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!

Another One Bites The Dust

Background 

5 wins and one draw in the previous six matches, and some people thought bringing Eddie Howe back wasn't the right decision. The 2-1 victory at home to Shrewsbury last night made it a 4 game winning streak at home including the cup match, continuing the Cherries' amazing run of form. I saw on Vitals today the win percentages of each Bournemouth manager: At the bottom- Paul Groves (15%)- and at the top? Eddie Howe (51%). If you include his previous spell as manager, we have won just over half of our games with Howe in charge, not mentioning that since his return that percentage is far, far higher.

The Match

I knew coming into the match that Shrewsbury had developed a habit of conceding early goals, but with our usual style of really pushing on in the second half I didn't expect the game to start off with such excitement. Only two minutes in Bournemouth got a free kick on the edge of the Shrewsbury penalty area due to Darren Jones fouling Lee Barnard. Charlie Daniels actually hit a rather poor, low driven effort that would have usually been blocked, however a Shrewsbury player in the wall jumped out of the way and a deflection left Chris Weale no chance. It was the kind of goal that Graham Turner would have gone ballistic at, a basic error had left Shrewsbury behind. The home fans got the atmosphere going, and within a few minutes Bournemouth doubled their lead. The ever fantastic Marc Pugh twisted and turned his way down the left wing, only for his perfect cross to somehow be clipped onto the post by Lee Barnard. However, Barnard got the ball back out to Pugh, who hit another cross right across the area with Josh McQuoid there head the ball into the back of the net. It seemed that Bournemouth were going to put in another dazzling home performance, having scored two goals after only six minutes. However, although Bournemouth dominated possession, the killer third goal didn't come, and Shrewsbury soon took advantage. After 14 minutes, Miles Addison decided it was his time to shine and what was the routine process of seeing the ball out for a goal kick turned into a penalty for Shrewsbury. Addison had let Morgan get an extra step on him, and Morgan soon went flying to the ground, it looked like a blatant dive from where I sat, but the judgement of others and the referee seem to indicate it was just Miles Addison being himself. The tenacious midfielder (and captain) Matt Richards stepped up and calmly shot the ball into the bottom right hand corner of David James' goal. Bournemouth began to look a bit more nervy as the first half went on, with Jon Taylor causing Charlie Daniels numerous problems down the right wing. The Cherries' had many chances to see the game off, Lewis Grabban inexplicably missed when he was through on goal, and others too were guilty of not using their opportunities. There were two further major talking points of the half, as Shrewsbury had another penalty claim when Helan's cross seemed to hit Tommy Elphick on the arm, and when the last Shrewsbury defender brought down Grabban, only to be given a yellow card. 

Having been performing so admirably in their second half displays recently, I was expecting Bournemouth to come out with all guns blazing in order to kill the game off. Despite controlling the ball and having a few half-chances, the Bournemouth players seemed to lack that inspired creativity and killer instinct that had seen off many opponents in recent weeks. Most of Bournemouth's work came down the left side, with Charlie Daniels and Marc Pugh working tirelessly to get behind the determined Jermaine Grandison who was playing right-back. In fairness to Shrewsbury, for a team low in the league their defence showed strong organization when facing an attack that had destroyed many formidable opponents, and The Cherries just couldn't get in behind. That said, even when Bournemouth were on the break and looked like they might have a chance a Shrewsbury player would happily trip up the attacker and take the yellow card for the benefit of the team. Though only down by a goal, the attacking push never really came from Shrewsbury and Bournemouth's defence seemed at relative ease (apart from when Addison got the ball). In the last minute of injury time Bournemouth conceded a free kick in a relatively dangerous position, giving Shrewsbury one final chance to grab an equalizer. Fortunately for us, David James jumped up to claim the ball and confirm another win for Eddie Howe's men.

My Thoughts

The team made hard work of what could have been a relatively simple victory following such a prosperous opening to the match. Although I felt we deserved the win, there was a spark missing to our game that had been evident in all the other previous matches. I think that this is likely due to such a busy run of fixtures recently, and with many players also having played on Saturday, some of them probably needed a rest. That said, a win against Shrewsbury is something to be recognized because they were certainly not pushovers, and had we not started so brightly we could have had a really tough time trying to break down their defence. Furthermore, Shrewsbury had clearly done their homework on our attacking threats, as Grandison and Taylor defended superbly against Marc Pugh, reducing the extent of his impact on the game. People often say that the sign of a good team is when they don't play well and still win, and that is what the team did last night, getting the three points when not at their best. The boys can rest now, and then get ready for what is a tough match up at Doncaster on Saturday, though they have every reason to head into it intending to win.

