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.
In his new paper back biography 'Ted MacDougoal!', there is a new chapter at the end of the book on Ted's reflections – past and present, where he talks about the modern game and how it has changed at the clubs where he used to play his football. I was intrigued what he thought about headed goals today. Ted MacDougall was well known for the diving header and headed goals. It was a bit of a signature for him. But asking him about why there doesn't seem to be so many great headed goals these days in the possession football we see and immaculate pitches, he has plenty of answers for that, but he is convinced even the biggest teams resort to knocking it up to the big man when things aren't going for them.
Ted MacDougall chats to Cherry Chimes at Dean Court.
"It's a lot to do with the pitch. You look at some of those old photographs of the pitch and try and put five or 10 passes together. I mean you had to kick it from there to there via route one to get the ball into the box and crosses and that. It's a lot simpler game today.
"But if you see Manchester United struggling then they go to that game. They put Mario Fellaini on and he'll go up front. And they'll start playing balls in the box, because at the end of the day, I still think the ball has to come in," said Ted.
Ted left Bournemouth to go to Man United in 1972. It was a jump for him from the third tier to the first division, not something a player is likely to do today. "It was still Man Utd. We were still getting 50-60,000. I ended up getting £10 a week raise. But they were all coming to the end. George (Best) had gone missing, Bobby Charlton was finishing, Dennis Law was finishing. It was in transition the whole club and were were about fourth or fifth from the bottom. We weren't a good team and it was survival mode sort of thing for players where the players were looking out for themselves. They weren't bothered about me.
"I needed people to see my runs or I was never going to score goals. It was not like I could dribble past people or whatever. I wasn't that type of player. If you saw my runs and my movement and you delivered it. You know then you'd hopefully get the best from me. If you never saw the run or you never played the ball then or early enough then I'm not going to be in it," said Ted. I asked Ted whether it was possible that a league One player today could even dream about making a similar move to the Premier League, like he did in his day. It would be impossible wouldn't it? "When I went from Bournemouth to Man United that was the record then for a third division player to go to Man Utd – £200,000 or £220,000 or whatever it was. And I think it can happen to a goal scorer for obvious reasons. The trouble is, if you are a goal scorer and you are scoring goals – you are on the move, and if you're a goalscorer that's not scoring goals – you're also on the move," chuckles Ted. "I find it's not the same today, because I used to say, if I'm scoring goals you should be picking me, and if I'm not scoring goals, you have to leave me out. I don't see anyone saying those types of thing today. You know with regards to putting things on the line and saying I'm a goal scorer, I score goals. Jermain Defoe has probably been one of the closest, because he's a goal scorer," said Ted. "You have to be selfish to be a goal scorer - 100 per cent. More than selfish, no, no I mean you have to be very single-minded and that's why it always makes me think, when people say this is a team game. You know people are in the team for different reasons. He's a young lad trying to make it. You're an old pro trying to get another year's contract. Everyone is in there for different reasons. Of course, you state the obvious that you are in there to win, but you know when we win and I score we collectively do well. Or vice a versa. " You want to get the headlines though, I suggest. "Yes, I do because that was my job," said Ted. If you would like to read more about Ted MacDougall's career and his amazing football tales make sure you pick up a copy of Ted MacDougoal with its new Reflections - past and present chapter.
The visit of Stoke City represents a major problem for AFCB in the area of height advantage. Stoke are a big team and it will be difficult for AFCB to defend high balls, which is something that the side has not come up against too much of late with the games against the top sides in the division.
Tyrone will be to get any pitch time before the end of the season.
Stoke have been getting the most out of Peter Crouch by starting him on some games and bringing him on as a second half sub in other games, like they did last weekend against West Ham when they needed a goal. The size of Crouch is an immediate problem for any side and AFCB will have to work out how best to keep him at bay. If AFCB have managed to get themselves ahead in the game it may be that Crouch will appear as a sub and at that point Eddie may well consider that the best player in AFCB's ranks to match against Crouch is Tyrone Mings, but Mings will probably be on the bench. The Bournemouth centre-half has not had any match practise for a month now though and Steve Cook and Simon Francis have been doing well ahead of him and are expected to keep their starting places. But to have Mings available to come on to play against Crouch has to be a prospect that may materialise, if AFCB need to protect a lead.
AFCB don't tend to play negatively and usually go straight o the attack, but we have seen with Man Utd that when they put on a player like Mario Fellani, it is possible to stop the opposition effectively with a big man plugging the holes. Thinking smart is becoming the norm when planning ahead in Premier League games, and I hope that the Cherries do mark out Crouch as a danger as he is unlike any other forward in the division. It's not just his aerial play that is excellent either as he holds the ball up well and helps runners like Marko Arnautovic and Joe Allen coming from deep. AFCB have been warned and they have the player at their disposal to make it difficult for Stoke City to get a boost when Mr Coruch comes on to stretch his legs.
