The Cherries have cemented their place as a Premier League team from the depths of League Two and are only growing stronger by the season that could see them reach Europe sooner rather than later.
Starting the story in the 2007/08 season, Bournemouth were sat in League One and struggled a lot due to injuries and were always in a relegation battle but sat in debt of around £4 million they entered administration in February of that season and due to entering this the Football League deducted ten points and relegation looked a certainty at that point. On the pitch, the players seemed to just be concentrated on playing football and at a point near the seasons end, won six games on the spin and with one game to go, a draw would be enough to see Bournemouth stay in League One for another season but that depended on Cheltenham Town in their last fixture at home to Doncaster Rovers. Bournemouth managed to achieve the minimum ask by travelling to Carlisle United and heading back down to the south coast with a point as they drew 1-1, but they were also heading down to League Two as Cheltenham done their job and won 2-2 against Doncaster to keep their League One status intact. Had Bournemouth not received that ten-point deduction from the Football League, they would’ve finished 15th in the table, safe from relegation, with Crewe who just finished outside the relegation zone in reality, they would’ve gone down in Bournemouth’s place.
Now being in League Two, Bournemouth had a good run in the league winning 17 games and drawing 12 in the 08/09 season with would’ve seen them sit on 63 point and in 10th place above Chesterfield and Morecambe on goal difference but again were deduction 17 points for leaving administration without a Company Voluntary Agreement. They still quite comfortably stayed clear of the relegation zone even with the point deduction and finished 21st of the 24 teams on 46 points, two positions and nine points clear of relegation into non-league. This was also the season that the Cherries legend, Eddie Howe entered, and the rest is history from here on out.
The start of Howe’s legendary status on the south coast had started and didn’t stop heading into the 09/10 season as Howe’s men had a great season that seen them finish second and secured promotion back to League One but midway through that season Eddie Howe had left that seen Bournemouth stay sat in the division finishing sixth. The 11/12 season didn’t fare any better as they finished 11th in a disappointing season but commence the 2012/13 season and the return of Eddie Howe, who was appointed as boss of the Cherries once again in October 2012 and seen them climb into the Championship through the automatic promotion spots finishing 2nd. They had a good first season in the Championship, finishing in a respectable mid-table finish of 10th.
The 2014/15 season is where the fun began and where the history was at its best as Bournemouth had secured promotion to England’s top division, the Premier League. They secured promotion on the penultimate league game against Bolton at Dean Court winning 3-0 but secured the Championship title on the final day against Charlton at the Valley again, winning 3-0 but that was thanks to a 90th minute equaliser from Sheffield Wednesday as they drew 1-1 with title contenders Watford as a win would’ve won them the title no matter the what the result between Charlton and Bournemouth would’ve been, although the Hornets still game up alongside the Cherries in the automatic promotion spot.
Bournemouth and Eddie Howe held their own against England’s elite as they managed to stay in the Premier league for five straight season with a best of finishing 9th in 16/17, which was some feat as when they came up it was their debut, but during the strange season of 2019/20, when the pandemic hit, they finish 18th and were relegated back to the Championship followed by the departing Eddie Howe, who left big boots to be filled in the dugout of the Vitality but not without controversy of the relegation and a match between Sheffield United and fellow relegation battlers Aston Villa played, where Sheffield United were denied against Villa due to a breakdown in the goal-line technology. The ball crossed the line due to Villa ‘keeper Orjan Nyland fumbling with the ball but the technology didn’t alert the referee that the ball had actually crossed the line so the goal wasn’t given and the game finished 0-0 and because of that result Villa finished one point above Bournemouth in 17th and a worse goal difference by one so if that Sheffield United goal stood, Bournemouth would’ve stayed up on goal difference seeing Villa go back to the Championship.
The Championship is notoriously known to be the hardest league in the English pyramid as its seen as any team can beat any other team, regardless of form or league position but the Cherries done well and bounced back quick and only stayed in the Championship for two seasons, not as quick and the known ‘yo-yo’ teams of Fulham and Norwich but pretty good going as new head coach Scott Parker led them back to the Premier League in 21/22. He didn’t last long in the new season, not even making it to the end of August and that’s when assistant Gary O’Neil took charge and kept them alive in the league.
Fast forward to the current season and new manager Andoni Iraola is thriving on the south coast and is aiming for a top ten finish for only the second time in Bournemouth's history with some help from new part-owner, Michael B Jordan. Jordan spoke as a guest on an episode of The Graham Norton Show and stated "One reason I wanted to invest is that there was so much potential there and that if you give to the community, and you have new managers and new players you can raise the culture of the team. It's exciting".
Dominic Solanke is a big part of Bournemouth's successful results this season and like previously mentioned, could be the reason the Cherries get top ten and not unrealistically, possibly get a European spot, but if that doesn't happen this season, it's sure that the Cherries will get some well deserved European trips in the near future and as we know, European football attracts players to a football club and that will only help Bournemouth grow bigger both on and off the pitch.
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