What a year 2015 has been for the Cherries

Merry Christmas to you all! It has been a truly amazing year to be a supporter of AFC Bournemouth. The year 2015 brought unmatched success and the club's first promotion to the Premier League. It has be a period that will always be remembered by the fans as a time when new records were made and anything really did seem possible under Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall's leadership. Just in case you slept through it all in the Main stand (just kidding), here is a fast track review of 2015.

The calendar year began with a thumping 1-5 away win in the FA Cup at Rotherham when most of the players who had not been getting regular playing time got the chance to stretch their legs and push for a first team place. The team actually went a goal down but fought back strongly with goals from MacDonald, Stanislas, Fraser and Yann Kermorgant who got a  brace. Humbling defeats to Norwich and Leeds Utd, a big day out at Aston Villa in the FA Cup and a home win against Watford saw out January with the Cherries three points clear at the top of the Championship.

Eddie Howe lifts the Championship trophy at Charlton Athletic's ground.

A crunch top of the table match against Derby in February resulted in a 2-2 draw and the Cherries hit a bad spell losing to Brentford and Forest to leave them fourth at the end of February. But then the kick start to the run-in began with a home win against Wolves in March and a 1-5 trouncing of Fulham at The Cottage. Blackpool and Middlesbrough were played off the park, even if Cardiff provided tougher opposition.

Kenwyne Jones came into the side on loan and grabbed a vital goal to give the Cherries a draw at play-off rivals Ipswich. Birmingham then ran away with a 0-2 lead at Dean Court only to be hauled back and find themselves on the end of a 4-2 defeat! Things got very exciting when Brighton and Reading were beaten away as well, but with everything going the Cherries way it was Adam Smith who felt distraught when he gave away a penalty in added time against Sheffield Wednesday when that game ended in a 2-2 draw. There were just two matches to go and AFCB were in second place on goal difference having amassed 84 points from 44 games, the same as Middlesbrough with Watford leading the way, just a point ahead. Going into the home game against Bolton a win would do having seen Middlesbrough and Norwich slip up only 48 hours earlier. A resounding 3-0 win promoted the Cherries unless they were going to lose a 19 goal difference at Charlton in the last game. Instead it was another 0-3 win for AFCB and they were crowned Champions as Sheffield Wednesday scored a late equaliser at Watford to give AFCB the title.

The lads celebrate the title at the Valley.

The Premier League season began after AFCB's squad had taken their summer training camp to the USA where they played Philadelphia Union of the MLS. A home defeat in the first league game of 2014-15 to Aston Villa did not discourage the team and the soon get a win away at West Ham in a 3-4 thriller. We were off and running in the League Cup with a 0-4 win up at Hartlepool and a draw against Leicester City ended August with AFCB 11th in the Premier League. Max Gradel and Tyrone Mings were on the end of long term injuries having come off worse in challenges against Leicester City - the Premier League was being unforgiving.

September saw one win at home to Sunderland and defeats away at Norwich and Stoke where Callum Wilson was the next to be stretchered off with another cruciate ligament injury. Tommy Elphick also found himself needing surgery with an ankle injury after the Norwich defeat. AFCB progressed in the Capital One Cup against Preston on penalties but October was a difficult month with just one point gained against Watford, despite having a penalty to win the game. There were big 5-1 defeats away to Man City and at home to Spurs, while Liverpool ended the Capital One Cup dreams yet again. AFCB had fallen to 17th and were hovering above the relegation zone on eight points.

November brought some sole searching on how the team should play but Harry Arter was back in the action and despite defeats to Southampton and Newcastle there were signs that the Cherries were improving despite now being in the bottom three. Sure enough a 2-2 draw at Swansea and a thrilling 3-3 comeback against Everton, at home, left AFCB on 10 points and in 18th place at the end of November.

In the last month we have seen the Cherries re-find their winning form and against some of the biggest teams in the world. A historic 0-1 win away at Chelsea and a 2-1 home win against Man Utd have been followed up with a 1-2 win away at WBA. That was nine points from nine and the Cherries had virtually doubled their points total in the space of two weeks. The team now is in 14th place and on 19 points with just two more League games to go this year against Crystal Palace and Arsenal. It has been an unbelievable year that has seen Eddie Howe win 20 games, draw 10 and lose just 14 including cup games. Roll on 2016!

