The Cherry(ies) on top!

[Linecoigne1998]

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Hello and welcome to my new story!

I've been thinking about starting a new story for a while now as a secondary story to The King of Rome and I tried out a couple (started a Huddersfield one, a road to glory sort of one and a Jordi Cruyff one) but I just felt like it wasn't a story that I was going to be invested in enough. After looking stories from this year, I realised a lot were from the Premier League, such as PatrickLFC's and SaintMotbot's Southampton stories and thinking about it, I decided to go with the Premier League too as it is the most exciting league in the world in my opinion and I just wanted to have a story take place there. When I was thinking about choosing a new club, I just didn't know who to choose. Obviously Southampton were off the table, I would have no chance of even rivaling with PatrickLFC's and SaintMotbot's stories, so I wanted something different. I thought about Tottenham, as they are my favourite team in England but I just felt that I'd be starting with a squad already strong enough to win the Premier League. After some long thinking, I decided to go with Bournemouth! They're a team with an amazing history over the past 6-7 years and as this season is their first season in the Premier League, I wanted to try them out. They're really a club that I have a lot of respect for and really like too so it was a perfect fit. I know I've started a few stories this year and kind of gave up on some but I can assure you that this save will be my secondary save and who knows, if it does well enough it might actually rival with my The King of Rome save!

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I'm also giving myself some rules to follow:

- No signings from outside the United Kingdom
- No more than 2 loan signings and 3 transfer signings a season
- Keep the board's confidence no lower than Very Secure after the first season
- Try to upgrade the youth facilities as often as possible to have the best youth academy in the world
- Make past players staff members if possible
- Qualify for the Champions League within 6-7 seasons
- Do not get relegated in the first 3 seasons
- Get the Cherries to the top!

​

So without further ado, thanks for reading, and let's get started!​

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[video=youtube;RWxhR7mBnxc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWxhR7mBnxc[/video]​

 

[Linecoigne1998]

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[video=youtube;H3L0OqoIuko]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3L0OqoIuko[/video]
​

Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe announced that his team was ready after a successful pre-season which saw the Cherries win 6 times in the 7 games that they played and that he was very excited to get going following those fixtures.

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During the press-conference, Howe also talked about the new signings and was really happy about their impact and what they had brought to the team already and couldn't wait to see how they'd do in the Premier League ahead of Bournemouth's opening game against Leicester in 4 days. It will be an exciting game between two sides who never actually played each other yet, at least in the Championship as Leicester were promoted to the Premier League in 2013/2014, the same season when Bournemouth were promoted from Sky Bet League 1.

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"Rolando and Ryan are two fantastic young players who will definitely get a lot from their time here considering we're a newly promoted side who will need all the support and depth we can get so definitely two great signings. They've already shown their ability as footballers during the pre-season and we just can't wait to see them on a Premier League pitch very soon to see if they can deliver there" - Eddie Howe, 04/04/2015

Bournemouth injury news ahead of their opening game against Leicester:

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Bad news for Bournemouth fans as they'll be missing SEVEN players ahead of their first game of the season against Leicester at the King Power Stadium, with the most notable injuries of Rolando Aarons, on loan from Newcastle, Marc Pugh, Adam Smith and Harry Arter, who are all starters at the club and will definitely be missed when they play Ranieri's side.

"It's disappointing to have gotten that many injuries during the pre-season but that's why we signed Ryan and that's also just why we have a lot of depth in the squad in general. We'll deal with those injuries as best we can and hopefully get a good result against Leicester but it's far from ideal for sure. It would have definitely been a perfect pre-season if it wasn't for those big injuries and to be honest we knew even last season that Tyrone would be out for a long time and Max also got injured when he came in from Saint-Étienne which was a big blow but we'll need to just stay focused and do the best we can." - Eddie Howe, 04/04/2015

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Eddie Howe will have a lot to look forward to with his newly-promoted side as they prepare to take on 3 teams that we are quite capable of beating given that they perform to the best of their ability, with Southampton probably being their toughest game for the first 2 weeks of the Premier League despite going away from home twice to face Leicester and Watford.

