Shock Results: AFC Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United (December 2015)

Goalscorers: Junior Stanislas 2, Marouane Fellaini 24, Josh King 54

Teams:

AFC Bournemouth: Artur Boruc, Steve Cook, Charlie Daniels, Simon Francis, Adam Smith, Harry Arter (Eunan O’Kane 86), Andrew Surman, Dan Gosling, Matt Ritchie, Junior Stanislas, Josh King (Glenn Murray 65)

Manchester United: David de Gea, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Daley Blind, Paddy McNair (Phil Jones 90), Guillermo Varela, Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini (Nick Powell 74), Jesse Lingard (Andreas Pereira 31), Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Memphis Depay

Referee: Anthony Taylor, Attendance: 11,334

Confidence was seeping through the AFC Bournemouth squad ahead of this fixture in December 2015. Eddie Howe’s side had shown tremendous resilience to rescue a 3-3 home draw with Everton a fortnight earlier before pushing Jose Mourinho closer to the exit door at Chelsea with a surprise win at Stamford Bridge.

They still weren’t fancied to get a result against a wounded Manchester United. They were bound to exact some kind of reaction to their dismal exit from the group stages of the UEFA Champions League in midweek to Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg. Louis van Gaal was hamstrung by injuries to several of his key players, including Chris Smalling, Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney.

Bournemouth were keen to make a fast start and with a bit of help from the windy conditions on the south coast, they took the lead inside two minutes. Junior Stanislas took a corner which curled directly into the back of the net. It was his third goal in two matches and all the Bournemouth players immediately ran towards midfielder Harry Arter, who was playing just days after his partner lost their child at birth. All of Bournemouth’s players wore black armbands as a mark of respect and this showed their terrific team unity for a teammate’s personal grief.

Question marks for the opening goal would be aimed at David de Gea. The usually reliable Spaniard had completely misjudged Stanislas’ corner and whilst Anthony Martial’s lack of intent in helping out at the far post didn’t help, De Gea didn’t need anyone to tell him he shouldn’t have been beaten directly from a corner.

Manchester United equalised in the 24^th minute. Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini scored a scruffy goal from close-range. To show the lack of finishing edge from Van Gaal’s side, it was just their sixth Premier League goal in their last seven outings. The out-of-form Martial squandered two great opportunities to hand the Red Devils the lead and his wastefulness would cost his team dear in the second half. From another set-piece, Bournemouth regained their lead. Matt Ritchie played a corner across the box and no defender took responsibility to mark Josh King. His half-volley had an awkward look to it but it nestled in the bottom corner and the Cherries were back infront.

This time, there was no response. Fellaini looked despondent when he was replaced for youngster Nick Powell in the 74^th minute and the scoreline could have been even greater if the hero of Stamford Bridge, Glenn Murray, taken two late opportunities of his own.

This result compounded a miserable week for everyone connected with Manchester United and Van Gaal was about to face serious questions about his job. For Howe, the sky was the limit and these unexpected back-to-back successes spearheaded the Cherries clear of the bottom three. They would finish 16^th in their debut Premier League campaign.

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Memorable Matches: AFC Bournemouth 3-3 Everton (November 2015)

Goalscorers: Ramiro Funes Mori 25, Romelu Lukaku 36, Adam Smith 80, Junior Stanislas 87, 90+8, Ross Barkley 90+6

Teams:

AFC Bournemouth: Adam Federici (Ryan Allsop 45), Charlie Daniels, Steve Cook (Adam Smith 45), Sylvain Distin, Simon Francis, Dan Gosling, Andrew Surman, Harry Arter (Glenn Murray 76), Matt Ritchie, Junior Stanislas, Josh King

Everton: Tim Howard, Seamus Coleman, Brendan Galloway, Ramiro Funes Mori, John Stones, Gareth Barry, James McCarthy (Tom Cleverley 68), Ross Barkley, Gerard Deulofeu (Aaron Lennon 86), Arouna Kone (Darron Gibson 90), Romelu Lukaku

Referee: Kevin Friend, Attendance: 11,228

This was AFC Bournemouth’s debut season in the Premier League and manager Eddie Howe’s demand to play attractive football meant the supporters were going to be in for plenty of thrills and spills. They played Everton in November 2015 in what turned out to be an astonishing match.

