To say it has been a surreal period of time for Bournemouth would be an understatement.
The Cherries went administration, a points deduction and facing relegation out of the Football League to a top-half finish in the Premier League in just seven years.
No club has faced the ups and downs that Bournemouth have but the fans would tell you that the lows were definitely worth it to experience the highs.
Who would have thought that just 10 years after the club had debts of up to £4million, they would sign a player for a club record £25million in Jefferson Lerma?
It has been a crazy couple of decades for the Cherries, so here are some of their best moments in the club’s history.
Bournemouth 2-0 Man Utd – FA Cup Third Round 1984
The differences between Bournemouth and Man Utd coming into this FA Cup tie couldn’t have been greater.
United were the current FA Cup holders and would have been favourites to go all the way again.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, were battling towards the bottom of Division Three and were managed by a young Harry Redknapp in his first season of management.
In what is still described this day as one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history, Bournemouth defeated the holders 2-0.
Ron Atkinson’s team were at full strength and included the likes of Bryan Robson and Ray Wilkins, but this wasn’t enough as Bournemouth achieved one of their greatest ever victories.
The Great Escape in League Two – 2008/09
Before the 2008/09 season had begun, Bournemouth were docked 17 points, were put in administration and were minutes from liquidation.
With the club still fighting against relegation at the back end of 2008, Bournemouth appointed 31-year-old Eddie Howe as caretaker manager following the sacking of Jimmy Quinn.
Howe’s only previous experience was as a youth coach having only retired from football a year before.
The appointment would prove to be vital to the club’s future.
Despite losing his first two games as manager, Howe was appointed as the permanent manager and saw the Cherries go on a good run of form.
Bournemouth secured their survival by beating Grimsby Town 2-1 thanks to club legend Steven Fletcher’s header ten minutes from time.
A very honourable mention goes to Mark Molesley’s injury time winner against Dagenham and Redbridge, which still has chants to this day.
Promotion to League One at Burton Albion – 2009/10
Following the great escape of the previous season, Bournemouth were just happy to be a football club come 2009.
Despite the club being under a transfer embargo and often being unable to fill the bench, they began the season winning eight of their first nine games.
Even though there were shaky times during the season, Bournemouth went to Burton knowing a win would see them achieve an incredible promotion.
Brett Pitman, who finished the season with 26 goals, put the Cherries ahead before Alan Connell scored a goal in the 90th minute to seal a 2-0 win and more importantly, promotion.
This could arguably be seen as the turning point for Bournemouth, who went on to bigger and better things in the subsequent seasons.
Defeating Birmingham 8-0 in their backyard – 2014/15
At the beginning of the 2014/15 season, Bournemouth were sitting around the top half but were struggling to pick up wins.
However, three wins on the bounce gave the Cherries fantastic momentum travelling to St. Andrews.
Bournemouth shocked a manager less Birmingham and recorded one of the biggest wins in their history.
A hat-trick from Marc Pugh, a double from Tokelo Rantie and goals from Matt Ritchie, Callum Wilson and Brett Pitman saw them run rampant.
The win put Bournemouth up into 4th and the momentum gained from the win saw Bournemouth eventually win promotion as league champions.
Three points at Stamford Bridge – 2015/16
Life in the Premier League was difficult for the Cherries to begin with and found themselves in the relegation zone after 14 games.
Despite Chelsea being on poor form, they were the current champions and Eddie Howe’s side knew it would be a tough task to take anything away from Stamford Bridge.
Against all odds, Bournemouth came away from the game with all three points thanks to a late header by Glenn Murray.
The famous win saw Bournemouth climb out of the bottom three.
This also gained momentum for the Cherries, who would win their next two and wouldn’t drop into the relegation zone for the remainder of the season before finishing five points clear of the drop.
