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.
Bournemouth have never taken a point off of Man City. The gulf between the teams in financial teams is massive and on the field City can always call on multi-million pound subs if it's not quite going their way. But there is a chink in this Man City side who have been dropping points all season and don't have much to play for, now that they are secure in second place and have more important FA Cup and Champions league games to come.
An unexpected three points would mean everything to the Cherries tonight.
Eddie Howe won't expect City to take their foot off the gas though. They have scored 14 goals in their last four games and conceded just one goal to Southampton, who beat them. Raheem Sterling has been in particularly good form in front of goal and Guardiola might be able to rest a few of his star players and still believe he can beat Bournemouth with room to spare.
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In a way it would help Bournemouth for Man City to be overly confident. Bournemouth will have to play tight and try and restrict Man City, as goal difference could be so very important come the final day of the season. Bournemouth have been staying in games and coming on strong second half in their last few games, and I expect a similar plan for this game. You can't always win a game in the first 20 minutes, but you can certainly lose it and Bournemouth priority must be to try and get to half-time relatively unscathed.
I expect Howe to play wing backs but to operate more as five at the back. He could flood the midfield with four players, but I fancy him playing three in the middle and two upfront to give the team a chance of hitting City on the break. Solanke is going to want to play and is inform, while we know Callum Wilson is our best striker, so why not play them both? Howe could also have Josh King back on the bench.
Although the odds are against Bournemouth getting something from this game if they did hang in even for a point it would be a huge result in terms of confidence. Bournemouth need to put in a plucky performance, as West Ham and Watford can watch on and decide how best to play their game on the result of Bournemouth's match. Going first is not going to be easy, but a good result and and it could work very much in Bournemouth's favour. Man City Home Form WWWWW AFC Bournemouth LLLLL
Possible AFCB Line-up
AFCB Subs: Boruc, Simpson, Surman, Gosling,
Danjuma, L Cook, H Wilson, King, Surridge
I am looking forward to the match against Newcastle United. It has been good to see that Matt Ritchie is back playing again and Newcastle don't really have any relegation worries anymore. They are the kind of mid-table team that haven't much to play for, so Bournemouth have to make the most of this game and that will mean they have pressure on them, especially after losing their last two matches.
Bournemouth have to deal with the pressure at this time.
It is how AFCB deal with that pressure that counts. They haven't done well since the restart in dealing with pressure, but to a large extent they are being helped by the poor results of others with Aston Villa dropping points against Wolves and Southampton taking the points off Watford. If Bournemouth can get a win, they would not only move out of the bottom three they would greatly improve their belief that they can stay up and give a damaging blow to West Ham, Aston Villa Norwich and possibly Watford.
How do players deal with the pressure though? I think it is important that all the players talk about how they feel and what they feel like as the game approaches. They need to remind themselves of what they are playing for, and try and think of when they met with fans, had good games on the pitch, and when they were fearless at attacking teams. If they can surround themselves with positives, then they can get their game moving in the right direction.
They don't need to think about the consequences of not getting a good result. It has to be all positive thinking now. They need a step up, and the only way they are going to get it is by playing well. So Eddie Howe must get through to his players that they are Premier League stars, that people want them to succeed, and that goals will come if they do their jobs well.
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They are getting paid for a job they love. It is so much better if they have that winning feeling. There haven't been many happy moments this season, so Eddie has to stress how enjoyable it will be if they can get a win. With a win the players will relax a bit and the pressure will come off for a few days. They need that relief of tension and to see a table where they are making progress. Newcastle United won't be an easy game, but it is a good game to have right now, and AFCB will want to make the most of it. Chimes Newsletter - out tomorrow! Cherry Chimes' July Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blogand the thoughts behind them from last month. The newsletter has a special story - Is a relegation season exciting to be involved in?
