It is no secret that AFC Bournemouth began this Premier League season as hot favourites for relegation, a view that was quickly cemented last August when they were crushed 9-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.
It prompted anguished Bournemouth manager Scott Parker to announce his team was “ill-equipped at this level” and few disagreed with this assertion. It came as no surprise that Parker who admitted the Liverpool defeat was “a really humiliating experience”, was sacked after just four games.
After that traumatic start to the season, who would have thought that when the Cherries run out onto the pitch at the Vitality Stadium today they will have the same points as their Chelsea opponents? It is an encouraging tale for anyone who supports the smaller clubs in the top flight.
Stepping into the breach after Parker’s departure was first team coach Gary O’Neil who was…
