Norwich could fall further behind the Cherries

The pre-season favourites will visit Dean Court this weekend hoping to claw back some of their early-season form when bookies were in no doubt that they would be the team to beat in the Championship. The up and down form of the Canaries though has left them sitting just outside the play-off places in January and they face no easy task against a confident Cherries side that are revelling in being at the top of the league.

Norwich have seen Neil Adams resign on Monday following his side's cup exit to Preston North End and a run of form that has not been play-off level in way of a points return. That means Mike Phelan is expected to be be caretaker boss for the Canaries visit to Dean Court, while Alex Neil the former Hamilton Academicals' manager looks set to become the Canaries next full time manager. While that means the Norwich players will be told it's a new start, they could start to wonder what is happening with their season if they get a severe beating by the in-form Cherries.

Norwich are already 11 points behind the Cherries and have not exactly set the division alight with their away from of late winning just one of their last five matches. They have scored though in four of those games and they have plenty of options up front with Cameron Jerome, Bradley Johnson (shortlisted for player of the month) and our old favourite Lewis Grabban among the goals this season for the Canaries. I also like Nathan Redmond who came to Norwich from Birmingham a couple of seasons ago, but he has not really taken his game on that much in front of goal. Don't think that Norwich will be a push over though, they have drawn away at Derby in the last month and have handed out a 6-1 pasting to Millwall and 5-0 thumping to Huddersfield at home.

For all Norwich's quality though they are inconsistent and AFCB have been punishing teams that don't create enough chances against them. This match should have a super charged atmosphere as there are some big names in the Norwich team and the return of Lewis Grabban will have many fans eager to see this game. A win for the Cherries would underline that they are the strongest Championship team at the moment for me, and with Ipswich and Derby playing each other it could be an excellent opportunity for the Cherries to extend their lead at the top. 

Norwich Away Form
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AFCB Home Form

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Finally, congratulations to Eddie Howe for winning another manager of the month award.

Confidence is sky high at the Goldsands

Norwich city fans might not be quite as confident as they might have been about coming down to Bournemouth before the Third Round FA Cup ties least weekend. It is not just the fact that AFCB steam rolled Rotherham that will cause concern but the Canaries were well beaten at Preston, who are riding high in League One and now they have lost their manager as well this week.

AFCB are still looking to make a bigger gap at the top of the Championship.

Football is so much about confidence and the Cherries are just getting stronger as they see their target starting to come closer. Beating big teams like Norwich City would be something of an indicator, if not a passport, to the knowledge that they can grab one of those two automatic promotion places. What would have been a game that might have sent a nervous tension through the team only a few months ago is more likely to set them on a goal crazy path to success again, as the players will know that by beating Norwich they have the credentials to be the league champions this season.

It is a bit early to talk about such things, as there are an awful lot of games to go but Bournemouth's players are confident of taking on any side at the moment. I believe that they are being moulded into a side that is getting ready to make another huge leap to Premier League. It has happened all a bit quickly and you would not have thought it possible that the team can keep winning, but even if they did lose a game or two I don't believe it would be long before they start another winning run.

Listening to the AFCB players you can tell that they are excited about what they are producing on the pitch. It is the culmination of many thousands of hours of work, but everything has clicked. Now it is all about continuing on the same course and grabbing the prize at the end of it. These players want to write their names into AFCB history and they are making a mighty fine job of it at the moment.

Still Norwich's players have everything to play for and Mike Phelan will set them up to be difficult to breakdown. This is a game where patience rather than frustration could see AFCB picking up three more points. 

Transfer watch
Finally, it has been reported by the Daily Mail once more that AFCB are determined to prise Demarai Gray away from Birmingham City - this time with an improved offer of £2m.