This is a fan’s personal view of AFC Bournemouth from the outside looking in. It reports on the daily official activities reported by the club and comments made by individual fans on social media and fanbase websites. Life as an AFCB fan is never dull. As a life-long supporter of the Cherries, it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that inspired me to write this blog.
Jason Tindall has named Stephen Purches as his assistant manager as expected and he has added Graeme Jones, recently manager of Luton Town, to his coaching staff. Many like Kris Temple had suggested that Stephen Purches was more manager material than JT, but the two will work together to try and get AFCB back to the Premier League.
JT gets his management team around him
They have a difficult job and with the management set-up now complete, they have no time to waste. I am particularly keen to see an improvement in the way the team defends but I don't expect a quick change in the way the team goes about games. There are new positions for the boys, but it is pretty much the same voices and that does concern me a little.
The main feeling that JT has to get across is that he is pleased to be in charge and has some good ideas as to how to make the team more resurgent. With the first couple of training sessions under his belt, he should start to be feeling the part now. He has a solid friend in Purches at his side and I am sure Steve Fletcher and Simon Weatherston will encourage and try and get some jollity back in the camp.
It is a new beginning, but it seems like it could be very reliant on the past. JT must look forward and set his own standards. He can't try and compete with what Eddie Howe did and he has to judge himself against the other current Championship managers.
Let's hope he can win some of the pre-season friendlies and get a confidence boost for the start of the season. UTCIAD! Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Daniels handed opportunity to prove fitness
With the departure of Eddie Howe still is a raw reminder of how swiftly things can change n football, I wondered if Jason Tindall could become more than a caretaker manager of Bournemouth, perhaps with the support of Stephen Purches as his assistant manager? Jason has been at Eddie's side all the way through since 2008 and it is interesting that he has stayed on when Edie decided to call it a day.
Has Tindall got a different message to get the players performing better?
Jason knows the club inside out and there are a lot of former players at the club serving on the staff such as Stephen Purches and Steve Fletcher that know inside out how Eddie Howe worked with the team. They know the situation with the first team and being on the inside they know a lot of the difficulties that Eddie will have been working to improve over the last few years. If Bournemouth's directors want continuity, this is surely where they have to go.
The fact that the team is now in the Championship takes the spotlight off the manager a little more than if the club had been in the Premier League. But, results will matter and the board will have to work out if Jason Tindall is capable of getting results. They also nee dto consider if there are better options out there who are interested in the job. Jason is the 4/7 on favourite for the position now and it is clear that the club has had an awful lot of turmoil in the past week, so it may be sensible to stop the hurt by appointing Tindall sooner rather than later.
Most of the other contenders from outside the club are at long odds wth Chris Houghton leading the rest of the pack at 6-1. Bournemouth don't look like a big enough club for Pochettino and there aren't many star names, John Terry apart, who are in the top five or six names.
My only worry is that if Tindall is the new manager, will he be his own man? Would we be simply be getting more of the same with Eddie Howe's philosophy? That could be a good thing if we consider the success that Eddie brought the club, but the last season has seen Jason Tindall go through the same run of results as Eddie and he will have done all he could to try and change that sequence while at Eddie's side without any success. So, I hope the board think very carefully about the next appointment. Bournemouth fans need a feel good factor. It is a shame that Tommy Elphick isn't looking at manager yet as I think Bournemouth need a character with that kind of leadership and positivity to shake things up after the Eddie Howe era. In other news, Artur Boruc rejoins Legie Warsaw. Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Can't blame Callum Wilson for wanting Premier League football
Stephen Purches has been awarded the UEFA Pro License having completed the highest level of UEFA's coaching badges. There will be few Bournemouth fans that would ever want Eddie Howe to leave the club, but to me it looks like when that day arrives the Cherries might be in a better position now with Purches having passed all the badges to coach and manage at that level.
Is Stephen Purches well enough equipped to
fill the gap if Eddie Howe did decide to spread his wings?
Of course, he would be unproven as a manger and it would be a risk whenever Bournemouth have to change managers, but at least the club has an eye on the future. The thought of Howe suddenly being picked up by another club one day and AFCB having to bring an outsider in to manage in the Premier League actually terrifies me whenever Howe is linked with a managerial vacancy. Badges are only a stepping stone though to learning and much more will have been learned on the job with Purches having taken charge of the U21s at Bournemouth and coaching the first team in recent years. His job may well get much busier with the new training facilities being set up in Poole and hopefully Purches can learn more from Eddie Howe in the next few years so that there is a good continuity built up between the staff and players.