Player Ratings

James: 7- Had very little to do, almost saved the penalty and most importantly won the ball from free-kick in the last minute. Provides a calm, experience presence that Jalal does not.

Francis: 7- Worked very hard and always there to support down the right when we are attacking. While his crossing is great his defensive positioning could do with a little work as he doesn't close down quick enough sometimes.

Elphick: 7- Played well and won all the balls that came near him, however when he plays with Addison he never performs to the best of his ability.

Addison: 6- When he plays our defence suddenly seems very ropey and good teams will take advantage of it. While he's sometimes good in the air, he gets beaten often and is prone to costly mistakes. Drop him and make him wake up a little, it's needed.

Daniels: 7- His link up play with Pugh is fantastic and there is real potential in that combination yet to be realized. The pacey Taylor gave him a tough time though and cross field balls sometimes caught him out of position. 

McQuoid: 7.5- Got another goal and is on fire in terms of scoring right now. Leaves a bit to be desired in terms of providing width, may be better off playing up front?

Arter: 9- Ran the game from midfield with another superb performance. He always provided an option for teammates and worked hard constantly. Notably for the second time in a row after getting a yellow he calmed himself and reacted maturely.

MacDonald: 7- Shaun is a talented player and last night he seemed to drop in a much deeper role. I think his best position has yet to be realized as he seems to go missing some times. That said, reliable passer and can make some quality tackles.

Pugh: 8- Even though he didn't have that much success in the game, defences are so scared of him that it changes how we play. Whenever he gets the ball he is a threat, and he can tear most right backs to shreds. Please sign a new contract Marc.

Barnard: 6- Right, I'll probably get criticism for this but this guy seriously doesn't do much for me. Admittedly his touch is fantastic whenever he is on the ball, but his impact on games is very small. He doesn't seem to get behind defences nor lurk on the edge of the area, might be sacrificing himself for the team but I'd like to see more from him.

Grabban: 7.5- Lewis has been a different player since Eddie returned. Under Groves he looked devoid of any ideas, but now his height and pace have become real weapons. Needs to improve his finishing, but he's becoming more of a threat each game.

Charlie Daniels grabs the opener

Cherries Blunt The Daggers

Report

Bournemouth's fine form continued this afternoon in the first round of the FA Cup against League Two opposition Dagenham & Redbridge. With a special offer of 10 pounds for adults and 1 pound for kids, a good sized crowd of around 5,800 turned up to watch a fine display of football from The Cherries. Approximately 150-200 Daggers fans made the (relatively) short journey south, although it probably felt a lot longer on the way home.

On a cold but clear afternoon Bournemouth headed into this game full of confidence on the back of 3 wins and a draw in their past four games. Under new manager Eddie Howe the side has completely transformed, notably scoring 10 goals in his 3 games in charge. Howe made three changes to the team that lined up at Carlisle on Saturday, as Jalal, Cook and Tubbs replaced James, Addison and Barnard respectively. The game started out quite scrappy, with Dagenham gaining quite a firm foothold in the match and limiting the Cherries' chances to get the ball forward. When Bournemouth actually got the ball, the Dagenham players were keen to pressure them and limit their time to make a decision and create something. The first half wasn't a good advert for lower league football, with a lot of hoofing and hit and hope passes being played by both sides. Bournemouth had a couple of corners, but seemed determined to make a short corner routine work, but unfortunately each time it came to nothing. The first real chance fell to the in-form Josh McQuoid, who ran in from the right side of the box to meet a cross, only to tamely volley the ball wide of the posts. However, it was to be McQuoid who broke the deadlock after 30 minutes, good work from Lewis Grabban resulted in him passing it to the onrushing McQuoid, who hit the ball into the net with a left footed strike despite the desperate attempts of the Dagenham defenders. As the half progressed, Bournemouth started to dominate proceedings, with Dagenham seemingly happy to keep 10 men behind the ball and get to half-time. Despite all the possession, Bournemouth were struggling to undo a stout Daggers defence and the teams headed in at half-time with the score 1-0.

