MatchDay programme just keeps getting better

As a journalist as well as an AFCB supporter, there is nothing much that I like to get hold of than a copy of MatchDay on a Saturday afternoon. I am so pleased that the club continues to get recognised for its excellent print media and this time it has won the SKYBet Championship best programme for 2013'/14 awarded by the Midland Programme Club.

I know just from running Cherry Chimes how difficult it is to come up with new angles for stories and how rewarding it is to keep fans informed about happenings at the club. The MatchDay programme has had a bit of a revamp from last season but it continues to be very popular and it is a credit to all those involved in producing the programme.

I must admit that I have started collecting a few of the programmes on sale from other clubs during my travels this season and I have found them a little wanting  compared to AFCB's reports. It is important that the club can have good communication with the fans and express some of the players' and fans' achievements along the way each season.

This season has seen the addition of popular sections like Shirt Tales, Expert's Opinion and View From the Stands, which even Cherry Chimes has contributed to. The next few issues will also have more revelations from Harry Redknapp's managerial exploits as well, so there are some more good reasons to keep picking up your copy.

I also think the photography that Steve Cook takes is another reason why fans are eager to get their MatchDay copy. The writing too is very welcoming and really makes you feel part of the club which indeed we all are. UTCIAD!

The Cherries - 'We are going places'

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 fan and life-long supporter of the Cherries it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that has inspired me to start writing this blog. We have been in administration, we have stared down the barrel of non-league football and have seen promotion to NPower League One – and that’s all just in the last few years.  Now we even have a silent Russian magnate who made his money in petrochemicals roll banking the club as it steers its way up the league. We are known as the big spenders of League One. I guess we do have a nice car parking project ongoing and a beautiful training pitch, new gym, local radio station and even a champagne bar. If we gain promotion to the Championship, we will even be able to build our fourth stand at the South End which is to be designed with a hotel. I believe that the chairman and the board have been seen as unsung heroes, villains and saviours virtually on a daily basis by the fans but it’s because the south coast is passionate about its football. We may not be Premier League, but we love our club. We want to play football the right way – on the floor. And, with the return of our incredible management team of Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall, the fans believe the club is as they say ‘going places’.