Bournemouth's Junior Cherries
NEW FACES AT DEAN COURT
JASON PEARCE
After an impressive pre-season with the Cherries, versatile defender Jason Pearce appeared to be joining Bournemouth on loan from Portsmouth, but then surprised and delighted everyone when it was announced that he had signed a two year permanent deal for the club. Jason was at Portsmouth and had his first taste of senior football when he went to Bognor Regis in the Conference South for three months early last season and then as soon as he returned to Pompey, he went to Woking for the rest of the season, so he spent a year in two tough leagues and the experiences will certainly help him as he looks to establish himself as a regular in the Cherries side.
Jason's Cherries debut came at one of the hardest places for anyone to go in this division this season and it was an experience at Nottingham Forest that he thoroughly enjoyed, "It was a great day for me and I felt the lads stuck together really well. I thought defensively we were solid and we also carved out some good chances that could have seen us win the game. In the first half, it was quite even and we were probably the better team and fair to them, they put us under a bit of pressure in the second half but we coped well with it and we did look at times as if we could nick it, so overall I think it was a superb result." Jason joined Bournemouth at the start of the pre-season friendlies, with some good tests for the team in that period, but as he admits, nothing can prepare you for such a start to the season, "It can't no and it was an amazing experience for me. It is the biggest crowd and biggest stadium I've ever played in and it was a great debut and a great result and I was delighted with that."
When Jason originally joined Bournemouth, it was on trial with a view to a long term loan, but so successful was his time here that he has signed a two year permanent deal that he had no hesitation in signing, "I came here in pre-season, played all the games, really enjoyed myself with the set up at Bournemouth and the lads. The gaffer came up to me and asked if I wanted to sign permanently and I felt it was a great opportunity for me to be playing at a great level and at a club that I would improve me as a player."
If you listen to the experts then Bournemouth don't have a chance this season, but with a squad determined to prove the so-called experts wrong, Jason believes moving here will be a big success, "I don't agree with that at all. I suppose it's not a bad thing being the underdogs, and I think we can prove everyone wrong. We have a good squad here and last Saturday at Forest showed that we aren't going to be anywhere near the bottom and my aim and the teams aim to be up there challenging the top six. I can't see the point of going in to the season thinking anything but top six and we all want to push up and up and up and we will go in to every game wanting to win it."
Today Jason is set to make his competitive home debut and that is something he can't wait for, "I played in the friendlies here, but there's nothing like a league game. Hopefully I can get the supporters on my side quickly and just can't wait for the game today. The supporters were brilliant at Forest on Saturday and really helped us through a hard game and I know they will be just as good at Bournemouth, and that's one of the things I'm really looking forward to."
It may have been his debut last Saturday, but the Cherries have landed themselves a player who has shown that he is very versatile and had no hesitation last week playing in an unfamiliar role, "My preferred position is left back and I can play as a centre half and last week, I was asked to play right back, a position I have never played in before, but to be honest, I'll play anywhere the gaffer puts me, I just want to be playing. Whether I'm put in midfield, right back, anywhere, I will do the best I can for the team and now looking forward to the challenge. We all need to show the same attitude for every game and if we can be positive right through the season, work hard and have luck with injuries, we can really push on."
Jason is one of a number of new faces here at Bournemouth and we'll be catching up with all of them over the coming weeks:
PAUL TELFER
It was a huge coup for the Cherries when Paul Telfer agreed to join the club. Formerly with Luton, Southampton, Coventry and Celtic where he played in the Champions League last season, he has been capped by Scotland and made his Cherries debut last Saturday at Forest.
RUSSELL PERRETT
Experienced centre half who signed in the summer from Luton. He started as a junior at Portsmouth before joining Lymington and then rejoining Portsmouth where he went on to establish himself in the side before signing for Cardiff City and then Luton.
JO KUFFOUR
Exciting striker who started his career at Arsenal and after a loan spell at Swindon where he enjoyed senior football for the first time, signed for Torquay and last season was at Brentford where he was their leading scorer and signed for Bournemouth in the summer.
RYAN GARRY
Commanding central defender who was at Arsenal and made his League debut for The Gunners at the start of their record breaking unbeaten run against Southampton in a 6-1 win. Shin problems whilst at Arsenal meant that his progression was halted. He linked up with Bournemouth in the summer on trial and his excellent displays have earned him a contract and he made his debut at The City Ground last Saturday.
MARVIN BARTLEY
Midfielder Marvin joined Bournemouth after a successful trial period during pre-season. He has previously had a career in non-league turning out for the likes of Hayes and Hampton & Richmond and attracted the attentions of other league clubs, but signed for the Cherries on a one year deal.
GARRETH O'CONNOR
No stranger to Dean Court is Garreth O'Connor who has rejoined us on loan from Burnley. Garreth first joined Bournemouth from Irish club Bohemians in 2000 and went on to make over 200 appearances for the club, scoring a number of goals including the fourth in our 5-2 Play Off Final win over Lincoln at the Millennium Stadium.