The second half saw the introduction of former Bournemouth goalkeeper Jordan Seabright, who made his Dagenham debut replacing the (possibly) injured Chris Lewington. As many expected, Bournemouth were started out the second half with an attacking edge to their game, and they tried to break down the hard working Daggers. Seabright was involved early and even made a couple of good saves to keep Dagenham in it. The second goal came following a fantastic through ball to Francis, whom was denied one on one by a great save from Seabright, but the ball unfortunately fell to Marc Pugh who sprinted to the thunder the ball into the back of the net. Around 3 Dagenham players flung their bodies at the ball but they could not stop Pugh's placed finish from close distance. Facing an exit from the FA Cup, John Still's men tried to push on forward but found it difficult to maintain possession against a confident Bournemouth side. Bournemouth were able to push the ball around of both sides of the pitch, stretching a tiring Dagenham side as the Cherries looked for a third goal to kill the game off. The third goal came twenty minutes after the second in the 79th minute, as that man Josh McQuoid struck once again. A cross from Simon Francis came to the waiting McQuoid, who hit a peach of a volley past the diving Seabright and into the left corner of the goal. By then the game was pretty much over barring an Arsenal-esque recovery from Dagenham. In fairness, Dagenham did have a 5 or ten minute period where they had Bournemouth defending, but it never felt like there was a real threat present. Substitute Wes Fogden finished off the scoring with a classy goal in the 90th minute; after receiving the ball and attacking down the right wing, he cut into the penalty box, took the ball onto his left foot and shot the ball right into the bottom left hand corner of the goal. 4-0, thank you and goodnight.

McQuoid grabbed a brace today

My Thoughts

Today I had the rare pleasure of sitting in the North Stand as the FA Cup ticket thing meant my Main Stand Season Ticket wasn't valid, and what a great game to be there. It's interesting having a different view because I can see what different players do, what they contribute and different elements of the tactics being employed. I was very impressed with the defence today, Cook is very composed on the ball yet also strong when attacked, and I think he deserves a chance over Addison. Once more Daniels and Francis were outstanding, their attacking threat is very important to our game and they impressed me today going forward. The midfield was efficient as it has been in the previous games, although I felt the centre of midfield was missing in the first half. MacDonald had a great second half though, Pugh set up numerous chances and McQuoid of course delivered a brace. Some may disagree with me but I was disappointed with Tubbs' performance today, he seemed to go missing in the first half and the defenders seemed to have the better of him throughout. In contrast, Lewis Grabban had his best performance of the season; he turned defenders inside out, constantly won headers and held up the ball whenever he got it, more of the same please Lewis!

With all due respect to Dagenham- who are a club I have the utmost respect for- today was a game we should have won, and the players duly delivered. Scoring 16 goals in the past 5 games is very encouraging, and it feels like Eddie has once again brought the attacking, fast paced style back that Bournemouth fans love. Yes, the team will face tougher challenges this season but they did well to break down an organized and strong opposition who had come with a very defensive mentality. Eddie Howe certainly faces a selection dilemma for Tuesday, when struggling Shrewsbury make the trip south to Dean Court. Lets hope we get a favourable draw tomorrow, remember we are number 11.  Up The Cherries!

Shrewsbury await on Tuesday

Goals Galore As Bournemouth Renew A Rivalry

The Match

On Tuesday Bournemouth headed to Nottingham on the back of two comfortable wins, though Notts County presented a difficult challenge for the Cherries. After going two nil down, it seemed bleak for Bournemouth, but a great comeback to make it 2-2, and then once more coming from behind after Notts County scored a penalty capped off a good performance from Eddie Howe's men. Unfortunately I couldn't make this match, having sixth form the next day, but a respectable following of 208 Cherries made the long trip north to watch a fantastic game of football. It also brought back memories of the 2009/10 and 2010/11 season when Eddie Howe's old Bournemouth team built up quite the rivalry with Notts County, not forgetting when Bournemouth lost 3-0 at Meadow Lane and Eddie Mitchell went into the changing room...

Bournemouth celebrate a goal on Tuesday

My Thoughts

After such a disappointing run of away games, it is nice to get a solid point at a promotion contender and feel deserving of it. Encouragingly, all three goals came from defensive mistakes, whether that be a backpass or a foul. Unlike if teams were simply cutting us apart and scoring from open play, silly mistakes can be easily corrected from training together and putting in the work to improve the defence's cooperation. With Eddie in charge, the whole team seems to me completely revitalized, but it will take time to completely transform the team into playing "Eddie's Way". As Howe said "we have a bad habit of passing the ball backwards" something leftover from the Groves' regime, if we can play with a faster tempo the team will become much more effective in their possession of the ball. Similar to when he was last in charge, Howe clearly wants to utilize the width of the pitch and get an abundance of crosses into the box. The game on Tuesday saw the return of Donal McDermott, and his extraordinary back-heel pass to set up a goal exemplified the enormous potential that he has. With Pugh and McDermott attacking down the wing, whoever is starting up front should have numerous chances every game to put the ball into the back of the net.