What did we learn from Cherries' US trip?

The main aspect I found encouraging from the Cherries trip to Philadelphia was that everyone looked to enjoy themselves and were keen to impress. The length of the trip was not too long but certainly intense in terms of training and fitness work. Pleasingly the lads won their friendly match as well against the first MLS side that the club has ever played and with more soccer fans in the US and other parts of the world a little more aware of the Cherries' Rocky-style rise to the top, there is a real feel good spirit about the south coast side that is now coming back home but not without some memories - some of which Eddie Howe says will be things that he looks back fondly on for years to come.

Heading back to English soil, what can the Cherries do against Exeter City?

It is always great to do something a little out of routine and special and the trip to North America was certainly that. There were some good team-bonding moments like the rowing competition and introductions from the new players, while I was glad to see some time also taken by Jeff Mostyn to do some community work and to get to know the local people and some of their problems. There is no rule in what you must do in preparing for a first season in the Premier league and we'll find out if AFCB have done it right or not in the coming months. The comments from the player's daily diaries though sounded like it was a great experience.

Pleasingly, I have not heard any bad injury news. While Yann Kermorgant took a hefty tackle in the second half he got straight up and played on against Philadelphia Union, I suspect he'll be keen to play some part in the game down at Exeter City on Saturday. The shape of the team with Wilson and King up top though looked particularly powerful and the striker area is one of the most competitive in the squad now. Against the Grecians Eddie Howe may well look at new pairings to see how well they go against English opposition. Adam Smith impressed again by turning provider for a couple of goals and may be he will be paired with Christian Atsu, while Tokelo Rantie worked well with Marc Pugh when he came on against Philadelphia Union. At the back there is still plenty of time to experiment and while Eddie probably knows his first choice back four, he'll have to plan for injuries and get as many players up to speed as he can. 

That was part of the success of the team's foreign workout - everyone got some minutes on the pitch. Now we'll see how they cope back in England having had a long flight and how well they can recover the following week before visiting the continent.

Philadelphia Union 1 V 4 AFCB - Cherries have finishing power

Match Report

The wise AFCB fans were probably well tucked up in bed and enjoying their forty winks when the Cherries kicked off against Philadelphia Union at PPL Park last night. The match may have been AFCB's first pre-season game but I wouldn't have been surprised if most fans were just eager to wake up to the news of the outcome of the big night rather than staying up to get a glimpse of the new kit being worn by the players for the first time. The Cherries were far from sleepy though as they put four past Philadelphia Union in a show of quick passing and neat finishing that will surely endear them as Premier League new boys next season.

Eddie Howe said before the game that he would split his squad and ensure that no player had more than 45 minutes so it was always going to be a bit of a disjointed look at how players were doing in regard to fitness and to see what skills the new players would bring to add to the familiar style of the Cherries. The first 11 out included the new look strike partnership of King and Wilson and at the back Sylvain Distin took his place next to captain Tommy Elphick, but it was a midfield without new signings and Artur Boruc in goal.

Not many fans for the Cherries but they were certainly happily entertained. 

The MLS side started well winning the first corner as UK watchers managed to get their early views of the teams with the live stream coming into full operation. Yet, Matt Ritchie was soon showing his ability to cause problems as he fired a shot straight at John McCarthy in Philadelphia Union's goal. It was the Cherries that started to camp themselves in the Union's half with Adam Smith winning an early free kick that Ritchie went close to scoring with.

It was Josh King that opened the scoring on the night feeding on to a pass from Adam Smith and he struck the ball past McCarthy on 20 minutes to make it 0-1 to the Cherries. Just six minutes later it was 0-2 as Adam Smith again proved provider for Callum Wilson to slot home. Junior Stanislas came near to adding to the Cherries' score before Philadelphia got a goal back through Richie Marquez who headed past Boruc - 1-2. That was Marquez's first professional goal for Philadelphia Union and the defender was to have another chance minutes later but curled his shot wide of the post.

