|
Address: |
|
Fitness
First Stadium |
|
Dean
Court |
| Bournemouth |
| Dorset |
| BH7
7AF |
|
Telephone: |
|
01202 -
726300 |
| Ground
Capacity: |
| 9,600
(all-seated) |
| Official
Website: |
| www.afcb.co.uk |
| Unofficial
Websites: |
|
Boscombe
on the Web
The
South End
Red
n' Black Net
Cherries
Mad!
Kings
of Cardiff
AFC
Bournemouth Ladies
|
| How
to get there: |
|
By Car:
FOLLOW the A338 towards
Bournemouth. The ground is situated on the left of the A338
in the outskirts of Bournemouth. If you keep looking up to
the left as you go into Bournemouth you will eventually see
the tops of the ground floodlights. At this point take the
next exit off the A338 and turn left towards the ground.
There is a large car park located at the ground.
Alternatively, there is a council run car park, on the
opposite side of the dual carriageway, which is handy for
getting away quickly after the game.
By Rail:
THE nearest Station is Pokesdown. Take a left out of the station, go over the bridge and take another left. This road will take you into the park. Walk through the park in the direction you approached it from and you can’t miss the ground.
Some trains will not stop at Pokesdown and will go on to
Bournemouth. Take a left out of Bournemouth Station and follow up to the main road. Take a left and go past a petrol station and Staples. Go straight over the roundabout and keep going along Holdenhurst Road for about a mile. You’ll eventually reach a set of traffic lights next to the Queens Park Pub. Again go straight over, but turn right at the next roundabout and into Kings Park.
By Bus:
NATIONAL Express Coaches will stop at the travel Interchange opposite Bournemouth train station. Follow the directions as stated above from
Bournemouth.
Parking:
THERE is ample space in the council car park just beyond the ground in Kings Park. Be warned that it can take a while to get out after the game. Alternatively there is street parking around the local area, but restrictions are not the same everywhere. |
| Other
than the football...: |
BOURNEMOUTH is one of
the most popular holiday resorts in the UK, attracting 5.5
million visitors every year with its seven miles of sandy
beaches, excellent attractions, 2000 acres of parks and
gardens and accommodation which ranges from four star
hotels to private family run hotels, guesthouses and self
catering accommodation.
 |
|
Bournemouth's
beach.
|
There are number of
activities, attractions and things to do in Bournemouth
right throughout the year and suitable for all age groups
which probably explains why Bournemouth attracts 5.5
million visitors every year.
Bournemouth has had a
Pier since 1861, but the original pier was damaged in a
storm just a few years later and had to be replaced. The
Pier at Bournemouth today dates back to 1880 and houses a
theatre, kids attractions and is an ideal location to hire
a deck chair and just relax.
Beach lovers are
delighted by the seven miles of golden sands. Lifeguards
patrol the beach right thoughout the summer season and the
beaches have won a number of awards including two European
Blue Flag awards. The beach is organised into colour zones
and colour matching wrist bands are issued free to
children so that in the event of a child becoming lost
they can be reunited with their family quickly. The beach
is very popular on hot summer days and often frequents
news programs featuring the number of people soaking up
the summer sun.
Bournemouth has
something to appeal to everyone's diet with over 350
restaurants and bistros, plus pubs and cafes, you can
taste dishes from around the world such as Thai, Lebanese,
Swiss, American and of course English plus lots more.
Bournemouth dances
right throughout the night with a number of pubs and
nightclubs to choose from. For those of us after the quieter
life, why not see a show at the theatre or a film at the
cinema.
Bournemouth shopping
centre features all of the popular high street names as
well as small speciality shops. If you need Retail Therapy
you'll find it at Bournemouth which offers some of the
best shopping experiences in the South browsing through
the stylish boutiques and numerous arcades. When you need
to relax sit and watch the world go by in the palm lined
square in the middle of the town.
