A.F.C. Bournemouth
- Location: Bournemouth – Dorset County, England
- Stadium: Dean Court (Vitality Stadium)
- Coach: Gary O’Neil
- Premier League Titles: 0
Current Squad / Roster
- Mark Travers
- Neto
- Will Dennis
- Ryan Fredericks
- Lloyd Kelly
- Chris Mepham
- Adam Smith
- Jack Stacey
- James Hill
- Marcos Senesi
- Jordan Zemura
- Chris Francis
- Ben Greenwood
- Lewis Cook
- David Brooks
- Jefferson Lerma
- Ryan Christie
- Emiliano Marcondes
- Joe Rothwell
- Marcus Tavernier
- Junior Stanislas
- Siriki Dembele
- Ben Pearson
- Phillip Biling
- Jack Wadham
- Ferdinand Okoh
- Dominic Solanke
- Jamal Lowe
- Kieffer Moore
- Jaidon Anthony
- Dominic Sadi
Championships:
Third Division Title: 1987
Football League Championship: 2015
Football League Trophy: 1984
Third Division South Cup: 1946
Team History
The name AFC Bournemouth came about in 1971, but the team history dates back to the late 1800s as the Boscombe Football Club played in the 1899 season.
The team adopted the Cherries nickname in the 1910s with their cherry-red striped jerseys. They competed in the FA Cup for the first time in 1913-14 and joined the Third Division of the Football League after World War I.
The team name changed to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic Football Club in 1923. They didn’t win a trophy until after World War II with a Third Division South Cup in 1945-46.
AFC Bournemouth Entering to EFL
The English Football League nearly ended the franchise but allowed them entry in 2008-09. Adam Murry led a new ownership group with Eddie Howe as the new manager.
They earned promotion the next season and Howe left, replaced by Lee Bradbury. Paul Groves took over before Howe returned in 2012-13 and led the team to the Championship, England’s second tier, for the first time since 1990.
They won the Championship in 2014-15 to earn their first ever trip to the Premier League and Premier League betting.
Team Records
Looking at the AFC Bournemouth stats and Premier League stats, a few names jump out as the team record holders.
No player has appeared in more games for the team than Steve Fletcher who had 726 first-team appearances between 1992 and 2013.
Ron Eyre holds the scoring record with 229 goals, coming in 337 matches between 1924 and 1933. Ted MacDougall scored 142 goals between 1969-80 and set a single-season record with 42 in 1970-71.
Highest Goal-Scoring
In the Premier League, their highest goal-scoring tally comes from Callum Wilson with 41 goals between 2014-20.
Looking at the AFC Bournemouth stats, Dominic Solanke led the team in scoring with 30 goals in 48 games.
Philip Billing had 11 goals and Jaidon Anthony had eight. Mark Travers started 45 of the 46 Championship games in goal.
Promotion to EPL
With promotion to the Premier League, the team got a new sponsorship deal for Dean Court. Since 2015 the ground has been known as Vitality Stadium.
It is the smallest stadium in the Premier League and they have had discussions about a new stadium in Kings Park.
EPL Standings
In the Premier League standings, Howe led the team to 16th, 17th, and 12th place in the first three seasons.
They finished ninth in the Premier League standings for their best season ever. The Cherries reached as high as seventh in the 2019-20 season but after the COVID pause, they suffered consecutive losses and were relegated on the last day of the season.
Howe left in August 2020, and the team finished sixth in the Championship for 2020-21. Scott Parker came over from Fulham for the 2021-22 season and led the team to promotion as they returned to the Premier League in August 2022.
What are the Bournemouth 2022-23 Transfers?
Heading into the 2022-23 season, Bournemouth has brought in four major players to add to their roster. Center back Chris Francis was purchased from North Leigh and forward Dominic Sadi was bought from Wingate & Finchley.
Meanwhile, right-back Ryan Fredericks and center midfielder Joe Rothwell came in on free transfers. Fredericks has Premier League experience the last four seasons with West Ham while playing more than 100 games from 2015-18 with Fulham.
Rothwell scored 10 goals in nearly 150 games for Blackburn Rovers before signing a four-year deal with Bournemouth.
Bournemouth lost center backs, Nat Phillips and Gary Cahill. Phillips, who was on loan, returned to Liverpool while Cahill was released.
Who are the AFC Bournemouth Best Coaches?
The longest-tenured coaches in AFC Bournemouth history are:
- Harry Kinghorn
- Harry Redknapp
- Eddie Howe
Kinghorn was in charge from 1939-47, though that included a couple of years where World War II interrupted play. He was the manager for the first ever piece of silverware, the 1945-46 Third Division South Cup.
Redknapp led the team from October 1983 to June 1992. He found success in league play and in cup play with a Football League Trophy and a Third Division title
Howe, a former Bournemouth player, coached from 2009-11 and again from 2012-20. He rescued the team after administration and will forever have the designation as the coach to take AFC Bournemouth to the Premier League.
Scott Parker is the latest manager to get Bournemouth back into the Premier League. Bournemouth finished second in the Championship in 2021-22 with 25 wins, a +35 goal differential, and 88 points.
Where Is AFC Bournemouth Name From?
The new name of AFC Bournemouth came in 1971 with a new badge and symbol in 1972. Ted MacDougall earned the new name some notoriety in November 1971 as he scored an impressive nine goals in an 11-0 FA Cup win, racking up those AFC Bournemouth stats.
Manager Harry Redknapp made history with the Cherries in the 1980s. First, he led the team to an improbable win over Manchester United in the 1984 FA Cup.
Associate Member’s Cup
Later that year they won the Associate Members’ Cup, now known as the Football League Trophy. In 1986-87, Redknapp led Bournemouth to the Third Division championship and qualification to the second tier for the first time ever.
They finished 12th and 17th in the second tier and were relegated back to the Third Division after a 22nd place finishes in 1989-90.
Redknapp left and AFC Bournemouth went back to the third tier where they remained for the rest of the century.
A New Stadium and a New Manager
A new stadium and a new manager, Sean O’Driscoll, couldn’t keep Bournemouth from being relegated to the fourth tier in 2001-02.
They came right back up and contended for the next three seasons before O’Drisoll left in September 2006.
Disaster struck in 2008 when the team went into administration with debts of £4 million and while they avoided bankruptcy, they were relegated.