I'm sure that Purches coaching career and many of the other blocks that are being put into place around the club are being done, because Howe wants the club to have a stable and long term future. What he won't be able to control though is whether Purches himself finds that a job offer comes that would enable him to take the opportunity at first team management that might not be at AFCB. Dean Court Days- Signing Today! In other news, Michael Dunne is holding a signing day for Dean Court Days today between 1-3pm at the In off the far post shop, 901 Old Christchurch Road, in Pokesdown BH7 6AX. Richard Cooke and Paul Morrell are also popping in to sign a few copies of the book as well.
Southgate's World Cup - Day 8 Nigeria's party begins
AFCB announced another pre-season friendly over the weekend with SSC Napoli due to fly in to Dean Court for a match on Saturday 6th August. I believe AC Milan were the last team to visit AFCB from Italy and in some ways this game may trump the Valencia match which is a re-run of a fixture held in pre-season last year.
Junior Stanislas and Stephen Purches discuss matters. Junior may not play any of the pre-season friendlies having had an operation at the end of last season.
Measuring up against the quality of Napoli will be very difficult as they are another regular Champions League side, but AFCB have to star playing the best teams if they are going to progress again. Eddie Howe will be able to test himself against Maurizio Sari who guided Napoli to third last season behind Juventus and Roma on 86 points, having won 26 of their 38 matches. In fact, Napoli only lost four games all season which was lower than any other team in Serie A. That compares with compares with AFCB's 46 points and 12 wins and 16 defeats in the Premier League.
Napoli are currently looking for a left back having had a bid rejected for Liverpool's Alberto Moreno, according to This is Anfield. AFCB fans may not know too many of the Napoli players but if we think back to the last World Cup, there was an influential midfielder in Solvakia's team who England fans will recall that was memorable for his shooting as well as his hairstyle – Marek Hamsik. Their star man though is probably Italian international, Lorenzo Insigne, who is a £45m rated midfielder according to HITC. Striker Dries Mertens of Belgium is another player that may be known to some fans as he scored 33 goals last season and has become a highly-prized forward. Keeping Napoli quiet then will be a massive challenge for AFCB and you can expect Howe to play his strongest side against them.
There have been reports this week that Juan Iturbe has been sidelined by AFCB perhaps too often and could make a return to parent club AS Roma in the summer. From what Eddie Howe and the club have been saying though it is far too premature to judge Juan Iturbe's future just yet. In midweek Juan played a very important part in an 8-3 win against a Leyton Orient side in an U21 game managed by Stephen Purches. Eddie Howe was more than pleased by Juan's efforts which included a hat-trick, the second time he has been in the goals in such a match, following on from his impressive showing against a Colchester U21 side last month. So why should articles be suddenly appearing questioning whether Juan is a right fit for AFCB?
Juan is still getting used to AFCB. He needs time to shine.
Eddie Howe has stated that it will take time for any player let alone a foreign player to come into this side that has been together for several years. He also pointed towards Juan's fitness levels not quite being high enough for him to challenge for place yet, but he has shown in the Development games and in the match against Portsmouth that he can be a threat in front of goal and can be very good on the ball, even if the team is not always giving Juan the ball in the areas of the pitch where he can hurt other teams, AFCB have paid in the region of £1.1m for the services of Juan on loan until the summer and it is unfair to expect the young winger to be an instant success. We have seen Tokelo Rantie not manage to get in the squad for the second half of the season and even players that have lots of Premier League experience like Glenn Murray are not first picks every week. Iturbe is having to deal with a lot more than just playing well enough to get into the side and any time in the UK training with Eddie, Jason and Chris is going to benefit him and give him new ideas on his play. It maybe that it is more important to see how well he adapts to the English style of play and how suited he is to it and how receptive he is to what he is being taught than just how many games he plays for the first team at this stage. Nobody is yet shelling out £16m for him, so let's see how he goes. In a few more weeks we could see a much fitter and stringer Juan Iturbe and at that stage he could be a big asset to the team as the fixture come thick and fast.