Bournemouth regularly
hosts a number of International Sporting events such as
tennis tournaments, power boat racing and motor rallies.
Bournemouth offers water sports such as surfing,
bodyboarding and water skiing plus jet skis and volley
ball on the beach.
Bournemouth is also an
ideal base from which to discover the rest of Dorset with
a number of popular resorts and towns such as Weymouth,
Poole, Southampton, Dorchester and Lyme Regis in close
proximity to Bournemouth.
When it comes to the
match, there is a bar behind the Main Stand, called the
Cherry Tree, but this is for home supporters only.
There is one pub by the dual carriageway, called the Queens
Park, that is popular with both home and away fans. The pub
shows SKY Sports and serves Ringwood real ale. On my visits
it has been pretty relaxed, with home fans tending to
congregate in the bar and the away fans in the lounge. To
find this pub, simply walk away from the ground, on the road
going from the main entrance to the stadium. At the end of
the road turn left and the pub is a little way up on the
left.
Joe Reynolds adds; 'Away fans are welcome in The Portman pub
on Ashley Road, about 10 minutes walk away from the ground
across Kings Park. It is a fairly spacious pub, serves good
ale and food is available. It is normally a good pub
with a friendly atmosphere'. You
can search and book hotels located right near to
Bournemouth's Fitness First stadium by clicking HERE. |
|
A Hatter and
a Cherry - Richard Cooke |
 |
|
Richard
Cooke.
|
ISLINGTON-born
Richard Cooke joined Tottenham
Hotspur straight from school and moved up through the
ranks before making his debut at, ironically, Kenilworth
Road in November 1983 and scoring in a 4-2 win for the
London side.
He
managed only 11 League games for Spurs
over the next three years, scoring one more goal (against
the Hatters) before having a loan spell at Birmingham
City and then transferring to AFC
Bournemouth in January 1987.
Cooke
was an instant hit at Dean Court, again scoring on his
debut, and was ever-present for the remainder of that season
as the Cherries won promotion to the old Division Two for
the first time in their history.
His
seven goals from the wing brought the big clubs flocking to
see what they had missed, but it was not until March 1989
that he was enticed away from Dean Court by Luton manager
Ray Harford in exchange for £140,000.
Unfortunately,
he never really hit it off here and made only three starts
in Division One, plus another 14 appearances as substitute,
before returning to Dean Court on a free transfer two years
later, where he made a further 53 appearances for the
Cherries.
|
|
The Club and The Ground
Anyone who visited the old Dean Court will
not recognise the completely re-developed ground, now named The
Fitness First Stadium. In a matter of months the old ground was
completely demolished and a new stadium built. This currently
comprises three new stands, which are of roughly the same design
and height and are quite smart looking, with the Main Stand having
a row of executive boxes to its rear. Each is a covered
single-tiered stand, that offer good views of the playing action
and have perspex wind shields at each side. The roofs of the
stands have perspex panels, to help more light get to the pitch.
The stands sit at each side of the pitch and at one end, which
means that the South End of the ground is open. At the opening
game against Wrexham
on November 10th 2001, which was a sell-out, a number of people
were seen perched in trees behind the open end, watching the game
for nothing! The corners of the ground are also open and these are
home to some unusual looking floodlights. The pitch has also been
rotated by 90 degrees from its old position, if you ever visited
the old ground, you can try figuring out where the old Brighton
Beach End was located!
Hatters fans are located on one side of the
East Stand, at one side of the pitch. The normal allocation for
this area is 1,500 fans, but this can be increased to 2,000 if
required. The stand is shared with home supporters, offers a good
view of the playing action and generates a good atmosphere. The
facilities are okay and beer is served on the concourse as well as
such delights as the delicious
'Football's Famous Chicken Balti Pie' (£2.20).
On my visit there was repeated calls over the tannoy, for fans to
sit down in the away section, with reminders that the stadium was
an all-seated one. These got somewhat annoying to say the least.
It can be argued that fans should sit down, but if everyone wants
to stand, what is the problem?
