Can Cardiff defend well?

In Cardiff's last four matches they have had three clean sheets. They have also beaten Watford away in the run of fixtures and are only six points off the Cherries in ninth place. It is no wonder that Eddie Howe will see this as another tough examination of Bournemouth's top six credentials as Cardiff City have looked more at ease in the Championship since the arrival of Russell Slade.

The draw against Rotherham at home in their last match was perhaps a bit disappointing for them as they did not really control the game and Rotherham could easily have come away with more points. AFCB's challenge will be to break down a former Premier League side that is still packed with quality in just about every sector of the field. David Marshall is well known for his shot stopping capabilities and in the last game he had Brayford, Connolly, Turner and Morrison in front of him when the team got a clean sheet. Russel Slade always builds teams that are strong at the back and he knows very well about how AFCB play having had many battles with Eddie Howe when he was at Leyton Orient.

In midfield too you can see the Premier league quality of their side in Peter Whittingham and Craig Noone. They are also have one of the strongest forward lines with Kenwyne Jones, Adam Le Fondre and Frederico Macheda. Russell Slade has got the Bluebirds playing for him pretty well considering that they were 15th in the league when he joined them. He has said that he wants to be in the top six by January and to do that Cardiff need to start taking points off of sides that are higher than them in the league so I don't expect them to come and play for a draw.

While Cardiff City lost to AFCB in the Capital One Cup this season it will have hurt them and their players have a point to prove, although I think both team's line ups will be very different to the teams in the cup match. The pressure is on AFCB to break Cardiff down being the home side and that will probably suit a Cardiff team that have some quality players who can play on the break.

Cardiff Away Form
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AFCB Home Form
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Artur Boruc has only been beaten by two stunning shots

Artur Boruc is probably a bit annoyed at not having kept more than one clean sheets since his arrival at AFCB. However, the two strikes that have beaten him have been sensational strikes and so he should not be too disappointed that he has been unable to keep all the shots against him out since arriving at the Cherries. As we have a two week break, it is likely that Artur will be one of the players that Neil Moss would really like to do a lot of work with, but Poland play Germany on Saturday 11 October and have Scotland at home on Tuesday 14 October, so it is most likely that Artur will have an international call up, even if Szczesney is the Polish number one.

Artur Boruc may find that he is a few hundred miles
away from Dean Court in the next few days.

Boruc will not get too much rest then, although both games are in Poland. For him it will be a case of supporting the team unless their is an injury in goal, but that still means a lot of work on the training  ground - it just won't be at AFCB. That means no time with a back four that he is still getting to know and having Charlie Daniels come back into the team he has now been working with two different left backs at Bournemouth. 

Communication is the main aspect of his game that he'll have to get right and while we have seen some disputes about coming for the ball with Steve Cook in the Wigan match, as long as the decision making is confident then there should not be too much to worry about.

Of course, Darryl Flahavan sat in on the bench at Bolton, after Lee Camp's red card at Derby last week and it is likely that we will see Darryl at Dean Court in the next few weeks as he looks to play more of a part in proceedings. At least Darryl has proved on many occasions that he can come in at a moments notice and perform. While he saw two goals fly past him at Derby, I would not say that he had much chance of saving either shot. He may not have more than a bench spot in the next two games, but he can certainly do some work on the training ground along with Lee Camp, while Boruc carries out his national commitments.

It is early to say how many points that Artur Boruc might be able to save the Cherries before his loan period ends in January, but I already hope that there may be a way that Eddie can keep his services for even longer.

Aside from wallowing in the fabulous efforts of AFCB this weekend, I have noted that there has been a managerial change in the Championship at Cardiff City. So my NewsHub story this week looks at Russell Slade's move and asks: 'Will Slade's gamble at Cardiff City pay off?'. 

Football needs characters like Steve Evans

I have never met Steve Evans even though he used to manage Crawley Town just five minutes down the road from where I now live. Still, from his many interviews and comments from players and managers in the game you can't help but be impressed by Rotherham Utd's chief. Football is a game of the people and characters and Steve has the kind of personality that you'll find hard to ignore.