I have to admit I have not had the opportunity to see many Development squad games for AFCB and the coverage on these players is something that I hope we can feature more now that they have a competitive mini-league to try and show their skills in. I find it a little strange that you have established players like Stephane Zubar (Zubar is now apparently unavailable for the game) and Miles Addison leading out the younger lads, but they should be able to pass on some very good experience to other squad members who are facing Hamworthy Recreation tonight at 6.30pm in their first pre-season match. I hear from Neil Perret at the Echo that Mohammed Coulibaly's younger brother Aly will also get a run out and he is supposed to be lightening quick - no surprise there then. But there are others that I hope play like Sam Matthews, Josh Carmichael, Josh O'Hanlon, Josh Wakefield and Jonathan Muleba. Four players were offered pro-deals last April and it is important that they can step up. Another signing that came to the club last January was Ben Whitfield from Guiseley who may also get some game time. The Echo has a good write up on who might be selected for the game and prices are free for kids and £5 for adults. You never really know what kind of side will appear in these games but Stephen Purches will pick a team that has the desire to go and do its best for the Cherries. He has to think ahead to the southern mini-league that will feature Luton Town, AFC Wimbledon, Cambridge United, Gillingham, Leyton Orient, Peterborough United and Portsmouth as well as the Cherries. AFCB first-half team v Ham Rec: Holmes, Muleba, Buckley, Addison, Zubar, Wakefield, Gilkes, Whitfield, Murphy, Stockley, Bassele.
We know that Eddie Howe likes Jack Collison and was pleased to have him on load at AFCB in the early part of the 2013/14 season. As a free transfer Collison is likely to be looking at possible moves to where he has recently played on loan with Wigan also possibly a potential move for him. Whether Eddie Howe believes that the central midfield area needs further strengthening is anybody's guess, but goal power is something that is most desired and Jack may not quite have enough to excite Eddie this time around. Another prospect must surely be Joe Cole, who has also been released by West Ham, and at 30 he still has a few years of quality football to give and has the experience that may be of great value to a team like AFCB. Watching Joe in Stephen Purches' testimonial match for 20 or so minutes gave AFCB supporters enough to know that Joe Cole is still able to dominate proceedings when he is on the pitch.
Collison has age (25) and experience on his side but does he shoot enough?
Any number of released players from the Premiership will be linked with possible moves to teams like AFCB, but value for money and quality is what the Cherries need. At the moment though the transfer market has not really started to bubble. The Cherries are not sure if they are going to lose many players or not and the decisions as to where to strengthen will be crucial. If Grabban does go, you would expect them Cherries to bring in another striker, although I could see McQuoid and Kermorgant perhaps being tried as well as Rantie being given more games. The midfield has already been bolstered with Dan Gosling and I am not certain that more wide players are needed which would mean Joe Cole is less likely to of interest. It's in defence where I believe Eddie will possibly have to do some more business. Steve Cook may well stay but the team let in too many goals last season for a big promotion tilt and I believe another central defender could be a must considering that Ward and Elphick missed several games last season.
So for me Collison and Cole are not as high on the agenda as they might have been last year, but I bet AFCB are pondering over some of those who have been released this week from the top clubs.
While Premiership teams ponder over Greg Dykes Team B Division 3 league proposals, teams like AFCB in the Championship are said to be not effected by such ideas at this stage and yet even Bournemouth have a group of Development Squad players that need games and experience. How these players are best served is a question for Stephen Purches and Joe Roach and Eddie Howe, but the fact that players are keen to come to Bournemouth in their teenage years means that the club is attracting young players that it needs to develop and integrate into the first team.
Ryan Fraser stands out well ahead of other
young players at AFCB at the moment.
While there are some league, cup and friendly games for the Development squad there is little opportunity to give youth their chance in the Championship. What I do like is the opportunities they have to play in and around the first team especially when first team players are recovering from injuries and need to come back steadily by playing in some Development Squad games. It must be great as a non-first team player to get the opportunity to be an equal on the pitch with some players that have already made it and to learn from them. Ryan Fraser has shown that if you have the ability you will be played at Championship level, but getting a train of players through the system is what the Cherries need if they are to keep their costs down on player transfers and develop players that are ultimately good enough for the first team. It is clear that the club wants to take as many players forward as it can and if Development players are to be given new contracts that gives some indication that the club is pleased with their progress and there is a chance that some of them will make the grade either at AFCB or at another club if they are sold for the right price. The potential sale of Adam Lallana with a 25 per cent sell on clause coming to AFCB shows one of the merits of having an academy even when we see players finish their development elsewhere.
The loan system currently seems the best way though for many of these players, like those pushing for first team action such as Jayden Stockley and Sam Matthews, for example, to get some regular competitive football. But even then it is important that AFCB put such players with clubs that play in the way that improves development. I must admit I would have liked to have seen more players come through in the last five years at AFCB, but I am sure we will eventually get more players like Danny Ings and Josh McQuiod on the conveyor belt. We have a special free subscription May Newsletter for those looking feature their company on Cherry Chimes or if you simply want to know what have been the most read stories on the blog since its start up.
