Bournemouth had finished the Championship as winners and started their first ever Premier League campaign on a wave of enthusiasm and desire to defy the expectations. They had a bright and young manager full of ideas on Eddie Howe and he was determined to give the players that have won promotion the chance to prove themselves in the higher level. There were still some good signings made, with Max Gradel the most notable one, but most of the regulars at the start were the ones from last season. The Cherries lost their first two games while playing quite well but really announced themselves with a fine 4:3 away win at West Ham when the likes of Callum Wilson and Matt Ritchie punished the sloppy Hammers defence. Yet serious knee injuries to Gradel, Tyrone Mings and Wilson in the space of a month took out a lot out of the squad and presented Howe with a real challenge. But the relatively inexperienced manager handled the difficulties extremely well and continue to guide the Dorset side really well in the new division. Yet performances were better than results and a run of four defeats in a row in October and November somewhat dulled the early enthusiasm. It also meant that Bournemouth were now in the bottom three and facing a real test of character. But they showed lots of chat in the ensuing games as they came back from the dead to claim a point against Everton at home and then went on to stun Chelsea for a 1:0 win at Stamford Bridge. These two results gave the players a whole lot of confidence and they kept on getting good results, with Manchester United beaten next week too. Indeed, such was the sudden upturn in fortunes that the Cherries never really looked in serious danger of being dragged into the relegation dogfight from pretty much Christmas onwards. They kept on getting some decent wins in the new year, aided by the signing of Benik Afobe who provided a real focal point in attack. One of the high points of the season was also when local rivals Southampton were impressively put to the sword for a 2:0 victory at the start of March. Another couple of wins in the next two games, against Newcastle and Swansea, pretty much secured safety with still a couple of months left. The Bournemouth players pretty much put their feet up for the rest of the season and won just one more game. But that was enough to seal safety with something and Howe should be congratulated on a job very well done. He has built on the squad he had before very cleverly and achieved something that was considered beyond his reach. Now the aim is to grow further next season and there is little doubt that Bournemouth are well-positioned to do so.
