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.
It's all gone a bit haywire for Mark Hughes at Stoke City since the New Year and he is fast losing his grip on the good work that his team has pout in over the first half of the season. It was a similar picture to when the two sides last met with Stoke City unable to win at home and AFCB's defeat at the Britannia started their season. Now Mark Hughes is looking to pick up some confidence in his side's performances which was completely shot by defeat in the Capital One Cup semi-final and has not recovered since. Stoke City have not won away in the Premier League since 28 December when they were ninth in the table. Four points from their next six games is not the kind of form that might have been expected, but they are now facing sides that are fighting to stay in the league with important games for them against AFCB, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Chelsea. They dare not come away without points in these types of games, but Mark Hughes is aware that his side is lacking something and is desperate to have a good week in the build up to the game at Dean Court which is likely to be pivotal to their season in which direction it goes.
When Ryan Shawcross plays for Stoke City side
the stats say the Potters are harder to beat - but he's out!
The back injury to Ryan Shawcross in late January against Leicester City has certainly not helped Stoke City, but if losing one player makes that much difference then they have major problems. Charlie Adams, Jonathan Walters, Mark Wilson and Geoff Caermon have also been out in recent weeks. Shawcross hoped to be back to face AFCB, but he is not going to travel. However, Bojan Krkic has boosted their team's spirit though by signing four-and-a-half year a contract that will keep him at Britannia until 2020. Stoke City also have to work out how they can quickly integrate new £18.3m signing Giannelli Imbula into their attack without taking away from Marko Arnautovic, Xherdan Shaqiri and Ibrahim Afellay. The balance was probably not right in their last defeat against Everton and you never know we could even see Peter Odemwingie and Peter Crouch get a game. It appears that Mark Hughes is looking for his strikers to be more aggressive with their passing in the last third rather than taking too many safe pass options near the box.
AFCB will certainly be looking to restrict Stoke's chances in front of goal which appear low at the moment with only two shots on target against Leicester, none against Man Utd and three against Everton. Already out of the FA Cup, Stoke fans may not want to watch much of the rest of this season if they lose at Dean Court. Stoke City Away Form DWLLL AFCB Home Form WDLWL
Score Prediction Send in your predicted score for #AFCB v #Arsenal to @peterbell19 on Twitter. Please make your score clear to understand. If you have a correct score prediction you are in with a chance of winning the Cherry Chimes prize which is a pair of AFCB sweat bands this week. If two or more people have the correct score the winner will be picked out of the hat. Good luck!
We had to leave the house at 9am on the Saturday to ensure that we could get passed any unexpected traffic delays on our way to the Britannia stadium. It was our first visit to the stadium so there was plenty of excitement and having missed the Norwich away game I was hoping to see a good AFCB away crowd and a good rocking atmosphere.
Destination - the Britannia stadium.
The route would take us along the M25 and up the M40 in fairly quick time and without any delays for once. We did start to hit trouble though on the M42 and the M6 where we suddenly saw a fair few reminders that the Rugby World Cup was on and Villa Park was one of the venues. Not surprisingly the traffic started to swell and our fast pace became more of a snail's crawl as we came up to the Dunlop offices and Birmingham's congested motorways.
An early start for Robert.
We stopped off for a quick bite to eat before going on to the Stadium.
At last we did find our way through and the A500 suddenly appeared in front of us and we soon had our first sight of the Britannia stadium situated high up on a hill. We shot past the stadium as we wanted to get some food inside ourselves before the big match and we had already picked out a well-known fast food chain on the map so it was easy to find. Stoke fans out numbered us hugely but they were happy enough to see us on the table next to them. We had lost quite a bit of time on the road so we decided to eat quickly and look to park up at the ground by 1.30pm as I knew that it was likely to be a crowd over over 25,000. Navigating the nearby industrial estate with its roundabouts was pretty easy as it was well signed and well patrolled by marshals on every junction. Having handed over a fiver we were directed up towards the Stoke Academy building which was just a short walk away from the stadium.
We parked up a short walk from the stadium in one of the official car parks
which meant find a space by the side of the road.
It wasn't too busy when we first had a full view
of the stadium. Note the big gap in the corner between the stands.
I started taking my pictures of the ground and we thought we would take a tour around the outside of the stadium to see all four sides. It always amuses me to see the stewards wanting to direct away fans to their section straight away, but we always like to see everything we can when visiting a new ground. Stoke's stadium is impressively tall and while only one corner is closed in it seemed fairly compact and not that different to Dean Court in some ways with the exposed stanchions and rugged looks.
The club shop was doing a good trade.
Shop window.
