The opponent: AFC Bournemouth
There is something I don’t like about 3 sided grounds, can’t quite put my finger on it. January is well and truly in full swing with matt Ritchie off to Wolves/Charlton/Today’s Opposition etc. An offer not deemed worthwhile by our board came in for Aden Flint from Bradford, in all honesty I’m glad he is still a Town player and I ask, would we find anything better than Aden Flint with zero money? I am not so sure. Another highlight of the week has to be the ex-STFC brigade dumping Oxford out of the JPT, well done Messrs Benyon, Timlin, Corr, Sturrock, and anyone I haven’t mentioned. I liked Luggy, despite his own personal problems he gives nothing but 100% in to everything he does, and I wish him and his Swindon Town reserves well this season.
I have had a few trips down to Bournemouth over the years, one that stands out for me was a few years back when Barry Corr scored an absolute corker, I’m sure we had the blue and white shirts on that day. One thing I would say to anyone driving down to Bournemouth who has not been before, parking can be a nightmare, especially when you are leaving. Try street parking just down the road from the ground and you will get away considerably quicker.
Bournemouth is the largest town in the county of Dorset, with some 175’000 residents. Perhaps a town best known for rest homes, lawn bowls and beige slacks, back in 2008, Bournemouth was officially the happiest place in the UK, according to a survey. The poll of 16,000 people discovered 82% of Bournemouth residents said they were happy. The least happy place was Walsall in the Midlands, with only 49%. Bournemouth's mayor put the town's success down to its "abundant shops and buzzing nightlife." Boscombe FC were formed around 1890, although there is no evidence to prove this, it is generally accepted as 1890. To make the club more representative of the district, the name was changed to Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club in 1923. During the same year the club was elected to the Football League. The first league match was in Swindon on 25 August 1923, Bournemouth lost 3–1. The first league game at Dean Court was also against Swindon, Bournemouth gained their first league point with a goalless draw.
Bournemouth has a few famous sons and daughters, such as the writer of Jerusalem, Hubert Parry, all round entertainer, Max Bygraves and TV personality, Amanda Holden. It is said J.R.R. Tolkien used to holiday in Bournemouth every year for 30 years, staying in the same hotel room, and eventually retired to the area.
What are they saying about us? – Jimmy Quinn“In my opinion, the only thing that will hold back Swindon is Di Canio. With him, it is not so much about the players, it is all about him. You don’t really know how to take him and if a bigger club were to come in, I think he would jump ship. He is very much his own man and very much of his own mind. He is a showman and it is all about shock treatment with him. That’s not most peoples’ style but it seems to be his. Eddie and Jason seem to want to be there as long as they can and have got a helluva team. Out of the two of them, I would back Bournemouth all day long. (11/01/13 Bournemouth Echo) The same Eddie Howe that jumped ship to Burnley? Cheers Jimmy.
“Yep, if we win 9-0, we'll go above them in the table”.
http://www.bournemouth.vitalfootball.co.uk/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=55265&posts=16Bournemouth Last 6 – WWWWWD (Bournemouth are currently 7th on 42 points)
The Threat – Is Grabban in or out? I have no idea. They have a few strikers down at Bournemouth, including Brett Pitman, Matt Tubbs and Lee Barnard. Grabban currently leads the goalscoring for Bournemouth with 10 goals.
A Warm Welcome Too – Eddie Howe. I’m sure I remember him being introduced to us on the pitch at The County Ground and his glittering career spanned all of 0 games.
The irrelevant stats – Bournemouth are on fire, unbeaten in 16 games, spanning back to October 2nd when they suffered an away defeat to Crawley. The Cherries have scored 25 goals at home this season and have conceded 11. If their form had not been so abysmal earlier in the season there is a good chance they could well have been a couple of points clear at the top by now.
Head to Head – We have met 101 times down the years, we have won 36 games, drawn 26 games and lost on 39 occasions.
The Odds – Bournemouth
6/4 Draw
12/5 Town
2/1 (Bet 365). Think its the first time in a while where we haven’t started as favourites. For the optimists among us, 2-0 Swindon is a decent 14/1 at Sporting bet and a scoreline we have shared with Bournemouth on several occasions in recent times is 2-2, which is also 14/1 with most outlets. Bet 365 are offering 7/1 on Andy Williams to score the 1st goal which may well be worth a shout of his second half of season improved form is to be believed!
The Son Says – After nearly predicting last week’s slaughtering of the Jocks, he has made his decision for today’s result based on the score of his game of football at playtime at school today. His team won 4-0, so that is his prediction. 0-4 if you like. A truly scientific method, and 100/1
The Prediction – All good things must come to an end, including Bournemouth’s rich vein of form. I am plumping for a 3-1 victory for us, with goals from Andy Williams, and a quick fire double from Chris Martin to open his account and begin a long and fruitful relationship with the Town faithful. Bournemouth are going to feel the full force of our Red and White tidal wave, I can feel it in my waters.
And Finally – In Bournemouth on 12th July 1910, Rolls Royce co-founder Charles Rolls became the first British man to be killed in an aircraft crash. He was a true aviation pioneer, having crossed the channel by balloon in 1906, and made the first two-way crossing of those same waters in an airplane only a month before his fatal crash . Rolls made more than 200 flights in his Wright Flyer, made under license by Short Bros.
