AFCB have a midfielder unafraid to shoot

There was every need to throw Harry Wilson into the starting line-up against Aston Villa. Bournemouth had been short of creativity against Sheffield United and the team needed a positive injection of flare in the attacking positions. Harry Wilson delivered against Villa with the kind of goal that made him look every bit as good as David Brooks.

Harry Wilson has started fantastically well for AFCB.

For many seasons Bournemouth have lacked fire power from central midfield. Although Wilson played on the right wing, he wasn't slow to run into the central position when the space arose and unlike many of Bournemouth's players he was willing to take a risk, to strike the ball from distance. It is that kind of confidence and ambition that AFCB will need to break some defences. The ball flew in and Tom Heaton couldn't get near it.

If that is a sign of what is to come from Harry Wilson, then Bournemouth have a very special player on loan. The quality of his shooting is quite exceptional and while he didn't manage to add more goals to his account on the day, he did get into the positions where he could hurt the opposition and with time he will get better at taking such chances I believe.

Advertisement

Coastal Garden Buildings

My only concern is that Harry will prove that he is ready now to play for his parent team and that when he goes back to Liverpool he will be doing those special things against AFCB. What is good to see though is that Chris Mepham is very happy to see his Welsh colleague at the club and no doubt David Brooks will also enjoy having Harry Wilson around. Those are bonds that are already there, and AFCB will gain from those friendships developing.

I am excited to see what else Harry Wilson is going to do this season. He is not here just to fill in, he looks like a star player and one that Bournemouth will find extremely useful this season with his shooting power.

Bournemouth will do well to spoil Villa's first big home game

Aston Villa may have come up to the Premier League through the play-offs, giving them less time to prepare than Norwich City or Sheffield United, but they haven't held back in their summer spending. Only Man Utd spent more than Aston Villa's £144.5m summer spend and while such spending didn't do much good for Fulham, the opening game showed that Villa will try and take the scalps of every Premier League team they line up against.

Villa have been big spenders this summer.

It's probably funny to Bournemouth fans that Aston Villa's biggest transfer business was for Tyrone Mings at £26.5m. The ex-Bournemouth centre-back has been exceptional when he puts on a Villa shirt and it annoys me a bit that Mings didn't get the games he should have at Dean Court during his stay. But that's football. Injuries and bad luck played their part and Mings has found a good new home.

Wesley Moraes is a Brazilian forward that signed from Club Brugge so I'd expect that Arnaut Danjum has the inside knowledge on him should Eddie Howe need information on this part of Villa's £22m strike force. Defender Matt Targett, 23, was signed from near-neighbours Southampton for £17m having been at Saints for 15 years. Douglas Luiz, 21, was signed from Man City although he had been playing at Girona FC on loan. He didn't play against Tottenham, but Villa stumped up £15m for him. Add in the experience signing of Tom Heaton and Villa aim to do a bit more than just survive this season.

Online-Bookies.org.uk

Dean Smith is the man with the most pressure on him. Now that he has made it to the Premier League he has to find out how to win games at this level. Aston Villa would be thrilled to get their first three points against Bournemouth, so the Cherries have to be at their very best as I expect Villa to come at them like a whirlwind. Jack Grelish and John McGinn already impressed against Spurs and this will be a real test for Bournemouth's defence.

Dean Smith and Aston Villa's Press Conference

T-shirt competition

Yes, it's back while I still have a few shirts to give away. Send in your score prediction for Aston Villa v AFCB to @CherryChimes (make sure you follow me) on Twitter and see if you can win the prize. It's free to enter and if more than one person has the correct score I will pick one from the hat.

Rival Lines: Villa - back where they belong?

Rival Lines
Match Preview: Aston Villa v AFCB
Blogger Interview: A Villa Fan
Twitter: @Avillafan

This weekend we kick off AFCB's first away game and it is against Aston Villa. I managed to grab a word with Stuart Young who works on the A Villa Fan website to see how he thinks Aston Villa will go this season and who we should be looking out for.

CC: What has Dean Smith given Aston Villa that previous managers were unable to do to get them to win matches?

AVF: He has given them belief. Jack Grealish highlighted this last week when he stated that Smith makes him feel like the best player in the world.