Why is that? Well, it's the joy that you can see that he clearly gets out of seeing his players do well and I actually believe he loves to be the underdog. We've seen it in Crawley's great FA Cup run when they came up against Man Utd a few years back, and we saw it last season when he almost lost his trousers in celebrating the play-off win against Leyton Orient! While he is now becoming one of those managers who has moved up the leagues by winning promotion, he is still that firey Scot that learned how to manage players in the hard-school of non-league. Just like Eddie Howe, he seems to like a challenge - having dropped down a league when he left Crawley to pick up Rotherham Utd in April 2012 and what a brilliant success he has made of that! 

Evans is not short of ever having a word to say and while that has landed him in trouble in the past he seems to be very content at the Millers and is more usually seen with a smile on his face these days. He has plenty to smile about as his record just gets better having won 60 of the 120 matches he has been in charge at Rotherham. His teams also play attractive football and he simply has the knack of winning games or perhaps we do him a disservice, because he is tactically more astute than most as his record shows.

What makes me feel that good managers succeed though is stories like Steve Evans. He knows what makes a good player and when he sees one, like Matt Tubbs or Steve Fletcher, or any number of players that are on his books today he gets them to play well for him. Players even want to go back to play for him as he is an endearing character. 

Now that he has reached the Championship there will be more pressure on him, but I reckon Steve will laugh it off on camera, even though behind the scenes he is working as hard as any manager you care to think of. Rotherham fans should be pleased that they have a winner and a man who does it with a great big smile on his face. He may not be everyone's cup of tea, but he gets results, and let's face it that is what most chairman want isn't it?

I don't want Baudry to be sat on the bench at AFCB

There was speculation that Mathieu Baudry could become available with a release clause in his Leyton Orient contract as low as £200,000. AFCB along with Bentford and Charlton were said to be interested according to the Teamtalk website. While I will be one of the first to say AFCB need some more cover in the centre back positions, I was fond of Baudry when he was at AFCB before and I would hate for him to come back only to sit on the bench again - he deserves more than that. He has proved himself to be one of the best players in a Leyton Orient side that pushed for promotion from League One last season and while I believe he could play at a higher level he struggled to break into the Cherries side when we were in League One and only manage 10 appearances with injuries also slowing his progress.

It would not be such a shock to see him return though if he felt he can work with Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall and he left on good terms with the club in 2012. The French connection could also be helpful to Yann Kermorgant and Stephane Zubar who are already at the Cherries. For Baudry a move to a Championship club would be a step up and a chance to work again with familiar team mates if he came back to Dean Court, but I suspect that he might have more to gain if he were to establish himself at Charlton or Brentford.

Leyton Orient at Brisbane Road in 2013.

I always felt Baudry was a player that was comfortable on the ball and could lead by example when ever he put his mind to it. At Leyton Orient he has been a rock on which Russell Slade managed to get his side to the play-off final at Wembley only to lose after extra time to Rotherham in a penalty shoot out. At centre back he has become a confident player and at AFCB he was more often then not up against different players trying to get a midfield place, so perhaps he is a good option to have. But I can't see him displacing Cook and Elphick or Elliot Ward so he would again be up against stiff competition for a place.

Eddie Howe always says that he wants to add higher quality to the team than it already has to move it forward and for me Baudry does not quite fit the bill at this point.

World Cup Chimes welcomes back Kyle's World Cup Watch with preview of the final - Germany v Argentina. Catch all the best bets for the World Cup at Free Bet Negotiator. Come on Argentina!

De Vere's Urban Village Hotel in Bournemouth are sponsors of Cherry Chimes and are showing the World Cup final. As always there will be some great food available from the Victory pub/kitchen so get yourself down there. Download the complete game planner for the Victory pub and kitchen.

Coulibaly and Allsop can help Coventry win promotion

The deal involving the arrival of Callum Wilson coming to AFCB was not so much a shock for the striker having a clear choice between the Cherries and Norwich City, but more for the fact that Bournemouth's bid would include the addition of two players going the other way. While Coventry may well have directed Callum towards their preference of which club he might choose, there can only be pats on the back for the Bournemouth transfer team that put together such a deal that sees Ryan Allsop and Mohammed Coulibaly hopefully get some important match experience in League One at the Sky Blues that could even help Coventry to promotion.

Ryan Allsop at Dean Court.

