Travers to join Swindon on loan

The frustration for Mark Travers is understandable in not getting past the first league game of the season and seeing Asmir Begovic start the other games. Jason Tindall is probably well-advised to let the young Irish keeper go out on loan, but it will mean he is on 24-hour recall and could be back at the Cherries before he has had much of a chance to make a kick or save at League One Swindon Town.

Mark Travers goes out on loan to Swindon Town.

It will be a busy time for Travers who will join a league One relegation battle with Swindon. I am not sure how well he will know the former Cherries stars of Brett Pitman and  Mathieu Broadry who are also at the Wiltshire club. He will also be in the same league as Charlie Daniels and Marc Pugh, who are at Shrewsbury Town and have recently pulled themselves out of the relegation zone. Swindon are due to play Shrewsbury on 6 February.

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The opportunity for Mark Travers does suggest that Will Dennis will immediately be moved up to the first-team squad and he has been waiting for this chance for a long time as well. He is likely to thrown straight in against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup, this Saturday, to get a taste of the first team game. Of course, if Asmir Begovic was to be injured in an upcoming league match, Will Dennis would be put straight on before AFCB could apply to get Mark Travers back from Swindon.

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It tells me that those who are patient at AFCB will get their chance at some point and I hope Will Dennis gets to see some action. He might not be the only new face on the bench with with Jake Scrimshaw being recalled from his loan at Walsall, where he has netted twice in 15 appearances this season. I wonder if this reacall comes about because Josh King is leaving a space vacant among the forwards, and AFCB have been rumoured to miss out on acquiring Leeds United's Tyler Robers, according to Football League World. 

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Where will Josh King end up?

Tindall's attractive football pays dividends in the first game

While Bournemouth fans might not have been too certain about how Jason Tindall would like to see Bournemouth play, fans got a real taste of how the Cherries will look to go forward watching the match against Blackburn Rovers. It did seem a case of we are going to score one more than you, and the enjoyment for the fans will be the attacking nature of JT's team.

Bournemouth brings goals to their game.

There might not be so much pleasure in watching Bournemouth defend this season. At times they do make poor decisions and let teams have shots from distance. That is fine when the goal is well covered, but Mark Travers made a mistake in this first game and it could have dented his and the team's confidence.

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It was very important to win. The fact that it was a narrow victory didn't matter, Bournemouth had shown their superiority first half, and Blackburn had battled their way back into the game well. It took a lot though for Bournemouth to go and get the winner in the last 10 minutes and with that, we can safely say the new era of Jason Tindall is well under away.

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Fans can now look ahead with the first win under the Cherries belt. The goals came from three different goal scorers and we should have known from last season that a defender was likely to get Bournemouth's first goal on the first day of the season. Playing with Kelly, Cook and Mepham at the back really does look formidable on paper, but there is room for improvement at the back. Upfront we still need to see consistency from Solanke, but Danjuma and Stanislas are the creative players that are opening teams up and could have big seasons.

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The optimism is back and the doubts about Jason Tindall may well fade quickly at this rate. He has let the handbrake off the team and the players have responded. Whatsmore, he has done it without needing to play David Brooks or Josh King from the start - that's brave for the new manager. 

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Bournemouth gets off to a winning start beating Blackburn 3-2

How might AFCB line-up for Benfica friendly?

It looks like AFCB are still living the Premier League high-life with a trip to Benfica in Portugal for their first pre-season friendly on Sunday. If finances were a concern, they are not being spared on pre-season training matches. But who will play for the Cherries in this game?

Sam Surridge has a big few weeks ahead of him.

With transfers still on-going, we could see some players rested if they are about to be sold. So it is an intriguing first line-up that we could see from Jason Tindall. We will immediately see if he is giving any younger players a shot at the first team and we could see who of Howe's old favourites are out of favour.

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While Begovic is back training with the team, it is likely that Mark Travers will be given the keeper gloves and perhaps Will Dennis in the second half. Adam Smith may be rested with potential interest in him reported, which would give Jack Stacey the right back spot. Diego Rico or Lloyd Kelly could start on the left side of the defence, while Steve Cook and Jack Simpson could be at centre-half, if Kelly is not used there. Chris Mepham was also back training but it might be too soon for him to play.