Everton went into the game in great goalscoring form, having scored 11 goals in their last three league encounters and they did a lot of the early pressing. Adam Federici had to deny forwards Arouna Kone and Romelu Lukaku twice before the visitors took the lead on 25 minutes. Argentine defender Ramiro Funes Mori headed home into the roof of the net from a corner. It was 2-0 nine minutes later. Gerard Deulofeu found Lukaku who demonstrated his power to hold off Steve Cook’s advances, before driving in a shot past Federici’s near post. It was his 10^th goal of the Premier League season – matching his tally from the previous campaign.

Bournemouth looked in trouble and were forced into two half-time changes, most notably in-goal where Ryan Allsop came on for his Premier League debut after injury forced Federici off. They rallied in the second half with Charlie Daniels testing Tim Howard’s reflexes before Adam Smith set-up a grandstand final 10 minutes.

Everton failed to properly clear a corner and from 25-yards out, the full-back tried his luck and fired a shot into the top corner for only his second-ever goal for Bournemouth. He was given the space and properly punished Everton who were getting lax with the comfortable advantage they held. With three minutes left, it looked like the Cherries had rescued an improbable point. Josh King drove down the right-hand side, exposing youngster Brendan Galloway and he squared the ball back for Junior Stanislas to fire in the equaliser. Bournemouth had shown tremendous spirit but there was still time for more late drama.

Five minutes of stoppage-time were signalled by the fourth official and with what looked like being the last attack of the match, Everton regained their lead. Kone and Seamus Coleman were involved in the build-up and despite a good challenge to deny the Republic of Ireland international from ex-Everton defender Sylvain Distin, Ross Barkley was in the right place and his shot crept past the youngster Alsop’s defences at the near post.

However, there was incredibly more time added on by referee Kevin Friend and in the eighth minute of stoppage-time, Smith found Daniels in space on the left-hand side. The left-back delivered an inch-perfect cross and Stanislas connected perfectly with a flying header which gave Howard no chance. This concluded an extraordinary finish to one of the best matches of the 2015-2016 season.

The Clubs: AFC Bournemouth

All data correct upto 23^rd February 2018

All-Time Premier League Record

Played	Won	Drew	Lost	Scored	Conceded	Goal Difference	Points	No of Seasons
103	31	26	46	131	175	-44	119	3

 

Most Premier League Appearances

Player	Appearances Total
Steve Cook	97
Charlie Daniels	95
Simon Francis	95
Adam Smith	90
Josh King	89
Dan Gosling	78
Andrew Surman	77
Harry Arter	69
Artur Boruc	67
Marc Pugh	64

 

Most Premier League Goals

Player	Goals Total
Josh King	25
Callum Wilson	18
Junior Stanislas	13
Benik Afobe	10
Steve Cook	8
Charlie Daniels	8
Ryan Fraser	7
Dan Gosling	6
Marc Pugh	5
Nathan Ake	5

 

Biggest Premier League Victories

Match	Date	Season
AFC Bournemouth 6-1 Hull City	15th October 2016	2016-2017
AFC Bournemouth 4-0 Middlesbrough	22nd April 2017	2016-2017
AFC Bournemouth 4-0 Huddersfield Town	18th November 2017	2017-2018
AFC Bournemouth 3-0 Norwich City	16th January 2016	2015-2016
Swansea City 0-3 AFC Bournemouth	31st December 2016	2016-2017
Chelsea 0-3 AFC Bournemouth	31st January 2018	2017-2018
Newcastle United 1-3 AFC Bournemouth	5th March 2016	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 2-0 Sunderland	19th September 2015	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 2-0 Southampton	1st March 2016	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 2-0 Swansea City	18th March 2017	2016-2017

 

Worst Premier League Defeats

Match	Date	Season
Manchester City 5-1 AFC Bournemouth	17th October 2015	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 1-5 Tottenham Hotspur	25th October 2015	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 0-4 Manchester City	2nd April 2016	2015-2016
Manchester City 4-0 AFC Bournemouth	17th September 2016	2016-2017
Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 AFC Bournemouth	15th April 2017	2016-2017
AFC Bournemouth 0-4 Liverpool FC	17th December 2017	2017-2018
Manchester City 4-0 AFC Bournemouth	23rd December 2017	2017-2018
Everton 6-3 AFC Bournemouth	4th February 2017	2016-2017
AFC Bournemouth 1-4 Chelsea	23rd April 2016	2015-2016
Huddersfield Town 4-1 AFC Bournemouth	11th February 2018	2017-2018