Please also note that the stadium is a no smoking one, which met
with cries of 'get your fags out for the lads' from the away
support. (But note the stewards will throw you out if you are
caught smoking in the seated areas).
Bournemouth is a nice seaside town, with good nightlife, so why
not make a weekend of it?
Ground
Guide courtesy of the excellent Internet
Football Ground Guide.
History
- AFC Bournemouth Football Club
THE present football club can trace its roots as far back as 1890 when Boscombe St. Johns Institute Football Club were playing in local football. They disbanded in 1899 and from the remains of that club, Boscombe FC were formed at a meeting under the streetlights in Gladstone Road,
Boscombe.
The Club competed in the Bournemouth and District Junior League playing at a ground in Castlemain Avenue,
Pokesdown. They moved to Kings Park, adjacent to the current stadium in 1902 and were soon emerging as the top team in the town.
After enjoying many local successes, they joined the Hampshire League and were attracting large crowds. In 1910, Mr.
J.E. Cooper-Dean granted the club on a long lease some wasteland next to Kings Park.
With their own ground, named Dean Court after the benefactor, the club continued to thrive and dominated the local football scene.
It was around this time that the club gained the nickname, 'The Cherries'. There are two main stories on to why the club would be called such a name. Firstly the Cherry Red striped shirts the side wore and secondly, Dean Court was built next to the Cooper-Dean estate which included many Cherry Orchards.
The club signed their first professional player in 1910,
B.Penton, who signed from Southampton for a £10 fee. The club then moved in to the South Eastern League but this proved to be a big leap and the side finished bottom of the table.
With the outbreak of war in 1914, the progress of the club was halted and they returned to the Hampshire league in 1919. The club was ambitious and when the Third Division was formed in 1920, they moved up to the highly competitive Southern League as many clubs in that league went on to form the Third Division.
After three years in the Southern League, the club applied for membership of the Football League. The application was accepted and Boscombe would be playing in the Third Division (South) in the 1923-24 season.
At the public house where the side used to change before matches, The Portman Hotel, a meeting decided that the club would change its name to
'Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic Football Club'. The first ever league match was at
Swindon
Town on 25 August 1923 at Swindon where Bournemouth lost 3-1. The first ever league game at Dean Court was also against
Swindon and it was against these opponents that Bournemouth gained their first ever league point in a 0-0 draw.
Bournemouth struggled initially in the Football League, but firmly established themselves as a Third Division side and they still hold the record for the longest continuous membership of the Division.
As a league club, they had to wait until after the war for their first trophy. That came when
Walsall were beaten at Stamford Bridge in the Third Division (South) Cup.
The Cherries finally hit the headlines in the 1956-57 season after a fabulous run in the FA Cup despite being handed some of the hardest draws imaginable. After beating
Burton
Albion, Swindon and
Accrington
Stanley, they were drawn away to Wolves, then third in the top flight. An amazing 1-0 win saw Bournemouth earn a home tie against
Spurs, then the second side in the First Division.
A stunning performance saw Bournemouth win through 3-1 and were then handed a home tie against
Manchester United - the top side in the country! The dream ended there in controversial circumstances. United won 2-1 in front of a record 28,799 crowd at Dean Court through a goal that looked offside and a questionable penalty. Despite the defeat, Bournemouth grabbed the nations imaginations and were awarded 'The Giant Killers Cup'.
Hopes were high for success but the cup run was not built on and in 1970, the side slipped to Division Four. Relegation proved to be a blessing in disguise and the club entered an exciting few years. Under John Bond, the side won promotion for the first time and he built up a side that were a joy to watch.
Ted MacDougall was the hero with players such as Phil Boyer and Mel Machin supplying
'SuperMac' with chance after chance. MacDougall scored 49 goals in the 70-71 season and in the following campaign, he put nine past Margate in the 11-0 FA Cup win.