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Viewing AFC Bournemouth's nine fixtures to go doesn't inspire me with great confidence that they can escape the bottom three. However, what does give me hope if that other teams are within a couple of points of being where AFCB are, and a win can give any team a massive step up towards safety.
Players will want to celebrate if they do stay up, but any celebrations will be muted.
Undoubtedly, now that there will be home games as well as away matches, AFCB's home games might offer the best chance of the team getting more points on the board. The games to come against Crystal Palace and Newcastle United probably give the Cherries their best chance of a reward, while Southampton match will be a big test as the Saints will want revenge for the defeat earlier in the season with the added bonus that they could help send AFCB down. If Bournemouth were to get nine points from those games they would be looking good for safety.
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However, the away fixtures look very difficult with the two Manchester clubs as well as Wolves and Everton. Bournemouth also have Leicester City and Spurs at home, but in all these fixtures AFCB would be doing well to get a point in any of them. It will be all about whether AFCB can put pressure on the teams above them - Watford, West Ham and Brighton. If AFCB can't put pressure on one of these teams then they are likely to go down. Aston Villa are far from being down yet as well.
I don't know if the time lag before finishing the table will make things even more difficult. It is going to be very apparent very quickly after the first couple of games that Premier League status is very much in the balance and every game will be like a cup final. It is the immediacy and finality of these nine games which will probably capture fans memories for the next couple of seasons, as I think this season will be defined by these games. There hasn't been a season like it and let's hope we never have to go through this again. But if AFCB are successful and come out of this with their Premier League status in tact, what will the celebrations be like? It will be celebration at home for the fans, but social distancing will be almost impossible for the players when that final whistle goes.
This week we have seen the likes of Arsenal, West Ham, Brighton and Spurs all deciding that their players need to start returning to the training grounds. But others like Watford's Chairman have said it is too soon, and the players that are able to train at their club's training ground are only able to do personal training on their own. Where does this leave AFCB?
Do AFCB have to start asking their players to come in to train at Kings Park?
TalkSport did a survey on club's positions and with Kings Park closed off to recreation it doesn't look like AFCB are easily going to get a go ahead to get back to their training ground. But will other teams gain an advantage by getting back in the groove earlier? They may do and it may make little difference, but once one looks like they are benefitting, other clubs will want to follow like sheep. I suspect Bournemouth will ask to start up training again, if more than half of the Premier League clubs are doing this.
At the end of the day, nobody wants to get left behind, and the league is so competitive that the owners have to be seen to be giving their teams the best chance of having a good finish if the league resumes. Bournemouth might look most closely at the other bottom five clubs. With Brighton and West Ham already looking to start up their training, it may be thought that the Cherries wont want too many others around their league place starting up before them. Yet, the club may be more concerned with the teams they still have to play and how quickly they return, one of which is Spurs.
Whatever AFCB decide it has to be what is the best decision for them and their players. The club has to see how much training the players are doing in self-isolation and whether they could do more if thy are in a big field, not far from their team-mates. Is it psychologically good to be around fellow players? Probably yes, but once players go back, they have to make sure they can do something worthwhile on the training ground or the players will soon tire of having to go in if they can't train fully as a team.
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In other news, France has postponed its football and major sporting events until September, effectively ending any chance for Ligue 1 resuming this season. The Bundesliga (Germany) is looking to start behind closed-doors in June and La Liga (Spain) is set to restart training on 4 May. Meanwhile, Fifa's Chief Medical doctor, Michel d'Hooghe, has also warned that football should not try to restart too early.
Bournemouth should be pleased about the point that they took off Arsenal at Dean Court. The big games are coming up in their next six games. These are the very winnable matches and if Bournemouth don't pick up points in the first month of the new year, it will be hard not to keep out of the bottom three.
Every point helps.
The signs that I see are that the Cherries are ready for the fight. It was good to see Steve Cook return to the team and not seem hampered by his wrist injury. Harry Wilson was also available again, and the team had a stronger bench than they have done in the last few weeks.