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Midfield should be very revealing into Tindall's thoughts with the season to come. Does he risk David Brooks who was injured in pre-season last year and with lots of transfer interest in him? International duties may mean we don't see David play just yet for AFCB, but JT could give Gavin Kilkenny a go who did well last year in pre-season. The middle of the park you would think would be occupied by Lerma and Billing, even if Aston Villa have shown interest in Billing. Dan Gosling is perhaps the choice if Billing is rested, but Lewis Cook may have to sit it out with Leeds United keen to see him come to Elland Road. There is also Nnamadi Ofoborh who could come into the reckoning if JT wants to see him up against top European players. Furthermore, Harry Arter is still with the AFCB, but perhaps will be over looked. Junior Stanislas we imagine would be the first choice for one of the wing positions, but Danjuma should get playing time I expect. Kyle Taylor could also be on the trip.

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That would just leave the strikers. It could be Solanke and Surridge to start if JT wants to push through sales of Callum Wilson and Josh King.

There are a few decisions to be made which is what makes it curious for fans, but what we'd really like to see is a new signing unveiled. After much deliberation, I am guessing that this is a good balance between going strong and leaving some rather big names on the sidelines. Some of the players are also expected to be on international duty - this could mean Kelly and Travers miss out.

Possible AFCB line-up

Subs: Dennis, A Smith, Mepham, Simpson, Kilkenny, L Cook

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Has Bogvic been singing AFCB striker's praises?

In other news,Turkish website Fanatik Sports reports Galatasaray are closing in on Jefferson Lerma's signing.

Sheffield United's bid for Ramsdale accepted- so what are AFCB doing?

The Tabloid and Broad sheet papers are all quoting a fee of around 18.5m being agreed for the sale of Aaron Ramsdale to Sheffield United. It was only a few days a go that Jason Tindall said there wouldn't be a fire sale at Dean Court, but it hasn't taken long for the club to let one of their most impressive young players go, having just won player of the year at AFCB. So what are Bournemouth looking to do?

It looks like that's it for Ramsdale's AFCB career.

It appears that the money is more important than the player's quality to help Bournemouth get promotion. Jason Tindall must believe that Mark Travers is a good enough keeper to be number one and I don't doubt that. It would perhaps have been unfair to expect Travers to wait another season or more, behind Ramsdale, and Travers probably would have asked for a loan move, or leave the club, if he wasn't to be number one at AFCB in 2020-21. The other option is that Asmir Begovic is still on Bournemouth's book having finished his Italian lan but I don't expect him to stay at AFCB.

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This way Ramsdale gets to stay in the Premier League, at his former club, where he has an affection, and Travers gets to be number one at AFCB. The only losers are perhaps AFCB fans who wanted to see Ramsdale continue in goal for the Cherries. If it means that the money will help Bournemouth keep one of their other stars like Lloyd Kelly or David Brooks, then there is some further sense behind it. But if we see a rush for the door as more, and more bids are accepted for players, then Bournemouth's coffers will look better, but on the pitch JT will have to gamble with many new signings.

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It was always going to be difficult to balance who stays and who Bournemouth need to left go. With the top two voted players from last season already on the exit bus, it is going to be important that AFCB make some good signings of their own on the next three or four weeks. All the talk is about those that could be leaving. It's not the message that AFCB heard the owner saying the club is looking to win promotion back to the Premier League.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes – Does Francis warrant another year at AFCB?

Artur doesn't get to say goodbye but we loved him

Bournemouth's final farewell to Eddie Howe rather overshadowed the departure of Artur Boruc to Legia Warsaw. But the Pole has been a massive character in the Cherries squad since it was last in the Championship and played a significant role in getting the Cherries promoted in 2014-15 when he was on loan. Now he has gone, there is one less big presence in Bournemouth's dressing room.

Farewell Artur, it's been a blast.

Like many Bournemouth fans, I haven't been a big fan of former Southampton players but I make exceptions for players like Artur Boruc who has been magnificent in the way he has carried himself at the club. He's played more games for Bournemouth than he did for Southampton now. Even as a number two he hurled himself around on the pitch during warm ups with no less enthusiasm than if he was starting, and he pushed Ramsdale all the way last season.