"The first 3 games will definitely shape our season and will really tell us whether or not we're capable of staying at this level for sure. There aren't really amazing expectations of us in the league this season obviously we're being talked about a lot right now mostly because of our story and what the club had to go through to come to the Premier League but those games are games where we can definitely take a couple of points and hopefully come out of the away games with some good results but all the teams we're facing will be tough teams for sure. I think all the games that we'll play this season should be treated like the most important game of the season because we're definitely a club still in transition, still getting the money from Premier League participation and so we obviously don't have the same kind of resources as a lot of other clubs in the league and that's also what makes the Premier League the most exciting league in the world but we'll do our best for sure."

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[Linecoigne1998]

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Leicester - Bournemouth (King Power Stadium)

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0' Bournemouth kick off the game

1' Matt Ritchie picks up the ball from the kick-off and gives it to Callum Wilson who passes it through the defence to Benik Afobe who shoots and puts it past Schmeichel to make it 1-0 BOURNEMOUTH! First even Premier League goal for the Cherries!

2' Great double save from Boruc as he denies Marc Albrighton and Shinji Okazaki to keep it at 1-0. Throw-in

5' Great through ball from Inler who finds Okazaki who scores but he was offside

12' Afobe with a fantastic through ball to Callum Wilson as Inler loses the ball in the midfield and the English striker smashes it past Schmeichel, the ball hits the post and goes in and it's 2-0 BOURNEMOUTH! after just 12 minutes!

26' Francis throws the ball in for Surman who plays a quick one-two with Gosling but the centre-midfielder passes it to Ritchie on the wing who gives it back in the middle straight away as Surman gives to Wilson; the English striker controls it and puts in a little chip for Afobe who controls it with his chest and brings it down and scores again! 3-0 BOURNEMOUTH AWAY FROM HOME!

31' Free kick for Bournemouth as Surman hits it over the wall and Schmeichel parries it out before Albrighton clears; Francis got back in time and heads it down to Ritchie who dribbles with the ball from the right-hand-side back in the centre and has a crack from about 30 meters out but it goes just about off target, good effort

36' Terrible corner on the right from Leicester but somehow the balls finds itself on the other side of the field for Fuchs who puts in a nice cross as Inler heads it to the far post to Albrighton who shoots but Boruc saves it and it goes out for another corner but nothing comes from that either

HT Surprisingly dominant performance from Bournemouth who are 3-0 up away from home against Leicester; Eddie Howe will be extremely pleased with his side's performance and probably won't change much to his setup given the damage it's done to Leicester

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45' Leicester kick off the second half

49' Bournemouth on the attack again from the left as Daniels heads it to Surman who heads it down to Gauld who passes it first time to Afobe and the Congolese striker puts in a great chip to Wilson who smashes it but Schmeichel came out correctly this time and saves the ball and himself from another embarrassment

51' Kanté comes on for Morgan for Leicester

59' Wiggins comes on for Daniels for Bournemouth

62' Schlupp and Simpson on for Fuchs and More for Leicester

85' Murray and Iturbe on for Wilson and Gosling for Bournemouth

FT Very surprising victory from the away side today, newly promoted Bournemouth; Leicester were horrible out there and definitely didn't deserve anything from the game as Howe's side comes away victorious today and quite convincingly as well, not bad for a first Premier League game

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[Linecoigne1998]

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Post-match interview: Leicester 0-3 Bournemouth

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"Eddie, what a performance today from your side for your very first Premier League game, you must be so proud!"

"Yes I can't believe it! Leicester are a very good side and we knew that so we approached the game in a very focused manner and it definitely paid off so I'm really pleased. The players today were outstanding and deserved the success that they got and hopefully it gives us confidence ahead of the Southampton game."

"We saw Benik earlier before he went into the changing rooms and he was acting like a little kid being so excited about scoring his first 2 league goals for the club, how good do you think the partnership between Benik and Callum with be this season?"

"Well I can't base the whole season on just one good performance but if they perform like they did today in every game, they'll definitely be one of the deadliest partnerships in the Premier League ahead of many offensive duos because they just played so well together today I was really impressed and told them both that when I went on the field after the game."

