Bournemouth vs Charlton Match Preview

And here we all are once again, the beginning of the football season; 10 months of spending our Saturday's often in towns across the country watching a bunch men kick a ball around. However this year, for Bournemouth fans at least, will be different.  We will all be watching our team in uncharted territory: The Championship. To begin life in the second tier of English football, The Cherries will begin the season against Charlton Athletic for the third time in four years. Charlton finished champions of League One in the 2011/12 season with an impressive 101 points and finished 9th last year in The Championship, meaning this is no easy match for Eddie Howe's men. The past four times the teams have met have resulted in 3 victories for Charlton and one draw- so Bournemouth definitely have a point to prove this Saturday.

Charlton were Champions in 2011

It's safe to say Eddie Howe has plenty to be concerned about ahead on the dawn of the new season. Bournemouth have suffered numerous injuries in pre-season, with star players Matt Ritchie and Brett Pitman the notable concerns for Howe's men. Although The Cherries boast a few quality replacements for Ritchie in Ryan Fraser and Mohamed Coulibaly, no Pitman would leave the home team worryingly toothless up front. While when on form Lewis Grabban and Wes Thomas are dangerous players, both have been firing blanks for a significant amount of time. New signing Mohamed Coulibaly is versatile and has been excellent in pre-season, meaning he could fill Pitman's void should it be needed, but it seems wide or attacking midfield is his natural position. Arguably, Howe's biggest decision will be which defenders he chooses for the starting line-up. Should he opt for his usual 4-4-2 formation, only two out of Cook, Elphick and Ward will start, but he could also choose to begin with 5 at the back, a formation that has been seen in pre-season. Howe has to decide whether to opt for the pairing that led us to promotion, or to choose new signing Ward. While winning this match will not decide the fate of our season, getting off to a good start could be invaluable by the time May comes.

Could Coulibaly be the difference maker on Saturday?

To me, Charlton are somewhat of an unknown quantity. I last saw them when they beat us 3-0 in August 2011, meaning it has been two years since I`ve seen them play. I`ve no doubt though that their squad has changed over that time, due to their promotion to The Championship. However, The Addicks are still managed by Chris Powell, who has had an extremely impressive stint as manager at The Valley.The Addicks also boast two former Bournemouth players in Rhoys Wiggins and Danny Hollands, who both left for the south coast for London after the 2010/11 season.

Wiggins is sure to receive a hostile reception on his return

To help us gain some insight to our opponents on Saturday, three Charlton fans- Dan Fincy (@MiniFinchy), Scott Wilkes (@TheAddick95) and James Vogle (james_vogle) were kind enough to answer some questions for me.

Charlton finished a very respectable 9th place last season, and were only 3 points off the play-offs. How did you view your first season back in the Championship? 

DF: Our first season back was exceptional, very proud of how we did and if a few results went in our favour it might have not been Palace in the play-offs and it would have been us. I cant complain really we did very well and beat expectations which was very important for the fans and for the players we knew we had a good squad

SW: Incredible! Shaky start but had some great results (E.g. 5-4 win vs Cardiff and 6-0 win vs Barnsley) and finished the season the league's form team and only like 3 points from the top 6. We only spent 500k in the summer and finished a couple points off teams like Leicester and Bolton with virtually our league 1 team.

JV: Incredible! Shaky start but had some great results (E.g. 5-4 win vs Cardiff and 6-0 win vs Barnsley) and finished the season the league's form team and only like 3 points from the top 6. We only spent 500k in the summer and finished a couple points off teams like Leicester and Bolton with virtually our league 1 team.

Are you satisfied with the club's summer transfers?

DF: erm...in a bomb shell no. We only have 1 forward and only managed signings of Mark Gower and Richard Wood. Wood gives us a good back line again since we lost defender Taylor. Gower we had last year on loan and slotted in nicely so it was good to get him full time.