Harry Cornick then came on for Josh King as the half neared the end. meanwhile, Matt Ritchie was a constant danger to Philadelphia as he put another shot just past the post. the MLs team were finding it hard to get close to AFCB's players and were sitting off a bit. That enabled the Cherries to keep possession well and a cross from the left provided Junior Stanislas with a golden opportunity to score but he just pushed his effort wide on 42 minutes. The Cherries were well on top and we had seen 13 shots from them compared to three from the Union's players by half time, the score being 1-2 to the visitors.

Philadelphia are working hard to keep up with the Cherries.

It was all change in the second half for the Cherries with a chance to look at Christian Atsu and record club signing Tyrone Mings. It was Atsu who almost got on the score sheet next but Sheanon Williams just prevented him from getting his shot away with a great tackle. Marc Pugh was less easy to keep quiet and he fired home to make it 1-3 on 62 minutes. Rantie set up Pugh perfectly. The honours were almost reversed on 76 minutes when Rantie just shot wide.

AFC Bournemouth's pace and movement was proving a step above what Philadelphia could cope with and as Pugh was taken down in the penalty area Tolkelo Rantie moved in to make it 1-4 from the penalty spot - top right corner! Keeper almost got that - he's kicking himself.


Match Description from AFCB Twitter feed:

AFC Bournemouth's starting 11:
#afcb XI to take on @PhilaUnion: Boruc, Smith, Elphick, Distin, Daniels, Stanislas, Gosling, Surman, Ritchie, King, Wilson. #PHIvAFCB

01: The game is underway at @PPLPark. #afcb are working urgently with Stream UK to resurrect stream issues. #PHIvAFCB

03: Supporters are advised the #PHIvAFCB stream should now be working:

06: Double block from Gosling and Smith sees #afcb concede the game's first corner.#PHIvAFCB

13: Ritchie shoots straight at McCarthy. #afcb fans should have been able to see that shot in all it's glory..

14: Smith is tripped on the edge of the box and #afcb have a free kick on the edge of the area.

15: Ritchie and Stanislas stand over the ball.

15: Surman taps the ball to Ritchie and he forces a great save from McCarthy. #afcb are on top here.

17: Wilson breaks into the box and cuts the ball back but Lee is there to intercept

20: GOOOOAAAALLLLLL to #afcb!

20: Smith plays the ball in to King, who turns his man & touches it over the 'keeper. 1-0 to #afcb!

23: Ritchie tries his luck from the outside of the area, but it goes wide of the @SonsofBen.  #afcb

26: GOOOOAAAALLLLL to #afcb! 2-0!

26: Smith squares it across the box, King can't make a connection but Wilson sidefoots it home. 2-0! http://bit.ly/1LgkCvP #PHIvAFCB #afcb

34: Stanislas tries his luck with a low drive from outside the area, but it goes narrowly wide. #afcb still 2-0 up

35: Goal to @PhilaUnion. http://bit.ly/1LgkCvP #PHIvAFCB #afcb

35: Marquez heads beyond Boruc to half #afcb's lead

37: First substitution for #afcb as King is replaced by Cornick.

42: Neat interplay around the area culminates in Ritchie curling a shot wide of the far post

42: A great period of play as afcb come close

Second half

#afcb second half XI: Federici, Francis, Cook, Cargill, Mings, Atsu, MacDonald, O'Kane, Pugh, Kermorgant, Rantie. #PHIvAFCB

47: We're underway in the second period with the Cherries shooting towards the TruMark Financial Stand.

53: Not much to shout about in this second half yet, not that the @SonsofBen care too much! Great support.

58: Sheanon Williams makes an unbelievable last ditch sliding clearance on the line to deny Christian Atsu.

62: GOOOOAAAALLLL! Marc Pugh! http://bit.ly/1LgkCvP #PHIvAFCB

62: Tokelo Rantie cuts it back to Marc Pugh, who curls #afcb's third past McCarthy.Nice finish!

68: Fred goes in hard on Yann Kermorgant but escapes with a warning. The Frenchman looks OK to continue.

73: Tyrone Mings is replaced by Elliott ward.