On top of that he has United a relatively split dressing room, and even club. The fans and players are one for the first time in a very long time. There is a real buzz around the place.

Something that impresses me personally is that he doesn’t insult the fans intelligence. For example, the defeat to Spurs, he highlighted where we did well and where it went wrong. Previous managers would have just taken the 3-1 defeat as a positive.

CC: Although Villa lost the first game against Spurs, did you see plenty of positives about the performance for the season ahead?

AVF: Yes. As I have already stated, there is a plan by the hierarchy at Aston Villa and the fans are on board.

The constant comparisons are embarrassing from a journalism point of view. As Christian Purslow stated on Sky Sports News on Monday night - there was a plan out together that has been executed. Now we can only hope the plan is enough to see us progress in the right way.

CC: John McGinn scored a great goal against Spurs. Is that the kind of goal he would do regularly in the Championship, holding off the last defender and picking his spot?

AVF: John McGinn reminds me of Gareth Barry a little. They both use their body very well to keep the ball. He is of course a lot more active on the field. McGinn will surprise a few away from B6 season in the Premiership.

CC: Which player would you say is your best signing of the summer and why?

AVF: Engels looks very impressive and Trezeguet could add that little bit of magic once he settles in. But I think Tom Heaton might prove to be a great bit of business.

Not only does he have the experience but he is apparently a very good character to have around the dressing room. Something Smith seems to be very keen on.

CC: How special will next Saturday be when Aston Villa plays its first home match back in the Premier League?

AVF: I think that the game is most likely going to be a sell out, tells you everything you need to know. We believe we are back where we belong. Now we have to prove it.

Advertisement

Coastal Garden Buildings

CC: Can you see all three promoted sides surviving in the Premier League this season?

AVF: No. I think Norwich will regret not spending more money than they did. Sheffield United will be an interesting one as they won’t lie down and die. They have the never say die attitude but discipline may prove their downfall. Time will tell.

I am confident that we will stay up but we must get some points on the board ASAP.

CC: Is Jack Grealish a much better player than last time Villa were in the Premier League - how has his game developed?

AVF: Jack has grown up. He has matured. We have always known he has the talent but he needed to get his head in the right place which I believe he has now.

On top of that, he has added some muscle and he is closer to the complete product. But he must prove himself at the top level and no-one knows that more than Jack.

CC: What have you made of Tom Heaton in goal - was the keeper position something fans were worried about this season?

Many fans believed Jed Steer should have been given the chance of playing in the Premiership following his heroics last season.

Saying that, we did need that we experienced head in goal. The saves he has pulled off against RB Leipzig and Tottenham in recent weeks are showing just what a signing he could be for Villa.

CC: What position do you believe Aston Villa will end the season in?

AVF: We must aim as high as possible but I think we will finish around 12-14th.

CC: How do you think Aston Villa will line up against Bournemouth?

AVF: I think you will see a slightly more attacking side that the one you would have seen against Tottenham.

I believe Targett will come in for Taylor and Guilbert might replace Elmo. The only thing keeping Elmo in the side would be to help Trezeguet.

We may also see Luiz or Marvelous come in for Hourihane which will allow the wing backs to get forward while offering them cover.

Predicted XI: Heaton; Elmo, Engels, Mings, Target; Luiz, McGinn, Grealish; Jota, Trezeguet; Wesley.

CC: What is your score prediction?

AVF: I am going to go for a 2-0 home win. As I have already said, I believe we need to get points on the board especially at home.

CC: Great information from Stuart. While there are some Villa fans who expect their team to walk into the top six, Stuart can see that nothing is won easily in the Premier League. I fancy this will be a close match and perhaps there will be one or two mistakes on either side. I don't believe that defence is the strength of either team so I'm going for a 2-2 scoreline.

You should also see in the next couple of days some answers to the questions Stuart set me on the A Villa Fan website about AFC Bournemouth.

T-shirt competition
Yes, it's back while I still have a few shirts to give away. Send in your score prediction for Aston Villa v AFCB to @CherryChimes (make sure you follow me) on Twitter and see if you can win the prize. It's free to enter and if more than one person has the correct score I will pick one from the hat.