SW: What transfers? Only signed Mark Gower and Richard Wood, both on frees. The owners aren't giving Powell a penny to spend this summer which means we can't improve the squad and only have one senior striker. Starting the season without a no. 9 or 10.  

JV: I am not satisfied at all with our summer transfers, releasing so many players which we could of got a decent amount of money for, releasing danny haynes was a big shame as it is not his fault however he is injury prone and a club like us with our financial stability he is not worth keeping especially as 'apparently' he was demanding higher wages. The best bit of our transfer activity this summer was us releasing Ricardo Fuller, scoring 5 goals in 31 games and hardly playing at all due to lack of fitness and injuries, with him being our highest earner aswell getting 20k a week I am glad to see the back of him! However he is now re-training with us which I do not think I have ever seen before. The worst worry for me is that we now only have one striker which is our fan favourite Yann Kermogant, as good as he is, when we played a 4-5-1 last season with Yann up top on his own just simply did not work, personally I do not think a 4-5-1 ever works due to the fact that the striker is always isolated. I think that if we get another striker who is proven to score a lot of goals then I will be happy.

Are there any specific players that Bournemouth fans should be worried about?

DF:  We have a few Chris Solly our right back and Wiggins,ex Bournemouth, are both very dangerous going forward and like to create chances and are very quick. Yann Kermorgant too, he's big and and wins headers all the time.

SW: Chris Solly - Best RB in the football league

Rhoys Wiggins - Phenomenal going forward and will up his game when he's getting booed :-)

Johnnie Jackson - Captain, always likely to score

Bradley Pritchard - Never stops running, and finally adding goals to his game

Callum Harriott - Will destroy Francis (Who is the worst RB i've ever seen play for Charlton)
Yann Kermorgant - Already a Charlton legend, will win everything in the air no matter who' he's against. Warrior

JV: You should be worried about our young tricky winger callum harriott, he came through the ranks at Charlton and has had a cracking pre season almost scoring in every game, bearing in mind he is only 19 and featured regularly towards the end of last season, a very exciting prospect for the future.

How are ex-Bournemouth players Danny Hollands and Rhoys Wiggins faring at Charlton?

DF: Danny Hollands had a great season in League One and played brilliantly all season but went out on loan last season to Swindon and didn't really feature last season at all. But in pre-season Hollands has been on fire for us and has scored 3 goals. Rhoys has been unbelievable when fit. He missed a big part of last season but when he was playing you knew he was there.

SW: Hollands was class in league 1 but couldn't adjust to the league last year so went out on loan, only a back up player now. Whereas Wiggins was class in league 1 and in the championship, had a couple injuries last year though. Probably our best LB since the legend Chris Powell. 

JV: Rhoys Wiggins in my opinion is one of the best signings we made. Featuring every week and giving 100% every week, us as a club could not ask for any more, however he did miss quite a bit of last season due to a injury, but he came back more determined than ever and has come straight back in to the starting 11. Danny Hollands had a cracking first season for us being a key player in our promotion up to the championship, however last season he did not feature as he was not part of our plans due to other players playing better than him, although I do not think we gave him a big enough chance to prove himself at this level. He was loaned out to swindon playing 10 games and scoring 2 goals until it got ended shortly due to him getting injured and came back for treatment.

Finally, will you be making the trip to the South Coast on Saturday?on Saturday

DF: No Sadly not. I am on holiday but I would love to be going down, first game of the season are always brilliant and every club loves them. I am jealous of the fans going down! COYR!

SW: Wanted to, tickets sold out before I had a bit of cash on the hip. Went last time though when we won 1-0.

JV:  Yes, I will be making the trip to the South Coast saturday, I missed out on it 2 seasons back due to me being on holiday, but I can not wait for it as we always seem to play a good game of football and I like Bournemouth, they are a nice club, I simply could not miss a season opener down the sea side! Come on you reds!