76: Cargill slots in at left back with Ward partnering Cook. Union coming back into the game.

76: Marc Pugh plays in Rantie, who does well to make room for a shot, but it hits the side netting.

84: Marc Pugh is felled and it's a penalty to the Cherries.

85: GGGOOOOOAAAALLLL!!! Tokelo Rantie powers home the spot kick.

85: Rantie puts the game to bed from the penalty spot.

Final score: @PhilaUnion 1-4 #afcb. A fine start to the Cherrie pre-season in Pennsylvania.

Post game links
Union head coach Jim Curtin
Union defender Richie Marquez
Union defender Ethan White
Union defender Sheanon Williams

Philadelphia Union's starting 11
John McCarthy, Raymond Lee (Fabinho 61´), Ethan White (Ray Gaddis 61´), Richie Marquez (Steven Vitoria 45´), Sheanon Williams, Maurice Edu (Fred 45´), Chaco Maidana (Sebastien Le Toux 45´), Andrew Wenger (Jimmy McLaughlin 45´), Eric Ayuk, Zach Pfeffer, C.J. Sapong (Antoine Hoppenot 45´)


Officials
Alex Chilowicz (referee), Gregory Barkey (assistant), Logan Brown (assistant), Mathew Kreitzer (fourth)
Meanwhile, AFCB's U21 Development Squad put 7 past Hamworthy Recreation in a friendly.
First half: O'Flahert, Lee, Zubar, McCarthy, Costa, Matthews, Butcher, Carmichael, Walsh, Green, Quigley.

Second half: Holmes, Muleba, Lee, Buckley, Costa (trialist 62), Matthews, Butcher (trialist 62), Carmichael (Worthington 62). Green (Neale 62), Whitfield, Quigley (O'Hanlon 62)

Rival Lines: The Brotherly Game introduces Philadelphia Union

Rival Lines

Match Preview: Philadelphia Union v AFCB
15 July 2015

Blogger Interview: The Brotherly Game
Twitter @BrotherlyGame

It has been a little while since we have had a Rival Lines feature on Cherry Chimes so I thought it was time to start the new season of these features with an interview with the Brotherly Game which is worked on by Eugene Rupinski. Eugene is certainly looking forward to seeing the Cherries play Philadelphia Union at the PPL stadium and he's even a big fan of a fellow Polish player who signed for the Cherries this summer.

CC: Who are the owners of Philadelphia Union and how big is the home support?

BU: The Philadelphia Union are owned by a consortium of local businessmen. Jay Sugarman is the primary owner of the club, having made his money with iStar Financial – a real estate investment trust. His partner and the guy driving the organisation is Nick Sakiewicz. Sakiewicz is a very polarising figure here, as a lot of the blame for the club's poor player acquisition decisions often falls on him. He does himself no favours by getting into verbal spats with fans, who have had numerous protests regarding his involvement with the club. There are other investment groups that are stakeholders, but Sugarman and Sakiewicz are the main men.

CC: Is it exciting to be in a young league that is still developing and with Philadelphia Union only being founded in 2007 - you are making history all the time?

BU: It is exciting, and sometimes it's easy for the fans here to forget that the club and the league are so young. While founded in 2007, the club didn't take the pitch until 2010 - so there are only six seasons of experiences to draw from. The Union (and Major League Soccer as well) are building a culture around the game. Some of it gets its roots from England and the rest of Europe, some of it gets its roots from Mexico and the rest of Latin America, and some of it is uniquely American.

PPL Park with bridge in the background.

CC: What is the Lamar Hunt Us Open Cup and how important was it for Philadelphia to win it?

BU: The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup is the American equivalent of the English FA Cup. It's an open tournament, and for the past 102 years teams have fought to hoist it. There have been amateur clubs from the Philadelphia area that have won it in the past - Bethlehem Steel FC won it a record five times in the 1910's and 1920's, and the Philadelphia Ukrainians won it four times in the 1960's. The Union wanted to take their place among those legendary clubs and got within inches of winning it last season, hitting the woodwork tied 1-1 late in regulation and losing 3-1 in an overtime heartbreak to the Seattle Sounders. The Union are back in the quarterfinals this season, and we are all hopeful to witness the club lift its first ever major trophy later this year.