Josh McQuiod has had a difficult time since coming back to AFCB. He is another player who would have been keen to have played in our final game of the season as an ex-Millwall player but has been out on loan at Peterborough since January. He has been lucky enough to play in the FA Trophy final at Wembley and even scored the first goal on Peterborough's way to a 3-1 victory against Chesterfield. Having helped Posh into the play-off places he could not get them to the League One play-off final. Now his loan period will be up and he'll return to the Cherries. Josh still has a year to go on his Bournemouth contract and while he might find that the Posh are interested in him of they get promoted through the play-offs, I believe he still has a shot of playing a part in the Cherries forthcoming season. He was injured for the first part of the 2013/14 season and Eddie Howe has only used him sparingly since Eddie Howe came back to the club, but with Andrew Surman looking like returning to Norwich permanently, Josh may well be given an opportunity to add some of the goals that are needed from that area of the pitch.
Josh will need a good pre-season to push
for a place in the Cherries first team.
It is wise to remember that AFCB do want to try and reduce some of their debts and constantly buying new players while also paying others not playing on their books is a good way of increasing debts. I would hope that Josh would want to prove himself at AFCB and the fans should be generous to give him all the support they can if he lines up again for the Cherries. Josh will only be 25 in December and sometimes we forget how young he is as a player having left and returned to the club. He knows the club inside out and will have been taught be Joe Roach as well as Jason Tindall and Eddie Howe and knowing the club's style of play so well should give him more ammunition than most to be able to get into the side. I don't think that Eddie Howe has felt that Josh has been fully fit for much of the last few months but having got some games in at Peterborough and hopefully got a taste for contributing again I would like to see Josh prove a few people wrong having had a good pre-season.
Can Josh step up his performances?
Finally, the news today is that Stephen Purches is to hang up his boots which is sad to hear but perhaps not that unexpected. We wish him well with everything he does in his coaching capacity with the Development squad and perhaps he can inspire more AFCB players to do as well as he did for the club.
Last night some of you may know that it was the players' shirt sponsors evening at Dean Court and Cherry Chimes along with many other player sponsors had the opportunity to meet and mingle with the AFCB squad and to just enjoy the moment of being among our heroes. Eddie Howe was his beaming self and full of admiration not only for his team and staff, but also for all the supporters who have stuck with the club through the good and bad times this season.
Cherry Chimes meets Mohamed Coulibaly and poses for a photo.
As one of the sponsors of Mohamed Coulibaly it was not long before my name was called out for a photo call with Mo and two of my invited guests, Damien Hill who has written a few times as a guest blogger, and fellow season ticket holder in the Family stand, and Michael Dunne, who also sits next to my family as a season ticket holder, and is the author of the famous All Departments podcasts and View From the Stands. We hurried out on to the veranda where club photographer Steve Cook snapped the moment for the archives, but thanks to Mike we also took a few unofficial photos which you can see here.
And, yes I did get Mo to sign the shirt - star struck!
The night passed very quickly and we had a fabulous time seated at a table with Mo and Eunan O'Kane. I'll admit we were hopeless at the quiz although Matt Ritchie knows just about everything when it comes to who's who and we were firmly put in our place by Mike Botto's table! We found out that Coulibaly is still working on his fitness and feels that he is still some way behind where he would like to be but still hopes that he can make a squad appearance again before the end of the season - I jested that scoring the winner at Wembley in the play-off final would be okay with me. He seemed very excited about the team's prospects as did Tommy Elphick and many of the others and it was good to hear them feeling confident that they will go into the next few games with the possibility of really trying to make some dreams come true.
Sponsors and guests are seated ready to meet their AFCB idols.
I can't tell you too many secrets but It was great to see that the players were happy to be open and in the presence of a group of fans who were loving every moment of the evening.
Eddie Howe got up to answer a few questions from Mike Botto, one being which game did he feel was the best performance this season? Eddie pointed to two games in particular that probably turned the season around. He picked the Reading away game as the one that had the biggest impact for the squad and he also felt that the team played extremely well in the Brighton away match.I remember that day - boy did we get wet! "The support has been crucial," he said. "In the home games the crowd have ignited the players and in the away games the support has reached another level this season."
Eddie and Tommy Elphick are questioned by Mike Botto.
A special mention for Mr Botto - good luck in your
walk Mike from Blandford Forum before the Sheffield Wednesday match on Friday.
Eddie also praised the unity of the club and acknowledged that we have a special club where players and supporters can meet on nights like this. Eddie said he had thoroughly enjoyed the night and I can say from the fans point of view that opinion was well and truly shared.