With a change of name to 'AFC
Bournemouth', the club looked for success and Bond wished to be a first division manger at Dean Court. Unfortunately, MacDougall left for
Manchester United after the side had finished third in Division Three at a time when only two clubs went up. Bond himself left for
Norwich with many players following him and the 20,000+ crowds disappeared quickly and the club was left deep in debt and struggling on the field.
Relegation came in 1975 and a depressing few years followed in Division Four with crowds rarely over 3,000 and mid-table was all that could be hoped for. The arrival of Alec Stock
(a Luton favourite himself, of course) as manager installed pride back in the club and it was at that time that David Webb was offered a chance in to the management side of football. He put together a good side which won promotion in 1982.
After Webb was dismissed, the club seemed to be heading back to the dark days of Division Four under Don
Megson, but the appointment of Harry Redknapp was to change the club. His early finest hour came when cup holders
Manchester United were beaten by second from bottom Bournemouth in the 3rd round of the FA Cup on 7 January 1984.
A man with an eye for a bargain transformed Bournemouth into a tremendous team and the club had won the Associate Members Cup at
Hull, established a 97 point record in the 1986-87 season to lift the Division Three Championship.
There were three dramatic season in the higher division. After a difficult first season, 12th place was gained in the 1988-89 season, the clubs best ever, and also the fifth round of the FA Cup was reached.
Injuries decimated the squad the following season and after the play-offs had been discussed as late in the season as February, a poor run when the entire defence were out injured saw the side relegated on the final day of the season with that fateful match against
Leeds at Dean Court.
Failure to reach the play-offs during the next two seasons saw Harry Redknapp retire from football, although he was soon back with
West
Ham United. Tony Pulis took over, but by then the club was in a terrible financial mess and Pulis had little money to spend. Pulis left just before the start of the 1994-95 season and with no manager and a bare bones squad, the Cherries lost all of their first seven games.
Mel Machin then came in and after the side had gained just 9 points by Christmas, there was little hope of avoiding the drop. However, some great signings and inspirational leadership by Machin saw the side achieve 'The Great Escape'.
Behind the scenes, the financial worries were always there and these came to a head in late 1996, early 1997. The receivers were called in and the future looked bleak as the extent of the mess was revealed.
Supporters rallied and a trust fund was set up with thousands pouring in. Despite the support, Bournemouth were 15 minutes from closing down at one stage. With no benefactor to step in, present Chairman Trevor Watkins, then in charge of the Trust Committee announced that the trust fund was going to bid to take the club over.
This was ultimately successful and Europe's first ever community Club was formed. The opening game of the 1997-98 season at
Northampton, the clubs 3001st league match was one of great celebration of a dream come true.
If the Cherries had won no games whatsoever during the 1997-98 season, it would really not have mattered too much. The mere fact that the club was there was what mattered. It turned out to be an incredible season. The play offs were just missed and Wembley was reached in the Auto Windscreens Shield. 34,000 Bournemouth supporters travelled to Wembley - an incredible achievement for a club so close to closing down just a year before.
The 1998-99 season saw many of the young players come to the fore and with larger crowds than in many years, the side played some exceptional football and looked certain to reach the play-offs but despite reaching 76 points, the side finished seventh and incredibly missed out on the end of season shake up.
Record appearance maker Sean O’Driscoll took over as first team manager in 2000. And by the end of his first season in charge, he had led the side from the bottom of the table to the in-form team in the UK.
They narrowly missed out on the play-offs when
Reading
equalised with just two minutes left to deny the Cherries a chance of a shot at Division One - a superb achievement for a manager who has never had any money to buy a player.
On Saturday 28 April 2001, the Cherries moved out of Dean Court to set up a temporary at Dorchester’s Avenue Stadium whilst a new stadium is built partially on the site of the old ground, with the pitch turned by 90 degree’s.
