Strange but wonderful times at Bournemouth

I've seen this guy somewhere before!

I remember last summer catching the train to the pre-match friendly at Woking. That  day I saw Wes Fogden get injured in what was his last meaningful game for the Cherries and we lost the game 2-0. The next day we would be playing Real Madrid in what was probably the most talked about friendly of the summer, but I also got to speak to Eddie Howe that day and asked him to sign a programme for me. While the team had just been defeated and I was a bit down you couldn't see any such feelings in Eddie's face. He happily signed the Stephen Purches testimonial programme for me that I had brought along from the previous week's match, and while I was wondering how AFCB were going to complete in the Championship in the current season, Eddie was calm and thoughtful with his mind already on the next game.

Who would have thought that after the pre-season series of games and the difficult early away games of this campaign that the Cherries would be sitting here five games away from the end of the season and on the brink of a top six finish? I certainly couldn't see it having lost to teams like Woking and Salisbury in pre-season, but such games improve fitness and much was leaned from the big defeats against Watford and Huddersfield as well as a certain Real Madrid.

Now I just want to take five minutes to take things in and just work out what this team has achieved so far this season. I am looking at the table and all those incredible teams that are sitting below the Cherries. Is it conceivable that Bournemouth could even start rubbing shoulders more often with teams like Liverpool, Arsenal and Man Utd? I can't even contemplate it at the moment, but I know that if it happens one day Eddie Howe will simply take it in his stride. It is strange for us as fans to be reaching such heights, but for Eddie it all seems to comes naturally although I know there is much hard work behind everything. He is one of those leaders that is just born to be in that kind of top company though and will surely become an even greater manager. 

And today we have Yeovil Town waiting to play the Cherries. Are the inflatables almost ready to make an appearance? Yeovil may not be Real Madrid but I am just as excited about seeing Bournemouth take on the Glovers as I was seeing the team play against the Spanish giants. This season suddenly means something - it's probably going to be the biggest season in the club's history and we should savour every minute. Strange times indeed - UTCIAD!

 It's match day so make sure you get your free bet from Free Bet Negotiator. 

What no football – how about non-league this weekend?

I was kindly asked by a fan to put together some information on the non-league games that AFCB supporters might be able to go and see this weekend as their are no league fixtures. While I have been keeping my eye on AFCB's progress, I've slipped behind seeing what else is going on, so let's do a bit of catch up.

AFCB had a pre-season match against Salisbury of the Conference which did not go that well for us. They have started the season with a bit of a mixed bag suffering a home defeat to Tamworth and away losses at Luton and Alfreton, but they have been picking up points against Aldershot, Welling and Halifax. They now sit 15th in the league and on Saturday they have a home game against Lincoln City who are currently 4th in the Conference. So I think this will be a big test for Salisbury and quite an interesting game to go and see. Ou can visit the Salisbury Website to get more details.

Aldershot are at home against Macclesfield. The shots have had a hard start to the new campaign having been relegated, suffered administration and had a 10 point deduction. They sit bottom of the Skrill Conference Premier but have caught up to have –3 points and a plus one goal difference. Aldershot have registered good wins against Dartford and Woking at home already and have drawn with Grimsby away, while only losing narrowly 0:1 to table toppers Cambridge. I expect them to get the three points against Macclesfield who only sit six points above them in the table.

Woking may be a bit far north for some to want to travel bas they have an away Conference match against 13th placed Alfreton. Woking are another side that had a victory over the Cherries this summer – I can see a pattern emerging. While Woking have not done as well as Salisbury in their first six games they did beat Chester away and have had a draw with Lincoln City at home. Again you can find out more about the match day at Woking's website.

The Conference South also has a fixture list including Eastleigh v Bromley. Fanborough were due to play Dover at home, but I think this game is postponed as the club has league membership problems. Unfortunately, Lee Bradbury's Havant and Waterlooville are away at Bishop's Stortford and Dorchester Town are away at Concord Rangers, from whom AFCB signed Lyle Taylor a few seasons ago. Basingstoke are away at Whitehawk, near Brighton which could be a good day out.

