 Hello and welcome to another preview show here at Vitality Stadium, a muggy and rather foggy Vitality Stadium you'll see. I'm joined today by matchday commentator Chris Temple. You'll notice I'm not Zoe, my name's Ian and over the next few minutes we'll be going through a fun filled packed festive season and what we've got to look forward to over the next few weeks. Here's what's coming up on today's show. First we talk about the injury to club captain Simon Francis, the cherry's head to Old Trafford looking to cause an upset, Eddie Howell marks his 10 years in charge with the club and we look ahead to the game with Watford in our first game of 2019. Before we get started on the football then Chris, unfortunately on Thursday night we had some really bad news. Simon Francis ruptured ACL and that's the season done with. Yeah, horrible first of all for Frano. We obviously send our very best wishes to him. Again, it's just so innocuous isn't it? We've seen it with Lewis Cook on the training ground and we've seen it with Adam Smith at Newcastle. No contact, just that the way his foot planted in the ground, a horrible one for him. It looked awful at the time and you know he's in considerable pain. So, yeah, not, I guess it capped out a pretty disastrous day all round really in terms of the score line. But for him now I mean he's been, he's the club captain. He's the focal point. He's a hugely respected figure in the dressing room. You know, the players look up to him and he has been a huge support. I know for a lot of players when they've been going through difficult times. So the roles are averse now. He needs his teammates around him to help him through it. The one thing with Frano is that it happened to Callum Wilson when he was what, 23, 24, 25, maybe Lewis Cook, 21, 22. He's 33, which is a whole different ballgame I think in terms of the recovery because you know with the greatest of respect he won't have as much time left in the game as those guys. His body has taken more wear and tear down the years than other guys who are trying to recover from this. So I mean that's the key for him now is to try and get back in the early part of next season and try and be the same player that he's become because he's come so far as a player. You wouldn't have thought when Bournemouth paid 25 grand for him that he would be here, you know, playing the part that he plays in the Premier League these days. So I've no doubt in terms of his character, we see a lot of highs and lows as an individual and here at the club of course as well and that he will be well placed mentally to deal with it. The club obviously have the best possible treatment available now. You know, they'll be going out, I'm sure, to Dubai as Adam Smith has done recently as part of his recovery and of course the other side of it which is less important I guess from the grand scheme of things is no right backs. So if you've ever played there, PC, you could be in line for a game at Old Trafford. Absolutely right and just to sort of draw a close to the Boxing Day game. A very strange game. Eddie House said himself 5-0 perhaps wasn't a clear reflection of what happened but I guess whatever way you dress it up, it wasn't a great day at the office for the cherries. Yeah, I spoke to Azmi Begavic after the game and I sort of said to him, you know, it's 5-0 on paper but actually there were a few positives in there and I think probably biggest players don't want to seem to be saying there were positives after a 5-0. The manager can probably say it but for the players who've been involved, maybe they can't be seen to say there were positives after losing 5-0 but it was a funny old game as they say. You know, everything spurs hit went in with a bit of luck, a couple of defensive mistakes as well which are unfortunate and are just a bit too prevalent in the moment but from Bournemouth's point of view, missed some good chances. You know, the wee man with the header, very unlucky hit, Junior Stanislaus. David Brooks couldn't quite lift it over Larisse. Stanislaus's header, Charlie Daniels' header, obviously the offside goal as well so it just didn't work out for Bournemouth on the day. It wasn't a 5-goal game. I think, you know, spurs by a couple would probably have been fairer because they were comfortable. I don't think they had to play necessarily that well to win but it's the errors and things at the moment and just that just lack of clinical edge, maybe a lack of confidence a little bit in front of goal. Callum Wilson wasn't able to get into it much at Wembley so yeah, that's one to quickly draw a line under and move on fast. So Eddie Howe has said recently that he thinks his side have actually played quite well against teams like Manchester United, teams like Tottenham and of course it's Manchester United coming up next. We know it's not going to be easy but what are the sort of points to be positive about from a cherry's perspective? Well against United recently, they've been competitive games. Let's, for example, as we go into Old Trafford, let's reflect on the last two there. Last season a narrow one-nil defeat. Bournemouth had quite a lot of pressure at the end of the game, could have nicked something and then the season before of course was that the famous 1-1, it's not often, there's not many famous 1-1 draws in the world but having gone down to 10 men in that game with Andrew Sermon being sent off and it was of course a day when Eddie Howe was sick as a dog and barely even made it to the touch line that day as well. So yeah, that was a highlight the first time they'd got something at Old Trafford and then of course here, what, just a few weeks ago done in the last minute by Marcus Rashford in a game that Bournemouth probably not only deserved to get a draw from but possibly could have won as well. So yeah, I know Manchester United have changed manager since then and things have taken a bit of an upward curve for them but in terms of the last couple of visits to Old Trafford, it seems to be a ground now that doesn't overhaul them, it seems to be a place that there, it's a big open pitch, you know, you can go and express