MAX GRADEL
Max linked up with Bournemouth in our final re-season match at Bristol City on trial from Leicester City and made an instant impression and was quickly snapped up on loan and the exciting midfielder made his senior debut at Forest last Saturday. Born in Abidjan on the Ivory Coast, he is a product of the Youth Academy at Leicester and signed professional forms this summer.
ASMIR BEGOVIC
Keeper who has joined us on loan from Portsmouth and he played against Bournemouth in the recent pre-season match. Born in Bosnia, Asmir is now a Canadian citizen and has represented Canada at Under 20 level. He made his senior debut last season whilst on loan at Paul Ince's Macclesfield Town and has joined Bournemouth on loan.
JEAN CHRISTOPHE
Jean signed for Portsmouth in the summer from French First Division outfit Lens and first linked up with the Cherries for the pre-season match at Oxford United. A few days later he was playing against the Cherries for Portsmouth and signed on loan prior to the trip to Forest where he made his debut as a second half substitute.
JO KUFFOUR - OFF THE MARK
Cherries striker Jo Kuffour was a delighted man last Saturday as he played a huge part in the superb victory at Doncaster. The forward got off the mark with a tremendous piece of skill and was also heavily involved in the equaliser as The Cherries showed bags of character and determination to secure the first win of the season.
Going a goal behind to one of the divisions favourites for promotion makes a hard task even more difficult, and Jo knew the importance of getting back on level terms so quickly, "It was a great victory for us and got us off the mark and hopefully we can keep it going. It was disappointing to concede the goal, but we got back straight away which was important. Max cut inside and crossed it in with his left foot and I went across the keeper to put him off and to be honest I'm not sure if I got a touch on it or not, but it went in anyway which was great."
Right after the restart came Jo's magic moment and he heaped praise on to his new strike partner Lee Bradbury, "Lee, who is a great signing for us as he proved all day, flicked the ball on to me and I just span and luckily for me it went in. All the forwards here are good players, but Lee can bring that little bit extra to the game with his experience and it was good to work with him and I enjoyed playing with him and hopefully now I can go on and score as many goals as I can."
It was a superb way to open up the seasons win account, but the players know it is just the start of a long and hard season and the levels shown will have to be continued, "All the lads are happy, but we're not getting carried away. It's the first game we've won this season and weve only played four. So it's a good step to what we are trying to achieve here. It was definitely a deserved win and it could have been by more. In the first half myself and others had chances and I thought I'd scored with a lob. I thought Neil Sullivan was coming out and if I'd looked up again, I would have kept it low, but I flicked it up and unfortunately it went just wide."
On paper, the Cherries had possibly the hardest start of any team, playing against three promotion contenders and a top Championship side, yet the side have coped admirably with everything thrown at them and Jo is delighted to be part of the team, "I am and that's the main reason I came here. I know that Bournemouth are renowned for playing good football and I wanted to be part of that. I think that on our day, this side can be a match for anyone and we have already proved that. In this league, anyone can beat anyone and we have to go out in every game and believe that we can win and with that attitude, we will be fine."
The next challenge for Jo and his team mates is Port Vale today, a side who have proved to be something of a bogey team to Bournemouth in the past three years and after winning the first away game since 31 March last week, Jo is now desperate to give the home support something to celebrate for the first time since 24 March, "We are hoping to go out and do the same again as we did at Doncaster. We want to be positive, attack, create chances and hopefully pick up a home win. We can take a lot of positives in to the game from last week. We went a goal down, but heads never dropped. We had a game plan and stuck to it. We knew that even if we went a goal down, we had to stick to the game plan and it worked and that's all credit to the manager."
The backing of the Cherries supporters is always vital and Jo is delighted that they have taken to him straight away and was so pleased that he helped to give the travelling faithful something to celebrate and hopes to do the same today for the home crowd, "The supporters have been great to me since I joined the club and I hope I can keep doing the business for them and it would be nice to get a goal for them at home today. It was nice to get my first goal for the club in front of our supporters last week. It was a long way for them to go and I am so glad that the team could give them three points at Doncaster and let's hope there are plenty more good times to come."
LEE BRADBURY - INSTANT IMPACT
Eight days ago saw the Cherries secure the signature of Lee Bradbury from Southend on an initial loan until January, and he made an instant impact with a superb debut last Saturday at Doncaster. The Isle of Wight born striker was a regular in the Championship last season and in a career that started at Portsmouth in 1995, he has also served such clubs as Manchester City, Crystal Palace as well as gaining three caps for England at Under 21 level and has commanded transfer fee that total nearly 5 million.