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The defence has been holding up well despite changing members yet again with Simpson playing out of position on the left. Diego Rico will be back for the next game against Brighton & Hove Albion and the team was close to getting a clean sheet against Arsenal.
Where I still feel Bournemouth are struggling is in the goals department. Dan Gosling is not going to pop up with a goal every game, and he needs others to be anticipating as well as he does when he is in the box. More gambling and incisive play in the opposition box is required and as it is Brighton up next perhaps Eddie Howe will show the team how well they did that last year at Brighton with the 0-5 away win.
Three points are going to be extremely valuable now and a couple of wins would push Bournemouth back ahead of several teams that have recently past them. The points have to come now though. Fall behind at this stage and the Cherries might find it very hard to recover and they don't need to give any incentive to Aston Villa and West Ham who are just behind the Cherries now.
Eddie Howe didn't hide from criticising his players when he talked about the continued losing run. The players were at fault for the second goal at Liverpool and not doing their jobs from a throw in, and it's clear that Eddie wants to make his players aware that they are making it harder for themselves at times.
The break might have come at a good time for AFCB.
The mood in the camp might not be overly high or low at the moment. The table shows Bournemouth are still sitting handily in mid-table and they have games to play to make this a good season. There is no distraction about cups or any further transfer windows. It's all about the Premier League and in this league you have to be at your best to stop the best teams.
Bournemouth were fortunate to come up against Chelsea when they were not at their best and unfortunate that they played Liverpool when they were on top form. The players need to feel annoyed though to work harder at their game and in training there will be a real desire to do better.
The games that have gone though have gone. It is disappointing that the team have not managed to build on the wins against West Ham and Chelsea, but they have to try and keep those games in mind rather than the last two matches to try and get a win against Wolves. Bournemouth also have to look at getting their own game back on song in an attacking manner. They have not scored in the past two matches, and it's not just the defence that needs to sharpen up their act.
Few would have expected Artur Boruc to be thrust into the spotlight again as Bournemouth's keeper to face West Ham United, especially on a wet and dreary day when mistakes could happen. But Artur is a man who quietly goes about his work, and just gets the job done. In fact, Eddie Howe may be wondering why he didn't give the Polish keeper a quicker return.
Artur Boruc did extremely well to dislodge Asmir Begovic,
but can he stay there for the rest of the season?
Artur is approaching the last few years of his career, but at 38 he has sen and done it all before so coming into a game like a must win Premier League match is just an adrenalin hit to him. He has a persona that is endearing, because he looks so calm on the outside when he stands between the sticks. Before the match kicked off with West Ham he was throwing high-fives to all the players confident that he was going to have a good game and he loves the big matches. There never has been much between Boruc and Begovic in terms of shot saving in my book. If anything Boruc is perhaps the best at making the save that he really shouldn't. But on distribution and individual errors, it is Begovic that Howe has seen as the safer pair of hands for the last few months. That has changed, perhaps just because Howe needed to change something in the defence, as the bad run was getting so big that it was enveloping everything in the players minds.
Having Boruc in goal was a new focus. It told them they all had to do better or further change was coming and the defence did their very best to give Boruc as comfortable afternoon as they could. It may mean that Bournemouth have a new number one keeper for the rest of the season now, as a winning team and a team that keeps a clean sheet is something that you don't look to change. I'm really pleased that Boruc is not going to slowly bow out at AFCB, but is going to give it his absolute all and make it difficult for Begovic or any other keeper to take the shirt away from him. Transfer News AFCB welcomed new signing Chris Mepham to Dean Court yesterday.
The seasons of West Ham and Bournemouth have pretty much been like the reverse of each other. At this stage they both sit reasonably well-placed having both won nine and eight matches, respectively. But the wind is behind West Ham and Bournemouth have to step up their game in the second half of this season, if they are to get that top 10 finish.
AFCB have entertaining games with West Ham on a regular basis - 2-2 draw?
