It had to be them - Liverpool!

I'm not one of those fans who would ever tire of seeing AFCB playing a team like Liverpool. Yes, we know they have been a bit of a sticking point for the Cherries in the League Cup and FA Cup over the last couple of seasons but there have been too many years when AFCB simply have not been on the big stage and have gone out to teams like Preston and Hartlepool before even getting to round four of the Capital One Cup.

Yes, it's Anfield again.

You do wonder though how the balls keep on pairing Liverpool with AFCB. I expect Eddie Howe had a smile and though oh great not a again, but if there is a day when the Cherries beat a side like Liverpool in a cup it is probably going to be the year when the club has a real opportunity of lifting silverware. There is much less of a gap between the two sides now on the pitch as we saw only a few weeks ago and perhaps a different story will play out this time.

Listening to Carlisle and Liverpool take penalties last night to see who would go through to the fourth round was kind of weired as the draw was already known and an away trip to one of them was already booked for AFCB. I guess at least Liverpool is not quite so far and for those who missed the Monday night league fixture it is another chance to go to one of the most historic grounds in the country.

This time Brendan Rodgers maybe under even more pressure than the last few occasions when the teams have met. Liverpool fans must want the game to come quickly as AFCB always seem to kick start their season.  Yet, it is good to see that Danny Ings has made a good start at the club and that Sean O'Driscoll can meet up with his AFCB colleagues again. So the date of Tuesday 27 October will be in AFCB fan's diaries and perhaps this time it will be the time to get past the Merseysiders. Oh, and you can expect a date change if the TV companies are still not tired of another Liverpool v AFCB fixture.

All Departments reviews the AFCB win against Preston North End in the Capital One Cup. Visit All Departments' website to listen in.

All eyes on Demarai Gray at Dean Court

There was no secret about AFCB's interest in Demaria Gray during the January transfer window. He was certainly the main target and while Birmingham City did not accept any of AFCB's repeated bids it is likely that both the management at Bournemouth and the fans of the Cherries will hope that he plays so that they can have a bit of a closer look at this talented youngster.

Things may of course become a little more complicated if the Cherries make further offers in the summer, but for now Demarai Gray is a Birmingham player who will know doubt be just concentrating on his football. In his last away match against he played for 65 minutes but was replaced by ex-Watford winger Lloyd Dyer and it is possible that Demarai will have quite a battle just to keep his place in the Birmingham side for the visit to the Cherries having scored four goals in the league this season. On Friday too, the young international was subbed on 67 minutes against Rotherham for Lloyd Dyer to come on.

Demarai recently played in the England U19 team that beat Denmark 3-2 where he scored after 44 minutes in the European qualifier. That side is of course managed by Sean O'Driscoll and I am sure that Eddie Howe is kept informed of how Demarai has been playing by Sean.

Whether Gray is worth as much as AFCB seem to assess him is hard to know at this stage in his career, but Birmingham City are clearly wanting to hold on to him. AFCB fans might just find out what the fuss is all about when the Cherries take on Birmingham City on Easter Monday.

AFCB fans will also hope to see the home debut of Kenwyne Jones who is already a favourite having rescued a point for the Cherries at Ipswich, now we just want to see that back flip again.

Is it me or is a full house more enjoyable?

I had a good look around as usual on the first Saturday of the season at Dean Court. With a camera in your hand you can't help but take a close look at people's faces and feel a response from fans as they chat away to one another. This season more than any other at Dean Court we will see more packed houses and, although the gate was just 10,114 for the Brentford game it felt even more packed than that when milling around outside the ground. With bigger games to come, the seat next to you is more than likely going to be filled most games and it's something you don't really think about in the summer, but when it comes to match day and you think I'll just nip down to the refreshments before half time you just might find it a bit more tricky than last season.

A full stadium is what we want to see, not a half empty one like England
had at Wembley last night after its  failed World Cup exploits. 

