Friday 4 September 2015

AFCB fans may give England a rest this weekend

When I looked through the Matchday programme for AFCB v Leicester and I came to the international games coming up it struck me very plainly that I'd get more out of watching Gibraltar v Rep of Ireland and Georgia v Scotland as a Cherries fan than I would by watching England play San Marino and Switzerland in their Group E Euro 2016 qualifiers. Eunan O'Kane and Matt Ritchie are only two of a number of players though in the Cherries squad that will hope to be involved in international matches. Sadly, we don't quite yet have an England full international player in AFCB's squad, but frankly Hodgson should probably start looking more closely at AFCB's squad. It might slow the slide down the FIFA rankings - well done Wales!

Matt is likely to come up against Artur Boruc on Sunday. 
Certainly Callum Wilson is closing in on a call up if he continues to play as well as he has been doing in the Premier League. Until then it is matches like Gibraltar v Republic of Ireland today that will get me racing home from work to see a game with the prospect of Eunan O'Kane being involved, while even Poland V Germany later than evening should give Artur Boruc lots of shot stopping practise.

While Max Gradel and Harry Arter won't be on international duty there is certainly enough of the AFCB players to see on the international scene. That so many Bournemouth players are now at international level is mind boggling to most AFCB fans who have watched the team in the lower leagues for so many years. We had the odd international player, but never this many playing at the same time and I'm sure the numbers of AFCB players reaching that level is only going to increase. It may make me feel a bit unpatriotic in not reaching for the remote to watch Roy Hodgson's men struggle to find a way to play progressive football, but with so many Cherries on international duty elsewhere, I'm happy to see them do well in their respective national teams.

Eunan O'Kane could make his full Rep of Ireland
debut against Gibraltar. 
Injury update
Tyrone Mings is now expected to be out for up to nine months.

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