MK Dons 0-3 AFC Bournemouth

The Match

As the teams entered the fray I think both sets of fans understood the importance of this game, and the opening stages reflected this; Milton Keynes had most of the possession without really threatening, while Bournemouth seemed dangerous on the break but struggled to get a hold of the ball. However, good teams want the ball, they will run and they will chase, which is exactly what Lewis Grabban did and his effort paid off as he seized on a terrible Jon Otsemobor backpass to round David Martin and slot the ball into the back of the net. From the away end it felt like the ball took days to finally go in, but when it did the celebrations duly began. It seemed like a dream start for The Cherries, taking the lead only 9 minutes into an away match at promotion rivals was perfect for Eddie Howe's men.

Grabban 'grabbed' the opener

 The rest of the half was extremely similar to our home match against Crewe, as while the opposition maintained control of the ball, we were never threatened and MK's only chance came when Shwan Jalal parried Ryan Lowe's shot from the edge of the area. Bournemouth were trying to frustrate the home side and hit them fast on the break, but often the ball was given away cheaply with some players opting against the simple option. As it seemed the teams would go into half-time with the score remaining 1-0, everything changed. Ryan Lowe got in a scuffle with Tommy Elphick, then Steve Cook, then Elphick again, with the Bournemouth defenders obviously getting under the veteran forward's skin. This showed when as MK cleared a Bournemouth corner, Elphick went for the ball only for Lowe to jump in two footed, it was later put by Howe as 'a disgusting tackle'. Lowe was rightly sent off but still found the time to start a scrap on the field and kick Bournemouth right-back Simon Francis. I don't usually offer my opinion in the match report, but  Karl Robinson ahad the nerve to say our players were saying stuff about Lowe's family as he went off, an astoundingly stupid claim. Justice was served as The Cherries got a second goal straight after, Grabban beat the Dons' defenders once more and his shot was saved by Martin only for Marc Pugh to tuck in the rebound. In a matter of minutes Bournemouth had gone from on the back foot to being in cruise control, and heading into the break a man and two goals up.

Pugh scored the second

MK Dons introduced Izale McLoed in the second half as despite being a man down they knew that in order to salvage something from the match, they had to go for it. Oddly, the home side seemed more energised and broke with more pace, though they found their options limited once they got further up the pitch. When they stalled the MK attack Howe's team attacked with force and pace, numerous cross field balls were played to the dangerous Pugh and Ritchie down the left side who were causing a lot of problems. Lewis Grabban continued his hard work getting in behind, while Brett Pitman squandered numerous chances, notably a free header from six yards out. Although the home side did not look like scoring, there was always a possibility. As Bournemouth went forward with Josh McQuoid on the ball, defender Shaun Williams made a superb tackle to win the ball and start a counter attack, their best chance came soon after; Izale McLoed pounced on the rebound of a shot that hit the post only the miss an open goal from steps away. I'd later learn he was offside (for about the tenth time) but regardless it was a truly abysmal miss that summed up the day for MK. The killer goal finally came in the 84th minute; clever play from Pugh won a free-kick on the edge of the area, with players still preparing the ball was laid to Arter who smashed a rocket into the top corner. It was a wonderful finish that capped off a great day at the office for the away team and their was pandemonium amongst the travelling Cherries' faithful. 'We want four' was the cry of some Bournemouth fans and that almost came when Pitman hit the crossbar, but the game ultimately ended in a deserved 3-0 win for The Cherries.

Arter's goal sealed the win

The home fans flocked quickly but all 1446 away fans stayed after the final whistle as the players came over to join in with the celebrations, the delight on their faces showed what the win meant to everyone associated with the football club. Ei ei ei o...

My Thoughts

What a day, what a win, what a season. Before the game I thought we'd win, but to go to a promotion rival away and win 3-0 is remarkable, and today was the kind of game that can define a season. We were second best in the first half, but the encouraging thing was that despite have little of the ball, it never looked as if we would concede. This team can play with flair and creativity, but when a strong backbone is needed we become extremely hard to break down. On another day, the match could have gone another way but our tactics paid off and I think you'd struggle to find someone who could contest the result. On behalf of every Bournemouth supporter, a special mention to Izale McLeod who put in one of the worst single performances in recent memory; he missed an open goal, he fell over himself (twice) and I don't think he did one thing to help his side when they needed it the most.

