Bournemouth

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

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If Bournemouth were somewhat flying under the radar as they picked off the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City during the autumn, their performances during the past fortnight have set off every early-warning system going.

Back-to back demolitions of Newcastle and Nottingham Forest - both labelled as title contenders - by a combined scoreline of 9-1 have put the Cherries front and centre among Premier League talking points.

First on Match Of The Day, first on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, spotlighted on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, and with dozens of articles and videos springing up to dissect their astonishing unbeaten run, Bournemouth are no longer a secret.

On the flip side, the increased spotlight on a club of Bournemouth's size means plenty of column inches predicting imminent break-up of the squad.

If the internet is to be believed, Andoni Iraola is favourite to take over at Tottenham, Milos Kerkez's friendship with fellow Hungary international Dominik Szoboszlai means the Cherries left-back is virtually signed and sealed as a Liverpool player already, while Dean Huijsen is linked with a different European giant nearly every day.

As ever, Cherries supporters should take such speculation with an enormous pinch of salt.

While the club may have to brace itself for a departure or two in the summer, the Dominic Solanke saga showed Bournemouth's firm determination to hold out for a sizeable fee rather than selling on the cheap.

Additionally, contingency planning will have replacements lined up - as evidenced by the signing of Evanilson less than a week after Solanke's sale.

For now, fans should recognise they are living through the best period in Bournemouth's history - and enjoy the ride.

Phil McNulty
Chief football writer

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Andoni Iraola's transformation of Bournemouth is a work of contrasts - the relaxed, calm approachable presence around the club's training ground turning into a fiery, intense personality in his technical areas that has already earned him a touchline ban this season.

It has resulted in Bournemouth adding Nottingham Forest to a list of victims that includes Arsenal and Manchester City at home, as well as Manchester United and Newcastle United away.

Iraola's meticulous training ground work marks him out as one of the league's outstanding young coaches, someone who has shown a liking for taking so-called underdogs into the arena where they trouble the big names.

He took Cypriot side AEK Larnaca into the Europa League group stage for only the second time, Spanish minnows Mirandes to safety from the lower reaches of the second division and the Copa del Rey semi-final, before establishing Rayo Vallecano in La Liga after promotion, beating Barcelona along the way.

Read more from Phil on Iraola

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The latest Cherries: Unpicked has landed and on this week's show, Jordan Clark and former defender Joe Partington take a look back at Bournemouth's impressive 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

They also discuss hat-trick hero Dango Ouattara and whether they can "dare to dream" of another three points when they face Premier League leaders Liverpool on Saturday.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Peter from Basingstoke asked: Bournemouth are not just playing winning football, they are playing exciting football. How highly do you rate Andoni Iraola and will he be attracting the attention of other clubs?

Phil answered: Afternoon, Peter. Very highly. And yes, Iraola will be attracting the attention of other clubs.

This does not mean I am suggesting he will leave. It would be more of a surprise if I said he wasn't attracting the attention of other clubs, given the way Bournemouth are playing.

I was at The Vitality Stadium to see them beat Nottingham Forest 5-0 on Saturday and it was one of the best team performances I have seen this season. They were thrilling to watch, fast, skilful and full of threat.

Bournemouth's current squad is a tribute to the recruitment team, including former sporting director Richard Hughes, who is now at Liverpool, and his long-time assistant Simon Francis, who has carried on the good work after taking over.

The atmosphere down there was fantastic and you can just feel the optimism as you walk around the club and the stadium.

Read more of Phil McNulty's Q&A here

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton says Bournemouth are "fearless" and "they back themselves" every week to get a result regardless of the opposition.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Sutton said: "They are full of confidence and are flying.

"I never thought I would say this, but they are in with a chance of getting top four! It is a great, great story."

Listen to the Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

Jeff Hayward from the Back of the Net podcast says Bournemouth fans "have never had it so good" and are enjoying "the best season ever".

The Cherries are seventh in the Premier League table after accumulating 40 points from 21 games and are just one point behind Manchester City in fourth.

"This season, from the first game, has been gelling and it is just getting better and better," said Hayward on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "It is a joy to watch. It is thrilling."

But with success comes attention, and head coach Andoni Iraola will no doubt be in the conversation for the next big manager vacancy in the Premier League.

Hayward is realistic on the Spaniard's future but for now says Bournemouth "fits his DNA really well".

"He is super talented and is the best coach we've ever had, and I am including Eddie Howe in that," he added. "I don't think any Bournemouth fan would disagree with me on that.

"He probably will go on, at some point, to manage somewhere bigger but for as long as we have got him we are going to enjoy every moment of this team."