Last season Coventry were docked 10 points last season and finished 18th in League One with 51 points, but they showed great fighting spirit to shake off their points deduction and to climb the league while playing their home games at Northampton Town, 34 miles away from the Ricoh Arena. Most of their players have been signed on free transfers, or are loan players or trainees such is the financial circumstances of the club. The addition of two players that have been involved in AFCB's Championship set up should be some help for them even if they have lost their leading goal scorer of last season.

A long run in a team will do Coulibaly the world of good.

Ryan Allsop proved himself to be top class between the sticks when playing for Leyton Orient and AFCB in league One and he will be able to rebuild his confidence with this new challenge and a new crowd behind him. For Coulibaly it is all about getting match time as he has hardly touched the grass since his move to AFCB from Grasshoppers Zurich last year. He could be a big hit with the Midland's club who will be delighted to see his energy and pace on the wing.

When January comes around it will be good for AFCB if Allsop and Coulibaly have done exceptionally well and Coventry City do not want to hand them back. That will mean that they will have contributed positively to Steven Pressley's squad. Coulibaly only has a year on his AFCB contract so it is a very important move for him as he is in the shop window if AFCB do not offer him a new contract, while Allsop is signed up until the summer of 2016.

There was an epic 0-0 draw if there could be such a thing in the World Cup last night. Catch up on the last quarter final of the Netherlands v Costa Rica on World Cup Chimes.
  

Leyton Orient or Rotherham to complete the Championship

The new look Championship will soon be in place. Following QPR's promotion yesterday and Derby County's unlucky day at missing out, Leyton Orient and Rotherham United will fight it out this afternoon at Wembley for the final place in next season's Championship. While we have seen Jalal and Stockley go to Orient on loan this season and former Cherry Mathieu Baudry is still playing for the London club, my preference is certainly for the London club to make the leap up to the Championship. Orient have been up and near the top two for most of the season and I would like to see Russel Slade take his side up a division.

AFCB players could be warming up at Leyton Orient again next season.
This picture sees the AFCB players at Brisbane Road
in 2012/13 - do you remember Jalal's indecision during that game?

The difficulty is that Rotherham stand in their way and Bournemouth have other stories there in the shape of Wes Thomas, Miles Addison and Matt Tubbs. Thomas scored in the play-off semi-final against Preston and is finding his form again after his long spell without a goal at AFCB. Addison only made six appearances for the Millers when he was there on loan, but Matt Tubbs was also at Rotherham for a while on loan before joining Crawley for most of last season. So AFCB have played their part in the fortunes of both clubs last season.

Whichever team gets up they will have a good chance to follow in AFCB's footsteps, but they too will be looking to strengthen their squads and some of our players that have been out of favour could well be seen as possible fits for such clubs.

This match hasn't hype associated with the play-off for the Premiership, but it will be no less appealing for the fans of Rotherham and Leyton Orient. It would be great if either Mathieu Baudry or Wes Thomas get the winning goal today and for one of them it will be a fabulous prospect to know that a win will see them get the chance to meet up with old colleagues next season.

Last season's home fixture pictures against Brighton & Hove Albion on 30 November 2013 have been uploaded to Cherry Chimes Facebook page. You can download the phone app to quickly see the pictures or do a search on Facebook for Cherry Chimes.

We also have a new story on World Cup Chimes - All Roy needs to do is to get to penalties. Enjoy the sun today!

Is it a good time to play Blackpool?

There are always some teams that finish the end of the season strongly. Of course we hope that AFCB are one of those sides and I get the feeling that Blackpool fans are already on their knees praying for something akin to a miracle or at least three points before the clocks go forward. Time has stood still for them and the points have been particularly hard to come by. But does this make it a good time to play Blackpool?

It's been an up and down season for Blackpool and of late it's more of a down.

On paper you would have to say so, but we have seen how over confidence usually leads to a spectacular fall in the Championship. All the teams outside the top 12 are probably feeling that they need to get more points as quickly as they can now. Whether that means that their managers take more risks or look to defend more stoutly is a matter of choice, but form tends to dictate matters when you can't last remember a home win. 

