AFC Bournemouth had only just been promoted before experts had already began suggesting that they were due for an immediate return to the Championship.
There is little doubt the Cherries face a baptism of fire in their debut season in the Premier League, but survival is not out of their reach and Outside90’s Anthony Maragretic has outlined five factors that could go a long way to ensuring an unlikely second season in the top flight.
Making the Goldsands Stadium a fortress
For teams who are fighting for the title, their away form is crucial because the results at home tend to take care of themselves, but for teams who will be fighting the drop such as Bournemouth, winning their matches at home could be pivotal come May, especially against fellow relegation candidates. Swansea and Stoke were tipped to go straight back down when first promoted, but they both made their homes tricky places to visit and claimed some big scalps. Seven years later for Stoke and four years for Swansea, both are still in the Premier League and had exceptional campaigns in 2014-15, both finishing in the top half. That is what Bournemouth should be aiming for in the future, but for now, mirroring the debut seasons of Swansea and Stoke should be an objective set by Eddie Howe.
Callum Wilson
If the Cherries are to survive this season, they will need Callum Wilson to have a big season in front of goal. The 23-year-old played in all but one of Bournemouth’s games last season and was its leading scorer with 20 goals. Whilst the Premier League may feel like a monumental step up for him, Wilson can draw on the 2014-15 campaigns of Charlie Austin and Danny Ings. Even though both experienced relegation, it was hardly though their own fault. You can guarantee that if Bournemouth survives, Wilson will be the toast of the town.
Sylvain Distin
Throughout this season, there will be times when the going gets tough for Bournemouth. In these times, it will need its experienced players to galvanise the squad. New signing Sylvain Distin, who is the same age as manager Howe, is the most experienced player in the squad and with 457 appearances in the Premier League dating back to 2002. His knowledge of what is required at this level will be invaluable. He is expected to line up in the middle of defence alongside club captain Tommy Elphick and if these two form a solid partnership, it can only help the club’s chances of survival.
Rotating the squad
Whilst there are less matches to be played than in the Championship, the Premier League is physically demanding and in order to be competitive on a weekly basis, Howe will need to keep his first team fresh. This means he may need to rest his star players on occasion. Burnley fell victim to a lack of squad rotation last season as its main main, a fatigued Ings, failed to find an extra gear when required. Resting him for just one match could have given him a much needed energy boost. On the other end of the spectrum, Leicester, who constantly changed its squad around, was able to go on a late season run and remarkably avoid the drop. Bournemouth will not survive because of the 11 who take to the field on a matchday, but because of the entire first team who need give Eddie Howe selection headaches.
Embracing the unknown
Newly promoted teams have unexpectedly survived before. There is no reason why Bournemouth can not do the same. Wigan (2005-06), Reading (2006-07), Stoke (2008-09), Hull (2008-09) and Swansea (2010-11) were all expected to make a swift return to the Championship but defied the odds and stayed up. Reading even made it to the lofty heights of the top half, finishing eighth. Howe will need to look at how these teams handled their debut season in the top flight, and follow suit.
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Think that AFC Bournemouth will surprise a few teams this season, and I am hopeful that we will secure a top 15 finish and not have to struggle against relegation. So much depends on players not suffering nerves and sticking to thier natural game. I know that we will be up against top quality players…..but we are not short of attacking qualities…it will be our defending that will make or break us!