AFC Bournemouth vs Charlton Athletic

Finally the international break is over and we can return to the exciting world of the Championship.

The Cherries face an undefeated Charlton Athletic, at the Goldsands stadium and will be looking to kick on after the victory away to Bolton before the break.

The Addicks visit the south coast still undefeated and sitting in seventh, after winning four and drawing seven  matches so far in the league.

Unfortunately for the Cherries former Charlton striker Yann Kermorgant will be unavailable as he starts his three match ban after his dismissal in the last match.

This gives Eddie Howe a selection headache as he has preferred starting two strikers when playing at home.

It will be interesting to see who comes in over the next three matches; this could be the perfect chance for forwards Brett Pitman and Tokelo Rantie to stake their claim for a starting position.

I am also keen to see Dan Gosling get a chance to start in the Championship; the Charlton game could be the perfect platform for him to start in behind Callum Wilson.

I know that a lot of fans will not want the Cherries to play five in midfield at home, but I think Gosling could work well in that position and let’s face it he has an eye for goal.

Gosling has been in good form when called upon in the league cup and think he deserves his chance in the first team.

The matches come thick and fast over the next couple of weeks so Howe will need to work out his striking options quickly, fortunately we do have some good options and flexibility within the squad.

Let’s hope we can get a win to take into the Reading match on Tuesday night.

Essential prediction. Cherries 2 Charlton 1 (Same as last season)

  

The Championship 14/15

The Cherries kickoff the new season away to Huddersfield Town on Saturday and Eddie and the boys will be looking to avoid a similar result from 12 months ago when the Terriers ran out 5-1 winners.

A year is a long time in football and Bournemouth will be certainly taking a wealth of Championship experience with them into the new season.

Lewis Grabban may have departed for Norwich but I think that we are looking a stronger team going into this season.

New signings Callum Wilson, Junior Stanislas and Dan Gosling all look light great prospects and join a young and very talented side.

Eddie Howe and his team will be looking to beat last season’s historic record beating year, it will certainly be interesting to see if they can take the great form from the end of the last term into this one.

Pre season has seen the emergence of young centre half Bailey Cargill who looks a hot prospect, Cargill has put in some composed performances and will be looking to break into the starting 11.

I am sure if you are like me you are all ready and raring to get this season started, I am confident that hopefully keeping hold of the likes of Steve Cooke, Matt Ritchie and Simon Francis this summer will see the Cherries push on and be challenging in the top half of the table.

It will be exciting to start the season with Yann Kermorgant up front as he certainly made a massive difference when he joined in January and think we go into this season with a much stronger squad.

Enjoy the opening weekend if you are making the trip up to Huddersfield, if not see you next Saturday for the visit of Brentford.

Player Of The Season

BY Chris Kyriacou

With the final home game coming up at the weekend and with the Play-offs seemingly out of reach, it is time to think about who has stood out for the Cherries this season.

It has been quite an unbelievable season at Dean Court, better than anyone could have expected, so many players have stepped up to the plate and deserve to be recognised.

The player of the season will be announced before the match on Saturday against Nottingham Forest, you can vote for your favourite player here: http://tinyurl.com/mmaud2v.

Here are Essential Cherries players of the season (In no particular order).

Steve Cook

Cook has been phenomenal this season, the cultured centre back can both play football and defend with the best of them.

Cook is assured on the ball and can be relied on to build the play up from the back, he is also fantastic in the air and has provided countless last ditch tackles to save the team.

A premier league defender in the making, Cook has had a fantastic season and he topped it off with his sublime overhead goal against Ipswich on bank holiday Monday.

Steve Cook getting ready for battle

Simon Francis

Ever present Simon Francis has had the season of his life, strong in defence great in the air.  Francis has also provided a real attacking threat down the right hand side with his overlapping runs.

He has grown in confidence and stature as the season has progressed and is looking very accomplished at Championship level.

Lee Camp

Lee Camp joined the Cherries with the reputation of being an experienced seasoned campaigner in the Championship and he certainly lived up to his billing.

Camp has controlled and commanded his defence all season, he signed in October on a loan deal from West Brom, and the move was thankfully made permanent in the January transfer window.

 It is safe to say he has been a rock for the team and steadied the defence at a time we needed it most.

Lewis Grabban

Lewis Grabban has scored twenty goals this season and has run his heart out for the team.

He has been simply fantastic and scored the vital goals that the Cherries needed to stay in the division.

 Grabban has now struck up a partnership with new boy Yann Kermorgant and I am excited to see what the pair will produce together next season.

My shortlist is no way extensive and on a whole the squad has stepped up to the Championship and it was very difficult to choose.

In midfield Harry Arter, Eunan O’Kane and Matt Ritchie have all had good seasons along with Marc Pugh, Ryan Fraser and Andrew Surman.

When involved club captain Tommy Elphick along with Charlie Daniels, Ian Harte and Elliott Ward have all been very good defensively.

It will be interesting to see who gets your vote on Saturday afternoon

AFCB VS Blackpool

The Cherries travel to Lancashire twice in a week to face two teams that got the better of them earlier in the season at Dean Court.

First up on Saturday are fellow seasiders Blackpool followed by Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday evening.

AFC Bournemouth will be in high spirits after securing their best victory of the season last week against Doncaster Rovers.

The 5-0 demolition of Doncaster was certainly the most pleasing home performance of the season, a clean sheet and lots of goals including a hatrick from new boy Yann Kermogant sent all Cherries fans home happy.

Blackpool are on an awful run and haven’t won a match in seventeen games since they beat Sheffield Wednesday at the end of November.

If the Cherries maintain focus and perform as well as they have been in the last few matches then there is a great chance of getting 3 points.

I think it is going to be a tough match, Blackpool should not be underestimated, but their recent form cannot be ignored they are a team low on confidence and I think that we can take advantage and score some goals.

Essential Cherries prediction:  AFC Bournemouth 3 -1 Blackpool

A must win game for the Cherries?

The Cherries enter the business end of the season with all to play for; the lads have a busy period with eight matches in March. Five out of the eight games are away from home against teams in the bottom half of the table.

Today’s visitors Doncaster Rovers are sat in 20^th place, six points behind the Cherries, which almost makes the fixture a must win match for both teams.

A victory today would give the Cherries a little bit of breathing room and move them away from a potential relegation battle.

 Although our recent performances have been good, we have lacked that little bit of luck that would have seen us pick up three points.

 Paul Dickov’s men will be looking to get something out of the today’s match to try and move them away from the relegation zone.

 Doncaster have not won any of their last 12 away matches so expect them to be compact and hard to break down, let’s hope that we can get an early goal and make them open up and play.

With so much at stake today’s game is arguably more important than when Doncaster visited Dean Court last season when both teams were going for promotion.

I am going for a home win and a clean sheet, my prediction: Cherries 2-0.

I will be discussing the Doncaster game with Michael Dunne on his podcast on Sunday, so be sure to check out http://alldepartments.wordpress.com/ to listen to our verdict on the match.