"Now this win sees you go top of the table as you were the team who won by the biggest margin, where do you think you'll end up finishing this season?"

"Again, this was only our first game and I can't really just say that we're going to finish in the top 4 now just because of one good win but I'm confident we can stay up this season, the players know that it's what we expect of them and we're definitely a team that has enough quality to stay up."

"Alright well thank you very much Eddie, congratulations on the win and good luck for the Southampton game!"

---

I went back home after that amazing win and just watched the Match of the Day broadcast. Of course, they were mostly talking about the Chelsea-Liverpool game that took place just before ours but they did mention "the amazing first game in the Premier League for Bournemouth". To think that a few years ago I was a coach at a team who were in the bottom 2 of League 1 and now it's that same club that just won their first Premier League game 3-0 against Leicester, AWAY from home. It's just amazing. I got a call from Jeff later in the evening who was just so happy, I could hear it in his voice and knew what he was going to say even before he said it:

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Jeff: "Eddie! Oh my god what did you even do? What a game! I know I saw you in the changing rooms after the game but watching it back now it was just such a great game that I had to call you! I'm so proud of you and everything you've done for this club, thank you, thank you so much."

Me: "Hahaha no worries boss, I was also really proud of the lads, they did so well today and I just hope we can keep it going. I told you Benik was going to be a good signing by the way, you kept saying he's not worth it but look at him and Callum, they have such great chemistry already!"

Jeff: "It's true, I'm glad I trusted you about it. After all you've done for this club, I should really trust you more often because you're the one making all this happen! Anyways, I just wanted to call about the game so once again thank you for a great performance, tell the players on Monday at practice that I'm really proud of them for me will you? I've got an important meeting to go in London so I won't be able to do it myself."

Me: "No problem boss, I'll do that. I hope that meeting goes well by the way. Anyways, thanks for calling I'll see on Tuesday then! Cheers."

How nice of him, we've had such a long friendship now and he loves this club so much that I was kind of expecting a call to be very honest. It was late now so I decided to get some very well deserved sleep and work hard tomorrow to prepare the practice for Monday. What a day.

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[Linecoigne1998]

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[video=youtube;jQRrisxQVkk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQRrisxQVkk[/video]
​

Bournemouth take on Southampton in 5 days after their impressive 3-0 victory over Leicester in the opening game of the season whilst Southampton beat West Ham 1-0 and are in the top 10 after one game. Southampton have always been known, since they got promoted to the Premier League, for starting the season very well and slowing down as the games came so Bournemouth could be in with a really tough game against Ronald Koeman's side but after such a great game against Leicester, there's no doubt that they'll be in with a great shout to get a result. Eddie Howe talked about the local rivalry between the two clubs and how this game and the next few games in the Premier League would definitely shape a local derby that could go on to become huge as games between the two clubs come.

[video=youtube;wwXv6Oisods]https://youtube.com/watch?v=wwXv6Oisods[/video]
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Southampton boss Ronald Koeman mostly talked about how a game against Bournemouth can be as tough as a game against Liverpool and that they'll need to be wary of Bournemouth's team as they have a very strong squad obviously capable of damages as we saw in their game against Leicester.

Both of the managers' pre-match press conferences set up what should be a very exciting game between two sides who always have the potential to mix things up and shock a lot of people. Looking at Southampton's record against Bournemouth in the past 3 games that they played against each other though, everything seems to be hinting at a Saints victory:

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Funnily enough, the Capital One Cup second round draw also happened today and Bournemouth were drawn against the team they beat in their season opener Leicester whilst Southampton will enter the competition in the third round and won't have to worry about that for now.

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And finally coming in from premierleague.com we've got the Barclays Premier League Team of the Week to show you today, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Bournemouth actually having the most players in the team as the Cherries have 3, the Red Devils have 3 and the Gunners have 2. Southampton also have one player in the team of the week in the name of Van Dijk, Dutch centre-back who joined this summer from Celtic so let's say he had a pretty good league debut!