West Ham are one of those teams that really suffer when their confidence is down. But Pellegrinihas got them playing and they are starting to get some really impressive results like the 1-0 win over Arsenal at the London Stadium in their last match. The signing of Nasri is also a sign that West Ham's owners are willing to back their manager in the transfer market.
With goals flowing from Anderson's boot and Chicerito always nosing around for goals, their only worry is if they can keep hold of Arnautovic. On his day Arnautovic is unplayable, but he has not travelled with the West Ham squad for this game, due to his impending transfer it seems. One player that will be on the coach is Declan Rice, who is great at breaking up play and playing it simple. He was very impressive against Arsenal in West Ham's last match. Bournemouth have to hurry him into more mistakes and try and get to West Ham's defence. Keeping pace with West Ham in the table really needs Bournemouth to get a win in this game. The form book suggests that Bournemouth could struggle, but Eddie Howe has to turnaround the form book at some point, and a home match against a team only four points ahead of AFCB is as good a time as any to get a win. AFCB Home Form LWLWD West Ham Away Form DWWLL Question and Answers with West Ham Till I Die Looking at training this week, I didn't see David Brooks, so perhaps he is ill and Eddie is keeping it quiet. Wilson may be a late fitness test but he was moving very well from what I saw so may be he will start. There are still few attacking options on the bench with Solanke likely to be out of contention, and with Sam Surridge only able to play for two clubs in one season, AFCB will look to loan him out or give him a permanent move this January.
The goals were not forthcoming at Everton and Bournemouth missed their top marksman in the match with Josh King and Junior Stanislas drawing a blank. The form of King may start to get questioned if he continues to find himself not getting any clear chances, but Eddie Howe knows that he has to wait for Solanke to be ready, and the need to get Callum Wilson back on the pitch is paramount.
AFCB are missing Callum's goals.
While it has no doubt done Callum good to have some days relaxing and away from intense training, his hamstrings have been more of a problem in this first full season he has had in a long while. He may just be finding that the winter pitches are stretching him a bit far and to get Callum just right is a priority with so many games still to come.
In a way it keeps Wilson out of the limelight if he is being rested, but Bournemouth are simply not getting any points when he is out of the team. He has become a goalscorer that is talked about in the same breath as Marcus Rashford or harry Kane and for Bournemouth to have a striker of that quality they can't afford to have him sitting out of games. Burnley, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Southampton all have Bournemouth in their sights now and the West ham match is perhaps Bournemouth's last chance to really pull themselves back into contention for a crack at the top 10. A fit Callum Wilson gives all the players a lift and the home crowd will fancy Bournemouth's chances if Callum is on the pitch on Saturday, West ham see him as a Nemesis. But if he has to miss this game as well, the fill in choices for Howe are limited. He certainly needs a quiet word with Josh King for sure to see how the Norwegian can get on the score sheet in Callum's absence. Transfer News AFCB are all set to name Chris Mepham as their third January signing
There has been rather too many pundits telling Eddie Howe the way he should make his team play in the Premier League to get results. "What worked in the Championship won't work in the top flight" we would often here, but the kind of full pelt wide play of his wingers and full-backs ripped through the West Ham lines with exceedingly high regularity last Saturday. Moreover, the 4-4-1-1 (or 4-4-2 if you like) formation did not fail to provide the Cherries with a possession problem when most of the sides in this league have long ago abandoned such a match approach.
AFCB are looking sharp.
