The Enemy: Bournemouth fan on avoiding relegation and Howe for England

Bournemouth were expected to go straight back down to the Championship last season but through the guidance of Eddie Howe managed to remain in the top flight. That achievement lead to talk of Howe getting the England job, which banished once the FA interviewed Sam Allardyce and Steve Bruce, prior to appointing the former.

Securing Premier League status means a lot more than bragging rights nowadays due to TV revenue and commercial deals. The money Bournemouth now attract was probably never envisioned by their board, but now it’s reality and they hope their adventure continues.

SN spoke to Bournemouth supporter Cameron Read to get his views ahead of this weekend’s clash at Dean Court.

Supporter Q&A

Bournemouth did enough to remain in the Premier League despite a number of key injuries. What do you put that down to?

A number of things really. A manager that was able to galvanize a small group of players and get them all working to the same goal. Our performances since Southampton away got better and better and when it came to the back-to-back wins against Chelsea and Man United, that’s always going to give confidence to the players and fans. And key wins against the teams around us all helped towards a good season overall.

Were you shitting it when Eddie Howe was linked with the England job?

Of course, we all expect Howe to be England manager one day but not so soon, there was also a period of time after the speculation where he didn’t say a word to the media. There was also rumours linking him to the Everton and Southampton jobs too, so it was a very nervy time.

Any fears of being relegated this year?

Not really, the two main problems is that we could continue our poor form from the back end of last season. And our defensive issues could hinder us if we don’t bring in depth in those positions. However we have made some really good additions, and we have key players that are back from injury and have had a full pre-season. we are definitely better than 3 other teams in this league

Your greatest moment as a Bournemouth fan?

Its hard to top our Championship winning campaign, the way we just brushed aside teams was amazing to watch. Was even better as no-one gave us a chance at the start of the season

Confident of getting a point of three against United?

On our day we can beat anyone in this league, as long as we perform well and don’t give away cheap possession defensively I am confident. However with players like Zlatan and Pogba on the opposing team its hard to stay so optimistic

Who will be crowned Champions in May?

It’s probably the hardest season to predict with 8 possible teams going for the title. However I can’t see beyond Guardiola’s Manchester City, they already had the strongest squad without all their new additions, and Guardiola himself is world class

Scoreline prediction…

1-1

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