There are still a lot of things to be improved, and it will take a while before this team can reach it's potential, but Eddie and Jason having changed the teams attitude for the better. Hopefully, as proven against Notts County, the players can build a team spirit and determination like the team of 2010-11.

The Future

A tough, long trip all the way up to Carlisle awaits on Saturday, presenting Bournemouth with another difficult match. However, Howe's men have every reason to go into this game full of confidence, as Carlisle only sit 4 points above them in the League Table. Although Carlisle grabbed a win on Tuesday, they have been on a bad run of form recently, where as Bournemouth have finally started playing well. With danger man Lee Miller out, the Cherries defence can turn its attention to Joe Garner and Matty Robson, whom both have 4 goals each so far. Realistically, a point would be another good return from this match, but a win is still a possibility.

Forward Joe Garner is one to watch for The Cumbrians

Cherries Draw The Daggers

Bournemouth were given a home match against League Two side Dagenham and Redbridge in the FA Cup first round today. Although the draw isn't very exciting, most Cherries fans will be happy with a home match against a team in a lower league. We haven't had much success in the FA Cup recently, with the last somewhat notable cup run coming in 2005 when only a Djimi Traore own goal denied Bournemouth a trip to Anfield. Thankfully, we haven't been drawn against non-league team, meaning the idea of a big upset will not be weighing over the players' heads.

A positive note is that in recent years we have had a lot of success against The Daggers, winning all of the previous 3 matches. 2 of those came in League One during the 2010/11 season, with Bournemouth winning 3-0 at home and coming from behind to win 2-1 away at Victoria Road. The most recent game between the two sides came last season in the first round of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, when Bournemouth won 5-0. It is difficult to get an exciting draw in the first round, so fans can't ask for much more than a winnable home match, hopefully starting a mini-cup run.

That said, The Daggers will be up for the game and will provide tough, determined opposition for the Bournemouth players'. For many clubs in the lower leagues (including ourselves) a cup run can help significantly in the finance department, and only two wins could result in a trip to Old Trafford, so the game will likely be a competitive one. I can't speak for Dagenham fans but I doubt many of them will have been too thrilled with this draw, but the crowd will hopefully be good should we continue our good form of late.  One happy person will be Dagenham goalkeeper Jordan Seabright, who is from Poole and spent season with The Cherries. Seabright didn't make an appearance for the first team, but he should be involved in Dagenham's squad when they make the journey south.

This will be Eddie Howe's fourth game in charge of Bournemouth since his return and fans will be starting to see his preferred players and tactics. Hopefully the team will have done well at Notts County and Carlisle and thus enter this back on the back of a good run of form. The game will take place at 3pm on Saturday the 3rd of November, at Dean Court.

The teams in action during the 2010/11 season

Cherries Ripen To Rock Tranmere

Before The Game

What a difference two weeks makes. Fresh off a convincing 2-0 home win against Leyton Orient, today's match against top of the table Tranmere marked Eddie Howe's first match in charge of AFC Bournemouth since January 2011. Having had a full week to implement his desired changes, fans headed to Dean Court today hoping see some of the football that had made Howe's first spell in charge so magical. Howe's return clearly had an impact on many Bournemouth fans as the home crowd increased for the second week running, giving the players a much needed boost for such a tough game. League leaders Tranmere came into the match with 9 wins and 3 draws, seemingly taking League One by storm, with goals flying into their opponents goals. An injury to Richard Hughes gave Harry Arter a return to the starting lineup, while Josh McQuoid also came into the team.

The Match

The Cherries started out reasonably brightly to the match, the ball was being sprayed around the pitch in a controlled manner, although there was a notable lack of cutting edge. Lee Barnard found himself once again isolated up front with Tranmere's big centre halves keeping him quiet, and crosses from both wings came to little result. Tranmere were very organized, something expected of the league leaders, with a strong defence opting to consistently hoof it up to the large forwards, Cassidy and Jervis. The beginning of the game was largely uneventful apart from a few bookings, notably when Simon Francis' completely mistimed a tackle and took out Tranmere winger Adam McGurk. Despite the Cherries domination of possession the visitors took the lead on the 39th minute; Miles Addison took the occupation of resident circus clown, as he misplaced a pass out of play, then mistimed a tackle from the resulting throw-in, leading to Cassidy having all the space in the world to float a cross into the unmarked Jervis who duly put the ball into the back of the net. The remainder of the first half slowly drifted, with a mediocre Charlie Daniels' free-kick the only chance for Bournemouth.