The Bournemouth manager simply plays to the strengths that his players have and that is to get the ball wide and switch play from side to side while looking for the penetrating runs of Wilson in particular. AFCB kept it tight against Aston Villa and Liverpool, but in both games they played with a similar desire to get forward and to try and outscore the opposition. These were close games, but the Cherries could have scored three or more goals in their first home game if they had been more successful in front of goal, and against West Ham we saw that their style of play is creating a fabulous amount of chances away from home now. It was the away performances that really galvanised the team to such a strong season in 2014/15 and on big pitches like Upton Park the Cherries have a pattern to their play that fully suits maximising the space and encouraging midfield players and full backs to push forward. AFCB are not the type of team that play for nicking 1-0 results and why should they? Just because the Premier League has many sides in it that play the percentage football - Jose Mourinho style - there is more than one way of getting results and Eddie Howe has pleasingly always looked to entertain. Yes, it does mean that good sides are likely to have periods when they might get some joy against AFCB, but if the Cherries are creating almost double the amount of chances in playing this way than the opposition why not win games 3-4, 5-2 and 2-4? The football purists on TV might not like it, but this is an entertainment business as well as a results business and AFCB fans are used to seeing great football - perhaps more teams should take a leaf out of Eddie Howe's book. I hope you are all looking forward to the home match against Leicester City today - two attacking sides going at it. It should be fun. UTCIAD! You can catch up with some more of my thoughts on today's game against Leicester City at - Leicester Til I Die. You can also look back at a Leicester World interview I gave a couple of year's ago on AFCB atLeicester City World FC.
So Deadline day is drawing to a close with just a few hours left to go. AFCB have eventually secured their main man, Yann Kermorgant from Charlton Athletic for a fee believed to be between 400k-500k, but undisclosed. We hope the striker can bang in plenty of goals for AFCB. Yann signed in time to play on Saturday so as long as the weather holds off we could see Yann take to the pitch in Red and Black this weekend. The deal is a two-and-a-half year one for the 32 year-old striker.
Of course AFCB still have to go to the Valley having had their Fourth round FA Cup tie on the day that the original fixture would have been played. I think it might be worth getting a ticket to that game as the banter on Yann might be a bit tasty, assuming there is no gentlemen's agreement for him not to play in the one (no date has yet been re-arranged yet for that fixture in case you are wondering). He's is AFCB's player after all and not on loan. By the way it's going to cost you a bit to get all those KERMORGANT letters on the back of your next shirt!
Not sure about the last goal on this video. Yann you start from -1 in an AFCB shirt!
At just gone 2pm AFCB also completed the signing of Ben Whitfield from Guiseley AFC on an 18 month deal. Another Development squad player.
Ben Whitfield also signs for the Cherries.
I do wonder what players do if they are settled at a club and don't want to be contacted during deadline day. Do they switch their mobiles off and go for a long walk? Or is the thought of going to a better paid job too much for most players? I expect there were a few Odemwingie's out there with the phone on emergency redial to their agents and the car revved up and ready to go. Hopefully the the one twitter rumour read of Ritchie being unsettled was total rubbish. There were some other rumours about (some of which I might have started – naughty me), but they did not come off. In light of Sam Allardyce's misery having been castigated by Jose Mourinho at his side's 19th Century style of football with 11 players in the box, West Ham looked destined to release some key players. I hoped that Jack Collison might be among them and that AFCB could snatch him up. Maybe we are not quite that rich yet, but there is a bit of time left. The good news is that Eunan O'Kane is likely to be staying at AFCB for the foreseeable future so we don't need Collison at this point in time. There were no bids for any of AFCB's players to my knowledge which can only be seen as a good thing from a fans point of view. I think most of us are pretty happy with the squad staying together. I do wonder who made that grey deadline day scarf. I imagine it was sent to all 92 league clubs. That was a missed opportunity for me to have Cherry Chimes on it! To be honest I am quite partial to Jim White's signed yellow tie that was being given away on SkySport's News.
In the years before the Premier League it would be unimaginable that the top teams would play weakened teams in FA Cup matches. It was the competition that everyone wanted to win, but these days I'm not so sure. While a good Cup run for AFCB would be exciting and loved by the majority of the clubs' fans, I don't think the Premiership clubs view it in the same light unless they reach the final stages of the competition.