CC: What can you tell us about Jim Curtin your current manager at the club and how do his teams like to play?

BU: Jim is a Philadelphia area native and spent eight seasons in MLS as a defender with the Chicago Fire and Chivas USA. He became interim manager last season when former manager John Hackworth was sacked, and Curtin was formally brought in as manager in November of 2014.

The fans here love and respect Jim. He doesn't sugarcoat things, he doesn't dodge questions, and he has worked hard to get the Union headed in the right direction on as well as off of the field. There's a belief in his abilities to lead this club, which isn't something the fans have had much of it n seasons past.

The Union are still finding their identity a bit, but Curtin being a former centre back emphasises defense first, so you'll see the midfielders and forwards often tracking back to cover when dispossessed. That's not to say it's all bunkering and grinding out bore draws – the Union do have creative midfielders in Cristian Maidana and Vincent Nogueira that can carve open a defense when given a chance.

CC: How has the team been doing this season are you still hopeful of making the play-offs?

BU: The team got off to a terrible start, going 1-7-3 over their first eleven matches. They have since turned it around, going 4-3-1 and giving the fans hope of making the playoffs. Since six out of ten teams in each conference go to the playoffs, the Union are still very much in the thick of the playoff race. That being said, it's an uphill battle and one the club has won only once in its history. Cautious optimism seems to be the attitude lately.

CC: Which players are the best in the team and the ones we should look out for?

BU: It all depends on who is healthy. Venezuelan striker Fernando Aristeguieta has shown flashes of brilliance but has also missed a significant amount of the season injured. Sebastien Le Toux is a speedy winger with a nose for goal, however he's also missed some time lately as well. Ex-Rangers midfielder Maurice Edu is now playing centre back, and can quickly turn a defensive situation into an offensive one.

CC: How good do you think the MLS Eastern division is now in terms of the talent that is in the league?

BU: In terms of talent I think the Eastern Conference is weaker than the Western Conference. There are more recognisable names in the Eastern Conference, but those are a small fraction of the players and I think the teams with quality top to bottom are mostly Western Conference teams. If you look at a team like the Seattle Sounders, they don't have real weaknesses. They recently lost Clint Dempsey to suspension and Obafemi Martins to injury, and they still find ways to be competitive and win. Not many Eastern teams have that depth.

CC: Would you like to see more British players in the MLS or have they not been that good?

BU: I think most people here recognise British players since the English Premier League has been and still is the best soccer viewing in English here in the United States. When David Beckham came, it helped push MLS and soccer into the forefront of the American sports conscience. Guys like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are also names that Americans know and will go to see and also help improve the quality of the league. I also think of Bradley Wright-Phillips and Dom Dwyer who weren't exactly huge names when they came but have made their mark on the league.

All that said, I think Americans are less concerned with where a player comes from and more with how well he plays. We could care less if you're English or Eritrean – as long as you help our team win we're fans.

CC: How surprised were you when you found out that AFC Bournemouth from the Premier League were to play Philadelphia Union this summer?

BU: It was a bit of a shock, but we had an idea when during the Bournemouth versus Charlton Athletic match we spotted Nick Sakiewicz with Jeff Mostyn in the owner's box during the television replays here. Once we saw that, we figured Bournemouth would be our summer friendly.

CC: Which players in the AFC Bournemouth team have you heard most about?

BU: Personally I have followed Artur Boruc since I'm Polish and he is on the Polish National Team, and I think a lot of Americans know him from his time with Celtic in Scotland. Other names we know are Christian Atsu, Matt Ritchie, and Sylvain Distin.

PPL Park under floodlights.

CC: How much do you think Bournemouth fans will enjoy PPL Park?

BU: PPL Park is a wonderful venue. The stadium is small and intimate, and there isn't a bad seat to be had. The Commodore Barry Bridge serves as a beautiful backdrop to the six year old stadium, and there are plenty of vendors inside the stadium selling beer and food (yes, even cheesesteaks). Union fans are generally friendly and tailgate out in the parking lots before and after the matches. That being said, don't go too far from the stadium. Chester has some very bad areas, and it's easy if you're unfamiliar with the area to wind up in a bad part of town. Stay close to the park, hang out, and have a great time!