Unfortunately the game was marred by Lowe's disgraceful tackle and we can only hope Elphick turns out alright- he could have easily had his season/ career ended by that tackle. Thankfully both teams managed to continue the match as the professionals they are meant to be, but there certainly are times you question what a player is thinking. . I'd also suggest to Karl Robinson instead of banging on about how much money we spent, his club should spend money on their team instead of an outrageously ridiculous stadium. He made ludicrous claims in his post-match interview that were almost disrespectful to our club, we have spent a lot, we made have got decisions in our favour, but to say our players 'conducted themselves' badly is a bit much, what evidence do you have? I think you've been eating a few too many sour grapes.

Shut up, Karl.

Player Ratings

Jalal; 7- Didn't have much to do but the one time he had to make a save he was there, kept his concentration and distributed well.

Francis; 7- Once again he worked very hard and he improved in the second half, sometimes he needs to just whack the ball up the pitch instead of playing it out.

Cook; 9- A rock. With so much on his mind he performed admirably once again, MK's forward didn't get the better of him and he consistently won the ball, a great performance.

Elphick; 9- Exactly the same as Cook, he is a leader of men and if he is injured it will be a major blow to us, lets pray for a quick recovery.

Seaborne; 7- Much better performance than against Crewe, MK got in a few times behind him early on but it's clear that he's much better at centre-back, he seems to also be building chemistry with the team.

McQuoid; 7- He's found his confidence which is the most important thing, his runs across the face of the penalty box are dangerous and while he did not always make the right decision, he was a constant presence.

Arter; 8- In the first half he gave the ball away cheaply but it's hard to fault his performance overall. A absolutely sublime goal and no matter where the ball is, he'll be chasing it, he has more energy than a Duracell battery.

O'Kane; 7- It wasn't Eunan's best game but even though his impact was not huge, he kept the team ticking and never halted nor stalled any attacks. Despite his small stature, he's turning into quite a strong player.

Pugh; 8- Almost back to his best today, Marc turned the right back inside out a couple of times and really stretched their defence in the second half, his combination with Ritchie was lethal.

Lewis Grabban; 8- This man is becoming the definition of determination. With all due respect to Lewis, I think he's not 'technically' the most gifted, but his pace and effort provides the team with a constant outlet and his goal was key to the win.

Brett Pitman; 7- Chicken had an abundance of chances today and unfortunately didn't manage to take advantage. His finishing was off today but his link up play was great, most memorable was the one-two that put Grabban through on goal.

Matt Ritchie; 8- He's ours! Matt did fantastic to come in at left back on his debut and still play so well. He added another element going forward and his crossing was superb, I can't wait to see more of him.

Matt Tubbs & Richard Hughes; N/A

Grabban Goals For Fun

Pre-Match

Following a fantastic 1-0 away win at Doncaster last Saturday, Bournemouth returned to the Goldsands Stadium with the aim of getting their 5th home win in a row. Standing in their way were Oldham, currently in 17th place and managed by former Premier League forward Paul Dickov. Since Eddie Howe's return last month, Bournemouth had drawn one match and won the other 6, having only had 8 points before.

Match Report

Howe made one change to his lineup from the win at Doncaster, with Simon Francis recovering from injury and returning to replace Steve Cook in the right back position. Oldham were missing Dean Furman and James Weselowski, captain and vice-captain respectively. Bournemouth started out the match slowly, with the visitors Oldham having the best of the opening period. With relatively well known names such as Lee Croft and Matt Derbyshire in the lineup, Oldham were showing the confident home side that they were not going to be pushovers. Bournemouth had little of the possession, but broke fastly when they got the ball with Josh McQuoid making a couple of speedy runs down the right.  The Cherries found it hard to maintain possession against a hard working Oldham side, who constantly closed down and pressed Howe's men. Despite controlling portions of the half, Oldham didn't trouble the resolute Bournemouth defence, with Cristian Montano appealing in vain for a penalty. Bournemouth had a couple of half chances and corners, but the final ball seemed to be lacking all over the pitch. The first half slowly faded out, with both managers likely keen to get across a motivating message in the dressing room.

