Are Birmingham a different proposition now?

With Birmingham playing their last game in mid-week against Blackburn Rovers without a permanent in place they put up a spirited performance away from home. A 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers is not a bad showing and the Blues were well in that game and certainly carried the fight to Blackburn with 18 shots during the match, almost scoring in extra time. when Andrew Shinnie hit the bar! They also had Neal Eardley sent off after 51 minutes for a second yellow card, so they were playing with 10-men for much of the match. It is at St Andrews though where they have struggled, some 24 games I believe with just the one win at home. That form has to turn for them some time or they will be relegated, and AFCB can't take them lightly on Saturday as the first thing they will want to do is get that home form going.

I get the feeling that St Andrews will be packed with Blues fans on Saturday.

Demarai Gray and Clayton Donaldson led the line for them at Blackburn. It appears that Wes Thomas has just been moved on to the bench of late, but he could well be used against AFCB with his probably eagerness to score against a former team. With Stephen Gleeson, David Coterrill and Paul Caddis in their team, they have more than enough quality in their team to make it really difficult for the Cherries on their day.

As always an early goal is what Eddie Howe will be after, and listening to the way the team has been picked of late he will name an unchanged side, unless their have been any knocks in mid-week. The Cherries have to find away of quelling the renewed belief in the Birmingham side though who will be looking to restore some pride, and to show their fans that life can be brighter after the loss of Lee Clark. Whether Lee was part of the problem or fighting insurmountable odds is what Birmingham fans will not really find out for quite a few games yet, but I expect there is a lot of things that need to change to help the team play better more often and AFCB will hope to catch them before they can resolve their home form problems.

Enjoy the game all of you on the way to Birmingham tomorrow.

So I would say that yes, AFCB now have a harder game against Birmingham than they might have done. That is no disrespect for Lee Clark, but just acceptance that teams often do better when they have been in a bad spell and a manager is replaced. Still, AFCB can't look at what is happening at another team and use it as an excuse if they don't get a result. The Cherries have to believe that they can extend their winning run and beat whatever side is in front of them if they are to climb towards the top of this league.

Birmingham Home Form:
DDLLL

AFCB Away Form:
LDDLW

We have a Rival Lines this afternoon with the Often Partisan blog to preview the Birmingham v AFCB match so make sure you check out Cherry Chimes later for the latest on the opposition.

Our fantastic day at the John Smith's stadium

We had an early start for our drive up to the John Smith's stadium in Huddersfield. At least the weather was good and by 8 O'Clock we were on the road. We soon reached Newport Pagnall and stopped for a quick tea before carrying on to the Woodall Services on the M1 where we saw a few AFC Bournemouth fans and a Birmingham fan wearing a Stephen Gleeson shirt - it wasn't going to be a good day for him. We steered into Huddersfield by 1pm and we had a quick look to see where we could get into a main car park for the stadium before finding the one right behind the away supporter's stand. We were a little less pleased with the fee of £7 but at least the car would be safe.

Stephen and Robert fully refreshed.

At the stadium at last.

John Smith's stadium - one bit that hasn't got beer logos all over it.

The club shop could just about squeeze a small coach load of people into it, but we were happy enough to wait our turn and have a look at the red and white away shirt and a few of the Terrier mascot soft toys and goodies that were on view. We also spoke to a few Huddersfield fans about the stadium and we were shocked to hear that it was 20 years old now.

Stephen looks a bit more comfortable than Robert
who's choice of seat was perhaps not the best. 

Inside The Rope Walk there were plenty who decided
standing was the only option while many spilled outside.

AFCB and Huddersfield fans found plenty to talk about.

Our next target was the Rope Walk Bar just behind the stadium and we rushed inside to get a drink and to sit down to see the Sheffield Utd v Bristol City game on the box. Much to our delight we saw Wade Elliott get the winner. The bar got full very quickly and Huddersfield fans were happy to chat to us about their hopes for the season. Many seemed content with a position around 18th which is something that I don't think any AFCB fan would be pleased with this season for our team. Little were we to know that Mark Robins would leave the Yorkshire club the next morning after the poor result for Huddersfield Town.

It would be tempting to try and sneak in as a player but I think the
steward behind the door may have had something to say about that.

It was 2pm by now and just an hour until kick-off so we thought we would head on up to the gate and see if we could get some early photos of any of the players warming up. Walking back past the main reception we saw the programme sellers trying to get us to buy one of their newspaper programmes for £2. Apparently the home fans had asked for a more traditional newspaper programme rather than a push bound booklet this season.  I was not convinced that it would really add to our day greatly and decided to give it a miss having heard a few comments from fans. Today, I think many of the home fans would be happy to use them as fish 'n chip paper!

We had a full security check at the South stand and a bit of fun with the steward who was most intrigued at what I had in my pockets but was slight disappointed with a set of keys and a tattered old wallet. "I'll need those keys to get home," I said and he quickly decided that I was not going to do any one any harm with my Ford keys.