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Eddie Howe kept extending his contract by a year over the last few seasons, but now Boruc feels it is time to depart and with the long Championship season ahead, I can understand why now is a good time for him to leave the Cherries. He will be reacquainted with his Polish friends and will no doubt bring back memories for their fans who saw him as a young keeper just starting out before he went to Celtic.

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Boruc's signatures is one of my favourites out of all the Bournemouth players. I grabbed him one day on a non-match day when he was walking near Dean Court, having just won promotion to the Premier League with Bournemouth. I had a picture of him on a Daily Echo paper and just asked him to sign it which he duly did. Now he has gone, I must admit it feels like another part of the big jigsaw that got Bournemouth up to the Premier League has faded away.

Still, we have new players to take his place, and should it be Mark Travers or Aaron Ramsdale in Bournemouth's goal next season we know they have learned a lot from being in the company of Artur Boruc. Thanks Artur!

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In other news, Nathan Aké completed his £40m plus £1m add-on signing for five years with Man City yesterday. This breaks Bournemouth's record transfer fee for a player. Brad Smith has also left AFCB as his contract has expired.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Has AFCB''s best candidate for manager just won promotion to the Premier League?

Rambo will be ready to be AFCB's no 1 keeper

The news of Aaron Ramsdale's positive test for COVID-19 was hardly good news. But the timing of it allowed Aaron to make his recovery, and he will be delighted to train with the other keepers today for the first time in a week. I think Ramsdale is essential for AFCB's hoped of staying up and to have him back will be a big lift for the players and staff.

Ramsdale - ready to go again.

It is the character os Ramsdale that makes him a big special. Yes, he is a great keeper and may yet have more massive saves in his locker that we see in the next few weeks, but it is his bubbly energy and confidence that the team really need. Every positive player is going to be very important now. AFCB need that positivity and to generate a bit more defiance than they have shown in the early part of the season. Having Rambo back will make a difference to morale.

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While it has been training as usual for Artur Boruc, Mark Travers and Will Dennis, I have no doubt that they want Ramsdale to finish the season and do it by keeping the Cherries up. They will want to support him in his efforts to be the player who makes that vital difference, and keepers tend to have important parts to play when the pressure really piles on.

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While Ramsdale won't have a penalty shoot out to keep AFCB up, he will feel that every save he makes is another step towards getting the team the points it needs. He hasn't found it easy to pick up clean sheets and that is what he must concentrate on. While he has missed a week of training, I bet they don't take it easy on him. Ramsdale will be worked twice as hard and every bit of confidence he can gain from that could be really important come the restart games.

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Bournemouth need their best players on the pitch and Aaron Ramsdale is definitely one of them.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Cherries need to take this period as a new beginning

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Was it right for AFCB to play Mark Travers in such a big game?

Perhaps it wasn't the best game in hindsight for Mark Travers to come in for Bournemouth against Watford. Yes, he is an international keeper and has had other high-profile end of season games against Tottenham and Crystal Palace for Bournemouth, but a crucial foot of the table clash against a rejuvenated Watford was perhaps asking a lot, when Eddie could have turned to the more experienced Artur Boruc.

Mark Travers will no doubt kick long next time a defender gives him a pass on his goal line.

Travers played well in the 4-0 win over Luton Town in the FA Cup, and that is perhaps what made Howe decide to stick with Travers for the Watford game, when Aaron Ramsdale had a slight hamstring pull. A change had to be made then, but Eddie's judgement might not have been correct on this occasion.

I didn't mind that Travers was given a game, but perhaps it was also a game when Boruc should have been used for his experience. After all the Watford game was a crunch match and now is Travers going to be dropped for the next match?

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I'd like to think that any of Bournemouth's three top keepers could step in and play a top Premier League game. Travers is only 20 though and is the least experienced of the trio in terms of Premier League appearances. On a day when Asmir Begovic had a medical for Inter Milan, there was no clearer message that Bournemouth were moving on with their keeper choices than to give Travers the jersey.