Some of the players catch a bit of the evening sun before the meal.
Four men who are certainly massive heroes to AFCB fans -
a relaxed Eddie Howe, Jason Tindall, Stephen Purches and Steve Fletcher.
This afternoon I'll be chatting with Owls Alive as we ramp things up for the visit of Sheffield Wednesday - make sure you come back and Cherry Chimes later - it's a good one. UTCIAD!
I had a sneaky look at the video on Josh this afternoon to see what had excited Eddie Howe about this youngster from Longford Town. He has good close control and is not afraid to take on difficult shots from what I have seen. As an 18-year old I would think that he would be trying to make his mark in the Development squad first under the teaching skills of Stephen Purches, while I am sure Joe Roach will take a look at him having done so well with AFCB strikers' development.
While it is good news to see the first squad doing well it is important that the Development squad gets some games so I would not be surprised if Josh goes out on loan at some point if there are not enough matches arranged. I heard that Harry Cornick went out to Dorchester on loan earlier this week and that the Development squad had a good 5-0 win against Portsmouth with Coulibaly scoring a brace as he looks to get some game time. You can see the Josh O'Hanlon video here.
It is good to hear that Steve Cook has not broken his leg and it is ankle ligament damage that he has sustained. Still if it is expected that Steve Cook is not quite up to playing after the injury he picked up against Derby, it is possible that Eddie Howe could decide to look again going three at the back or keep it to the flat back four with different personnel. To lose the centre back pairing that has started most games for AFCB this season would be a massive blow, but it certainly looks like Elliott Ward is to spend a spell on the sidelines for sure with his calf injury. Tommy Elphick already filled in for Elliott Ward against Derby and you would imagine that he will be central to any plans Howe has for the next few games.
If Cook is absent against Brighton what would Eddie's plans be?
Elphick looks certain to start against the Seagulls.
I can't really see Eddie chosing to go three at the back against teams like QPR and Reading away, but it might be something he looks at for the Brighton home game. All the swapping and changing dd not really make a huge difference early on in the season though and the three at the back option appeared to be consigned to the training ground, but necessity may make it an option again.
AFCB fans will hope Cook recovers quickly.
Addison could have a surprise recall.
If a flat back four is retained we could see Miles Addison play his first match for the Cherries in the Championship. A friend of mine said there were rumours of Miles leaving the club but I have not heard anything in interviews or in the news. The former Derby defender will be eager to have some playing time as he has been out of contention for a place in the team for a long time. I spotted also Joe Partington before the game on Saturday and while I am sure he will get an opportunity at some point, he has not been playing in the centre back position for long and has had very little game time to build strength back into his legs. Perhaps Stephen Purches has also called time on any ideas of playing for the first team in the Championship. Of course AFCB could look for another player in the loan market as well.
Whatever the case, we hope Steve Cook and Elliott Ward can recover quicker than is forecast. It just seems that AFCB are getting injury after injury at the moment and players are slow to recover. It must be a concern and Howe must be fed up with answering questions about who is fit and who isn't.
No one wants to be sitting games out and I sometimes feel it is even more depressing if you are a player that is fit and yet raring to go but have to settle for a place on the bench. As you might expect, king of AFCB's bench warmers so far this season is goalkeeper Darrel Flahavan. He has kept the bench warm on no less than seven occasions, but I guess that is seven times more than Shwan Jalal. Darryl is only on a one-year contract so he must be hoping to get a chance at some point. The FA Cup games may be his first chance to get selected for the first team. Behind Darryl on five bench visits is Wes Thomas. Wes may well come under more competition to keep that place as well as the forward line is going to be stronger still with Tokelo and Josh looking to play a part in the team. I feel the most unluckiest player to be waiting for his opportunity is Eunan O'Kane. We all know he has the quality and is well able to do as well as any one in midfield, and the signing of Andrew Surman will be an added challenge for him and others. Eunan has been on the bench four times so far.
Flahavan has kept Jalal away from the team but has
not had a chance to play in the Championship.
You may wonder how come I haven't yet mentioned Tommy Elphick? Well his injuries mean he has only been picked as a sub three times and many other players have been just as friendly with the AFCB bench. In all, I counted 20 players that have been selected to be a substitute so far this season. Eddie is really using the squad with seven players allowed to be put on the bench in league games. The squad of course is bigger than this and there are a few that have not made the bench for the first team yet. Straight off I can think of Partington, Purches, Fogden and Jalal.
Lots of bench sitting for Donal.
