. Thanks for the answers Chris. I'd like to think this will be an entertaining game with plenty of goalmouth action at both ends. It could be one of those games which just comes down to who finishes their chances better as the league table shows there is not much between these two sides. To read more of Chris' views pop over to Leicester Till I Die . Cherry Chimes also previews Leicester v AFCB on Leicester Till I Die. Score Predictions If you fancy winning a Cherry Chimes' T-Shirt send in your score prediction for Leicester City v AFCB to @CherryChimes on Twitter or email Cherrychimesblog@gmail.com with your score. I'll pick a winner from the correct entries.
Bournemouth and Leicester get ready to get their fifth game in the Premier League underway.
Come to Dean Court if you want top entertainment, thrills, goals, sendings offs and comebacks. This game had the lot as well as some unbelievable refereeing. What can't be denied is the best team won and for the first 87 minutes they did it in faultless style. Bournemouth galloped into a 3-0 lead by half time with Ryan Fraser making devastating breakaways and finishing cleanly to crush Leicester hopes. While Fraser didn't get an early penalty decision, Pereira did unluckily hand one to Bournemouth on 40 minutes and Josh King reliably sent Kasper Schmeichel the wrong way. Leicester had gone close with Vardy thwarted by Begovic and Maddison seeing his follow up come off the bar, but the game looked over by half time. Leicester battled on, and while Harry Maguire was lucky to stay on Wes Morgan put in one foul too many, and was sent off. Just to complete Bournemouth's scoring, Ryan Fraser slipped round the back of Leicester's defence and pulled back a ball for Adam Smith to make it 4-0. Done and dusted! Well, not quite. Diego Rico awarded Leicester an 88th minute penalty which Maddison scored, before Albrighton headed in another goal in the 89th minute to make it 4-2.
Lots of goals are about to be seen at Dean Court.
With Ryan Fraser deemed fit to play there was no place for Marc Pugh and David Brooks returned to the right wing which meant Simon Francis was moved to the bench. Jermain Defoe was fit again and joined Francis on the bench. There are more pictures on Match Day Gallery.
Leicester fan Luis gives a pre-match interview to Cherry Chimes.
Bournemouth were given early warning of Leicester's strike power when Maddison clipped a ball over to Vardy who volleyed poorly wide in the fourth minute. Bournemouth added further pressure on themselves with Steve Cook passing out poorly from the back.
Vardy was in again on eight minutes, from Ghezzal's pass down the middle, but Begovic was out quickly to save and Vardy tried to make the most of it by running into the keeper, for which he was jeered at for trying to cheat a penalty. A shot from Ghezzal was a bit easier for Begovic to save, but it was Leicester that had started well.
Harry Maguire picked up a booking for body checking Callum Wilson on 12 minutes, and it looked like it could be a difficult afternoon for the England centre-back. Aké's header from the free-kick lacked power and direction though.
Morgan and Wilson wrestled on half way with Wilson winning the free kick before Rico and Fraser worked some short passes down the left and Fraser go in behind and was taken down by Pereira - no penalty! The referee was pointing instead for a goal kick. Lerma was playing well in midfield holding the ball up with three Leicester players around him with no trouble.
Begovic was catching crosses cleanly and Bournemouth had dealt with Leicester's attacks well before King made a break and passed through to Ryan Fraser on the left who steadied himself, before cutting inside Wes Morgan, and beating Schmeichel with a low-curling shot, to put Bournemouth one up on 19 minutes.
Leicester had a chance to hit back when Maddison went down in the D, but the free kick hit the wall. Referee Craig Pawson was getting plenty of stick for his decisions which became more hysterical when King was taken out by Maguire's bodycheck on half way and yet no booking was given. To make matters worse Lerma was carded for a lesser foul on Maddison moments later.
With Gosling losing out on the ball on half way to Maddison, Leicester pushed for an equaliser on 33 minutes. Maddison again sent Vardy though and Begovic made a great save before the ball came back to Maddison who shot at goal with Lerma chasing, but Begovic brought his right arm down on the shot, and the the ball hit into the ground, before it looped up off and came off the crossbar!