Something needs to change at Bloomfield Road if Blackpool are to halt their slide down the table and that makes them more unpredictable than teams enjoying a good spell. Eddie Howe may find that there are some surprises in their team line up and their formation. But we know AFCB will be looking to assert their game on Blackpool and to get the home crowd frustrated. They can only do that by playing well and concentrating on what they have been told to try and do during the week, but every game takes on its own structure and AFCB will hope that the key moments and decisions go for them. 

Eddie himself has some big decisions to make himself. Does he keep with Grabban up front on his own away from home and flood the midfield? Or does he keep hat-trick Yann in the starting 11? This may mean that Eunan is rested again and Rantie is given time to recover from his mid-week travelling, while Pugh may come in for the hard working Fraser who will have played for Scotland's U-21s. Whatever the team it will be one that must fancy their chances against a Blackpool team that has not won since November.

So far Leicester and Derby have done the double over AFCB, let's hope that Blackpool don't add to that. I believe the Cherries need four more wins this season and this can be won of them. I'm going for a 0-2 scoreline. UTCIAD!

You can back the team and win by placing a bet on Free Bet Negotiator. Also have a read of the Blackpool FC Blog where you can get the views of John Campbell who also has something to say on Rival Lines.

Finally, Shwan Jalal's loan period at Leyton Orient came to an end yesterday so look out next week to see if he goes straight back out on loan and if so to which club. 

Stockley gets his opportunity at Leyton Orient

Jayden Stockley has proved himself to be a goal threat at non-league and League Two and is no stranger to going out on loan. He did particularly well at Woking last season. He will find it more difficult to get much of a go at Leyton Orient with them flying high at the top of League One with Kevin Lisbie and David Mooney making the art of goal scoring look simple with the start they have had to their season.

Jayden is only out on loan for a month so he will only get the chance to get involved for six games but he could be involved as early as Tuesday night when the O's take on Gillingham in the Johnston's Paint Trophy Southern section first round. I hope that Jayden does get the chance to come on in some of Orient's league fixtures in particular. I good loan spell can only help his career with AFCB if he can learn some new things.

He has already been interviewed on Cherries Player saying how he is looking forward to joining up again with ex-Bournemouth players, Mathieu Broadry and Marvin Bartley.

It was perhaps disappointing not to hear that some of our other young players had not gained the opportunity to go out on loan, but Stephen Purches and Chris Hargreaves will be looking to improve player in AFCB's Development squad, who have already had some success this season.

Best memory of the season

It's hard not to recall the game against Leyton Orient at home this season without having fond memories. It was the game when Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall were introduced to the Bournemouth crowd as the new management team at AFCB. It was 13 October 2013 and 5715 people in the ground wondered what kind of effect would Eddie Howe have on this team that was struggling near the foot of the table.

In my wildest dreams, I like many never thought that I would see Eddie Howe back in charge at Dean Court when he left for Burnley FC. It was an unbelievable moment to finally see him take the applause  an salute the crowds as he stepped back out on to the pitch.

As we settled down to watch the game we saw Leyton Orient's red dragon mascot strutting around the pitch and I wondered whether it was good or bad luck to take a high five from him. I did slap his hand and hoped for the best. After all we are all football fans and I shouldn't be so superstitious I thought.  Knowing now what I didn't know then, I reckon I should high-five every away mascot that turns up at Dean Court.

Orient's mascot kept his distance from us in the away match -
and they won that day 3:1.

The home crowd were more than a bit lively that day, although there wasn't surprisingly a full house. Eddie Howe must have felt a bit awe struck to hear his name being belted out for pretty much 90 minutes. I am sure he was just pleased to get the first game out of the way. Still there is a link between him and the fans. He is one of our own and everyone only wanted him to succeed. A 2:0 victory for the Cherries was looking likely from the moment Eddie and Jason stood on the pitch that day.

Eddie manages to unite us as a club and his modesty is just so endearing that you feel you can go up to him and ask him about anything and he probably would not mind.

Well the Orient game set the wheels in motion for a fabulous run for the team. Somehow things just seem right with Eddie Howe back at the club. We are a perfect fit and my memories of his return on that day will long live with me and many others I suspect for this season.

By the way, Leyton Orient's mascot came nowhere near me in the return fixture at the Match Room Stadium and we lost that game. I'll have to tag him next time, whenever that may be now that we don't play each other next season. Perhaps I am still superstitious after all?