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---

I don't know what Ronald was talking about during his press conference about our past 2 games and goalkeeping mistakes. Was he talking about Schmeichel and the fact that he didn't have a good game against us? Whatever it is, I know we'll show him what kind of a team we are when they come to Dean Court to face us. The whole city, for the past week, has been buzzing about this game and really excited to see us play at home for the first time this season in the Premier League. We won't disappoint the fans I know it, we can't anyway. Let's hope we can keep this form going though because it was a great game against Leicester and I'd love to get a similar result against Southampton.

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[Linecoigne1998]

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Bournemouth - Southampton (Dean Court)

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0' Bournemouth kick off the game

11' Bournemouth get a free kick about 45 meters away from the goal; Surman steps up to take it and passes it short to Distin who gives it to Daniels. The left-back sees a run from Ryan Gauld on the left and the Scottish youngster on loan from Sporting CP crosses the ball into Callum Wilson who taps it in past Stekelenburg and it's 1-0 BOURNEMOUTH! What a start to the game for Howe's side!

19' Good chance again for Bournemouth as Francis and Afobe play down the right-hand-side and the cross comes in but Wilson's shot is saved and cleared by Yoshida

26' Great chance for Southampton as Austin hits the post after a great cross from Mané was cut back to Wanyama who just passed it into the box and the English striker curled one around the defender but it hits the post and Elphick puts it out for a corner but nothing comes from it

HT Bournemouth yet again surprisingly dominant as they're 1-0 at home against Southampton here; only good opportunity for the Saints came from Austin but nothing else apart from that. Not the best first half of football, hopefully it will get better in the second half

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45' Southampton kick off the second half

47' It's Afobe and Wilson linking up once again as Afobe gets in the box and receives the pass from Wilson but just about misses the target

55' All three substitutions made for Southampton as Jay Rodriguez, Juanmi and Clasie all come on for Ward-Prowse, Davis and Austin

62' Tadic with a very long ball to Mané who holds onto the ball and sees Jay Rodriguez far side; the English winger goes past his man with the ball and crosses it in front post as Juanmi heads it and it goes far post and Boruc can't get to it! It's 1-1 SOUTHAMPTON score! Great goal from the Saints and they'll be happy with that for sure! Game on!

65' Steve Cook and Rolando Aarons coming on for Distin and Ryan Gauld for Bournemouth

77' Glenn Murray on for Benik Afobe for Bournemouth, they're pushing for a winner here

FT Bournemouth dominated the game but Southampton got a great goal in at the right time and salvage a draw at Dean Court; Eddie Howe will be disappointed about the result given that his team controlled most of the game but it's a good result for newly promoted Bournemouth who stay unbeaten in the Premier League 2 games in

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[James1517]

Good read mate! Could I ask for the download link of the 4-4-2 tactic your using for this story, as it looks decent and I'm looking for a decent 4-4-2 that plays football similar to Eddie Howe's Bournemouth, for my Portsmouth save, would be much appreciated!

 

[Linecoigne1998]

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Watford - Bournemouth (Vicarage Road)

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0' Watford kick off the game

27' Nothing going on in the game so far, hosts had 1 shot, Bournemouth had 6. No real good chances yet

33' Ritchie runs forward with the ball and almost goes through on goal but gets tackled; Francis gets it back and gives it to Wilson who made the run down the wing as he crosses it in for Afobe who heads it but the ball crashes onto the post and Prödl puts it out for a corner but nothing comes from it

40' Bournemouth playing around the back as Distin gives it to Daniels, who passes it to Surman; the centre-midfielder plays in a superb through ball to Matt Ritchie who finds himself on the left-hand-side and he smashes it past Pantilimon and it's 1-0 BOURNEMOUTH! They break the deadlock here! Just 5 minutes before half-time, great goal!

HTNot the best first half of football we've ever seen but Bournemouth find themselves ahead AGAIN at half-time as they scored just 5 minutes before the whistle and they've been performing well, had most of the best chances of the game and Watford will need to really step it up if they want to get anything from this game

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45' Bournemouth kick off the second half

48' Watford hit the post as Amrabat can't score from about 5 meters out and Francis clears at the last second but the hosts almost came back into the game

52' Will Keane comes on for his Bournemouth debut after coming in from Manchester United for 1 million pounds as he replaces Benik Afobe, MacDonald comes on for Gosling and Cook comes on for Elphick

53' Francis with the throw to Surman who switches the ball to Daniels who sees a run from Gauld who gets it and puts in a great low, pacey cross with his left foot and it goes past Pantilimon and Ritchie is at the end of it! 2-0 BOURNEMOUTH! What a game for the Cherries, they're on fire!