 

Managers

Manager	No of Seasons managed	Left the Club
Eddie Howe	3

 

Highest Home Attendances

Match	Date	Attendance Figure	Season
AFC Bournemouth 2-1 Burnley	13th May 2017	11,388	2016-2017
AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Liverpool FC	17th April 2016	11,386	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 3-2 West Ham United	11th March 2017	11,369	2016-2017
AFC Bournemouth 1-4 Chelsea	23rd April 2016	11,365	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 0-2 Arsenal	7th February 2016	11,357	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 1-3 Manchester United	14th August 2016	11,355	2016-2017
AFC Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United	12th December 2015	11,334	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 1-5 Tottenham Hotspur	25th October 2015	11,332	2015-2016
AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Everton	24th September 2016	11,291	2016-2017
AFC Bournemouth 0-2 Crystal Palace	31st January 2017	11,286	2016-2017

 

Intro

In 2008, AFC Bournemouth entered administration and a year later, escaped relegation to the non-league on the final day of the season. Seven years on, they were playing in the top-flight in one of the most remarkable journeys in recent times. Eddie Howe’s side are always entertaining to watch and he has never altered his style of play. It saw them finish a fantastic ninth in the table in just their second season in the Premier League.

 

2015-2016

Having won promotion to the top-flight as Championship champions, AFC Bournemouth were a breath of fresh air in 2015-2016 and comfortably survived in their first season at this level. After two narrow opening defeats to Aston Villa and Liverpool FC, they defeated West Ham United 4-3 at Upton Park to register their first Premier League victory. Callum Wilson not only scored the Cherries first goal at this level but he scored the first hat-trick of the season.

Back-to-back 5-1 defeats to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur left Eddie Howe’s side in the bottom three at the end of October and they were having no luck with injuries. ACL injuries ended the season of summer arrival Tyrone Mings and would put Wilson and Max Gradel out for many months. Bournemouth rallied though in early December, pulling off stunning wins in successive weekends. First, Glenn Murray’s header off the bench defeated freefalling champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. That was followed by a home win over Manchester United with ex-Red Devil Josh King scoring the winner.

They always remained outside the bottom three from that point onwards and even hit the dizzy heights of 11^th spot with a 2-1 away win at Aston Villa in April. Despite collecting just one point from their last five games, Bournemouth’s season had been a qualified success which also saw them break their transfer record to sign Benik Afobe from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

 

2016-2017

Bournemouth’s 127^th year of existence started badly with defeats in the first two matches for the second successive season. Their first win came in their fourth match, with the returning Callum Wilson scoring the winning goal against West Bromwich Albion.

In October, newly-promoted Hull City were well-beaten 6-1 in what is the club’s biggest Premier League victory. On-loan defender Nathan Ake’s header a month later heralded a 1-0 success at Stoke to see Howe’s side chalk up their first away win of the season. Two weeks later, they were involved in a sensational comeback against Liverpool FC.

Liverpool arrived unbeaten since the second weekend of the campaign and led 2-0 and 3-1 but Bournemouth’s resolve, resilience and team spirit were shown to the maximum as they won 4-3 with Ake scoring the winner in stoppage-time. His departure back to parent club Chelsea in January upset the balance of the club in the early weeks of 2017 and a run of five defeats in seven games put them in the thick of a relegation battle.

A point at Old Trafford in early March started a renaissance in the closing weeks that saw the Cherries move firmly away from any danger. This was despite a second ACL injury for the luckless Wilson and the lack of any consistency from Arsenal loanee Jack Wilshere. A broken leg in mid-April ended Wilshere’s campaign prematurely where he got some useful match practice but didn’t make the impact supporters hoped for on his arrival.

With 16 goals, Josh King sparkled and he scored his maiden hat-trick at this level in a 3-2 win over West Ham United. His late goal on the final Saturday in April at The Stadium of Light also condemned Sunderland to relegation. 11 points from their last five games saw Bournemouth finish a fantastic ninth in the table, ahead of the likes of West Ham, Leicester City and Stoke.

 

2017-2018

Hopes were high for Bournemouth’s third Premier League term which saw the return of Ake on a permanent deal from Chelsea and the experienced Jermain Defoe added to the striking options. Once again, they made a slow start and picked up no points from their first four matches.