AFCB could have filled the stadium twice over for this game and possibly even more.
I would like to say that all the 92 clubs would like to win the FA Cup. But priorities dictate or rather money. Even for the Cherries a cup run is nice but perhaps not as essential as it was when the club was in League One or Two. If AFCB go out in this fourth round they will have had a couple of FA Cup fixtures and some TV revenue which is not too bad, but a replay at Anfield would be the real money spinner or a win and a good draw in the next round.
But what is in it for Liverpool? The chance to get a few injuries to dent their Premiership title challenge? An opportunity to blood a few younger players? It is certainly not a money spinner for them or their fans to come down to the south coast to a small ground. The problem with the FA Cup for the bigger teams is that it only offers a Europa League spot. It's not a great enough incentive and therefore we can expect a weakened Liverpool team to face the Cherries. The last thing Liverpool will want is a replay.
The problem for the cup is when big teams play weakened teams the giant killings are not such surprises any more. If AFCB win against Liverpool it may grab a few headlines, but will national media care who AFCB would get in the next round? I doubt it, unless it was Man City, Chelsea or Arsenal.
In the top echelons of English football it is the Premier League that has all the status and glory now. Gone are the days of the wall to wall morning coverage of the build up to the FA Cup final. I would never miss a final in my youth but now I have seen so many disappointing finals that I won't always watch it unless there are players of interest that I want to see. That is why it would be good for the FA Cup to see teams like AFCB who have never made it to the latter stages of the cup to progress. Our fans still value the cup and all its traditions. It would be the biggest thing in the club's history just to make the semi-final.
I would hope that for some Liverpool fans the FA Cup means as much as it ever did and we hope they bring their singing voices to Dean Court. But I suspect for Liverpool though and the majority of their fans it's seen as an extra competition, an extra few matches, more cost, more chance of injuries and just another final if they get there, probably against one of the other top six Premiership clubs. That's why last year's competition was so refreshing with Wigan picking up the silverware. It was unexpected and good to see, but had other clubs devalued the competition allowing Wigan an easier route to the final? Such decisions as taken by West Ham's Sam Allardyce could provide a good path through for teams like AFCB now, if Championship sides really want to do well in the competition.
Any one fancy a Nottingham Forest v AFC Bournemouth FA Cup final this year?
In this afternoon's post on Cherry Chimes I'll be asking Antione Zammer, who writes onThe Empire of The Kop website for Liverpool fans with its global audience, if the FA Cup still means as much as ever for Liverpool supporters?
Do you know when AFCB last lost a league game at home? You'll have to look back a bit because the team has managed to go unbeaten at Dean Court since 9 March 2013, when they were felled 1:2 by Doncaster Rovers in the thick sea mist. That is seven winning games in a row which will make them a match for any Championship team coming down to the south coast. While friendly games have seen West Ham and Real Madrid come away with wins, the home form of AFCB is very strong.
Blackpool, who the Cherries play next, have a similar home record. In fact all of the top 10 teams are up there because they don't drop many points at home. Leeds Utd are the only ones that have been beaten at home in the league this season and that was just a one-nil defeat against QPR who are second. Home form is they key to keeping the Cherries in a good position and with the current atmosphere around the ground on match day the players seem to be enjoying these games in front of the home crowd. The next game will be the first since our Chairman, Eddie Mitchell, resigned so it could be a bit of a strange atmosphere, but I hope the club has something very positive to say before then. The appearance of new striker Tokelo Rantie being introduced to the crowd should also lift the spirits. We want to keep the positive attitude going into the next group of matches. I am trying not to look too far ahead because there are some amazing games to come and if the team keeps responding to the home crowd's passion and backing for the boys it will be a very memorable season. There is so much to enjoy now about match day and while we have to wait a few more days I hope you are already thinking about how Eddie and Jason might tackle the top of the table team. Cherry Chimes, for sure, will be doing some homework on Blackpool.
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.”
