AFCB will be fit and ready for the Premier League

The stopwatch is out and the heart monitor is on. The players will have found it tough going in their first week back in training with the temperature rising and lots of work to do. That's the way that Eddie Howe, Jason Tindall and Simon Weatherstone certainly like it by the look of the pictures taken of the players in their new training kits last week as the real work gets underway. It looks like there was a fair bit of fun as well though as piggybacks seemed to be much in evidence. 

Everyone wants to be in tip-top condition for the start of the new season.

I thought that last season the Cherries were one of the fittest teams and usually had very strong second halves, when it hadn't always gone so well in the first 45 minutes. Whether the Premier League requires more variety of training than the team had in the Championship is a question that Dan Hodges, head of sports science, will have worked out and the coaches will be looking to add even more control and precision to the team's play.

There are quite a few new faces of course and perhaps Sylvain Distin has been lucky to miss out on a few days early training with the others. I was perhaps more wandering if there were some extra absentees and while Harry Arter will hopefully have his feet up, it wasn't evident that there were any omissions. I'm sure we will be updated soon if there are any injuries.

What I also noticed was that the ball was straight out of the bag, so the players can at least enjoy the feel and touch of the football again and not have to do massive long runs all the time. Making the players reach their peak on 8 August will be the aim and in the meantime the players themselves have to try and get in the manager's thoughts for as many games as they can before the season kicks off.

I don't relish the players the work that they now need to do, but I know that they'll all be giving 100 per cent and it will be a pleasure for fans to see them in the pre-season friendlies. 

Targeting the top six in the Championship

As we go into this weekend's game there is little more than one or two results between the top 10 teams, and I'm sure you'll all agree that it is great that AFCB are well among the top teams at this stage. Of course, a couple of defeats can change things as quickly as a couple of wins, but I see plenty of potential in this Cherries side to kick on again from the promising spell it is currently enjoying.

AFCB are lining up a challenge for a top six place.

There is room for improvement, because it is mainly the strikers that are getting among the goals and there is arguably more goals in this team from midfield and the defence. Whether the slightly more direct play with Wilson leading the line has focused the Cherries goal threat more on his finishing power as a deliberate tactic is a view that some will surely hold. But I just feel that some of our players have been a bit unlucky not to register more goals yet and that they will start to come soon.

That will be very timely if the goal rate does start to climb as AFCB already have 20 goals, which is just five behind the top scorers and league leaders Derby County. It also appears that the home form is on the up and that the early season defeats are not holding the team back. The word momentum has been used by Simon Weatherstone and you get the feeling that this side is still building.

Simon Weatherstone has been keeping AFCB players
on top of their game during the international break.

At the back we have seen a third clean sheet at home and the introduction of Artur Boruc has added more belief to the Cherries back line that they can complete more shut outs. All I'll say is enjoy the football and the good times as everything is very close in the Championship and only a few weeks ago most of us were looking at how many points AFCB were above the relegation zone. We have a couple of exciting weeks to come now with another away game and then the Capital One Cup Fourth Round tie and the cameras coming down for the Brighton match - it doesn't get much better than this for an AFCB does it?

Callum Wilson already looks like a bargain

It is no wonder that strikers cost so much money when they win you so many games. AFCB would have been lucky to come away with a win at Bolton were it not for the finishing power of Callum Wilson. His first goal showed his quickness of feet and sharpness of mind. Callum is one of the most goal hungry strikers I have seen at AFCB. He does not seem to worry overly when he misses a chance, but gets up and has another go. That makes him a cracking buy for me and he has already shown that he is worth the large amount of money that the Cherries payed Coventry City for his services.

Callum - back on target at Bolon.

While there is still more to come from Callum, it is great that Eddie Howe, Jason Tindall and Simon Weatherstone will be able to work on him and encourage him to greater things. It is not every day that you can find a striker that is a raw talent that has the attributes to be a big star at the top level. Callum is already showing that he is capable of great things, and for his first season at AFCB he is setting a high standard. Yes, he could have scored more goals. He has missed chances, but he has also got himself into those positions to get the chances. 

It was interesting to hear that Harry Arter said that the team had been working hard on getting Callum though like he did for the second goal against Bolton. Callum took the ball down nonchalantly, despite it being a difficult ball to control and he had the presence of nerve to steer it past Lonergan with ease. Playing to Callum's strength is clearly starting to pay-off, and the season is already starting to mirror last season in what a certain striker, who has moved on, achieved for AFCB. Let's hope that come the end of the season, AFCB are in a better position to keep Callum's services.   

Hot property - Callum Wilson is proving to be a great buy for AFCB.