Following (hopefully) an encouraging half-time team talk, Bournemouth came out for the second-half revitalized. As against Leyton Orient the week before, the Bournemouth fans really got behind the team, acting as a twelfth man. The breakthrough for the Cherries' came after 51 minutes, as Marc Pugh curled a free kick in from the corner of the area, beating everyone before nestling in the corner of Owain Fon-Williams' net. The crowd grew louder, Dean Court was rocking and the ball was almost being sucked back into Tranmere's half by the energetic home crowd. Bournemouth's midfield began to look increasingly dangerous, with Marc Pugh- possibly League One's best winger- a constant threat to the Tranmere defence. The second goal came after 58 minutes; Josh McQuoid got the ball down the right, he crossed it to Harry Arter, who controlled the ball (via a blatant handball) and smashed the ball into the top corner. Momentum can have extreme effects in football, and in a short space of time all of Tranmere's hard work had gone down the drain. The next fifteen minutes were quiet, though Tranmere expectedly started to push forward in an attempt to salvage something from the match. Their hopes were dashed soon after; A training ground free-kick from the Cherries grabbed their third goal- Matt Tubbs rolled a free kick past another player to the onrushing Francis who rocketed the ball into the bottom corner, 3-1, party time. Credit has to be given to Tranmere, who in an increasingly bleak situation continued to push on until the last minute, showing the determination required in a winning side. However, for all their efforts they could not muster up a goal, the only chance came when David James spectacularly saved Liam Palmer's volley from a couple of yards out, although Palmer was later ruled offside.

My Thoughts

This was a much needed win against possibly the best team to visit Dean Court this season. It was a tough task for the team to win today, but they pulled it off through hard work against formidable opponents. Eddie and Jason are clearly already having an effect on the players, there was just a noticeable different in hunger and fight amongst them today, tackles were won and the ball was fought for.  Coming back from 1-0 down against the league leaders is an achievement in itself, but to control the second half and score 3 goals is outstanding. Of course a lot of hard work still needs to go in for this team to reach its full potential, but today certainly exemplified that we have a squad capable of keeping up with the best League One has to offer. There's still a very long way to go before we can start dreaming of promotion, but the signs right now are very much pointing in the right direction.

Player Ratings

James: 7- Good handling and distribution, including a fantastic save at the end of the game, kicking could be improved.

Francis: 8- Mr. Consistent, solid in defence and a threat going forward, his fantastic goal capped off a fine performance from himself and the team.

Addison: 6- A good second half, but his mistake led to the goal today, showing that he is all too often a liability for the defence.

Elphick: 7- Did he transform into someone else? A great performance from him today, he won headers, tackles and everything else in between- possibly could have marked Jervis for the goal?

Daniels: 8- He's back. Liberated from Groves' negative ideas, his link up play with Pugh today added a different element to the team's game, much more to come from him I think.

McQuoid: 6- Josh had a decent game today, but I felt that he didn't get as involved as he could have done, and sometimes his touch was lacking.

MacDonald: 7- A good performance today from Shaun but he could have had a bigger impact. His passing was reliable and he was there to win tackles, but I wanted to see more going forward.

Arter: 9- MOM and deservedly so. His booking was a blessing in disguise as he showed a maturity not to get himself sent off that he would have done in the passing. Consistently picking out the rights passes, getting the ball into Tranmere's half, and to top it all off, a superb volley.

Pugh: 8- Could he be the best player in the league? Maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but he's certainly up there. Time and time again right backs struggle to keep up with him and his seemingly endless bag of Cruyff turns. Everytime he gets the balls he's dangerous, and his performance today showed the idiocy of Grove's diamond formation.

Grabban: 6- He works hard but every game it feels like he doesn't have that cutting edge needed going forward. There is a lack of creativity coming from him, and he always looks out of ideas when he takes on a defender.

Barnard: 6- May as well have not turned up for the first-half, but he came more into the game into the second half. He doesn't exactly justify his place in the side, especially when on a (rumoured) 12k a week deal.

Tubbs: 7- Good energy and hold up play from the Cherries' record signing, certainly displaying a different side to his game when he replaced the injured Grabban.

Partington: N/A- Too little time to have a significant impact.

Harry Arter- Bournemouth's star player today

The Wrongs of English Coaching

1966. A year that stands out for many English football fans because it was the last year our country won the world cup. Yes, a country of around 50 million people, with some of the world's best facilities, and an undeniable love of football hasn't won a major tournament for 46 years. Countries such as France, Italy, Spain and others have all won World Cups recently, and that's because they are making the correct decisions from the national team to the 10 year old's.

