Let's give Burnley a bad day at the office

Well the clouds are clearing and it seems we have thumbs up for a game today. If you can't get up for games like these with second place Burnley visiting Dean Court then I can only assume that you are missing out on a lot of fun. But keeping the Clarets out for 90 minutes will be hard work for our players and concentration must be the key. Burnley are not unbeatable and while the Cherries have not been at their very best of late a fixture like this can set the team up for a powerful run in.

Dean Court amazingly passes the 7.30am pitch inspection. Game on!

Sean Dyche has had a great run with his Burnley team and their confidence is up. I thought that they could easily have gone down at Bolton in mid-week just as the Cherries could have, but Burnley fashioned a winner from somewhere. Vokes and Ings are always alert to opportunities and that is why our defenders have to be on their game on Saturday. Ings is simply a menace and will run rings around you if you gift him a chance. AFCB must also cut out the runs on the wings of Scott Arfield,  and Michael Kightly, while Kieran Trippier is also strong when he comes forward. 

AFCB can't be concentrating solely on Burnley's attack. They have to come up with a plan to get behind them and Bolton did manage to get down the wings fairly well against them and their were times when Burnley rode their luck. It is important that Ritchie and hopefully Fraser (but more than likely Pugh) bring their A game while Surman and Arter need to be taking more shots around the box. We have seen that a surprise shot from distance can bring rewards with Grabban's strike last time out and it would be good to see more of that.

Surman could help his contract talks with a few goals.

Andrew Surman has been getting into great position but has still failed to score for the Cherries. His game is more than just trying to get on the goal sheet but it is about time he registered. With McQuoid going to Peterborough and Pitman, Rantie, Kermorgant, Fraser and MacDonald likely to be the attacking options on the bench I do hope AFCB has enough firepower in the starting eleven to cause Burnley some problems. Burnley tend to score more often than not and that means AFCB may need at least two goals to get anything out of this match. 

Get behind the team for 90 minutes!

Anything can happen on the day and perhaps having played in mid-week Burnley will need to make a could of changes which could just help the Cherries cause. AFCB have not yet beaten any of the top five so a win on Saturday would be yet another significant tick in the progress box. Let's give AFCB plenty of support and see if our team play as hard as the weather, halting Burnley in their tracks. Safe journey for all those travelling to the game today.

There is still time to get a bet on today with Free Bet Negotiator.

Francis had to roll up his sleeves up against Kightly

Simon Francis must wonder if he is getting singled out every week with the amount of top class wingers he has been up against. At Burnley it was Michael Kightly that was more than a handful on the left wing. Still Francis stuck to his task and while he was beaten on a few occasions by the tricky winger, Francis began to get closer and closer to him and before long it was turning into quite a battle.

I like the way Francis goes forward, but I do feel that this season he is being tested like never before on his defensive qualities. Being in the Championship will make him a better player and this season he is surely finding it a big challenge, but as he learns he should start to pick up some of the tricks that his opponents use and should start to dominate them. It may be that this season he will get caught out at times.

I do hope that Wes Fogen becomes available for selection soon just so that Francis knows that there is someone pressing him for his place in the team. It is not by coincidence that Francis has made 17 appearances this season in all competitions and he is a key player for AFCB. He is having to do much of his learning though on the pitch and I would hope that players like Ian Harte are able to give him some good advice on how he should be tackling some of the wingers in the Championship.

Simon Francis is not having it all his own way this season.