I get the firm impression hat Jose Mourinho has got his team playing reasonably well, but not as good as he wants at the moment. The win against Southampton in the League Cup final was something he can put on his mantelpiece, but he is really driving his players on to get into the top four and that is a big problem for Howe's players on Saturday.
Man Utd at the opening game of the season.
If we had any doubts over whether Zlatan Ibrahimovic was top-class or not, we surly have seen the evidence this season. He has mastered the English game and is enhancing his reputation all the time. United look half the side without him but luckily for them he hasn't missed many games. I also will be not liking the prospect of Juan Mata's name being on the team sheet as the hard working midfielder always pops up with goals and is excellent at timing his runs to tear apart defences. It should of course be Paul Pogba that sends shudders down AFCBs' players spine and yet he has found it harder to live up to his potential, although I am sure he is getting closer to what Mourinho ants from him. I can go on looking at the possible scorers and yet I have my fingers crossed that Mourinho spares AFCB all of the first team squad at Old Trafford with important games coming up for the Red Devils against FC Rostov and Chelsea. Eddie Howe is probably looking at who didn't play against Southampton for Man Utd in the Cup final last weekend and one name kind of stands out - Wayne Rooney. Yes, he may have been disappointed not to play in that game, even if he did get to lift the cup as club captain and he probably wants to show Mourinho that he's still got it! AFCB are lucky to have a Wayne Rooney coming towards the end of his career potentially lining up against them though than a young terrier who used to gobble up any mistake a team made at the back.
Add in players like Michael Carrick, Mario Fellani and Daley Blind who also did not start the cup match and just perhaps there is a possibility that Mourinho will take a bit of a gamble in this next game against the Cherries, leaving some of his big hitters on the bench. It may seem little relief to AFCB as they get ready for this match, but it is going to stop any Man Utd team playing at Old Trafford the week after they have won the first domestic cup competition of the season.
It should have come a surprise to beat Man Utd at Dean Court, but after last weeks heroics at Stamford Bridge it is becoming a regular occurrence to see AFCB defeat a side that is used to pick up all the silverware. Luis van Gaal will have known that Bournemouth have score more early goals than any other side in the Premier League this season, but Junior Stanislas gave David de Gea the unenviable task of picking the ball out of the net after just two minutes and there was nothing Man Utd could have done about it. The ball flew in the goal straight from the corner. The Cherries were ahead and even when Fellaini managed to scramble an equaliser in on his knees on 24 minutes, there was still belief that a possible upset was on the cards. Indeed, another set piece was to decide the game when a low struck corner kick from Matt Ritchie drifted past Juan Mata at the front of the box and Josh King had time and space to turn and shoot past David de Gea to record the second big win for the Cherries in the space of eight days.
AFCB players line up.
There was no need for Eddie Howe to make changes to the starting 11 that had played so magnificently at Chelsea last week. On the bench though there was a recall for Mac Pugh, Eunan O'Kane and Tokelo Rantie while Sylvain Distin returned from illness. There are more pictures on Match Day Gallery.
Man Utd players decide to wear a complete white strip.
The excitement builds before kick off.
Man Utd were a much changed team as they had Chris Smalling and Darmian out after their midweek game and in came Valera, McNair, Borthwick-Jackson and Carrick.
Mata and Martial to kick off.
Man Utd fan Phil talks about the Red Devils
pre-match on Cherry Chimes' FanCam.