yourselves and from that point of view, no fear really but the only problem is that they've just got off the back of a five-nil hiding so the key is to move on very quickly from that. They do come up against the United side who have turned the corner at a bad time as far as Bournemouth are concerned and then Olly Gunnar Solskjaer has gone in there and somebody who obviously gets the club and understands what United fans want to see and the best way for United to play, I mean, it's amazing how players can suddenly start playing two weeks after they couldn't play. Paul Polk where suddenly is, you know, bounce back to be some sort of world beta. So, yeah, they go in there at a bad time in terms of the Solskjaer honeymoon if you like but you know, we've seen Southampton's honeymoon bubble end this week for their new manager. So who's to say that Bournemouth can't go there and puncture Olly Gunnar Solskjaer's dream start. Exactly, right? And they have scored eight goals in the last two games. Bournemouth, as you say, maybe not going into the game with the back of the best form after the box and a defeat. What's the best sort of setup? Bearing in mind, of course, Simon Francis isn't available either. What's the best sort of setup in terms of trying to get a result out of Trappard? I think the best sort of setup is at the moment what everybody has got. To be honest, I mean, I can imagine they're going to go three at the back. They presumably have to. The likes of Diego Rico and even Jordan and I, you can imagine coming in for in contention having with the Chelsea game in mind because actually you wouldn't necessarily want to throw those two in that sort of game as wingbacks without that Chelsea game for a bit of confidence for both of them and for the manager in putting them in. But they, you know, they showed in that game that they can handle not only the big stage, playing away from home against quality players with the home side, having all the expectation and a lot more of the ball. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Diego Rico given that given a go this week. The Ryan Fraser is the one, isn't he? Because we've seen him play right back in the past, but I think I said on the last preview show you don't really want your most creative attacking player playing it right back or even necessarily at right wingback. So that is an option for Eddie Howe. If we're talking about a back three, then it's a sort of, I would toss up between Tyrone Mings and Charlie Daniels. Charlie's had a difficult spell recently. Whether he, you know, it gets taken out the firing line or whether, you know, Eddie Howe's been pretty loyal to him, whether we see him play as a left wingback maybe and Tyrone Mings on the left of a back three. But I think that looks like the only way they can go. I don't think they've got anybody to play as a right back in a flat four. So from that point of view, it's not ideal because you want to go to the places that, you know, like Manchester United with the ideal set up with everybody available and being able to play the best way that you can that you think will nullify them. But it could be a case of this is the team. This is how we've got to play. Do the best you can. But it still could be effective. We've seen the back three work out well against big teams before. And I guess the thing is with a big game like an old tripped old traffic is that you've got to make the most of it. And you've got to almost revel it and enjoy it and see what you can do and see if you can get the best result you possibly can. And Bournemouth second favourites, of course. And that's, you know, again, that might be helpful in terms of going there. No one will expect them to get anything. United expectation from their fans all of a sudden will be through the roof as well against a team like a Bournemouth who they will perceive to be beatable opposition. You know, you look at the games coming up around the corner for the Chorries Watford obviously here in the first home game of 2019 and then Brighton and the FA Cup after that then Everton away looks a bit tricky and then there's obviously midweek games in January as well with Arsenal and Chelsea looming not too far in the distance as well. So yeah, United away, it's a game that you wouldn't bank on needing some points from. But I think that the performance is the key thing. If you get a point there you'd be absolutely delighted. But then we look back at the Carabao Cup what a week last Wednesday lost the game but everybody was feeling quite positive about it. So a similar, if you can't win the game a similar sort of performance at Chelsea. But ultimately, you know, funny things happen. We've just seen Leicester throw in two results that nobody would have expected them to get. So yeah, let's keep the fingers crossed that this could be a, I guess, a revelation of a moment at the end of 2018. And before we're back here at Vitality Stadium for the next game, it's Watford. It's also a special day for Eddie Howell. 10 years since he was appointed on the 31st of December 2008 that would be around there. And what a 10 years it's been in that time. Yeah, of course he's been away to Burnley in the middle of it as well. But yeah, 10 years ago since he first got thrown the reins, if you like, on the way at Darlington. And here he is 10 years on about to go away to Manchester United. So I think that is pretty much about his polar opposite ends of the scale as you get. As you say, what a rise it's been in that time. So many highs and lows for him, mostly, you know, mostly highs, one or two lows that in the early stages of his career that he didn't have a lot of control over. But you know, what he's achieved since then, you know, speaking to him about that, he says, you know, he doesn't feel like he's changed too much as a manager in terms of how he approaches things. I was asking, you know, how the preparation of things differed back then. And he said, he covers a lot of he covered a lot of motorway miles back then doing a lot of the watching himself. There wasn't the analysis and the the scouting network around the country back then. I think the