In other news, Jordan Ibe has been linked with a loan move away to Celtic, according to The Scottish Sun.

Bournemouth head betting to sign Burnley keeper

Bournemouth's odds of signing Tom Heaton have come in to 2-1 since the keeper decided not to extend his contract at Burnley. The Cherries have been looking for a keeper all summer as Asmir Begovic is expected to be sent on his way. But is Heaton the best option for the Cherries seeing that they have been checking out just about every available keeper?

Is Heaton the best option AFCB have to rival Boruc?

Of the Burnley keepers, I would say Heaton is the one I'd be most interested in. He is not the biggest or stunning of keepers in my estimations, but as they say what you need is a safe pair of hands and he certainly has that. Heaton is very experienced and I think he would work well with Boruc in quite a tight competition for the number one shirt.

Aston Villa are also thought to be keen on the Burnley man, but have themselves become the market leaders, ahead of AFCB, to sign Jack Butland of Stoke City. Butland is the younger keeper at 26 and will command a much bigger transfer fee than the 33-year old Heaton. But Heaton has been in and around the Premier League, while Butland has dropped down to the Championship, and for Heaton it would probably be his last transfer.

Heaton would be desperate to pick the right club and if that is AFCB we should get a dedicated keeper who would see AFCB as a place where he could get his name quickly recognised by Gareth Southgate, if he could start to reduce the number of goals AFCB have been conceding.

Online-Bookies.org.uk

AFCB need the team players and the hard workers. To me Heaton fits the bill best of the most likely options, although Simon Mignotlet would also give Boruc a run for his money in my opinion. If a stable character is something that Howe is also keen on, then I'd also go for Heaton. He ticks more boxes and if he can make AFCB more solid than it will be a decent summer buy. AFCB need to work quickly though if they want him as Watford are also said to join the race to sign him, according to the Sun.

Meanwhile, Asmir Begovic is stills et to rejoin the Cherries for pre-season training next Saturday despite interest from Celtic, Stoke City, Watford, Fenerbeche and Olympiacos, according to the Daly Star.

AFCB have to match Burnley's intensity

Burnley have not survived in the Premier League by just putting up a defensive block or stopping other teams from playing. They are a solid working group of players that have a strong team spirit and high energy that does not make them an easy team to play. I remember Sean Dyche saying that at the end of last season that AFC Bournemouth had shown teams how to survive in the Premier League, and Burnley have added their own element of quality to the high intensity they play with.

Will AFCB come out with the high intensity to take the game away from Burnley?

While the vast majority of Burnley's points have come at home they have enjoyed the underdog tag and have amounted 11 win just like the Cherries. Tom Heaten has been so good in goal that he has had England call ups, and Michael Keane won high praise for his recent appearance in an England shirt against Lithuania. Their midfield is also packed with energy. George Boyd, Scott Arfield, Jeff Hendrick and Johann Berg Gudmundsson have all played a big part in their season and  having played so many games together as a tight-nit group they have great understanding. Even the suspension of Joey Barton has not slowed their progress and Harry Arter and Lewis Cook will have to be at their best for this game.

Advertisement

Broomhill Garden Conservatories

Burnley have been brave by playing two up front for most of the season. They have an identity and courage about the way they attack with pace and strength. They don't mind playing a long ball but can also mix play up. What they like above all is to make games a real contest and that is why I find it strange they have not won more points away from home.

Sean Dyche still has to work out the club's best way of getting points on the road but if he can find the answer as he did against Crystal Palace, then Burnley might have an even stronger second season in this league. In some ways this game will be a test for Dyche to see if he can replicate their last away result.

Probable AFCB team: 4-4-1-1 Boruc (GK), A Smith (RB), Francis (CD), S Cook (CD), Daniels (LB), Ibe (RW), Arter (CM), Gosling (CM), Pugh (LW), Mousset (FW), King (FW)

Subs: Allsop (GK), Mings (CD), B Smith (LD), Fraser (RM/LM), Stanislas (LM/RM),
Gradel (LM/FW)

It is very sad news to hear that Paul Willis is no longer with us. I'll miss not seeing him at home and away games. He'll be truly missed. Please all applaud loudly on 44 minutes in tribute to Paul - a great AFCB fan.