It was a let off and Begovic was the hero. Aké and Rico got things going from the back and found Wilson who turned Maguire well and raced away before playing Fraser through again. The Wee-man shot under Schmeichel to make it 2-0 on on 36 minutes. Within three minutes there was another chance to extend the lead when a Pereira handled the ball in the box. It was a soft penalty and Josh King made it look easy to score, as he slotted the ball to the right of Schmeichel who went the wrong way.
In a way it was a shame Fraser had not grabbed the ball for his hat-trick, but King was the designated penalty taker and Bournemouth had already had one penalty miss this season and didn't want another. King was then held back by Morgan, in added time, with Morgan importantly pick up his first yellow card.
Going well at half time.
Second half
Bournemouth saw Aké limp off at the end of the first half but he was running freely again in the second half. Wilson had a deflected shot go just wide at the start of the half. From the corner the ball came back to Fraser who whipped in a shot come cross that Schmeichel had to tip over. Begovic got down well to his left when Maddison shot from distance and when Demarai Gray went down in the box Pawson waved play on. Leicester subbed Ghezzal and Gray on 61 minutes and brought on Albrighton and Iheanacho. Begovic was catching well, while Steve Cook was getting blocks in. Cook even went forward and had a long shot on 66 minutes that flew wide of the left post. David Brooks was subbed on 68 minutes for Simon Francis. Leicester's Wes Morgan got a second yellow for taking down Adam Smith and was dismissed. Schmeichel was also booked on 70 minutes for arguing, before Wilson was booked for catching Maddison on 71 minutes. King forced another corner before Lerma was subbed on 78 minutes and Lewis Cook came on. Bournemouth were being stretched and Gosling was booked for a foul on Vardy. Begovic caught bravely again before launching an attack. Rico and Fraser down the left shot off and when Fraser pulled a pass back for Adam Smith, Smith slotted the ball past Schmeichel in the bottom left corner - 4-0! A great time to score on Adam Smith's 100th appearance for AFCB. Vardy was taken off on 84 minutes and Johnny Evans replaced him. Mousset replaced Josh King as well. Bournemouth made a mistake when Pereira went down in the box from Rico's mis-timed challenge and James Maddison scored from the spot to make it 4-1 on 88 minutes. It was more concerning when Lewis Cook had a shot blocked, and Iheanacho set up a break and crossed to Albrighton who headed past Begovic in the 89th minute to make it 4-2. Bournemouth survived the five minutes of added time without any further scares, but a bit of the shine off the win had been taken off with the two goals conceded in the last couple of minutes.
Four goals at home for the Cherries.
Mousset and Maguire
Summary Another great home win that makes it 10 points from five games and allows Bournemouth to sit in a lofty fifth place in the table. Bournemouth could have won this game by a bigger margin, and yet they also showed they are capable of conceding too. For once though, it was Bournemouth driving the game and they took most of their chances in the first 45 minutes, which made it a more comfortable afternoon than it might have been. Begovic was excellent in goal for most of the match, and both he, and the back four will be disappointed to have not kept the clean sheet. That's something to work on, but the more significant fact is that Bournemouth are getting used to winning at Dean Court and that feeling will hopefully stay with the players for some time.
AFCB line up
AFCB Subs: Boruc, Francis, L Cook, Surman, Ibe, Mousset, Defoe
AFCB Ratings Begovic 8, A Smith 7, S Cook 7, Aké 6, Rico 7, Brooks 6, Lerma 7, Gosling 6, Fraser 9, King 7, Wilson 7 Cherry Chimes' MoM - Ryan Fraser
Steve Cook was happy enough with the win.
Eddie Howe shows his appreciation for the support.
Ref Watch: Craig Pawson - 0/10 poor from start to finish. Should have given early Bournemouth penalty, didn't send Maguire off. Leicester City Schmeichel, Pereira, Morgan, Maguire, Chilwell, Ndidi, Mendy, Ghezzal (Albrighton 61), Maddison, Gray (Iheanacho 61), Vardy (Evans 84) Leicester City Subs Evans, Iheanacho, Albrighton, Ward, Amartey, Iborra, Fuchs