The club shop was very ordered and adorned mainly with club shirts more than anything else. The absence of a big trophy cabinet was perhaps a bit telling of where Stoke City are as a mid-table club of recent seasons. Still they had a dedicated shirt numbering area and the ticket office was covered and large - not quite like ours.
The Marstons Pedigree away stand.
Plenty of cantilever metal work is on show around the stands.
I was keen to get an interview in with some Stoke fans and to assess their recent form so we spotted three fans who were the perfect guides to their team as it turned out and they all had something to say on why things had started slow for Stoke City at home. The loss of Steven Nzonzi to Sevilla this summer seemed to be the main reason for their difficulties but they were still scoring goals with Mame Diouf up front.
Plaque on Sir Stanley Matthews statue.
I just took this to show you the sun does shine in Stoke
and well it's a nice arty shot with our shadows.
Sir Stanley captured in motion.
John Ritchie 1941- 2007. I don't believe he was relayed to our Matt, but you never know.
Stephen spotted a huge statue of the legendary Sir Stanley Matthews CBE so we went over to get a picture next to it and to see the sculpture close up. The three profiles really brought over the style of the man and his balance, but I wondered why it was set quite some way from the stands on the far side of the car park? We spoke to a couple of more Stoke fans who were very open and pleased to exchange thoughts ahead of the game. Far from being down they were optimistic about their team and we soon found out that they had good reason to be confident. We entered the stadium at the Marstons Pedigree stand and ran up the steps to get a good view of the pitch and facing stands. Sadly there was a lot of netting behind the goals so I knew it would be hard to get many good photos pre-match, but there were a lot of empty seats and I moved around to try and get what shots I could get of the players while listening into the local radio station to try and capture the team list.
Lots of flag waving.
It was quite a good atmosphere before the game with applause ringing out for school children doing a charity fund raising event. We heard that there were no changes to the AFCB line up and having done a Cherries fan interview we were soon in our allotted seats watching the game. While the first half did not go well for the Cherries I was confident that they could still get something from the game. The Stoke fans were fairly quiet and I wondered if they sang more when it was an evening game than in afternoon matches or whether it was the fact that they had not won at home yet that they dare not sing up too much for fear they would lose again. For AFCB it was all about how the team would respond having seen Callum go off injured and they played extremely well to get back in the game at 1-1. From that point I just thought hang on and don't concede, but Stoke conjured up a bit of magic and all the points were lost with just five minutes to go. The defeat was disappointing only because the team had fought so well to get back on level terms, but I couldn't say that anyone had a really bad game. Sometimes the game just goes away from you and that was the case on this day. Well played Stoke.
Dan Gosling leads the players off the pitch.
The walk back to the car was fairly uneventful and we had a bit of a queue leaving the roads around the stadium with most of the traffic being diverted to the A50 Uttoxeter and Derby. We decided to go with the flow even though it meant a slightly longer journey back via the M1, but by the time we reached Redhill at 8.40pm we knew that whatever route we had gone on it would have been busy. Job done, another away ground ticked off. Just time for me to get the laptop out again and start writing up the match report. These jouno's at the match with their laptops on tables have it easy compared to us paper and pen bloggers! There are more pictures on Match Day Gallery. Please also listen again to the Mick Cunningham interview on All Departments' website.
Attendance: 27,742 (including 1635 Cherries) This was a record attendance at the Britannia stadium
Stoke City v AFCB - the teams are led out.
There are really small margins that determine whether a team wins or loses in this league. Stoke City know that well enough having not won a game before this match, but when the Cherries lost their golden goal scorer after nine minutes it was an upward battle for AFCB and Stoke won a lot of the personal battles in the first half. That dominance was reinforced with a tap in goal for Walters after half an hour once Marho Arnautovic had got to the byline and got the better of Simon Francis. A more galvanised Bournemouth side attacked with persistence in the second half and there fightback really came alive the faultless Jack Butland was finally beaten by a well struck low shot from Dan Gosling with 14 minutes to go. Perhaps AFCB scored too early as with just five minutes to go a Stoke move up the right by Glen Johnson saw Mame Diouf head in from six yards to earn Stoke their first home win of the season. AFCB kept the same starting 11 from the Sunderland match and welcomed Josh King back onto the subs bench. Meanwhile, Stoke could bring in Wollscheid and Charlie Adam to their line up.
Stoke City fans John, Nick and Mack talk about the form of Mark Hughes' team. I must admit the Stoke fans were a pleasure to talk to and made AFCB fans very welcome.
AFCB fan Barren wanted to see Glenn Murray start. The tannoy system got us today but AFCB fans were in optimistic mood.