Stephane Zubar is still listed as a current AFCB player as well from all sources that I can find and yet we have had no news of how he has been doing since making some pre-season matches and the transfer to Bury that never seemed to happen. I have not seen Stephane's picture in the MatchDay programme this season, so I am not sure what is really going on with him and the club.
Jayden Stockley has proved himself to be a goal threat at non-league and League Two and is no stranger to going out on loan. He did particularly well at Woking last season. He will find it more difficult to get much of a go at Leyton Orient with them flying high at the top of League One with Kevin Lisbie and David Mooney making the art of goal scoring look simple with the start they have had to their season.
Jayden is only out on loan for a month so he will only get the chance to get involved for six games but he could be involved as early as Tuesday night when the O's take on Gillingham in the Johnston's Paint Trophy Southern section first round. I hope that Jayden does get the chance to come on in some of Orient's league fixtures in particular. I good loan spell can only help his career with AFCB if he can learn some new things. He has already been interviewed on Cherries Player saying how he is looking forward to joining up again with ex-Bournemouth players, Mathieu Broadry and Marvin Bartley. It was perhaps disappointing not to hear that some of our other young players had not gained the opportunity to go out on loan, but Stephen Purches and Chris Hargreaves will be looking to improve player in AFCB's Development squad, who have already had some success this season.
The Capital One Cup tie against Watford will give a few of those waiting in the wings a chance to press their claim for a place in the first team. Eddie Howe has said that rotation will play an important part during the season and he does not feel that some of the players outside the first 11 would weaken the team if they come in. The test will come today, when it is likely that Howe will rest some players ahead of the Doncaster match at the weekend. Some players still need to get some match fitness soTommy Elphick and Elliott Ward mat form teh centre back pairing. Eunan O'Kane was probably pencilled in for the Watford game but he came off with a twisted ankle injury during the Huddersfield match. Wes Thomas is likely to get a run out and perhaps Richard Hughes, while Donal McDermott, and Miles Addisson could even see some action. It was not mentioned whether Pugh was on the bench for tactical reasons last game or if he would have struggled to play 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Surman only played a half before being taken off. The slowness of some of AFCB's players to come back after injury is now starting to show. Eddie Howe has said that players will be returning this week and that could mean that Wes Fogden, Mohamed Coulibaly and Charlie Daniels get some opportunity to play. There is also Stephen Purches and Shwan Jalal and Darryl Flahavan who have not played many games. It is questionable just how much of the team Eddie will rotate. He could field an entirely different 11 from the Huddersfield game or he could pick a few combinations to keep some consistency. While Eddie has said that he wants to do well in all competitions, the real test will come on Saturday and how the team performs against Doncaster. Still, no one wants another drubbing against Watford so it looks like he will not make too many changes.
It can't be easy to see lots of young new players all sparring for a spot in the first squad while you are also trying to regain your fitness after a horrific injury and taking on the new role coaching the Development squad, but Stephen Purches does not seem to rest on his laurels. Instead he quietly gets on with things and that has meant playing and coaching when the team played Christchurch, adding further minutes in his testimonial and valuable game time against Working and taking on the might of Real Madrid for 10 minutes.
You have to admit that Purches is committed to making a successful comeback. I don't see him being happy with being a fill in player in the Championship if he has the opportunity to play more first team football. That is going to be a difficult balancing act with his other duties, but if any one can do it Purchy can. I was pleased to read all the great comments he had in his testimonial programme. Yet, I have been even more pleased that he has already moved on and is getting the minutes in during pre-season so that he really can play a vital role for the first team. His recovery could be a great bonus for Eddie Howe, because Purchy will put in 110 per cent and before his injury, in 2012, I think he was then probably our best player. If he can get back to that we really will have a new experienced player on our books.
Keep it going Purchy. We like what we have seen in pre-season.
I have to admit as to not knowing much about Salisbury City FC. AFCB's Development squad will know a whole lot more though when they take them on at the Raymond McEnhill stadium at Old Sarum on Wednesday night. Chris Hargreaves and Stephen Purches will be checking over the triallists no doubt, while getting the squad's fitness up. I doubt Purchy will have a run out in this one although you never know.
