What to Expect of Bournemouth in Their 1st Premier League Season
Entering the Premier League is rarely an easy task for promoted clubs.
For every Southampton and Swansea City, who battled their way through the tiers of English football to establish themselves as the EPL standard, there are dozens of failures.
Last season's crop of Premier League entrants are all precariously close to playing Championship football next season. Burnley and Queens Park Rangers are holding up the table, both requiring miracles to stay in the first division.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
2013/14 Championship winners Leicester City—after 18 matchdays at the bottom—have found late form and possess the best odds of survival, however slim. Presently two points off relegation (should they maintain their current goal difference), the Foxes' future is murky with three league matches remaining.
Ready to take whomever's place in the Premier League are 2014/15 Championship winners AFC Bournemouth.
Winning three of their first 10 matches in the second division this season, only the most diehard supporters would have expected their team to progress another tier this campaign—but fortune was kind. An unbeaten streak of 14 games in mid-season and 13 games to close the year were enough for Eddie Howe's men to capture 2015/16 Premier League football.
Monetary compensation notwithstanding, Bournemouth are in a fantastic situation, considering they were poised for non-league football six years ago—escaping League Two relegation in 2008/09 by nine points, after economic hardship.
Howe—in two stints as Cherries' boss—has transformed his club into Premier League participants. So no matter what transpires next season, Bournemouth's current position speaks highly of their quality.
One wonders, though, how will they fair in 2015/16?
Callum Wilson was the Championship's sixth-leading scorer with 20 goals. Yann Kermorgant and Matt Ritchie added 15 apiece—the latter leading the division with 17 assists. The Cherries produced 98 goals, but were also the second-best at goals allowed, behind only Aitor Karanka's Middlesbrough.
By comparison, Leicester City scored 83 goals in 2013/14 and gave up the Championship's third-fewest goals.
Bournemouth's success or failure in 2015/16 will depend largely on how (and if) they spend.
Burnley took the "what we have, we hold" approach this year, spending £4.5 million. While the solitary of Sean Dyche's team is unquestioned, they lacked the cutting edge to get points.
Leicester spent £17 million this year—should they remain in the EPL, the Foxes will be rewarded with another season to establish themselves further. Ambition, however, is not enough. Queens Park Rangers have spent £28 million this year, and short of tragedy above them, they will not have Premier League badges on their kits next term.
The Cherries must spend wisely to have success in the Premier League, but they must not disrupt the chemistry they created to earn their place. The balancing act is difficult, hence why few teams have been able to successfully complete the trick.
It is hard to predict who will drop in 2014/15, much less 12 months from now, but Bournemouth's best bet for next year would be to scrap all season and keep hope alive until the EPL's 38th match.
*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase.com where not noted.