I personally love the impact of a full ground and the away supporters play their part in that as well. It is the singing, the anguish and excitement that reach more of a peak with everyone joining in. I still believe AFCB will retain its family club image and its supporters love for clean and precise, passing football but with a larger crowd I see that there is more urgency to obtain success which is what the club and hopefully the majority of fans also want.

I will still curse when I can't get out of the ground quickly at the end of the match and I'll probably find the half time queues get even longer, but all the time I'll know there are more people enjoying being at AFCB. It is a world away from those quiet days when we were in League Two with a couple of thousand fans. I used to wonder what it was about our club that made it unfashionable and destined never to rival the truly big football clubs even though the team was taught to play the right way. Financial clout has certainly made itself felt now and to Maxim Demin we are hugely grateful, but it has taken a lot of people many years of work to get the club to the position it is now and I hope those people are remembered. Now it is becoming fashionable to support AFCB and long may it remain so.

One of those people that have helped build the style of play at AFCB is former Cherries' manager Sean O'Driscoll who has become the England U-19 coach - the very best of luck to him.

Part 2: Rolling back the years with Steve Fletcher

Mel Machin took over the manager's job from Tony Pulis in 1994 and he was met with a Steve Fletcher who said he wanted to leave the Cherries. Mel said, "Why leave?" Stay two months to give me time to work with you and if you still want to leave after that then okay." Fletch had been playing centre half at the time because of so many injuries in the team and he hadn't been enjoying it, but Machin convinced him that it was right to stay.

Machin brought in some great young players like Neil Young, Matt Hollands and Steve Jones which made it easier for Steve to fit in. It was the 1995 season that made its mark on Fletcher when he came back into the team having been injured. By Christmas the team was already 10 points adrift and when he came back on 2nd January against Swansea Fletch scored a brace in a 3:2 victory for the Cherries. From January to May he was virtually a different player. "I found my love for football then," said Fletcher. He hadn't been fully focussed before then.

The 1998 Auto Windscreens Trophy Final at Wembley was a big day in shaping Fletch's career. While Wembley can be a burden to some players, Steve always wanted to play there, "it was my boyhood dream," he said. "Winning the FA Cup was as big as winning the league then." While it was not going to be the FA Cup final Steve said: "How can you fail to be inspired when you are playing in front of 67,000 people?"

Steve and Franck Rolling were both carrying injuries the week before, but Mel Machin told them if you don't play against Walsall in the week you can consider yourself out of selection for the cup final against Grimsby. The three points against Walsall were just as important to Machin. Steve made him self available but the Frenchman was put on the bench for the final, having almost single-handedly got the team to the final with his goals since the quarter final, and he never played for the Cherries again, after refusing to play against Walsall. Eddie Howe came in to replace him. "Football is brutal," commented Steve.

O'Driscoll years

The O'Driscoll years were fascinating as it was the first time Steve had been under the leadership of a former team mate. In 1992 Sean was still playing but when he became manager he made Fletch captain. But the most important thing Steve said he learnt from Sean was that: "You don't have to be the best player on the pitch to influence the game." Indeed, you can do other things and Steve's job was to cushion the ball and feed it off to other strikers, keeping possession.

Steve affectionately refers to Sean as "Grumpy bollocks" or "Mr Happy." That is Sean's persona off the pitch but when he is on the training ground it was completely different said Steve. "Sean says it as it is, it's black or white, there is no grey. But you won't get a conversation out of him.

"It's different on the pitch, he brought me on. He was very technical in training and most of us didn't get it which was frustrating for him. He didn't always explain it - but he was a head of his time."

Steve would say how the players would ask the manager to explain what he meant. It would often just need 30 seconds more explanation before a lot of them would get what he was after. But Sean was doing some innovative training. It was the period when foreign mangers were coming into the game. Sean wanted the type of player who was a total footballer. Fletch remembers that many teams would see Bournemouth as a soft touch: "We had lots of small technically gifted players but opponents thought they could get at us if they got stuck in," he said.

"This is where we became known as a passing team. A nicey, nice team," says Steve. "I can't understand how that team never managed to get out of league One."