64' Keane almost scores on his debut after a great pass from Gauld from the edge of the box following a bad free kick from Ritchie but Pantilimon saves the shot and it's out for a corner but nothing comes from it

73' Ritchie passes the ball to Surman in Bournemouth's half and the midfielder sends in a long ball for Wilson who runs with it and hits one but it's another save from Watford's goalkeeper

77' Daniels runs with the ball to launch a counter-attack as he tries a one-two with Gauld but the Scottish youngster is taken down by Capoue and that's his second yellow! RED CARD FOR WATFORD and Capoue has to go off! It's going from bad to worse for Watford here

90+2' Late chance for Watford as Amrabat has a shot from inside the box but Boruc makes an easy save to deny him

FT Another win for Bournemouth who have now won 2 of their 3 first Premier League fixtures and sit in 2nd place which is a record to be very proud of for a newly promoted team for sure! Eddie Howe looked very happy on the sidelines and Bournemouth played a very controlling game anyway and they were never going to let it slip, at least that's what it looked like!

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[Linecoigne1998]

Good read mate! Could I ask for the download link of the 4-4-2 tactic your using for this story, as it looks decent and I'm looking for a decent 4-4-2 that plays football similar to Eddie Howe's Bournemouth, for my Portsmouth save, would be much appreciated!

Sure mate, there you go:
4-4-2 Bournemouth_3C302832-E254-46A8-944D-F31F419F96C1

Hope that works, feel free to PM me if you have any questions thanks for the support by the way!

 

[Linecoigne1998]

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Bournemouth - Chelsea (Dean Court)

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0' Bournemouth kick off the game

1' Daniels throws the ball in to Afobe on the left-hand-side as the Congolese striker gives it back to him and Daniels makes a great through ball to Gauld who cuts it back to the penalty spot with Gosling who shoots and scores! 1-0 BOURNEMOUTH!! WHAT A START FOT THE CHERRIES!!!

4' Chelsea pushing forward now to bounce back as Diego Costa holds the ball and puts in a great cross to Hazard who is completely alone in front of Boruc but the Polish goalkeeper gets the better of him and saves the Belgian's shot

32' Fabregas hits the corner in from the right as Diego Costa is at the front post and heads it to the far post and Oscar's there! 1-1 CHELSEA and they're back level! It took them half an hour but they did it! Game on now

41' Long throw from Azpilicueta but the ball finds itself at the edge of the box as Hazard picks up and has a crack from the edge of the area but it's a good save from Boruc who catches the ball

42' Bournemouth go forward themselves after that missed attempt and Ryan Gauld is on the left and ends up crossing it in for Wilson who just has to tap it in the corners but shoots straight at Courtois

44' Fabregas hit a free kick inside the box and Matic heads it but the ball smashes the bar and the defence clears it off the line

HT Decent first half here in Bournemouth as Chelsea are being held by the Cherries 1-1 at half-time; it's a great result for Howe's side as of right now and if they keep it like that, they'll be really happy

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45' Chelsea kick off the second half

46' Will Keane and Juan Iturbe coming on for Matt Ritchie and Callum Wilson for Bournemouth

65' Eunan O'Kane comes on for Andrew Surman for Bournemouth, their last substitution of the game

FT Incredible performance from Bournemouth who held Chelsea to a draw and continue their unbeaten streak in the Premier League; they're currently in 5th ahead of Manchester United's game in hand against West Ham whilst Chelsea stay top waiting on Manchester City's result against Sunderland

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[PatrickLFC]

Impressive start mate, that tactic must be pretty good! Keep it up

 

[Linecoigne1998]

Impressive start mate, that tactic must be pretty good! Keep it up

Thanks Patrick! It does work like a charm hahaha it's great!