CC: Thanks for your comments Eugene. I feel a lot more knowledgeable about Philadelphia Union now. I'm not sure about the cheesesteaks, but I have heard they are legendary and some AFCB players tried them out the other day. To read up further about our new friends in Philadelphia visit the Brotherly Game website. I have also written some AFC Bournemouth club history and an insight to the team for the Brotherly Game which should be posted on their site at some point today.


Finally, it's great to see the new AFCB home kit. Have the queues started for it already? It should sell like hot cakes! We've also put up an interview between Richard Hughes and new Development squad signing Filippo Costa on the right side panel of the blog.

Cherries' open training session - a popular touch

It was announced a couple of days ago that AFCB would hold an open training session at PPL Park today. It will be a popular move with soccer fans in Philadelphia who will have the chance to see top Premier League players do their training in full view and for free. The cooperation between Philadelphia Union and AFCB is great to see and building relationships across the Atlantic with the MLS is something that will certainly help put the Cherries on the map.

AFCB's players will be treading the turf at PPL Park .

It would have been easy to train behind closed doors and keep fans and scouts away from the touchlines but AFCB want to give something back to the local community in Philadelphia and I hope that the initiative is well supported by fans in the local area. It would I suppose be similar to an Italian club coming to Kings Park and offering a free training session for fans to see - I think I'd be keen to have a peak. Hopefully the players can also sign some programmes for the kids as well and take a few photos.

I imagine the session my be fairly relaxed and entertaining. But it is not that often that AFCB themselves get to train in such a big stadium and it should be good for the team to get a feel for the pitch ahead of the friendly match. One or two of the players have already commented on the fabulous setting of the stadium and they seem to be looking forward to it - the pictures certainly look great. I think in a few days time they may even have to try and pick themselves up a bit when they have to fly back to the UK.

One final thought - will we see one of the new AFCB shirts on the players when they take on Philadelphia Union?

Tomorrow we will chart with Rival lines to Brotherly Game a Philadelphia Union Blog.

ALl Departments has a new podcast out today called Stars in Stripes. Scrolldown teh right handside panel on Cherry Chimes website to see the acast podcast or visit All Departments' website.

Cherries step up the pace

The news from Philadelphia is that training is pretty full on with up to three sessions in one day. It is the hard school right now and I guess the players just have to grimace through the pain a bit. Still the surroundings sound excellent and all thoughts are turning toward that first game against Philadelphia Union.

I was pleased to hear that the club has decided to give the fans something back by streaming not only a pre-match press conference before the game but also the match itself on afcb.co.uk. Now it is up to the players to put on a show and to impress the boss. I think this is a time when the players can forget about some of the pressures at home and concentrate on their football. New friendships are also being formed so it's a really important time.

Eddie Howe looks pretty serious in the photos, It's certainly work time and the expectations on Eddie to deliver in his first Premier League season are huge not so much as fans hope he succeeds but he himself is eager to do his very best. He'll be making sure there is no slacking and that all that can be done is getting done now.

What we all really want though is to see some action. To see some of the new players on the pitch and to observe whether players like Harry Cornick can make a contribution to the first team squad.

The Cherries still flying high head to the States

The AFC Bournemouth players are due to fly out to Philadelphia for their training camp today. I'd say the USA is a brilliant location to draw up for this summer's training. The options the club had with the home pitch being completely relaid meant that a foreign trip was assured as it has been in recent summers, and the destination of North America at least should have no surprises in terms of sorting out diet, privacy, security and quality training time on good surfaces. 

Philadelphia Union are not having the best of seasons in the eastern MLS. Still they are fully involved in their season and will hit the Cherries hard with a fit side that is already up to speed. The game at the PPL Park on 15 July will be a historic event and a real marker for how far AFCB have come. It was always the Man Utd's and Liverpool's of this world that played such exclusive fixtures and now it is the turn of the Cherries to get fans in the US some entertainment - English style!