There are more images on Match Day Gallery. The initial exchanges were fairly often broken up with free kicks and both teams struggled to get their passing going with much consistency and accuracy. Steve Cook did not do much to settle nerves when he sliced a ball out of play. Any such initial problems suddenly seemed very minor compared to the injury that Callum Wilson then sustained on 8 minutes. His knee gave way after a challenge from Wollscheid and he managed to get up and tried to jog it off on the side line. While he did not look at ease he did come back on but broke down again almost immediately and we had nine minutes of him being attended to until he was stretchered off and the game resumed. Glenn Murray was now thrust into the action and the match continued with Wollscheid making a mess of his clearance. AFCB fans were wondering if they would have many players left the way things ere going as Pugh went down next and then Tomlin started to hobble. Where the protection was from referee Lee Mason was I have no idea, but he was not the Cherries favourite man on the pitch. Stoke's first bit of quality play came on 23 minutes when Walters found Bojan who saw his shot deflect off Steve Cook and Boruc made a save. Keeping the ball was troublesome for AFCB as Ritchie was next to lose it. Sylvain Distin was looking more assured and was winning the aerial battles. Yet, Francis soon knew he would have a difficult day with Arnautovic forcing a corner down Stoke's left wing. Then a shot from distance from Glenn Whelan moved viciously through the players and Boruc just got enough of himself to keep the shot out for a corner. Stoke were well in control and were winning the centre midfield battle and using the wings well. Pressure was finally released with Whelan's foul on Tomlin. But the annoying pattern that seemed to happen more than a few times is that Glenn Murray would find himself offside and merely hand back possession to Stoke City who were growing in confidence. When Murray was clipped from 30 yards out, we prayed for a Matt Ritchie special strike but he hit it straight at Jack Butland. Stoke's reply was to get the ball to Arnautovic down the left and he had the beating of Francis who slipped in the box. Once Arnautovic had reached the byline, Boruc guarded his post but the cross found Johnathan Walters who simply stabbed the ball home from six yards. It was 1-0 to Stoke and AFCB were up against it with 32 minutes gone. While the Cherries responded with some strong play it was costly to see Lee Tomlin not shoot again when given room on the edge of the box, instead choosing to pass to Ritchie who was wide on the right, but he only found Murray at the far post who managed a looping header with no power. Tomlin was making runs though and being positive. Distin as well was carrying the fight and Daniels managed to win the Cherries first corner on 42 minutes. A few moments later and AFCB should have been celebrating a goal. Daniels and then Pugh made inroads through Stoke's defence by lifting the ball over his shoulder and past Johnson. The ball came to Murray who heeled it on to Tomlin in the box, and rather than shoot himself, he passed to Matt Ritchie who was free to strike his shot, with just Butland to beat, but the young keeper saw Erik Pieters get back in time to make a lunging block that saved a certain goal. Gosling was the next Bournemouth player to have a chance at shooting but he decided cross instead and the ball was cleared. The corners that the Cherries took as well were not passing the first man when Pugh took them and so Tomlin took the next one when Ritchie had a shot deflected for another corner. From the cross though stoke broke through the middle, then to the left and Arnautovic luckily put the chance wide from the centre of the box right on half time. It was a huge let off. Meanwhile, Shaqiri had pulled up clutching his hamstring and had to go off. So Afellay came on just as the whistle went for half time.
The big screen.
The Match day ball.
Half time.
Second Half The second half saw a more determined AFCB side go on the attack. Stoke had probably had the best of the first half in terms of possession but they would be tested in the second 45 minutes. The Cherries were still making mistakes though and Tomlin was robbed in midfield and almost set Stoke up through the middle. Charlie Adam was also still breaking up AFCB's attacks from the middle. Again Tomlin would lose the ball this time to Wollscheid, but Arnautovic was caught offside. When AFCB did get the ball in the box and Murray challenged Butland it was the Cherries who saw the flag go up for offside rather than an infringement on the keeper. The quality of the game seemed to be lacking as AFCB could not get a real hold of the game and Stoke probably were unsure if to twist or stick in their position. Glenn Murray then had a tame shot from the edge of the box that did not trouble Butland on 54 minutes. Bournemouth's pressure was starting to tell as the passing sequences got longer. Bojan was withdrawn for Mame Diouf to come on with 62 minutes gone. AFCB were having their best part of the game and Pugh almost danced his way through three played in the box, but was blocked by Whelan. That was followed by another offside for Glenn Murray as the Cherries looked like they might be running out of ideas. Eddie Howe decided Lee Tomlin should be replaced on 71 minutes for Josh King as the southerners went in search of the equaliser. More pleasingly for the Cherries we saw the back of Charlie Adam on 75 minutes as he was replaced by van Ginkel. The break