scouting network probably when Eddie House started in 2008 was probably if you knew someone that happened to be at the game, give him a ring and see what they thought, you know, with no disrespect to Eddie and the setup. But I think that's probably how it worked. But yeah, you look at him now, I'm sure he's so invested in the job. He if the one thing that probably has changed, he probably devotes even more time now, probably the maximum amount of time that he could devote to the job. But it is, you know, it is amazing what when you when you look back at those those 10 years and where we all were 10 years ago and what we were doing, I mean, I was working for Radio Solent, so I haven't gone anywhere. But yeah, Darling to the way to Manchester United away. And of course, he lost his first two games in charge. And he says that feeling about, you know, the feeling of losing when you're a manager is so much different to losing when you're a player. So he won his first game here against Wickham. And that he said again, speaking to him, he said that gives him much pleasure as it does winning a game now. So yeah, it's what a decade it's been. I suppose a lot of people would just like to rub the Burnley bit out in the middle, maybe at times Eddie would as well. But yeah, remarkable, remarkable decade and who's to know how much longer he will be here, hopefully for the foreseeable future and beyond. But there's no doubt in what he's done in those 10 years for this club. Yeah, we fast forward on 10 years from that landmark opening, if you like, back here against Watford, that's sort of apt Amisham's ways from. He was on the terraces at Vicarage road before we moving down here as a young lad. So it probably makes sense that we're playing Watford and it's a really good blockbuster sort of game to start 2019 here. Yeah, I like that. Absolutely. And Watford, of course, if we're looking at performances this season with the Watford away game back in his old neck of the woods Eddie was probably right up there with the best performances this season. Four nil winners. A team that again, you've probably gone there happy with a point on the day. But Watford got blown away and they'd started the season really well. Don't forget they'd won the first few games. They're like Bournemouth in that middle portion of the table at the moment in terms of the teams who are capable of winning two or three in a row, but also capable of losing. And at the moment, the gap between sort of seventh and eighth down to about 14th to 15th is pretty tight. We've seen West Ham obviously beating Southampton this week. They've shoved Bournemouth down a place as well. Just on the subject of that, by the way, if we're talking about calendar years, there was an interesting league table I saw this week of the calendar year of 2018 rather than the the season, if you like. And Bournemouth was seventh in that table outside of the top six and had a great second half to last season and a great first half to this season, which for a 12 month calendar year has put them in a great position. Not bad at all. But yeah, all in all, coming back here, good way to start, you know, under the lights. But again, that I would say off the back of Tottenham and obviously we're speaking before the club have been to United. So they may be coming into Watford off the back of a fantastic four nil winner, Old Trafford. But either way, it's a game that you've got to look at and think a bit like Brighton, bit like Huddersfield. That's a game that needs to probably beat what needs to be a point at least. And I think probably that's one that's a bit of weight on to get three, I would say. And it's been well documented the form recently, of course, doesn't help when you've got trips to both Manchester side, you're playing arson, you're playing all sorts of teams from the top echelons of the league. But now I suppose is the time of the season where it's sort of win or bust, isn't it? Now it's the time of the season where we're playing some of the teams around us, maybe even below us in the table. And now's the time we need to win and get our season back to the heady heights we had at the start of the season. Well, that's the thing of the platform they've got from that from that record breaking start, you know, 26 points here, probably three more wins and safety, I would say. I don't think people think that anything more than mid 30s is going to be needed to stay up this year. But yeah, as you say, it's a period where and again, we keep harping back to the same things. But you think of the new cast of game and people look back and go, what a missed opportunity that was. Huddersfield didn't play that well, managed to win. Brighton, it was a bit more like it here and the feel good factor was back in the stadium. So let's hope that by the time they get to the Watford game that, you know, the positivity that that Brighton result exuded in the performance of David Brooks, who didn't get much of a chance to get in the game at Wembley, you know, let's hope that the players revelant in that occasion as well and, you know, be able to capitalize, I guess, on the good start to the season and make it the best ever finished because that's the platform they've set themselves now. There are definitely a number of worst teams that are going to be fighting out the bottom three places. And the question now is can Bournemouth hang on to the likes of Everton and West Ham, who are obviously picked up in a going, well, even Lester, look at Lester now, they've they had a pretty non-spectacular start to the season and they're seventh. So that is that the sort of middle chunk of the table now that Bournemouth are in. No reason at all why they can't, as we now enter the second half of the season, the United Game is the first game of the second half of the season. They've played everybody. They've had a look at everybody. Now's the time to start doing a few doubles over people. And we'll be here, of course, for every step of the action from Watford, Manchester United and beyond. We hope you join us too and we hope you have a wonderful 2018 end of the year and a wonderful new year, Ziv.