A Time to Reflect

While AFC Bournemouth’s relegation was a bitter blow, the Cherries’ faithful can reflect on their Premier League adventure with pride and look to the future with optimism

- Andy Greeves

As AFC Bournemouth’s five-year stay in the Premier League came to an end - with relegation to the EFL Championship confirmed on the last day of the 2019/20 season Cherries coach, club legend and Dorset Magazine columnist Steve ‘Fletch’ Fletcher took to Twitter.

“Extremely heart-breaking for me to post but I wanted to thank every single #afcb fan for their support and devotion to our amazing football club,” wrote Fletch. “Your messages of love for everyone involved and pride in what we all have achieved is so emotional. 11 years of pure elation beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. We have been through almost everything that could have been thrown at us over the years but one constant that’s seen us succeed is that we are a FAMILY and that is our strength. One setback will not break us – it will make us.”

While AFC Bournemouth’s relegation is disappointing for all associated with the club, the uncertain times we are in, coupled with the Cherries’ turbulent past, puts this disappointment into some kind of perspective. As recently as 2010, the club was playing in the fourth tier of English football having narrowly avoided relegation out of the Football League a year earlier.