Every person that has played football in England will often hear three phrases repeatedly while playing, or watching a football match; "get stuck in", "get into 'em" or "whack it" are consistently yelled by coaches across the country, the same coaches that likely believe a good footballer has to be above six feet tall. Our national team's failure over the past three or four decades has become almost laughable, the 4-1 defeat to a youthful German side in 2010 highlighted how far behind English football was from the rest of the world.

It is expected of English footballers of all ages to be physical, to love leg-crunching tackles and hoofing the ball up the pitch on a muddy, rainy day. Throughout history the English have been an aggressive race, the power and rapid speed at which the British Empire expanded demonstrated the skill and determination we have when it comes to an aggressive pursuit of something. However, as a country, we cannot let our naturally forceful mindset translate to the football pitch. When players are 16, physicality obviously makes a huge difference and will likely produce a winning team because it is so easy at that age to simply hoof the ball up the pitch to a massive, strong striker who can force the ball into the net. But the problems come when we try to do this at a professional level. Teams such as Argentina and Spain are not comprised entirely of physical specimens, they are balanced, but each and every player is technically gifted. Take Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi, who both stand at 5 foot seven inches tall. Neither is going to become a dominant centre-back, but they are both two of the most talented players in the world. In a match, John Terry wouldn't be able to touch Messi or Iniesta when they have the ball at the feet. From when children first begin football, a technical approach to coaching must be applied, implementing this style of the game from a very young age, as our current system is severely outdated.

At Euro 2012, Italy found it so easily to completely outplay England because they played with a far more intelligent, and technically superior mindset. Even at his age, Andrea Pirlo was able to control the game, spraying passes all over the pitch, splitting apart an England defence that was barely given a moment's rest. Italy's team was built from the foundations at the back. Buffon, an extremely smart goalkeeper had total vision of the pitch, leaving him able to direct his stout, but more than capable defence. The two full-backs consistently got up the pitch, but were always there to defend when needed. The midfield found success playing neat, interchangeable passes all around the pitch, resulting in chance, after chance, after chance. In contrast, the English team simply played a counter-attacking system, hoping that pure speed on the break would result in a lucky goal that they could try and defend for the rest of the match- a terrible plan.

In summary, it is important for everyone involved in English football to eat a large portion of humble pie, admit defeat and start fresh. The country consistently produces very talented football who go to waste because people automatically assume that only the physically strong can make good footballers. Truthfully, coaches must teach the 6 foot centre back how to play with the ball at his feet, and also teach the stepover-loving winger how to put in a ball-winning tackle. With this approach, who knows, maybe in ten years we will see the next Lionel Messi wearing the England shirt at the 2022 World Cup.

The Return Of The King

2 weeks ago Bournemouth lost 1-2 at home to Walsall, the club was in disarray and the fans were left with an extremely bitter taste in their mouths. Flash forward two weeks later, the return of Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall is marked by a dominant 2-0 win over Leyton Orient, with fans going home very, very happy.

I haven't wrote match reviews for about 3 weeks because of how utterly dispiriting the performances have been, I can't say I even cared anymore, it was so depressing watching that team play. But today was different, the magic of AFC Bournemouth had returned following a 15 month absence. The pre-game was focused around the return of Bournemouth legend Eddie Howe, who has been poached back from the club he departed to, Burnley. A rapturous applause from the largest home crowd of the season set the tone for what followed.

The Match 

Bournemouth lined up 4-5-1, with Lee Barnard leading the line by himself, though Pugh and Grabban occasionally made it into a 4-3-3. Leyton Orient brought a decent following of 499 to the south coast, but their fans had little to cheer for as Russel Slade opted for the "park the bus" tactic. The opening 20 minutes was rather dull, with Leyton Orient's tactics of having ten men behind the ball constantly frustrating any attack Bournemouth tried to produce. However, with the atmosphere a bit flat, Bournemouth started to pick themselves up a little with some neat passing. Marc Pugh was a consistent threat down the left wing, reminding many of his dynamic performances when Eddie Howe was boss during the 2010-11 season. Even though players found themselves in space often, and an abundance of corners, Bournemouth simply lacked that cutting edge, with Grabban often being the culprit of bad control. Even though Bournemouth dominated possession, there were not many chances to talk about barring the many corners, though they were easily dealt with by Ben Chorley and Nathan Clarke in the Orient defence. Unfortunately, Richard Hughes pulled a muscle towards the end of the first half, and was replaced by Lorenzo Davids, a man with a lot to prove.