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Mark Travers and Aaron Ramsdale are definitely the future. They are agile and quick of thought and some of the best young keepers around. But experience is what they don't have yet and this is a tough environment for them to have to learn they way through. It's seven goals conceded in the last two league games and the keepers are now as much under scrutiny as any other position.

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Travers perhaps deserved his chance but perhaps not in such a vital game. Now Eddie has a bigger decision to make next week as to who best to play between the sticks.

What can we expect from AFCB in Luton cup game?

The AFCB team to play against Luton Town in the FA Cup could be a very experimental eleven. Eddie Howe has full license not to pick players who have been playing with knocks and who need the rest before the all important home game against Watford next weekend.

Bournemouth will have a keeper change today.

I am not sure if I want Bournemouth to do that well in the FA Cup which seems criminal. But if the club's Premier League status is under threat, then it is important to protect the players that don't need to play in the Luton game. For once defeat would be accepted if it meant a win against Watford the week after.

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But Eddie Howe has to pick a team no matter what. In goal it could be Mark Travers or Artur Boruc, but it is probably wisest to give the younger keeper the game for the experience. I'd be inclined to leave Simon Francis at right back, but Jack Simpson could come in to partner Chris Mepham, and perhaps we will see an U21 player at left back. Andrew Surman is the only central midfielder that Howe has with experience who has not been getting games and I'd expect him to start, perhaps with Matt Butcher. Gavin Kilkenny is surely also a right wing starter for this match, and the left wing is another position where an U21 could come in. It looks like Sam Surridge will start up front along perhaps with Alex Dobre, as Dominic Solanke probably needs to be protected with Josh King out and Callum Wilson needing rest.

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I am not optimistic of a win for the Cherries, but we are certainly going to see some young players and perhaps the fans will enjoy that rather than seeing the regulars struggle again. Luton Town are bottom of the Championship and were beaten 3-1 by Millwall last time out and have not won an away game since 28 September, when they beat Blackburn Rovers 1-2. They have had just one win in December against Wigan, but it's one win in seven games.

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Form aside, Luton Town do have some senior professionals like Marek Stech in goal and Kazenega Lua Lua who is perhaps well-known from his Brighton years. Bournemouth may have to be more aware of James Collins who has eight goals this season and former Cherries Academy player Harry Cornick who has six goals. Callum McManaman is another winger who has scored three goals this season and has played for Wigan, WBA and Sunderland.

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A win would be a bit of a morale boost, but little more than that. If Luton had any form, this could be a great game for them but I imagine they are the best team Bournemouth could have drawn at this stage if they were going to get a Championship team. But lose to Luton Town and it is probably another invitation for the papers to tarnish Eddie Howe and the players for this season. 

Let's get behind the players today and try and start the recovery. We have had our moan and it's time to try and give the players something to work with. UTCIAD!

AFCB Home Form
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Luton Away Form
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In other news Sam Surridge has signed a new four and a half year contract with AFCB - he is likely to be a massive player next season for the Cherries.

AFCB TV Preview

An extra story
I spoke with the Liverpool Echo about Dominic Solanke since his move to AFCB. I wish Dominic had't struggled at AFCB but he has.

Ramsdale England's No 1 - well, he's getting closer

I loved the video interview that Harry Wilson did for AFCBTV on Aaron Ramsdale. I think Harry has a career in the making there when the football playing days end. The affection that Aaron has built up with the AFCB fans already though is tremendous. We think he is England's No1, and I don't think it will be long before he is thought of in that way far outside of Bournemouth.

Aaron can't be far away from an England call up.

What I see the fans can identify with Ramsdale is that he is a character. You have to have a screw slightly loose if you play in goal, and the main thing for Aaron at the moment should be just to enjoy playing. It is a fantastic achievement for him to be playing at such a young age in the Premier League and he looks perfectly at home there.

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Of course, Aaron has to keep his standard high and keep his professionalism when he represents the club and he can do that and be pleased with is performances when he pulls off the saves, but I see a cheeky side to him and I expect he has to tone things down at some points. You need some loud characters in the team though and I think Aaron could be one of the players of the season. He is super confident and I hope he remains so.

