When Brett Pitman scored the third goal against Carlisle United to put the Cherries 3-1 up in the final home game of last season, many people around me could not believe what they were seeing. Although we knew we were close I don’t think any Cherries fan could have dreamt that it was actually going to happen.
I remember one fan turning to me as we stood by the
advertising hoardings waiting for the final whistle and said, “This is really
happening, we are going up I never thought I would see this in my lifetime.” The
final whistle came and the rest, as they say, is consigned to the history
books.
After what seemed like an eternal summer which included the building
of the new fourth stand, a redesigned club crest, Real Madrid and Eddie
Mitchell’s departure.
The football finally started against Charlton Athletic, on
that day I knew we were in for a special season and we haven’t been
disappointed.
As we reach the halfway point of the season we can
acknowledge that there has been some tough lessons to learn, especially away
from home. We are still prone to the odd
soft goal, but I think that as Cherries fans we can be proud of how our club is
moving forward.
Sitting mid table we
can be more than satisfied with our performance as a whole so far. With the most important goal of this season
being survival, it is pleasing to see the likes of Doncaster and Yeovil sitting
below us in the league.
At time of writing we have just returned from watching us arguably
outplay Liverpool in the FA cup. The result might not have gone our way but the
performance proves that we are a match for any side and should give the squad a
boost of confidence for the second half of the season.
Without getting too caught up in the hype and excitement of
the FA Cup weekend, I believe we have a manager and squad capable to see us
establish ourselves at this level.
Eddie has recently been quoted saying that he would like to
take the cherries to the Premier League.
Cynics may snort at the idea but if we become an established
Championship team, keep our key players and build the squad then this has to be
our long-term ambition; it is certainly an exciting time in the history of the
club.
The stand out match for me so far this season was away to
Reading where we saw a mature classic away performance, a smash and grab with
style.
We have had some good performances at home, my favourite
being the second half demolition job of Millwall, a day that we truly took all
of our chances. I feel we have more days like that to come so watch out
Leicester City.
The present squad are a young and talented bunch with a
solid core and I think Eddie’s signings have been smart and on the whole a
success. Lee Camp and Elliot Ward have added good Championship experience and
keeping hold of Lewis Grabben shows the ambition of both the manager and the
club.
Written by Dave Lockey part of the Essential Cherries team and season ticket holder.
