The fabled underdog story is never at its most thrilling than when the Premier League is in bloom. From Bryan Robson’s great escape with West Brom in 2005, to Burnley’s relegation 10 years after, the Premier League has seen its fair share of plucky minnows. Though Burnley put up a valiant fight, beating Manchester City along the way, it was fellow promoted side Leicester who pulled off the great escape in 2014/15 and now arises another challenger, a different club daring to test themselves in what many regard as the best league in the world – Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe’s unfancied South Coast side prepare for life in top division for the first time ever. In just seven years, the Cherries have marched from the fourth tier of English football to the proverbial promised land. Their storm up the divisions has reached its highest point, and it would be unwise to write them off before a ball is kicked.
Their young manager, Howe, has received the fine accolade of ‘Football League Manager of the Decade’ after leading the team he supported as a child to the pinnacle of English football. After steering them away from relegation in League Two following a 17 point deduction in 2008, Howe has both left and returned to his boyhood team. Club legend Steve Fletcher’s goal on the final game of the 2008/09 season acted as a catalyst in a period of unprecedented success for the club. Howe has expertly steered them up the divisions, and it is not hard to imagine him holding his own in the Premier League. That test is yet to come, of course, but the club have a manager many others would envy. Bournemouth have never looked back, and they shouldn’t now.
The club are owned by enigmatic Russian magnate Maxim Demin, who has bankrolled the Dorset outfit since having a house built in the area by former chairman Eddie Mitchell – the fact Bournemouth can boast such an affluent area in which to reside surely stands them in good stead when attracting players to the club. We saw last season when Alexis Sanchez chose Arsenal over Liverpool, that players take into account where they are to live almost as much as who they play for (It was reported that Sanchez chose the Gunners as it would allow him to live in London). It will be a while until the Cherries can attract a player of that calibre, mind, but the fact that Sandbanks was once the fourth most expensive area in the world to buy property suggests it won’t be too difficult to convince a potential recruit to settle down in that neck of the woods.
The Cherries can also take a heart from South Coast neighbours Southampton. The Saints’ own rise up the English ladder bears some similarities to the Bournemouth fairytale, and they are now an established Premier League team. If Bournemouth follow the likes of Southampton and Swansea, they may just never wake up from this Premier League dream. Avoid the QPR route at ALL COSTS.
Bournemouth’s David vs. Goliath story is bound to captivate many fans across the world. It is not hard to imagine the Cherries quickly becoming many peoples’ ‘second team.’ While they must play on their underdog tag, the South Coast side will be quietly confident of retaining their Premier League status.