The game started with Josh King attacking up the left side and winning a free kick. A corner then quickly followed. What know one expected was for Junior Stanislas to swing his right foot so accurately that he put a curve on the ball that saw it bend beyond David de Gea, who was more worried about Dan Gosling, and into the top right corner of the goal off of the far post. De Gea may have got a hand on the ball but it was not enough to change the trajectory. The home crowd roared with delight! The Cherries were 1-0 up in less than two minutes. Junior celebrated with Harry Arter who had had a tough week with a bereavement - the reason why the AFCB players were wearing black arm bands. Just as the crowd settled back down though, Artur Boruc was forced to make a double save. Adam Smith had tripped Memphis Depay and from the free kick first Fellaini had a point blank shot that Artur Boruc turned away only to get up again to make another save to his left, at full stretch, from a header from McNair. It was amazing agility and it kept the score at 1-0. The Cherries were finding it hard to keep possession or get more than one or two passes in before losing the ball again. A brief chance came to break the Man Utd pressure when the Cherries had a free kick 30 yards out, but Stanislas shot well over. Junior was the man to watch and he inexplicably then made a back pass towards Andrew Surman on the edge of AFCB's box that never had the legs. In stole Martial who just had Boruc to beat and yet he blew his lines and steered his shot wide and right of the goal. What a let off! Just when Junior had got over that shocker. He got his game together again, Josh King found himself through against de Gea on 22 minutes. Arter had clipped in a beautiful ball between McNair and Varela that Josh was first to. King decided to go around de Gea, taking the ball from the left to the right of the keeper, but de Gea somehow managed to snatch the ball from him when it had looked like a certain goal. The Cherries were made to pay for the missed chance too. Memphis found himself through on a long ball from Carrick that Adam Smith was slow to react to, but Boruc stretched out his left leg and made a blocked save. The ball cannoned out to Mario Fellaini who could not keep his feet, having made contact with Boruc, and was on his knees. The midfielder managed to keep his momentum going forward though and stabbed out his right foot to jab the ball into the net, past Adam Smith and Steve Cook on the line - it was 1-1. AFCB were still winning corners and Stanislas put a shot wide from won after 27 minutes. It was then that Jesse Lingard pulled up with a hamstring pull and Andreas Pereira had to replace him - more injuries for Utd. A snap shot from Stanislas again went wide on 33 minutes as the Cherries looked to get back in front. Adam Smith was having a real battle with Memphis on the wing but he was not giving up. The moment when the Cherries might have gone ahead again was when King broke on the right and crossed for Ritchie who snapped his shot right at de Gea who could make the save.
It's been a brilliant first half with both teams creating lots of chances, but it's all square at 1-1.
Second Half The second half began with Man Utd on the attack and then forced all the way back to their keeper. Simon Francis then showed that he is not just an average centre back by making a darting run up the right side and into the box, past three Man Utd players. His shot forced de Gea into a near post save. The resulting corner was hit low and Josh King came from near the far post to the middle of the box, spinning off Daley Blind. He had an inviting chance and buried the shot neatly in what was a move from the training ground. He did it without any fuss to put the Cherries 2-1 up on 54 minutes. AFCB were in full flight now. Arter burst from defence and found Josh King running at goal. King checked in the box and made a chip that went just wide of the far post and over Junior Stanislas. Man Utd also had their chances though and Fellaini saw his shot in the box kept out by Boruc and then cleared by Adam Smith. The Cherries subbed King on 65 minutes for Glenn Murray, but the Cherries shape stayed the same. Murray had a superb chance to wrap things up when on 70 minutes he bust into the box, checked onto his left foot beating McNair, but hit his shot over the bar with de Gea to beat. Just a few moments later, Stanislas won a corner and this time the ball from the corner kick deflected off a Man Utd player and fell to Murray, but he was leaning back and clipped his shot over from six yards! Man Utd brought on Powell for Fellaini on 74 minutes. Harry Arter was starting to see more of the ball now and shot wide on 80 minutes as he came forward. When Surman went down though three minutes later, Arter managed to get himself booked and was sent over to the touchline. Eddie Howe put his arm around the neck of Harry before he let him back on. As Harry went over to the right side of the pitch he was then subbed for O'Kane to come on. This was all eating up the time. Martial had a chance to dance around a few AFCB defenders and get a shot away near the end, but he ballooned his shot well over the bar. Luis van Gaal's only last resort was to bring on Jones for McNair at centre back on 91 minutes. How that would win the game I have no idea, but perhaps he was more worried about Utd conceding a third. After five minutes of extra time though it did not matter. Utd had been beaten by a team that they had been 90 or so places above some 7 years ago.
Back to back wins for the Cherries!
Glenn Murray gets a hug from David de Gea.
Eddie walks off with Harry Arter with another satisfying win.
Eddie spoke well about the difficult week that Harry Arter and his partner
Rachel had had after the loss of their child at birth and our
thoughts are with Harry Arter, his partner and relatives.
Summary The Cherries wanted the three points and more importantly a win against the big name of Man Utd more than anything else. The week had been filled with the history of when the Cherries had knocked the Red Devils out of the FA Cup in 1984 and the new Premier League Cherries were not going to miss the opportunity of getting their headlines. It was a win that came from set pieces, but the team work and will to win were most evident. This Bournemouth side has grown immeasurably in the last few games and now it is moving up the table and can take great encouragement from their first back-to-back win at the top level. Now the team needs to maintain these performance levels to keep the points coming. AFCB are up to 14th in the table and that's a great Christmas present for the fans.
A great effort from the players who keep to winning ways.