Victory in a local derby match with Brighton & Hove Albion on Friday Night Football was the first step in the right direction, with Defoe scoring his first goal to win the match. Wilson returned from his latest lay-off and reminded everyone of his qualities with a fantastic hat-trick in a 4-0 victory over Huddersfield Town in November. However, Bournemouth would spend Christmas in the bottom three after successive 4-0 losses to Liverpool FC and Manchester City.

2018 looks far rosier. Bournemouth put together their best-ever run of seven matches unbeaten before a recent 4-1 reverse at Huddersfield. This included a stunning 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge over Chelsea. The journey to the golden sky for the highly-rated Howe and his exciting side continues.

Shock Results: Chelsea 0-1 AFC Bournemouth (December 2015)

Goalscorers: Glenn Murray 82

Teams:

Chelsea: Thibaut Courtois, Abdul Baba Rahman (Bertrand Traore 83), Gary Cahill, Branislav Ivanovic, Kurt Zouma, Nemanja Matic, Cesc Fabregas (Loic Remy 83), Oscar (Diego Costa 45), Willian, Eden Hazard, Pedro

AFC Bournemouth: Artur Boruc, Steve Cook, Charlie Daniels, Simon Francis, Adam Smith, Harry Arter, Dan Gosling, Andrew Surman, Matt Ritchie, Junior Stanislas, Josh King (Glenn Murray 80)

Referee: Mike Jones, Attendance: 41,631

Having cruised to the title in 2014-2015, Chelsea were making a real mess of their title defence. They had already suffered seven defeats and went into this game sitting in a lowly 14^th place in the table, having amassed just 15 points from their first 14 matches.

Jose Mourinho’s side had at least tightened up defensively ahead of the visit of newly-promoted AFC Bournemouth. They’d gone 306 minutes without conceding in all competitions. Bournemouth had shown great resilience in coming from behind twice to take a point off Everton in their last match. However, Eddie Howe’s side were in the drop zone and without a league win since September.

Mourinho had controversially left Diego Costa out of his starting line-up for the trip to Tottenham Hotspur a week earlier and he kept the Spaniard on the bench for this one too, electing to play the out-of-form Eden Hazard in a ‘false no.9’ position. However, the home side offered very little in the first half and Costa was therefore summoned from the bench at the interval.

Bournemouth could have been ahead before half-time, as Josh King was denied on no fewer than three occasions by the returning Thibaut Courtois, who was back in the team after three months out through injury. Costa’s impact was almost immediate on his arrival. First, he narrowly missed making contact on a vicious cross from Branislav Ivanovic. Next, the temperamental Spaniard had an effort blocked by visiting goalkeeper Artur Boruc. Then, he claimed for a penalty when his cross was blocked by the recovering Simon Francis with his arm. As it wasn’t a natural movement, his protests fell on deaf ears and Mike Jones waved play on.

Bournemouth looked comfortable throughout, driven on by Harry Arter, who was immense in central midfield. He managed to take control of the game, neutralising any dangerous threat that might have been posed by Cesc Fabregas. Sensing there might be an opportunity to take more than a point back to the south coast; Howe threw on his summer signing Glenn Murray with 10 minutes left to play. 99 seconds later, he had made the decisive impact.

Junior Stanislas produced a wonderful corner which Courtois flapped at, under pressure from Dan Gosling. Steve Cook stabbed the ball back across the face of the goal and Murray beat his teammate Charlie Daniels to the crucial contact, heading the ball into the back of the net and sending the away supporters into ecstasy. There were doubts about whether Murray was offside when he connected with Cook’s pass but the goal counted.

Bournemouth comfortably saw out the final 10 minutes to record one of the greatest results in the club’s history. They finished 16^th whilst Chelsea recovered from this defeat to scrape into the top 10. However, it would be without Jose Mourinho. He was sacked less than a fortnight after this shock defeat – Chelsea’s first at home to a newly-promoted side since Charlton Athletic won in April 2001.

Premier League Files: Matt Ritchie

Premier League Career: Portsmouth (2010), AFC Bournemouth (2015-2016), Newcastle United (2017-PRESENT)

After the briefest taste of Premier League football with Portsmouth in 2010, Matt Ritchie was part of AFC Bournemouth’s historic first campaign at this level and is back in the top-flight this season as he looks to play a role in keeping Newcastle United away from relegation.