Talking about the strike partners that Steve has played with he mentioned that Jermain Defoe was probably the best striker we will be privileged to see at Dean Court. He was given on loan to the club by Harry Redknapp from West Ham and while he simply looked okay in the first week of training it wasn't until he scored in September 2001 away at Stoke which we lost 2:1 that he went on that record-breaking goal scoring run. " We actually used to applaud him in training. That is what he fed off it. He could just ping the ball in the top corner from an acute angle. He would then give it the full works with his celebration and run off holding his arm aloft. We had to tell him you don't have to go mad and run around the pitch every time you score."

Steve said he would just win the headers and Jermain would do the rest. "He'd just beat a few players at bang it in the top corner and I'd get an assist. He was a joy to play with a privilege and an honour." Steve and the lads knew he was destined for bigger things and would play for England one day.

Some have also said Steve played well with Mark Stein and they did complement each other well. Off the pitch though their relationship was a bit strained as Mark would often be a bit sarcastic of players if they could not do things when he had played in the Premiership. Steve has always been respectful of those who have played at a higher level but it would nark him when Mark would say some things. Of course Mark was at Crawley later on in Steve's career and they are okay with each other now.

Steve's special striker relationship though was with James Hayter. James would always be prepared to go back and do the defending to let the big man rest a bit. "We had a togetherness," said Fletch.

Millennium Stadium play-off Final
It didn't matter to Steve that the play-off final was at Cardiff rather than Wembley when AFCB took on Lincoln City in 2003. The atmosphere was better as those who went can testify to. Fletch was 30 then and he wasn't going to lose this final. "It was my one opportunity," he said "I would do anything I could to get promoted, to play my best and to get us the win. I was fed up with being the nearly man."

Steve was so pumped up he asked the manager if he could have a room on his own. He said he was like a caged tiger. He couldn't sleep and was up by six. When it came to the handshake at the start of the game he like he almost broke the first Lincoln player's hand he was that wound up. Fletch was up against Ben Futcher, a big 6ft 7in defender, but he knew he could out do him physically in the air as he didn't jump much and Fletch smashed him in the first couple of minutes to let him know he was there. "The first five minutes were probably my best ever in a game," said Fletch "I set my stool out. Nothing was going to stop me."   

When Fletch scored, Wade Elliott was seen holding his head because Fletch had gripped it so tightly in celebration that he had made him bleed. But Fletch then went over to his family to celebrate and blew his wife a kiss to say that's for you.

Part three to follow...

Robins are a good match up for Cherries

The game against Bristol City is going to be a clear marker of how Eddie Howe's preparations for the start of the season. Only on Wednesday the Robins showed that they still have the quality to beat many Championship teams with their tidy late victory over Reading, who are supposed to be one of the front runners for next season's Championship.

The sad fact for Brett Pitman is that it's one game he really would not want to miss but, if there is any sign of the strain on his hamstring still giving him grief, he is unlikely to play a part in this game. Perhaps 5-10 minutes at the end is what he could be limited to, just to get a stretch out and see how he feels. It is crucial for AFCB that Pitman is wrapped up in cotton wool, because we know he can do it at Championship level. While Thomas can do it some times, perhaps when he feels like it, Grabban, Tubbs, Coulibaly and Stockley are all untested at this level and McQuoid is unavailable for the next few games.

So the Bristol game is going to be a tester. They have strength in depth with new signing Emmanuel-Thomas and Sam Baldock up front and, if they can keep hold of him, Adomah in midfield next to ex-Charlton player Scott Wagstaff. At the back they have brought in Flint from Swindon and they have their rock in Liam Fontaine who is a long time servant at Ashton Gate. I recently read that their influential midfielder Liam Kelly is out until December time with a knee injury, while striker Stephen Davies has been sold to Blackpool. 

Bristol City also have a certain Sean O'Driscoll at the helm, and it will be interesting to see how these two passing teams set about upsetting each other at Dean Court. It should be an attacking game.