AFCB Boruc, Smith, Francis, Cook, Daniels, Surman, Ritchie, Arter (O'Kane 86), Gosling, Stanislas, King (Murray 65)
While the mighty Man Utd have had a difficult last few weeks they still sit fourth in the league and a big favourites to crush teams like AFCB who sit down in the bottom half of the table. Their inability to shoot on target is now giving plenty of scope for the media to get their teeth into Luis vaan Gaal's side and the pressure on players like Martial, Lingard and Mata will only grow if they draw another blank down on the south coast.
Josh King has more reason than most to play well against
Utd having been on their books for four years.
In some ways the Cherries might have been expecting for this to be one of the hardest games of the season last August when the fixture list was first seen. I expect that it will indeed be viewed as such by Eddie Howe and his men, but it is not the Man Utd of old where the team list would frighten any opponent before a ball was even kicked. Now Luis vaan Gall says Manu Utd are no longer the team that is expected to win every game "that was the past," he said this week in his press conference - well I do hope so when it comes to today. I think the criticism is over the top on Man Utd but I hope their fans have even more to moan about after today's game. But still £250 million is a lot of money to spend and look at the players they have sold on. They still have their list of experienced internationals in the squad like Schweinsteiger (out for this game and the next two), Blind, Smalling (injured), Mata and Fellaini, to name a few and Wayne Rooney who is also not available for selection this time. Luis van Gaal will not be hoping to have to use any excuses though if they have another dismal display. But for all there woes Man Utd have a goal difference of 10 that is only headed by Leicester City, Arsenal and Man City. Goal scoring has really been a big stumbling block for the Red Devils and with five goals in their last six games, it is understandable that some of the old faithful are shaking their heads at the stats last Premier League match that read 21 shots and one on target for vaan Gaal's side. Still they are seven games unbeaten since the 3-0 drubbing by Arsenal. One win in their last five away games though, is that the record of potential champions? With such an open Premier League though, Man Utd have every chance of making it theirs and it is games like these that will decide when there trophy is going next May. Keep losing these kinds of games though and they could find themselves outside the top four fairly quickly. Away from home they do tend to pick up a few draws and the secret of that is that they don't concede hardly at all. It's de Gea that is the rock that AFCB will have trouble with if their shooting is not spot on. But I wonder what odds you could have got a week ago on an AFCB double to beat Chelsea and Man Utd? UTIAD! Enjoy the game tonight. You can still send in your score predictions on Twitter to @peterbell19 Check out my interview with United Pages ahead of today's game. Man Utd Away Form LDDWD AFCB Home Form WDLLD
Possible AFCB team: (4-5-1) Boruc (GK), Smith (RD), Francis (CD), Cook (CD), Daniels (LD), Ritchie (RM), Arter (CM), Gosling (CM), Surman (CM), Stanislas (LM), King (FW)
I thought there were a lot of positives on how Man Utd played in mid-week against Wolfsberg, which on the face of it is not great news for the Cherries. The Red Devils certainly created chances and worked the keeper and the sideways passing that has been so heavily criticised of van Gaal's side gave way to positive forward passing and high pressing. The problem for them is they still did not win and the effort that Man Utd put into that game could be an important factor when they take on the Cherries in the late Saturday kick off.
Lee Tomlin and Marc Pugh were back in training this week
and could make the sub's bench for AFCB.
I'd have expected Schweinsteiger to be dropped for the AFCB game even if he had not received a three match ban as Man Utd need Michael Carrick to set the pace in midfield and he should be fresher than most having only playing just over 20 minutes in midweek. There was a strong performances from Martial up front, but the Cherries will also have to be on guard for Fellaini at set-pieces. Memphis Depay will give them some crosses and they had plenty of players in the box at Wolfsberg, but Mata looked the main man one minute and out of sorts the next. Chris Smalling also picked up and injury and de Gea kept Man Utd from conceding on several occasions so there are signs that this is not a Man Utd that are brimming with confidence. The first goal is going to be everything on Saturday. The Cherries need to get at Man Utd early and put them under pressure. If Utd end up chasing the game their midweek exertions may well catch up with them. They have to make some changes to their team and will not particularly find it a thrill to come to such a small ground with the home fans in full voice. The noise at Stamford Bridge was amazing and that really needs to be replicated at home games. Eddie has to try and keep the momentum going now. If the team can beat Chelsea it can beat Man Utd. The players have to do the same positive things that they do away from home and stay compact when defending. I'd not expect any team changes on AFCB's side unless any injuries or colds have been picked up in midweek. I'd hope that Josh King is also keener than ever to get on the score sheet as an ex-Man Utd trainee and Matt Ritchie might also get the Man Utd scouts purring if he comes up with another blockbuster strike. David de Gea is a man that the Cherries will be aiming to keep very busy this Saturday. Another win against a team as big as Man Utd would start to shake up the Premier League and that's what AFCB are here for. UTCIAD!