AFC Bournemouth mistakes hand victory to Leyton Orient

Match Report

Saturday 2nd March

Leyton Orient 3 v 1 Bournemouth

Attendance 5136 (1407 away supporters)

The visit to the Matchroom stadium was not expected to be an easy match for the Cherries but most of the supporters from the south coast would probably have thought a little more confident of picking up something in this match than in their recent outings. But as we have seen in this league there are no easy games. Players have to be at their best to pick up three points and they need a bit of luck. Luck is something that the Cherries have enjoyed at some points during this season, but you can't expect it to continue for ever. Sometimes hard graft, endeavour and skill will win out and it was Leyton Orient, not AFCB, that had that in abundance today.

Main entrance to the Matchroom Stadium

Fans await kick off

Dave and Liam Porter travelled up from Salisbury to see the Cherries 

Cherry supporters were in good voice for the match. Not a kick had been taken when we had already had several choruses of ''Oh Eddie Howe'' and ''Barmy Army'' and with four Excelsior coaches outside the ground AFCB could not complain about the magnificent support behind them. The old wooden seats did not offer much comfort for these fans who stood all match long.

The Cherries go through their warm up

More Cherry fans in the Brisbane Road stand

The teams line up

The Orient mascot in the centre circle

Pre-match huddle

The game started with chances at both ends, Pugh had an early shot and Ritchie sent in  a dangerous cross before Dean Cox's header went over the bar after 15 minutes. It was Orient that were keeping possession better. Fogden was playing centre midfield on the left of O'Kane with Richard Hughes just behind them both. Arter was serving the first of his two match suspension.

Orient were switching play quickly with Cox regularly finding Moses Obudajo on the right wing with long diagonal balls. David Mooney was also latching on to anything around the Cherries box and he had a shot that went wide on 18 minutes when he might have done better.

While Grabban had been lively early on and was working well with Pugh nothing was really falling to him cleanly up front and when Pugh crossed from the left on 20 minutes there was no AFCB player in the oppositions box. Even when we had free kicks on the right that Ritchie came across to take, with Cook coming up from the back to get numbers in the box, we couldn't get a clear sight of goal. 

Then a calamity took place at the back as a long ball that all the Cherries seem to think would go out was chased down hard by David Mooney, while Jalal seemed rooted to the spot on his six yard line, hoping for his defenders to return. Mooney simply hooked the ball back towards the penalty spot for Charlie MacDonald to have the simplest of tasks to tuck the ball away unopposed from just a few yards out on 26 minutes. There was lots of pointing and shouting among the Cherries defenders and goalkeeper but nobody had taken the responsibility upon themselves to clear the danger.

Orient kept on the front foot with Cuthbert catching Ritchie out on our left and firing just wide on 33 minutes. AFCB looked shaky at the back and second to every ball and even when they broke with speed after 35 minutes Grabban hit a very tame shot at the Orient keeper. Fogden and McQuoid seemed to switch over around this time with Fogden playing more on the right.

But it was Orient that were causing more problems with Mooney regularly finding himself free and unmarked. While AFCB thought that Seaborne had found the net with a header on 40 minutes it was disallowed and moments later there was a handball shout for Bournemouth that was also turned down. The Cherries continued to apply the pressure before half time with Cook's long throw that created a chance that flew over the bar, while Ritchie shot wide and Grabban smashed one over from a corner.

The second half started with Odubajo again finding space on the left and sending in a dangerous cross. Worse was to quickly follow when a ball from Orient's half was sent up towards an onrushing O'Kane and Seaborne who were 15 yards in front of the Cherries'box. O'Kane jumped to try and head the ball clear but only succeeded in heading the ball over the oncoming Seaborne and through to MacDonald who ran on to slide the ball past Jalal, and we were 2: 0 down after nine minutes of the second half. 

The mistakes had clearly unsettled the Cherries who continued to be sloppy in defence with Francis and Jalal getting confused about a clearance with no one calling. AFCB players were standing off too far and just not at the races all afternoon. Fogden was pulled off for Pitman to come after 60 minutes, not that Fogden was our worst player, but Eddie Howe had to try something else.

With Pitman and Grabban playing together upfront the midfield had more to aim at and it almost worked straight away with Pitman finding the ball at his feet on the D on the edge of Orient's box, but he couldn't get his shot cleanly away. 

