Bournemouth: 'The deck remains stacked against a club of Bournemouth's size'
In an age where more and more awards are handed out at the end of each season, Bournemouth found themselves the recipient of a lesser-known Premier League gong on Tuesday – the Most Improbable Comeback award, in recognition of their triumph at Nottingham Forest last September.
On that day, the league’s official stattos gave the Cherries only a 2.4% chance of winning at the City Ground when they were trailing 2-0 in the 51st minute, just before Philip Billing’s long-range howitzer set the scene for a rousing comeback and a 3-2 victory. And in a sense, that was their 2022-23 season in microcosm.
The Cherries were universally written off last summer, with a 20th-place finish a virtual certainty, and even boss Scott Parker stating they were "ill-equipped at this level" after an early 9-0 defeat at Liverpool.
Parker had fulfilled his brief of winning promotion, but the relationship with the club’s ownership had clearly broken down by that stage, and it was not a surprise when Parker was sacked before the end of August. His successor Gary O’Neil’s initial brief was to steady the ship – and he exceeded expectations, lifting the Cherries to 13th by the World Cup break in November.
A team who has come from behind to equalise, must then decide – stick or twist? Hold on for the point, or risk losing to go for the win? And Bournemouth – who were by then in the midst of a takeover, with Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley’s group waiting for Premier League approval for their purchase of the club from Maxim Demin – were also at a crossroads of sorts.
While fans showed their appreciation to O’Neil after that final pre-World Cup game, the supporters remained divided over whether to hand O’Neil the job permanently, or bring in a more experienced boss, with ex-Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa a potential alternative.
After careful consideration, the man from Vegas put his red and black chips on O’Neil, the takeover was completed, and Foley announced "We won’t be relegated. I guarantee it." Those words looked like making Foley a hostage to fortune when the team lost their first six league and cup games after the restart.
But the man whose motto is "always advance, never retreat" spun the roulette wheel and delivered six new signings in the January window. And gradually, as the new players were integrated and injured players returned, a “smash and grab” win at Wolves kick-started the second half of the campaign, and five victories in April ultimately kept Bournemouth’s seat at the Premier League poker table for another year. And they achieved another "first" – becoming the only team since the introduction of VAR to go an entire Premier League season without being awarded a penalty kick.
The deck remains stacked against a club of their size – no doubt, there will be another raft of 20th-place forecasts – but the takeover has meant the Cherries are now better placed than they were a year ago, on and off the field. Work continues apace on the new training ground at Canford Magna, with plans for a new 20,000-seat stadium likely to be ramped up once the training ground is completed next year.
Foley has already promised new signings (which may include loanees Jack Stephens or Matias Vina returning permanently), but there are also likely to be a number of outgoings, as the Cherries look to overhaul a squad which was largely constructed to get out of the Championship, rather than to be competitive in the top flight. Jordan Zemura is off to Udinese, Jefferson Lerma looks set for Crystal Palace, while other players who were loaned out in the second half of 2022-23 (and look unlikely to feature in the top flight) may be moved on.
As the unfancied Golden Knights prepare to play for ice hockey’s Stanley Cup, expect their footballing sister club to battle against the odds in a similar way in 2023-24.
And as it’s Bournemouth – it certainly won’t be dull.