Since Eddie Howe's return, there is something about the second half that completely transforms the team. Kicking towards the home end adds fire into the players bellies, and once more The Cherries' came out after half-time with all guns blazing. In the 53rd minute the ball came down the left wing, and found its way to Harry Arter who moved towards the edge of the area and shot, but Lewis Grabban ran onto it and hit the ball into back of the net, leaving Dean Bouzanis stranded. Bournemouth didn't stop there, as a minute later good work down the right resulted in Simon Francis hitting a low cross across the area, and that man Grabban popped up once more with a perfectly placed shot right across Bouzanis and into the bottom left corner. A previously comfortable and composed Oldham team had been rocked and seemed unable to cope with the Cherries pressure. Dickov threw on two subs in an attempt to get a foothold in the match but they had little impact as Bournemouth continued to maraud down the flanks. Having had a solid penalty shout turned down earlier buy the referee, Bournemouth were awarded a penalty in the 71st minute after Mvoto took out Arter just inside the area. After a civilized debate as to who took the penalty between Arter and Grabban, Arter stepped up and had his shot saved, but Grabban reacted quickest to score Bouremouth's third goal and complete his hat-trick. Grabban, Arter and Pugh all soon left the pitch to standing ovation's, with Bournemouth beginning to take their foot off the pedal. Howe's men still wanted more goals, and a well placed corner from Pugh found the charging Daniels who lost his marker and dove and headed the ball into the back off the net. . Bournemouth fans know that Eddie Howe's team like to let in a late goal, and that was apparent when substitute Matt Smith was left unmarked to head home a consolation goal for The Latics. Even with a bizarre 6 minutes of additional time, Bournemouth saw out the game with ease.

Hat-Trick Hero Lewis Grabban

My Thoughts

I've left Dean Court with a smile on my face, I've also left feeling like storming into the changing room Eddie Mitchell style and yelling at the players, but today was a feeling of joy I have not felt in a long time. It is impossible to put your finger on what exactly he's done, but Eddie Howe has rejuvenated this team and changed them from relegation fodder to play-off challengers. Admittedly the first half was pretty lackluster, but in the second half Bournemouth were a different class. Each and every player today played well, some better than others, but it was a complete team performance and the unity of the players seems to be spurring them all on.

In every aspect of the team, we are solid but also dynamic and energetic. As I'm sure a lot of right-backs in League One will agree, our left side is surely up their with the best in the division. When Marc Pugh gets the ball the crowd gets on their feet, and Charlie Daniels is always sprinting forward to support him. Harry Arter works his socks off but has found a new side to his game full of creativity and flair, while Shaun MacDonald provides the reliable, composed option next to Arter. Lewis Grabban is a different player compared to under Groves, he uses his pace but is also very dept as holding the ball up giving others the time to support him. The defence has a bit of work to do on its concentration for 90 minutes, but it looked very comfortable throughout and the distribution from all was quick but intelligent. Personally, I think Miles Addison deserves a special mention as I've given him a lot of stick recently, but he was a rock today and won everything that came his way, yes his passing isn't Xavi-esque but that's why he's not in the Premier League!

In summary, a fantastic win against a decent opposition helps us climb further up the table and we are now only 4 points outside of the play-offs. I may be getting ahead of myself but I think League One is there for the taking, don't forget we made Tranmere look very average and should have easily beaten MK Dons (thanks for that Groves). We move on to Tuesday, where high flying Stevenage visit on the back of a 4-1 stuffing against Sheffield United tonight.

Stevenage are the next visitors to the Goldsands Stadium

Thank you for reading!