Salisbury City FC now play in the Conference, so they are at a good level. They won promotion last season from the Conference South through the play-offs. Darrell Clarke left the manager's position in the summer and went to Bristol Rovers as their new assistant manager. Mikey Harris,28, was only appointed the Whites' manager this July, having been coach and assistant manager at the club for the past six years. Mikey is English football's youngest manager. The ground at Salisbury has a capacity of 5000 of which 500 is seated. Ex-Bournemouth player Warren Feeney is player assistant manager at Salisbury City FC. Jamie White a 23-year old is their top striker scoring 27 goals last season to help the Whites reach promotion to the Conference. Ben Wright, 24, is another of their strikers recently bought from Forest Green Rovers. Chis McPhee, 30, is a dangerous and experienced midfielder at the club who will also be one to look out for. It will be interesting who plays in goal for AFCB in this fixture as Allsop has not had many outings and may want some game time ahead of Saturday, if he is to play against Charlton. It is likely that Jordan Chiedozie will have the chance to extend his goal record at the top of this year's pre-season goal scorer's table.
For all those going to the game on Wednesday, have a good one.
It is fair to say that there is a good chance of AFCB starting its Championship season with the old duo of Harry Arter and Shaun MacDonald as a pairing in centre midfield. I am absolutely fine with this combination as I see it as a more solid partnership that has Arter pushing forward and Macca more often looking out for danger and covering any holes that appear in our lines. This allows Arter to be more of an overseer in the offensive department creating and worrying the opposition with his workman like style. Macca can also thread an incisive pass when he sees the opportunity and the balance of the team is always good with the Macca/Arter partnership. It may not hold as much excitement to some as when O'Kane and Arter are together but in the Championship it might be wise to start with a bit of caution and gradually open up more as the confidence grows. Having said that Macca can score some absolute rockets, remember his second goal from the corner in the Johnstones Paint Trophy against Portsmouth last year? Eunan O'Kane has learnt very quickly though. He has already proven that he can be an excellent player for AFCB and I believe he has a lot of qualities going forward that make him an exciting prospect for the team this season. I don't think he has reached the top of his ability yet. We have not had much opportunity to see him play with Macca, but if Arter is picked up by a bigger club that could be the future of our centre midfield until Sam Matthews is ready to pick up the batten.
Eunan O'Kane has to regain his fitness and battle back for a place in centre midfield. Can he do it in time for the Charlton game? I make Macca the favourite to start with Arter.
So for the moment, with Eunan only just playing a few minutes against Dorchester and Zurich in pre-season and Macca having shown he is back to usual form, I would put Macca slightly ahead of the game in terms of selection. Moreover, if we do get any more injuries in that area Purches and Hughes have been gradually putting in the minutes and could easily deputise for any of the above. I make the engine room looking pretty good at the moment, but we will see how well they go against Bristol City on Saturday.
I imagine there was a lot of thinking behind what the South stand should be called in view of its long awaited presence and the fact that the world's press will be having a good look at it on Sunday night. I thought the Ted MacDougall name was most fitting, but then I am getting on and can remember newspaper headlines of the great man scoring loads of goals for the Cherries when I was a kid. For today's young supporters it could be a bit of a library or Internet session to go and look up what Ted managed to achieve for the club, but I don't think that is a bad thing. They will know much more about the present players like myself and researching the club's history is something fans will do when they are good and ready. Having a statue or stand named after someone will jog the memory and give everyone the reminder that there is a story behind this person and they are being recognised for something exceptional. While we have plenty of present day heroes I studied history and like to see that we do not forget what has happened in the past. If we didn't do that there would be no point in having records or any awards each year. To be fair there will be many good players who were part of the team when Super Mac was playing in his two spells at the club who don't get mentioned enough, but strikers usually get the acknowledgements. Certainly more legends will be created in the future. You can already say we have been celebrating the efforts of Stephen Purches this year and Steve Fletcher, while Eddie Howe's status is already right at the very top. It is us fans though that put players and managers on pedestals, while they will say they are just doing their job. The truth is that many of the personnel at AFCB have done some special things over the years - so let's celebrate that.
It was a
hot, sweltering day at Dean Court for Stephen Purches’ testimonial match and a
large crowd of home and away supporters turned up to show their gratitude for
Stephen’s long playing career. Both sides formed an avenue as Stephen walked
onto the pitch.
The game
then got underway with West Ham kicking towards the North stand in temperatures
around 30C. The Hammers had a
string team out with many of their first eleven on show and it was Kevin Nolan who
almost picked upon Steve Cook’s misplaced pass in the first few minutes. With
the nerves out of the way, Bournemouth soon found their stride and Pitman in
particular giving West Ham’s defenders much to contend with in the first few
minutes, forcing an early corner.
West Ham were a little wasteful in possession and it was the Cherries that were
making the early running with Donal McDermott having a shot blocked. The Hammers found more freedom down the right
wing with Vaz Te and Noble interchanging well and Vaz Te eventually heading over. Flahavan’s
poor goal kick was also returned sharply by Collinson but was saved.
