The Premier League is full of so much wealth and glamour that the appearance of a club such as Bournemouth in the top-flight will be a breath of fresh air for all involved in football next season. Monday night’s 3-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers helped The Cherries into second spot in the table, which all but secured promotion if they can avoid a nineteen-goal swing on the final day of the season.
Bournemouth Promotion Will Boost The Premier league
Bournemouth will play top flight football for the first time in their history next season, and that will only help the Premier League. The sight of a club with a stadium capacity of just 12,000 pitting their wits against the top sides in the league is stuff that fairytales are made of. The only comparison I can make is to that of an FA Cup tie when one of the Premier League big boys is drawn away to a lower league side in the third round.
This is by no means a slight on Bournemouth Football Club, however. They have totally deserved their promotion after a fantastic campaign in the Championship where they have held their own, and bettered, teams with far greater budgets and wage bills than them. Their recent troubles look to be finally at an end.
Bournemouth have undergone a huge shift in fortunes since they were close to extinction back in 2008 before current Chairman Jeff Mostyn rescued the club. The following season they nearly dropped out of the Football League after starting the campaign on -17 points, but now they are only looking forward as they contemplate dream trips to grounds such as Old Trafford, Anfield and The Emirates Stadium. They are backed by billionaire Russian owner Maxim Demin, have an outstanding young manager in Eddie Howe and have one of the most highly-rated centre-forwards in the country in 23-goal Callum Wilson.
For some of the Bournemouth players the sight of players such as Wayne Rooney, Sergio Aguero and Eden Hazard lining up against them next season will be a surreal experience but they will need to put that to the back of their minds as they bid to survive that crucial first season. They must not be overawed by their opponents as that could lead to their stay in the top-flight being shorter than they would have liked.
The question is: can they survive the challenge and rigours of the Premier League?
They have every chance if they can stick together, win their crucial home games and enter games with no fear of the opposition. They have money to invest and are riding on the crest of a wave at the moment so all the signs are there for success.
The Goldsands ground must be an intimidating place to play football for their opponents. If this is the case a good home record, coupled with some points on the road, will hopefully see them reach safety.
Bournemouth will have money to spend but they must do so wisely. They do need to strengthen but they must ensure they do so wisely and do not break up the great team ethic that has served them well this season. Their signings will need to have proven Premier League experience because that experience could be the difference between relegation and staying up.
The only pitfall I can see from Bournemouth’s exposure in the Premier League is that their top players, such as leading scorer Wilson, will more than likely depart if the right offer comes along. Their highly-rated manager Eddie Howe will also be in even more demand than he currently is.
However, before they can start preparing for the Premier League next season they will travel to Charlton on Saturday with the possibility of clinching the Championship title if Watford slip up in their own final league game.