in play did AFCB some good as Ritchie got on the ball and then Pugh had a shot blocked, but the ball broke to Gosling who thundered in a low shot right past Butland's outstretched left arm and into the bottom corner of the net 1-1. AFCB were coming at Stoke now with real intent. Ritchie played the ball to Pugh who did a back heel for Gosling to run on to just outside the box. Gosling thought he might have scored again but Butland showed what a fine shot stopper he is by saving it on 79 minutes. That was as good as it would get though for AFCB as a move on the right wing, following a free kick against Glenn Murray, with the ever strong Glen Johnson saw his deep cross met by the on rushing Diouf who headed the ball down and the ball swept past Brouc in a flash! It was 2-1 to Stoke and all the Cherries' hard work had been undone. Adam Smith came on for Pugh with three minutes of normal time left. there were still chances to come. Distin hooked the ball onto Glenn Murray on the right of the box and he hit his shot well across the goal but Butland threw out his right arm and pulled off another brilliant save. The more cheeky attempt was that of Matt Ritchie from about 40 yards out on the wing. He drifted the ball in the air the full distance and Butland was caught well off his line and it was to his relief that the ball just landed a metre wide of his left upright! Whelan then managed to remind lee mason that he had a yellow card and he issued it for a foul on Smith in the 88th minute - better late than never! With four minutes of extra time being played it was Stoke that might have extended the lead but somehow Afellay shot wide. The game was going to end 2-1 and Arnautovic was trying to make sure of it by throwing the ball back off the pitch whenever Jason Tindall tried to pass the ball to a Stoke player to take the throw. How Lee Mason did not give Arnautovic a yellow card for time wasting is beyond me. Still, Stoke did enough on the day to get their first home win while AFCB will need to study this game carefully as they had chances to win it.
The Cherries narrowly lose out.
Eddie has to reflect on a period now without Callum Wilson.
Summary A bad day for AFCB, not so much for the result or the way that the team played but for the loss of Callum Wilson. The injury will have an impact on the team and I already feel it did in this game. But putting that aside Arnautovic and Pieters were able to have a big influence on the game for Stoke, while Butland made some great saves. The experience of Charlie Adam was also a problem for AFCB and the Cherries need their own ball winner back in the middle of the park as soon as possible. Still it was a strong second half performance and the Cherries have to try and build on that. What can't be hidden though is the fact that if the Cherries keep conceding two goals a game they will struggle to win many matches unless their strikers are on top form and put away all their chances. AFCB: Boruc, Francis, Cook, Distin, Daniels, Ritchie, Gosling, Surman, Pugh (Smith 86), Tomlin (King 71), Wilson (Murray 17).
Stoke City: Butland, Johnson, Cameron, Wollscheid, Pieters, Whelan, Adam (van Ginkel 75), Shaqiri (Afellay 45), Bojan (Diouf 62), Arnautovic, Walters.
Stoke subs: Given, Muniesa, Joselu, Afellay, van Ginkel, Diouf, Crouch.
Ref Watch: Lee Mason 3/10 - not a lot of protection for AFCB players and he might have forgotten he had a yellow card. I am sorry to hear about the loss of Mick Cunningham this morning who I am sure many of you knew very well.
We had to wait 62 minutes before Harry Arter got the signal that all Bournemouth fans wanted to see from Martin O'Neil to enter the fray for Republic of Ireland v England at the Aviva Stadium. Glenn Whelan of Stoke City was withdrawn to make space for Harry in what looked very much like a summer training exercise rather than a full blooded international. All I wanted to see was if Harry would get a chance to swing that majestic left foot on goal. Ireland are perhaps not the team with an abundance of creative ability and while they posed some problems for England it was a bit of a dull affair in the Dublin sunshine, as end of season friendlies often are. Arter's job was to try and find Shane Long and Jonathan Walters. Harry certainly caught the eye on 73 minutes when he plundered the ball off of Ross Barkley and let fly with his left foot. The shot was only a couple of meters wide. Harry then upset Irish fans by misplacing a pass in the box that could have set Walters in.
Arter get's his first international under his belt.
Still Harry was making things happen as he had all season for AFCB. Trying to get the ball up and near England's box was the difficulty though. Possession had swung in England's favour after numerous second half substitutions. Arter's job had turned into more of a marshaling job in front of the back four. As a whole though, the contest had been fairly even with little work for either keeper. If O'Neil wants to add some excitement to his team he should start to pick Harry Arter more often as the Irish only managed eight attempts at goal in the 90 minutes, and one of those shots was one of Harry's when Ireland had started to do more defending. Ireland were solid enough against England and they'll need that when they take on Scotland next weekend. Whether Arter has done enough to get a start for that game is perhaps doubtful with a few of Ireland's players coming back to full fitness, but he did not look out of place. The game ended 0-0 and I guess you could have predicted that I suspect after the first 10 minutes of this game.