Ritchie got his big break with Portsmouth. A part of their academy since the age of 13, Ritchie made his Premier League in April 2010. It was largely down to the club’s crippling injury list and the huge financial strain they were in too. He played 79 minutes in the defeat to Wigan Athletic and admitted it was a dream come true to make his debut for the club where he’d done all of his education with.

It looked like he was set for a bright future at Fratton Park but soon had a disagreement with new manager Steve Cotterill and was frozen out of his plans. He was loaned out to Swindon Town, making 16 appearances before the Robins’ agreed to make the loan move a permanent deal. Although Swindon were relegated to League Two at the end of the campaign, he was awarded the club’s Player of the Season award.

Ritchie remained a Swindon player until January 2013 and worked under Paolo di Canio, who was the club’s manager. His performances raised eyebrows with higher-profile clubs and AFC Bournemouth were among those admirers. Di Canio insisted he would not be sold, claiming he was worth £2 million. In March 2012, Ritchie won the League Two Player of the Year and was one of Swindon’s two players in the PFA Team of the Year.

Bournemouth eventually got their man in January 2013, after Swindon’s board decided their offer was too good to turn down. Di Canio was furious with the hierarchy and ultimately, Ritchie’s departure would turn out to be the catalyst for his exit from the County Ground. Ritchie joined a team in peak form and his first goal for the club in a 4-1 win over Bury starting a run of eight successive victories, shooting the club towards the Championship.

In 2014-2015, Matt won international recognition from Scotland. Despite being born in Gosport, Ritchie qualified to play for the Scots through his Scottish father and he made his debut in a friendly match against Northern Ireland. In club football, he had a sizzling campaign, scoring 11 times and setting up 13 further strikes for his teammates. Bournemouth went up as champions and would be playing Premier League football for the first time in their history – just six years after being close to relegation to the Conference.

His first top-flight strike was a venomous volley to help the Cherries beat Sunderland 2-0 in September 2015 and earn them their first home win in the Premier League. A month later, Ritchie scored the club’s fastest goal of the season, netting inside a minute against Tottenham Hotspur although it ended in a horrid 5-1 home defeat.

Bournemouth finished 16^th in their first Premier League campaign, with Matt chipping in with four goals, so it was a surprise to see him drop down a division to Newcastle United in July 2016, signing a five-year deal to move to Tyneside. He scored 16 goals in all competitions, only being outscored by Dwight Gayle as Newcastle comfortably earned promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

As of January 2018, Ritchie has featured 23 times for Newcastle in the Premier League and has created more chances for his teammates than any other Magpies’ player this season. He has the quality to change matches with dangerous crosses and inch-perfect passes. However, he hasn’t scored yet this season and it will help Rafa Benitez out in their relegation battle to see him rediscover his goalscoring touch as the season progresses.

Memorable Matches: AFC Bournemouth 4-3 Liverpool FC (December 2016)

Goalscorers: Sadio Mane 20, Divock Origi 22, Callum Wilson 56 PEN, Emre Can 64, Ryan Fraser 76, Steve Cook 78, Nathan Ake 90

Teams:

AFC Bournemouth: Artur Boruc, Adam Smith, Nathan Ake, Steve Cook, Simon Francis, Harry Arter, Dan Gosling (Benik Afobe 75), Jack Wilshere, Junior Stanislas (Ryan Fraser 55), Josh King (Jordon Ibe 45), Callum Wilson

Liverpool FC: Loris Karius, Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Lucas, James Milner, Emre Can, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi, Sadio Mane (Adam Lallana 69)

Referee: Bobby Madley, Attendance: 11,183

Liverpool FC arrived on the south coast in December 2016 on a 15-match unbeaten run in all competitions. Jurgen Klopp’s side were the closest challengers to league leaders Chelsea. They were expected to dispatch AFC Bournemouth fairly comfortably, having won three meetings against the Cherries in 2015-2016. That was despite missing Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho and centre-back Joel Matip due to injury.

The match was going to the formbook at half-time as the Reds charged into a 2-0 lead. Sadio Mane opened the scoring, scrambling the ball home in the 20^th minute. Two minutes later, Mane had a big part to play in the lead being doubled, robbing Harry Arter of possession. He found Jordan Henderson and the LFC captain played a ball through for Divock Origi. Origi avoided a rash challenge from Artur Boruc and guided the ball into an empty net.