The second half started in much the same manner, but there was one vital difference from the first half. The crowd had awoken, "Eddie Howe's Barmy Army" was belted out from the fans in the north stand, who amazingly managed to keep the chanting going for around 20 minutes. Bournemouth began to look far more dangerous, the impressive Davids notably hit two superb long range cross field balls finding Grabban in space down the right side. Following around 4 corners in a row (I lost count) Bournemouth finally broke the deadlock, as Simon Francis' corner ricocheted around the Leyton Orient box, somehow finding it's way into the back of the net with Grabban seemingly having the last touch. This goal was significant, it symbolized a fresh start to the season and the joy on everyone's faces (Players and fans) was there for all to see. On the back of the momentum, Bournemouth quickly grabbed a second as Marc Pugh seized on a sloppy pass by Alsopp in the Orient goal, he teased the lunging Orient defenders before almost stumbling into the net along with the ball. Orient's extremely unambitious tactics had yielded them no return, Slade tried to switch things up, bringing on Ryan Brunt for the lethargic Symes and teenager winger Moses Adabujo in a hope to spark a comeback. Slade's substitutions returned nothing, their team struggled to string passes together and 90 minutes of chasing a ball is extremely tiring work. Bournemouth comfortably saw out the final 20 minutes with no defensive worries, but no real further chances that would have increased the winning margin.

 My Thoughts

How nice it is to return home on a Saturday evening with 3 points in the bag. For the first time in a very long time the players can hold their heads high, knowing the deserved the win because of their effort throughout the match. Eddie and Jason's return is going to turn this club around, but credit to Dennis Rhodes and Chris Hargreaves for changing the team, installing some passion and belief in the short amount of time they had. The defence was very solid throughout, Elphick and Addison won everything while Daniels and Francis provided support down the wing. The midfield was lacking in the first half, but Davids changed the game in the second half with his calm touch and quality passing, while O'Kane looked far more comfortable (and far more effective) in a central attacking role. There was always an option out wide in Grabban or Pugh, though the delivery sometimes lacked in quality. Up front Barnard was far too often left isolated, his touch was first class but it wasn't often that he actually got involved in the game.

In summary, our ego-maniac chairman has eaten a healthy portion of humble pie and brought back one of the club's best ever managers. The crowds will begin to increase and the atmosphere will certainly return. We face a very tough test at home next week to league leaders Tranmere, who have flown out of the traps to start the season. Eddie has his first week now to assess and work with the players, and hopefully we will soon see the passing, attacking football that has been so dearly missed return to Dean Court once more.

Bournemouth's new management team are introduced to the crowd

Swindon Town 4-0 AFC Bournemouth

Cherries Rocked By The Rockin' Robins

Report 

AFC Bournemouth slumped to their second defeat of the season this afternoon at The County Ground as they were thumped 4-0 by a confident Swindon team. The defeat leaves Bournemouth 17th in the table after gaining a mere 8 points from their first 8 games.

Bournemouth made three changes to the side that faced Brentford on Tuesday as the injured Pugh, Arter and Francis were replaced by Fogden, McDermott and Cook respectively. Swindon started the game on the front foot, with wide man Matt Ritchie in particular looking dangerous. After having control of a lightweight Bournemouth side, Swindon broke the deadlock just after ten minutes. Bournemouth's insistence on passing out of defence produced a mistake as Fogden failed to control Cook's pass, Matt Ritchie intercepted the ball on the edge of the area and smashed a rocket past Shwan Jalal and into the back of the net. Paul Groves once again tried to make a diamond midfield work, but yet again it failed to produce good results. As the commentator on BBC Wiltshire said, "if you come to Swindon you must play 4-4-2 and try to match them". Grabban and Tubbs were often left isolated up front and could not make an impact on the game despite running around.  The second goal came once again through Swindon's width, the ball found it's way to Gary Roberts who hit a curling cross from the left hand side, the ball somehow evaded all of Bournemouth's defenders leaving Andy Williams with a simple header. Bournemouth's best (and only) chance of the match fell to Matt Tubbs, the ball was played over Swindon's defence and Tubbs hit a low shot, but goalkeeper Wes Foderingham made a great save low to his right hand side. The teams went in at half time with Swindon looking increasingly comfortable, basking in their 2-0 advantage.

Groves made two changes to begin the match, with Josh Wakefield and Josh McQuoid replacing Donal McDermott and Wes Fogden. The visitors finally started pressing forward a bit, but a few sub standard corners aside, they never really looked like threatening Swindon's goal. The game began to have a feel of a training match, Swindon's players looked calm on the ball and played some nice, neat passes in short space. The third goal game when Matt Ritchie hit a low driven free-kick from the outside the right side of the Cherries penalty area, it amazingly went through everyone in the box and hit the back of the net before Jalal had time to sufficiently react. "Groves out" started to belt out from the visiting supports, alongside "you're getting sacked in the morning". With 10 minutes to go and the game looking bleaker by the minute I decided that it was time to go, so unfortunately I cannot comment on the fourth goal, but it was scored by Birmingham loanee Adam Rooney.