He made his first start for Bournemouth at The Keepmoat Stadium last week and was delighted with how it went, "It was good to go all the way up to Doncaster, who are a good side, and come away with the three points. It was a big win for us and the first of the season and for me it was nice to get off to a good start and overall we can only be pleased. It was a bit hard for me as I only trained with the team for an hour on the day before the game, so I didn't really get a chance to get to know the lads that well. The week leading up to today's game has been important because it means I can get to know them better on and off the pitch, but it was a good start, I came in and we got a win and it is all positive and I'm looking forward to the Port Vale game now."
Lee was part of a side that showed bags of character last weekend as after going a goal behind to one of the favourites for promotion, the team came back to claim the first three points of the campaign, "We said after the game that we showed great character. We went a goal behind and then got our goal, which was a bit of a freak one to be fair and then came out for the second half raring to go and got the early goal and hung on well. They threw all they had at us for the last 10-15 minutes, but the defence coped really well."
Lee quickly established a link up front with Jo Kuffour and he admired his fellow strikers goal and his overall ability, "It was a good finish from Jo. The ball came to me and I saw him pull off from his defender and he showed great individual skill to get the goal and I was pleased for him. He looks a really good prospect, he's sharp, he's an intelligent player and he's still young enough to go on to another level and at the moment, we all want to reap the benefits of him being here."
Lee has already been heavily involved in League 1 football this season, and was a regular in the Southend squad, scoring a hat trick against Cheltenham in the Carling Cup. A week before the Doncaster trip he was also in Yorkshire, this time playing for the Shrimpers against Leeds and having seen a number of teams in this division, believes that Bournemouth can challenge, "Leeds and Doncaster are very different sort of teams to play against. Leeds are very organised and direct, whilst Doncaster want to play and I'm sure both will be up there come the end of the season. Looking at Bournemouth though, I think we can be there or thereabouts come the end of the season. It's a good squad and there are still a few players to come back like Russ Perrett and Paul Telfer, senior players who can have a big influence on the club. I'm sure when everyone is fit we can push up the league and sustain that."
Lee is looking forward to today's game as it means that he can have proper preparation for the match after a rushed introduction to The Cherries, "It was strange time last week, I never got to say goodbye to the lads at Southend, because this move happened late on the Thursday night and I was at Bournemouth on the Friday. It all happened really quickly, but I've now had a week here and I'm really looking forward to the Port Vale game. Hopefully we can get a win and keep climbing up the league."
DANNY HOLLANDS - THE RIGHT CHOICE
Despite the attentions of a number of clubs, midfielder Danny Hollands rejected them and the offer of a further year at Premiership champions Chelsea, and signed for the Cherries, a great testament at what the club are trying to achieve.
The Cherries have had a busy pre season schedule, something that Danny has found beneficial and is thoroughly enjoying his time at Bournemouth, “The lads are brilliant here which has really helped because it’s never easy making a move, they have made myself, Daryl, Tareq and Conal very welcome and I feel we have a good squad here for the season. I’ve enjoyed my time here, training has been good, we’ve had a lot of pre-season matches which has really helped as I can pick up on the set pieces, marking, free kicks etc. and I feel that I have settled in a lot quicker than I would have if we hadn’t had so many games.”
Danny first tasted first team football at Torquay last season, being hailed as the catalyst to their survival in the league, and that taste made him want more, “I played eleven games for Torquay and playing first team football definitely made me want more. I was offered another year at Chelsea, but I didn’t want to take it because of the fact that I wanted to be out playing first team football which I knew I wouldn’t get at Chelsea. I’m 20 now and will be 21 later this year and I need to be playing first team football now.”
A number of clubs were in the chase to sign Hollands, but Bournemouth was his choice, “I decided on Bournemouth because I knew the way they like to play, they get the ball down and play football in the same way that Chelsea reserves do. I knew that would the best for me because a lot of teams like to get the ball wide and play it long whereas here, they play the ball through midfield and build up the play to score the goals that way which is a big factor as to why I came here. I want to improve my game and not have to be scrapping for the second ball all the time. I want to get the ball and move with it and have lots of possession. Bournemouth is a lovely place to live as well which also helped me to decide. I moved down with my girlfriend and she is settling in as well as I am and we’re really happy here.”
Chelsea may seem a world away from Bournemouth as a club, but Danny revealed that there are a lot of similarities between the clubs, “They have a lot of players at Chelsea who have come through English club set ups, so they know the culture, but there isn’t a great deal of difference at Chelsea, they make you just as welcome as they do at Bournemouth. The main difference is between the reserves and the first team, probably much more than at any other club.”
Danny has come to Bournemouth with obvious pedigree, but knows that it is going to take a hard work ethic to get in to the side, “It’s going to be a big task to get in to the team for the Chesterfield game, but we have a busy start to the season and hopefully I can play some part and keep trying to get in to the team because that’s what I want to be doing. It’s a young squad here and a very good squad with lots of players who can play in different roles, they all have different abilities and all round it’s a very good squad and I think that if we all do well, we can have a successful season.”