The
2001-02 season proved to be a defining season for the Cherries in more ways than one. The temporary stay at Dorchester came to a 4-2 winning end against
Notts County after being 2-0 down. On November 10th 2001, Bournemouth returned to the now named Fitness First Stadium at Dean Court and how! Local lad Brian Stock became the first ever player to score at the new ground and his goal was added to by great strikes from James Hayter and Jason
Tindall. It was a bridge too far for the youngest Cherries side in history though. Just three more wins followed after the stadium christening and relegation to the
Third Division was cast on the final day at Wrexham.
However, the following season the club
bounced straight back to Division Two at the first attempt after
winning the play-offs and under Sean O'Driscoll, hopes are high
that the club can continue their progress.
History courtesy of www.afcb.co.uk.
Luton Town
v
AFC Bournemouth...
A
full rundown of all of the past meetings
| Home
Matches |
 |
|
Dec
|
1
|
1923
|
D3S
|
W
|
6
|
2
|
7000
|
|
|
Jan
|
3
|
1925
|
D3S
|
L
|
0
|
2
|
5000
|
|
|
Aug
|
31
|
1925
|
D3S
|
W
|
4
|
1
|
7880
|
|
|
Apr
|
30
|
1927
|
D3S
|
W
|
4
|
0
|
6709
|
|
|
Jan
|
21
|
1928
|
D3S
|
D
|
3
|
3
|
6453
|
|
|
Sep
|
22
|
1928
|
D3S
|
W
|
2
|
1
|
10675
|
|
|
Jan
|
25
|
1930
|
D3S
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
6971
|
|
|
Oct
|
18
|
1930
|
D3S
|
L
|
2
|
3
|
7367
|
|
|
Oct
|
31
|
1931
|
D3S
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
7231
|
|
|
Dec
|
27
|
1932
|
D3S
|
L
|
1
|
2
|
10428
|
|
|
May
|
5
|
1934
|
D3S
|
W
|
2
|
0
|
5614
|
|
|
Mar
|
16
|
1935
|
D3S
|
W
|
4
|
0
|
8497
|
|
|
Sep
|
9
|
1935
|
D3S
|
D
|
0
|
0
|
9350
|
|
|
Oct
|
31
|
1936
|
D3S
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
11581
|
|
|
Oct
|
12
|
1963
|
D3
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
6361
|
|
|
Feb
|
17
|
1965
|
D3
|
L
|
0
|
1
|
4554
|
|
|
Nov
|
23
|
1968
|
D3
|
D
|
1
|
1
|
14150
|
|
|
Oct
|
7
|
1969
|
D3
|
D
|
0
|
0
|
18065
|
|
|
Oct
|
26
|
1996
|
ND2
|
W
|
2
|
0
|
6086
|
|
|
Jan
|
31
|
1998
|
ND2
|
L
|
1
|
2
|
5466
|
|
|
Jan
|
30
|
1999
|
ND2
|
D
|
2
|
2
|
5426
|
|
|
Feb
|
5
|
2000
|
ND2
|
L
|
1
|
2
|
5961
|
|
|
Aug
|
26
|
2000
|
ND2
|
W
|
1
|
0
|
5221
|
Report |
|
|
|
|
| Away
Matches |
|
|
Dec
|
8
|
1923
|
D3S
|
W
|
3
|
2
|
|
|
|
Sep
|
6
|
1924
|
D3S
|
L
|
1
|
2
|
|
|
|
Sep
|
9
|
1925
|
D3S
|
D
|
2
|
2
|
5612
|
|
|
Jan
|
26
|
1927
|
D3S
|
L
|
0
|
2
|
4833
|
|
|
Sep
|
10
|
1927
|
D3S
|
D
|
2
|
2
|
6040
|
|
|
Feb
|
2
|
1929
|
D3S
|
D
|
3
|
3
|
3726
|
|
|
Sep
|
21
|
1929
|
D3S
|
L
|
1
|
5
|
7268
|
|
|
Feb
|
21
|
1931
|
D3S
|
D
|
| | | | |