I expect many AFCB fans will be looking at who the Dolphins are playing in the Calor league. Well Poole Town are also away at Hitchin Town in Hertfordshire, while Bashley are away at Corby Town. Closer in this league include AFC Totton at home against St Albans. Weymouth FC are away at Hinckley Utd.

Dropping down to the Sydenhams Football League (Wessex) Premier you'll find that Christchurch FC are away to Lymington Town and Verwood Town are at home to  Bemerton Heath Harlequins. Romsey Town are at home to AFC Portchester and Winchester City will be at home to Whitchurch Utd. New Milton Town also play at home to Andover Town. There are no fixtures for Bournemouth Poppies or Brockenhurst.
Wimborne Town play in the Southern league and will be at home to Cinderford Town. Get more details at the Magpie's website just £5 for adults at Cuthbury.

I expect there are some other games out there this weekend that I have missed off locally, so if you want a shout out for a club email me at bellp2013@gmail.com with a few lines and I'll gladly post it on Rival Lines to help boost your gate.

A Woking weekend for Cherries

The Cherries travel up to Woking just some 24 hours or so before taking on Real Madrid at the Goldsands stadium. While the Cherries have said that they will take the first team squad to Kingfield it is not know how long the players will get on the pitch in the heat wave which is currently hitting the country.

Lots of substitutes can be expected with two games for the Cherries this weekend. It was mentioned on the official AFCB site that striker Mohamed Coulibaly could make his Cherries debut in this game. I suppose those not likely to play against Real Madrid are favourites to feature in the line up for Woking and could include: Jalal, Tubbs, Addison, Matthews, Zubar, Hughes, Cornick and Partington - if they are not injured.

Former favourites at Woking include Shwan Jalal, Harry Arter and Darryl Flahavan who has provided an interview in the match day programme. Another admired player by Woking is Jayden Stockley who spent last season on loan at the Surrey club. The Cards, as Woking are known, play in the Football Conference Premier division, having finished 12th last season when the division was called the Blue Square Bet Premier. Bradley Bubb was the club's top goalscorer on 20, while Kevin Betsy and our own Jayden Stockley came in both with 14 goals.

Woking has a good goalscoring record but their weakness was in defence last season. They let in 81 goals which was only surpassed by three teams in the division, two of which went down.

The game on Saturday kicks off at 3.00pm. You can find the ground location on the Woking FC website.

AFC Bournemouth say there are a few extra  Real Madrid tickets left on sale tomorrow morning!

Which games to see in July?

With the fixtures firmed up and the pre-season friendlies about to begin I imagine that most fans are starting to look at their bank accounts to see how many games they might be able to go and see in the coming months. The headache of missing the opening league fixtures would be hard to bear for life long supporters of the club and I do hope that the majority of you will manage to attend the opening Championship fixture against Charlton Athletic as it will be a very special day.

Before that though we have the pre-season games and I expect that it will be harder for most to attend many of these matches if you are also hopping to go to some of the league and cup away games next season. I do hope the pre-season attendances are not too low. While the FC Zurich and West Ham (Stephen Purches' Testimonial) stand out as the glam-ties some of the shine may now have been taken off of the Pompey fixture with AFCB drawing them in the Capitol One Cup. Still a derby is a derby and I would expect the Pompey game to be one of the most keenly fought over matches along with Sean O'Driscoll bringing Bristol City down to play AFCB.

Many of the pre-season fixtures will be local to Bournemouth supporters so I hope that some of you can provide us all with a summary of who you feel was fit and who was struggling in the games that you see. For my part I hope to see West Ham and Woking in action against the Cherries in July.

With only 50 tickets going on sale in the first batch for the FC Zurich game, the lucky supporters that get to sample the Swiss way of playing the beautiful game will surely be in for a treat.

Planning for which games to put a tick against and which to opt out of is a tough experience. I don't want to miss a match.