Eddie Howe’s side needed a response in the second half. He brought Ryan Fraser off the bench for Junior Stanislas and within 60 seconds of his arrival, the deficit had been reduced. Fraser was brought down in the penalty area by James Milner. Callum Wilson kept his composure to make the scoreline 2-1. Despite that intervention, Liverpool still looked in command and restored their two-goal advantage midway through the second half. Again, the dominant Mane was heavily involved, dispossessing Nathan Ake and teeing up Emre Can for a beautiful curling shot into Boruc’s net. With a 3-1 lead and job seemingly done, Klopp elected to bring Mane off. As soon the Senegalese was withdrawn, Bournemouth’s game sparkled into life with what turned out to be one of the most breathtaking comebacks of recent times in the Premier League.

Fraser scored his first-ever Premier League goal on 76 minutes with a shot from the edge of the area which Loris Karius could have done better with. Two minutes later, it was 3-3. Steve Cook controlled the ball with his back superbly, turned like a forward and thumped the ball into the net to level the scores. Bournemouth looked like the more probable winners and the comeback was complete in injury-time. Cook tried his luck again. Karius made a complete mess of the strike, fumbling the ball straight into the path of the gleeful Ake, who tapped home to send the Vitality Stadium into scenes of euphoria.

Bournemouth would finish a fantastic ninth in their second Premier League season whilst Liverpool still managed a top-four finish but this collapse would be an indication that Klopp’s team were not the finished article yet.

The Managers: Eddie Howe

Premier League Clubs Managed: AFC Bournemouth (2015-PRESENT)

Having just turned 40, 2017-2018 is only Eddie Howe’s third Premier League season. He rejoined the club for a second spell as manager in 2012 and has achieved already so much. Eddie is considered one of the brightest English managers in the game at the moment.

In his playing days, he operated as a defender, winning two caps for the England Under-21s in 1998 and spending the majority of his career playing for AFC Bournemouth. He was Portsmouth’s first signing in 2002 under Harry Redknapp, when Pompey paid £400,000 to Bournemouth to sign Howe.

Wretched injuries restricted him to just two appearances for the club and he even had a loan period with Swindon Town which saw him fail to play for them. Bournemouth took him back on-loan at the start of the 2004-2005 campaign and the move eventually became permanent. After over 270 league appearances, he retired from playing in 2007 as knee problems eventually took their toll and he moved into coaching with the reserve squad.

Saving Bournemouth from extinction

He did have a brief spell away from the club in 2008 after Kevin Bond was dismissed as manager but Eddie returned quickly into a youth coach role under new manager Jimmy Quinn. When Quinn was fired himself on New Years’ Eve 2008, Howe became caretaker manager. Even though he lost both of his matches in interim charge, he was given the job permanently in January 2009 and despite starting the season with a 17-point deduction due to being in administration, he managed to keep the League Two club in the Football League.

2009-2010 saw him make his first significant mark with promotion to League One achieved despite the club still being under a transfer embargo. Peterborough United made an approach for him but Howe turned the job down, saying “My heart is here and I think everybody knows how much I love the club.”

In January 2011, with Bournemouth doing well back in League One, several clubs made approaches, seeing Eddie’s clear talents. Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic were both very keen to acquire him but once again, he turned down those approaches. However, five days after resisting those clubs, Burnley came in for him and compensation was agreed between the clubs. After taking charge of his 100^th match in a 2-1 loss at Colchester, Howe told his players he was leaving, unable to resist the chance to manage at an ambitious Championship club.

A tough challenge with Burnley

When he arrived, Burnley were 10^th and only six points off the play-offs. They improved to eighth place but disappointed in his first full season at Turf Moor, struggling to 13^th spot in the final standings. However, he did bring in the likes of Ben Mee, Kieran Trippier and Sam Vokes to the Lancashire club and set them in good stead for the future.

On a personal basis, things were very tough. His mother passed away and he felt he needed to be closer to his family. With the Clarets sitting 16^th in the Championship table in October 2012, he left the club for personal reasons and returned to Bournemouth with the Cherries sitting in the bottom four of League One. Whilst he was away, major investment had gone into the club to improve the stadium and training facilities.

There was an instant impact on Eddie’s return to Dean Court. He won three of his first five matches back and the club steadily improved to a point where promotion from League One looked like a distinct possibility. Sure enough, AFC Bournemouth’s promotion to the Championship was confirmed in April 2013, finishing runners-up to Doncaster Rovers.