We were immediately please with the space around the facilities on the concourse and hundreds of fans could stand around and talk without falling over rows of chairs or down loads of steep steps. We wanted to get to see the pitch though so hurried down to our seats and started to take in the scenery. Darryl Flahavan had ventured out first and was warming up all by himself in the sunshine. I started to take pictures for Cherry Chimes and Robert and Stephen listened to the radio. I had bought a new splitter jack so they could both listen to the same radio but all we could find was the BBC Radio Leeds station which did not cover the Huddersfield game at all. It was all a mess of wires and bags around us but the boy's didn't seem to mind.

Darryl Flahavan puts a bit of swerve on his kick.

Fraser and MacDonald did lots of sprinting reps away
from the main squad and I expect they will feature on Tuesday
in the Capital One Cup game against Exeter City.

As there was such a lot of space in the stand, we decided to vacate our ticket seats and sort out a place higher up. It did mean we could not see the big score board, but it would have been a stretch behind our heads to see it any way if we had stayed in our original positions. You didn't really need a clock though to see that Marc Pugh had put the Cherries ahead in less than 30 seconds! It was bonkers and the AFCB fans didn't hesitate to start partying from the first minute to the last.

The game sped along with AFCB passing the ball well and Ritchie looking to get on the score sheet  whenever he could. Most eyes were on Callum Wilson and we were all soon singing "Callum Wilson - Bournemouth's goal machine!" It was 0-2 by half time and there was no real fear of Huddersfield being able to create anything that was going to change things in the second half.

You'll have seen from the match report that I had a bit of fun in trying to do a Chimes fan cam at half time. I'll have to think a bit more about the setting for such reports next time as we were rather drowned out by the tannoy system, while my friend Damien Hill was rather silhouetted against the backdrop of the John Smith's stadium.

AFCB players and Huddersfield Town come out for the second half.

AFCB went on to register a 0-4 win and we felt that while the Terriers might have scored a goal if they had had a bit more luck, Lee Camp was never in great difficulty during the afternoon and probably was pleased that his comeback was not too strenuous.

Coming out of the car park was a bit more of an exercise for us but eventually we got going and to avoid some of the traffic heading south on the M1 we headed down the A roads to Sheffield as I knew United played early at midday and that Sheffield Wednesday were away at Brighton, so we could go past Hillsborough and have a quick look at the ground before heading off back to Redhill still singing: "We're top of the league, we're top of the league".  

Cherries shadowed for second summer signing

The cat is out of the bag as AFCB are reported by Sky sports and other news sources to have made a bid for Coventry City's Callum Wilson that was rejected. Whether they move again with an improved offer or switch to another target, there is definitely a feeling that the transfer market is starting to hot up for the Championship clubs. We don't know how strong Bournemouth's bid was but a seven figure sum would be one of the largest bids that the seaside club has ever made. While the foreign signings of Tokelo Rantie and Mohamed Coulibaly may not have made as big an impact as Eddie Howe might have wanted last season, it looks like the club's next aim is to sign a young player who is familiar with the English leagues.

Callum Wilson is perhaps not the most experienced of strikers that Howe could have chosen to pursue, but if he can get a young striker he may be easier to teach new things to and will be less set in his ways. Still Eddie will also know that you can have difficult young players who believe they already have what it takes and don't listen to improve. With Nottingham Forest and Wolves also said to be after the striker though and Coventry reluctant to sell, Callum Wilson may be a target that is out of reach.

The aspect that I would like to know is how many potential targets could AFCB be after? If they switch to another option and get blown out again will it be a major set-back? Other teams will be watching AFCB and shadowing their moves. The market is not so big as some may like and competition for new stars is always a difficult game to win. Once bids are made that become public knowledge, the possibility of having a player pinched from under our noses raises its head. Nottingham Forest have been quick to pick up Matt Fryatt ex-Hull City without hardly a whisper, while Birmingham have needed to move quickly with so many loan players last season and Stephen Gleeson will be their third signing.

Eddie Howe has asked for patience though and season ticket holders yet to renew will be hoping that there is some good news coming before the end of the month. It's okay to move quickly but getting the right players is even more important. UTCIAD!

World Cup Fantasy LeagueThere is still time to joining the World Cup Fantasy Mini League I have set up on McDonald's FIFA World Cup fantasy League. It is free to play and you can make your own World Cup avatar. The league is called Chimes Fans which you can join through the search facility after you have built your squad. The website is found on this link - World Cup Fantasy League. 

Plan ahead for World Cup viewing
World Cup fever is starting to set in now but are you fully prepared? If you are not sure where to go to see the game why not go down to De Vere's Urban Village Hotel in Bournemouth? The sponsors of Cherry Chimes have some World Cup big carnival days that they'd like to share with you, starting off this a special event for the World Cup opener.

First Carnival Day
Thursday 12th June, First game of the tournament.

Brazil V Croatia
- Live DJ, Brazilian Carnival Dancers & children’s face painting.
- Entertainment commencing from 18.00, kick off at 21.00

Food service extension
- The Victory will be serving food until 22.00 for the entire duration of the world cup with the exception of England’s first game (Saturday 14th June) which will be until 23.00.

Download the complete game planner for the Victory pub and kitchen.