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With Aaron doing so well, it is only going to make Mark Travers work even harder. It's quite possible that AFCB have two of the best young keepers of any Premier league club so keeping hold of them both may be a stretch for the club in the long term. They both will be getting great tips from Artur Boruc and his experience could be part of the reason why these two young men have come on so fast. It must seem crazy that a goalkeeper that both Travers and Ramsdale surely look up to is also working to improve them, but they seem to be soaking up the information like a sponge. The longer Aaron can pick Artur for information, the closer Aaron will be to claiming that England Number on jersey.

In other news, Callum Wilson came on as a second half sub in England's 6-0 win against Bulgaria hitting the post with the last kick of the game. Congratulations also to former Cherry Tyrone Kings on making his England debut in that game. There were also some disgusting racist taunts in the stadium, but it was good to see that the England players wanted to complete the game.

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Imagine what a clean sheet would do for Ramsdale

There is no doubt that Aaron Ramsdale is a confident fellow. He strides out to his goal feeling that he is the best player to keep the opposition out and he has made some amazing saves already for the Cherries, but the clean sheet has eluded him so far. What would it do for him to get that clean sheet though against Everton?

Aaron will hope it is fifth time lucky for a clean sheet.

In a week that we have sesn Mark Travers win his first senior cap for the Republic of Ireland squad the focus on AFCB's keepers is as high as ever. The competition for top spot hasn't slowed, despite the departure of Asmir Begovic. At the moment it is Mark Travers that has  played in the Carabao cup as the Cherries current number two, but Artur Boruc will still want games and may get the FA Cup games. I don't think it is incorrect to say that any of the three keepers could make a Premier League appearance at some stage this season.

Aaron Ramsdale hasn't been marked out for any glaring mistakes that have led to goals, but Eddie will know that the Cherries are conceding two goals a game on average and he has to find ways to get that down. He may feel that the team as a whole has to defend better and a change in keeper just isn't beneficial, unless Aaron's confidence slips. I don't think the fans want to see a keeper change yet, but Aaron needs to get a clean sheet as soon as possible, because he hasn't done it yet and we know that Artur Boruc is capable of 10 clean sheets in a season. 

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If Ramsdale can get that clean sheet against Everton, then I expect he will go from strength to strength. It seems hard that Travers hasn't been given more of a go following his Tottenham clean sheet, but Eddie Howe might have wanted to protect him after the five goals that went in against him at Crystal Palace in the final game last season. For now the three keepers don't have much between them in my opinion and yet all of them will want to see AFCB start to get some clean sheets as soon as possible. Everton are a team that struggle away from home, so we could just see Ramsdale get his wish and that could send his confidence soaring even higher to help AFCB start getting back up this league.

Enjoy the game today! UTCIAD!

PremierTalk - Canaries bring Premier League to life

Begovic loan deal completed

Eddie Howe said during his pre-match interview for the Leicester City game that Asmir Begovic's situation could change and indeed he has been loaned out to Azerbaijan team Qarabag until January 2020. Begovic has been out of favour since Artur Boruc replaced him near the end of last season, before Mark Travers went on goal for the last two league matches of the 2018/19 season.

Asmir Begovic gets his loan move.

It always looked like Eddie Howe would move Asmir on quickly, but it has been a drawn out affair that sees Begovic go to a team that is still along way from his home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it will enable him to play in the Europa League.

It was no doubt important that Howe found a club for Asmir as it didn't look like he would be involved this season at AFCB, and he didn't need to be training when AFCB have a good selection of other keepers. It has been fairly quick Asmir's fall from grace, but in the Premier League it is important to play with the best keeper you can get. It perhaps says more about Artur Boruc holding on to his place despite seeing Asmir bought to rival his place. The young keepers of Aaron Ramsdale and Mark Travers now look set to be the standard for AFCB keepers in the next few years.

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Hopefully, Asmir does well and builds his confidence up again and perhaps will be bought in 2020 by Qarabag or another club. It clears the way for players like Ramsdale to concentrate on their job and start making a bit of their own history at AFCB.

In other news, Nnamdi Offoborh has a season transfer move to Wycombe Wanderers and Tyler Cordner is on loan to Ebbsfleet until January. The Daily Express also reports that Celtic made a bid for Jordan Ibe but could not agree wages.