After eight minutes West Ham took the lead with Demel
sending in a cross from the right, which Nolan got up to meet first and powered
his header past the isolated Flahavan in the Bournemouth goal.
Nolan seemed to have the drop on Arter and was starting to
dominate the midfield. When the Cherries did get it wide to Fraser the young
Scot would motor down the left and send in crosses but no one was able to get
on the end of the crosses. The most likely scorer for AFC Bournemouth was
Pitman who was throwing himself at everything, including an overhead kick off
of one of Fraser’s deliveries after 19 minutes.
Francis was
doubling back most of the time as Jarvis and Rat were finding a lot of space on
West Ham’s left wing. After half an hour play was stopped so the players could get some water on board. It was a real scorcher of a day!
Bournemouth
then stepped up their efforts with Ian Harte’s free kick hammering against the
wall and Arter’s shot blasted over the goal. Fraser had Bournemouth’s next best
chance on 36 minutes when Grabban had put him through, but the Scot tried to
come back inside on his stronger right foot and his shot was pushed away for a
corner.
Pitman had
a good chance to even the scores with a header back across goal from Francis
right wing cross but he steered it wide to the left of the upright.
Towards the
end of the first half Nolan managed to hit the bar with a header as he peddled
backwards, but it was in the following two minutes of extra time when it all
fell apart for the Cherries. One of AFCB's players went down with what looked like an elbow
in the face but the referee played on with Bournemouth players also expecting
the offside flag to go up, but West Ham played on and rounded Flahavan, enabling Collison to put the Hammers two nil up at half time.
The second
half brought several changes to Bournemouth’s team. Off went Harte, Pitman and
McDermott and on came Daniels, Thomas and Elphick. Francis moved up to midfield
and Fraser played behind the front two as the Cherries experimented with three
at the back.
It was a
slow start to the second 45 minutes with Thomas missing a chance and later going down and then Nolan who
was subbed.
Maiga missed a good chance to put the Hammers further ahead on 54
minutes but he put his header over. Daniels was the recipient of a loose tackle
from West Ham’s right back but he got to his feet okay.
More subs
followed with Fraser being replaced by Sam Matthews on 58 minutes. West Ham’s
midfield was still looking strong with Collison, Maiga, Jarvis and Rat holding
the ball well, while Noble was sitting in deep behind them.
On 60
minutes West Ham brought on some star names including Mat Taylor, Joe Cole,
Diami and Tonkins.
Bournemouth
had their best move of the half moments later when Grabban put Daniels in only
for him to fire into the side netting with the home crowd thinking that he had
scored. Stephen Purches then came on in midfield with 25 minutes to go and
McDonald came off.
The Cherries had a free-kick on 69 minutes which Daniels hit over. By now teh
game had slowed and it was time for more changes as Addison, Stockley and
Fogden replaced Francis, Grabban and Ward. Arter also came off after 76 minutes
and Donal McDermott came back on.
Vaz Te then
left the field on 80 minutes and was replaced by McCallum and Darren Anderton
replaced Bournemouth’s Steve Cook a minute later. The West Ham fans took no
time in chanting: “We hate Tottenham, we hate Tottenham”, which Anderton seemed
to enjoy.
On 84
Minutes McDermott came off again and Steve Fletcher came on. There was a big
cheer when an Anderton cross found Steve Fletcher who got a head to it, but
nudged it wide.
John Purches
then came on to show support for his brother in the last five minutes,
replacing Matthews.
Stephen Purches was pleased that the day had gone well
with the good turnout. He told BBC Solent that: “There were two teams strong
descent teams out there who put on a descent game in hot conditions.” When
asked about his personal fitness and his performance, Stephen responded “All in
all I got what I needed out of it.” He also said how pleased he was that West
Ham sold out their end of the ground so quickly, “I couldn’t ask for any more,”
he said.
After the match Eddie Howe said: “It was good weather
for it, a really good crowd and certainly really good opposition for us – a
tough game as we knew it would be. And yeah, I was reasonably happy. ” He added
. “In the first half we more than matched them, although we conceded a couple
of goals which disappoint us. But there was a lot of promise.”
Darren Anderton also commented: “I was very pleased
when Purchy asked me to play and to be part of his big day. The west Ham
supporters were down in good numbers and give me a bit of stick which was all
good fun as a Spurs player. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and the main things is
the turnout was fantastic for Purchy.“
Tommy Elphick said: “It was brilliant to see Fletch,
Purchy and his brother to come on at the end. Those characters have played a
big part in his career and he fully deserved today.”