Taking The Cherries up

The foundations were now in place for a serious promotion push to the Premier League. 2013-2014 was an excellent starting point, finishing 10^th and just six points shy of the play-offs. In 2014-2015, he secured Bournemouth’s ultimate dream and guided them into the top-flight just seven years after they nearly went out of business. A 3-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers secured the south coast’s side spot in the Premier League.

On promotion, he told BBC Radio Five Live: “It shouldn’t be them thanking me; it should be me thanking them. It is a family club and deserves its moment in the sun.”

A few days later, Bournemouth were confirmed as champions of the Championship, winning 3-0 on the final day away at Charlton Athletic, whilst Watford, who were favourites for the crown, drew at home to Sheffield Wednesday. He was crowned LMA Manager of the Year for his wonderful efforts and was now looking forward to the Premier League adventure.

There was a tough start with just two league wins in the first four months of the campaign and hefty back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. However, December saw amazing victories away to champions Chelsea and at home to Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United. They were virtually safe by early April and finished 16^th in the final standings.

Although there were rocky moments in 2016-2017 including a worrying winless run between mid-January and the end of February, Bournemouth finished the season strongly and broke into the top 10, finishing a fantastic ninth.

In 2017-2018, despite losing their first four matches, the Cherries are looking more settled now with recent wins over Stoke City, Newcastle United and Huddersfield Town.

Eddie Howe is set for a long and successful career in management. He has already achieved so much in the game and has plenty of potential to go much further. Bournemouth are lucky to have one of the finest managerial talents in the game.

Premier League Files: Callum Wilson

Premier League Career: AFC Bournemouth (2015-PRESENT)

He is still only 25 and that means Callum Wilson should have plenty of time to demonstrate his true potential. Sadly, two wretched injuries whilst playing in the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth suggests that his time could unfortunately be limited. That would be a real shame for a player who has shown a ruthless approach to finding the back of the net when he is free of injury.

Born in Coventry, Wilson started his career with his hometown club and made his professional debut in 2009 during a surprising League Cup reverse to Hartlepool United. Naturally, it took time for Callum to remove the raw edge to his game. Loan spells in the non-league with Kettering Town and Tamworth certainly did no harm to this.

In 2013-2014, he established himself as a regular in the starting XI at Coventry City. Wilson was often one of the bright sparks in a club that was often lurching from one crisis to another thanks to dreadful running of the club by its owners. He finished the third-highest scorer in League One with 22 goals and earned himself a place in the League One PFA Team of the Year. That was despite spending two months on the sidelines due to a dislocated shoulder. He won three gongs at the club’s end of season awards and developed an excellent partnership with his strike partner, Leon Clarke.

Coventry knew that this form was always going to make Wilson a transfer target, especially with their precarious financial situation. He joined AFC Bournemouth in July 2014 for £3 million and made an immediate impact, scoring twice on his debut in a 4-0 thumping away at Huddersfield Town. He scored 20 league goals and these strikes helped the Cherries’ win promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history.

Wilson made AFC Bournemouth history in the club’s third Premier League match. He opened the scoring at Upton Park against West Ham United to score the south coast side’s first goal in the Premier League. He didn’t finish there. Wilson went on to score a hat-trick; the first treble of the 2015-2016 Premier League season.

Further goals followed against Leicester City and Sunderland. There was even talk of Roy Hodgson watching him closely for a possible England call-up. Sadly, a cruel twist of fate would await Wilson. In late September, he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the early stages of a 2-1 defeat to Stoke City. It was a sickening blow for player and club.  It was the third serious ligament injury of Bournemouth’s maiden season. Wilson would be out of action for six months but made his return in early April, arriving as a substitute in an away win at Aston Villa.

He was keen to ensure 2016-2017 would be an impressive season but much of the same story would follow. There were goals against Liverpool FC and Arsenal but in February 2017, another luckless injury in training would stop his second Premier League campaign in its tracks. Unbelievably, it was another ACL and this time, in his left knee. It has meant another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Callum Wilson will be hoping to feature soon in the 2017-2018 Premier League season. If he can stay clear of these dreaded setbacks, he is a sharp shooter and an excellent finisher which would benefit Bournemouth significantly in what looks like a relegation battle in their third PL campaign.