The NovaCare Training Camp is where the Philadephia Eagles train for American Football. It should be a bit unusual to train at such a complex, but the facilities will be first class. The training camp is said to be a nine day tour for the Cherries which gives them time to adjust but also should not be so long that the players are bored. Temperatures are expected to be in the high 85-88F range - a bit like home in the last few days.

Some how I think the visit to the Grecians just three days after playing the MLS team will seem like two different worlds to the players. By then the players should really be turning up their levels of fitness and the games will be coming fast.

I wish Jayden Stockley the very best for his loan period until 3 January 2016 at Portsmouth. It should be a great chance for him to score a lot of goals and to enhance his reputation. We know he can score at that level and it should be a great chance for him to show how much he has come on.

Finally, The Daily Mirror has also been reporting that former Toon Ryan Taylor is a free agent this summer that the Cherries are looking at signing.

Getting to see the Cherries often may be trickier this summer

The way the ground improvements have to be carried out before the start of the season have really played havoc with the pre-season schedule for AFCB this summer. While there is a home fixture against Cardiff City and not to far to travel to get to Salisbury, and the newly announced Exeter City and Yeovil Town games, the Premier League status of the team now has certainly pulled out some big fixtures away in the USA, France and Germany.

AFCB will be on the road a lot this summer.

It is important that the team does get at least one game to play at home before the start of the season as any time on the home pitch will be added experience for the players with the new surface and floodlights. I do imagine that the club will probably provide an internet link perhaps through YouTube like they did last summer for the FC Copenhagen game, and that should give us all a pretty good idea of how Eddie Howe is integrating the new players into the team.

The lucky few will no doubt find the cash to travel around the globe to follow the Cherries, and while AFCB are abroad I'll hope that they pick up a few new supporters in the places they visit. I know from statistics on Cherry Chimes that the club has a good following in the USA and in Germany and it can only help to grow the supporter base even if they are further away than the home fans. I know how special exiles feel when they can get to make a trip to see AFCB play at Dean Court and one day some of those new fans will hopefully be able to make a trip like that.

In the meantime I am also expecting there to be a few local fixtures for the Development Squad which continues to improve and some of the players could well find themselves playing a reasonable amount of football perhaps on loan. 

Cherries MLS bound for summer training

The Vitals website was able to give Bournemouth fans a heads up on Philadelphia being the summer camp destination for the Cherries this year. While Salisbury FC of the Wessex League are also said to be on the itinerary on Tuesday 21 July it is the pull of the US that intrigues me. Philadelphia Union are the East Coast MLS team that we'll probably get to know a little more about in the coming weeks even though their players might not be household names to us, barring Maurice Edu for those who already know he used to play for Stoke City.

AFCB seem to be heading for the USA this summer.

The MLS has really taken hold now and with the transfer of more British players to the league it is gaining more interest in the UK. The training facilities will be as good as anything in the UK for the Cherries and I suppose the weather will also be favourable, although it want be like LA for the players. Nick Sakiewicz, Philadelphia Union's CEO was present at the Bolton Wanderers game, so the discussions about the destination for Bournemouth's pre-season summer camp has been going on a while. Usually AFCB will want to play two or three games while on these training camps so it will be ears to the ground to see if any other North American sides are lined up to play the Cherries.

Links with the MLS are certainly growing. If you remember back in January AFCB had Darren Mattocks of the Vancouver White Caps on trial at the Cherries. The flow of players has been very much from Britain to USA, but the trend might start going the other way as the MLS improves and if young players are competitively priced and seek moves to the Premier League and Championship.

I have not heard any dates yet for the training camp, but I'll start putting up dates for friendly fixtures as they are announced. The Philadelphia Union pre-season fixture in the USA has now been confirmed for the 14 July at the PPL Park.

You should also see that we have started a new tab on Cherry Chimes called Premier Talk - West Ham is our first topic of comment.


Later this evening I'll be releasing the Cherry Chimes' June Newsletter which comments on the biggest stories from May on Cherry Chimes. We'll also have an article that is not on the blog - who is best to partner Callum Wilson?

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