My Thoughts

Where to begin? It is simply beyond my understanding how a team that has cost so much money can play so appallingly. I have seen some bad times as a Bournemouth fan, but I do not remember walking away from a game this demotivated. I think this feeling is also held by many fellow Bournemouth supporters, there is simply something missing within the club. The team plays without passion, without fire or flair, there seems to be a constant lack of determination to push on and win the game. Today it was boys vs men, we were absolutely outclassed by a Swindon team that did what we should have done in all four of our home games. I don't like giving anyone abuse, but it is time for Groves to go, the results and performances have been completely unacceptable. Miles Addison's post match interview clearly shows that there is disarray in the dressing room, and this all just comes back to the leadership of the team. We can't play a diamond midfield with 3 lightweight players in it, McDermott, Fogden and O'Kane all get easily muscled off the ball constantly, and Partington isn't exactly a ball winner either. Addison and Elphick seem to have a lack of understanding when playing together, and the ball constantly gets past them. Grabban and Tubbs did nothing when they got on the ball, Tubbs has now missed two one on one's, and Grabban can't beat a man to save his life. We seriously need a man (like Di Canio, not as nutty though) to come in and give this team a kick up the backside and whip them into shape.


Anyway, thanks very much for reading once again and Up The Cherries...

Former Cherries target Matt Ritchie grabbed two goals

AFC Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford FC

AFC Bournemouth dropped another two points at home to Brentford last night, even after coming from behind to take the lead.

Bournemouth got out to a good start against Brentford, the return of Marc Pugh to the starting lineup added danger going down the left wing. In total, three changes were made from Saturday, with Pugh, Daniels and Tubbs replacing MacDonald, Cook and McQuoid respectively. Solid passing football was being played and we look dangerous going down both wings. However, Brentford soon got a free kick inside Bournemouth's half, and took advantage of it. As the ball swooped in from the left Shwan Jalal raced out of his goal, completely missing the ball and a Cherries defender headed the ball into his own goal. This disastrous play resulted in Bournemouth becoming shell-shocked, they couldn't string a pass together for the next ten minutes, with Simon Francis notably looking extremely nervous. Our fortunes soon changed though as Matt Tubbs headed a beautiful glancing header right into Simon Moore's bottom right hand corner, leaving the Brentford goalkeeper no chance. Bournemouth returned to their former self, and continued to press on and attack. Not long after Lewis Grabban received the ball on the edge of the area, and cut in only to be harshly chopped down by a Brentford defender in the penalty area. Grabban, Daniels and Tubbs all disputed over who should take it until Addison stepped in and gave Daniels the right to take it. A powerful shot into the right side of the goal gave Bournemouth a deserved lead heading into half-time.

The second half began as the first half ended, The Cherries maintained a lot of possession and Marc Pugh continued to look a threat down the wing. Once again though, Bournemouth could not take advantage of the chances presented to them, leaving it wide open for Brentford. Around 60 minutes Brentford began to dominate, Bournemouth's lightweight midfield grew tired and became increasingly exposed. Even though everyone in the stadium could see Brentford were about to score, Groves sat there as if he were waiting for a goal to actually go in before he made a change. Uwe Rosler was not as ignorant, bringing Harry Forrester who eventually scored the equalizer with a curling shot from the edge of the area. The subs finally came, though they had very little impact on the game. Matt Tubbs was presented with a golden opportunity to win the game as he broke off leaving him one on one with the goalie, however a poor first touch lost his momentum and he tamely shot it at the Brentford goalkeeper. Frustration began to grow amongst everyone, and the only team looking like winning the game towards the end was Brentford. Though the game ended in a draw, it felt like another two points dropped.

In my opinion, something is clearly wrong at the club that needs to be fixed. I have a major issue with Jalal, who is a very average goalie at this level, and even though he made two glaring errors he continued to blame his defenders. It was also interesting to notice the difference between Groves and Rosler, Rosler was on the touchline yelling, moving and making subs, Groves sat in the dugout with his hands placed in his pockets. The teams lack of fight throughout is very demotivating, and they all bizarrely looked absolutely knackered after an hour, which isn't good enough for this level. Overall it once again was not good enough, and a trip to Swindon does not make this any easier.