At least the sun was out and the glare was making Cherry supporters shield their eyes from the errors that were mounting for AFCB on the pitch. Grabban was next to fire wide as he attempted an ambitious volley that he failed to connect properly with. Hughes manfully struggled on winning balls in midfield to set the team going and O'Kane was getting his foot in to win back possession. 

Too often though Orient would find Odubajo on the wing who was linking up dangerously with Mooney. Vincelot picked up a yellow with 20 minutes to go but he and former Cherry Baudry had played well all afternoon and were virtually untroubled. However, with 17 minutes or so to go Pitman volleyed a cross home to give the Cherries a foothold in the game. There was a moment when it looked like things might turnaround and Grabban went down claiming a penalty, but when Lisbie came on for Mooney - who took an age to get off the pitch - Orient seemed to find yet another gear with Cox coming close.

AFCB brought on Tubbs for Grabban and Jimmy Smith later came on for Lloyd James for the Os. The game was effectively over though when Odubajo again wriggled his way down the left wing and sent in a cross for Lisbie to score on 78 minutes. While Ryan Fraser came on for Pugh and we saw a few more glimpses of Fraser's quick feet and a driving run that earned a free kick, the game had already gone. Lisbie had a chance to make the scoreline even bigger in extra time and with Orient subbing MacDonald for Lee Cook they comfortably saw the game out.

Bouenemouth fans leave the game

Verdict
AFCB simply look fragile at the back. There was little calling, no marking and Ritchie was shown why left back is not his best position today when he came up against a quality winger. Bournemouth lacked Arter's bite and aggression and again looked lightweight in midfield. The Cherries need to be better organised and start thinking more about keeping clean sheets rather than dreaming of the Championship, because at the moment you have to wonder how the team got so far up the league when too many players didn't do their job during this match.

Player Ratings
Jalal 5, Francis 6, Cook 5, Seaborne 4, Ritchie 4, McQuoid 6, Fogden 5, O Kane 4, Hughes 6, Pugh 5, Grabban 5    

AFCB Goal
Pitman 65

Used Subs: Pitman 6, Tubbs 5, Francis 5
Unused Subs: Allsop, Partington, MacDonald, Fletcher 


Leyton OrientGoals MacDonald 24, 68, Lesbie 78
Yellows Vincelot 65, Cox 83

Leyton Orient v AFCB match preview

Saturday's game just can't come around quickly enough for AFCB who are desperate to reinsert themselves back in the top six following three defeats in a row in the league. Their visit to Leyton Orient is perhaps slightly better timed now than a few weeks a go when the O's were on a tremendous run. Still, the home match for Orient will encourage them to go out and try and win the points they need to make a late challenge to the promotion play-off places.

Orient are well equipped to make it four defeats for the travelling Cherries as they have a potent strike force when fully fit of David Mooney and Kevin Lisbie. Shuan Batt has been playing up front of late with Mooney, while commentators may be hoping the Afolabi Obafemi does not make his usual substitute appearance. Mooney is the top scorer with 12 goals this season. He is closely followed by Lisbie who has 9. The 34 year-old has recently signed an extended contract with the club taking him to June 2014, but he has not played of late. Most fans will know Lisbie from his Charlton days. Winger Dean Cox is also a sharp shooter and can also cause problems from midfield.

AFCB fans will probably hope to see Mathieu Baudry back in the O's starting line up, but they won't see Michael Symes who signed for Orient from Bournemouth at the same time as Baudry last summer, but is currently out on loan at Burton Albion.

A for the Cherries it is possible that Eddie Howe will again try something new as he looks to break the team's run of three goalless games. I fancy Ryan Fraser to be given more of a chance to run at the O's back line on the right wing if Matt Ritchie continues to fill in at left back. Up front Howe will have to have faith in either Grabban, Pitman or Tubbs to have some better luck in front of goal, while Josh McQuoid could be another option.

I feel this game has the potential of being a high goal thriller with both teams really needing to make an impact on the league if they are to stop those in front from getting away. Orient drew their last home game against Sheffield Utd and lost the one before that to Crawley, not having scored in either match. I hope that gives you Cherry fans some hope.

Away Form
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Home Form
Orient WDLWL