Take a look at both clips, watch the show on iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds.

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus are interested in Bournemouth's 18-year-old Spain Under-21 international defender Dean Huijsen. (Fichajes - in Spanish, external)

Newcastle are interested in the Cherries' Ukraine international defender Illia Zabarnyi, 22, but know a deal will not be possible until the summer. (i Paper, external)

Brighton and Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson, 20, is the top target of former Seagulls boss Graham Potter, who wants to bring the striker to West Ham, but Everton, Bournemouth and Arsenal are also in the running. (Talksport, external)

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Sam Davis
Fan writer

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Bournemouth extended their unbeaten run to 11 Premier League games (12 in all competitions) following a stunning 5-0 home victory over the usually solid Nottingham Forest at the weekend. Nine goals from two incredibly tricky fixtures for the Cherries.

Just how are they doing it?

Remarkably, the south coast side are in somewhat of an injury crisis at present, which notably includes both of their senior strikers - Evanilson and Enes Unal.

That has meant the Cherries have had to think on their feet in regards to who will lead their attack in the short term. Fortunately, an FA Cup encounter with West Brom provided the perfect opportunity to trial something, opting to give Dango Ouattara a chance at leading the line.

While he delivered with a couple of goals in a comfortable 5-1 victory in that game, fast forward to the past two impressive victories and it is still Ouattara impressively leading that line.

At the weekend, he helped himself to a first Premier League hat-trick, straight off the back of Justin Kluivert's three-goal return the week prior at Newcastle. It proves that whoever is asked to play in whichever position, Bournemouth's style will always provide chances, attacking flexibility and more importantly, plenty of goals.

It remains to be seen whether Bournemouth will opt to dip into the January transfer window for a striker, but either way, with Andoni Iraola and this current crop of players, the Cherries will always score goals.

Find more from Sam Davis at Back of the Net, external

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, which the hosts won 5-0.

Here are some of your comments:

Bournemouth fans

Wing: So many superlative words I want to say, but so few words could really describe what a Cherries fan is feeling right now. In a game that was billed as a very tight match of the best "underdogs" in the Premier League, the Cherries displayed the real gap on the pitch. This hopefully springs us to a tremendous result against Liverpool as well.

Alan: Brilliant team performance by Bournemouth - dominated in all areas of the park. Man of match was Ryan Christie, who was box-to-box, helping both the front line and defence, but everyone contributed.

Malcom: Following on from Newcastle last week I had no doubt that we could overturn Forest, but did not see the 5-0 coming. Another full team performance from 1 to 11. Once we turned it up in the second half, Forest were shell shocked and had no answer. Excellent performance all round.

Scott: Absolute dreamland to be a supporter of the Cherries right now. Incredible performance against a very good Forest side. We have never had it so good, this is the best side we've ever had and a manager that is top drawer. I don't want this season to end. Wow, just Wow!

Forest fans

Susie: Forest were awful, but I was half expecting an explosion soon - it's just gutting it was by that much and in this game! We have to dust ourselves off and move on. We've got some hard fixtures coming up but I have faith we'll be OK. Bournemouth were excellent, and we just had an off day. Still a very proud Forest fan for the season so far!

Darren: Not sure what was going on but we were never at the races. Even Murillo, Milenkovic and Sels were off it. This will stop the title race nonsense talk and allow us to get back on the horse and finish as high as we can. Poor performance but on we go!

Edward: Huge credit to Bournemouth. We've overperformed hugely this season. These days will happen. The players have looked tired since Liverpool. Squad depth partly explains what happened. A silver lining may be Mr M releasing the purse strings for a defensive midfielder and a wide forward/winger.

John: That was the worst performance I've seen since the Championship days - sluggish, lethargic, second to every ball. Hopefully this is just a blip.

John Acres
Final Score reporter at Vitality Stadium

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It's easy to forget that Bournemouth were on the verge of going out of business just 17 years ago.

They owed over £2m to the bank, they were in the bottom division, and they were given a 17 point deduction. Today they stand a genuine chance of earning the right to welcome the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, or Bayern in the Champions League next season.

The Cherries were exceptional against Nottingham Forest. Andoni Iraola has his side playing with a confidence and swagger not seen since their time under Eddie Howe.

They only have 12 fit regular first-team players, but in the likes of Justin Kluivert, Dango Outarra, and Antoine Semenyo, they have forwards in form. The team have scored 16 in their last four matches in all competitions.

If they can carry on that form against Liverpool at the Vitality next weekend, I think they could finish top five, and we all know that could mean Europe's top brass visiting Boscombe next season.

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's six Premier League fixtures are now available to watch.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Wolves 0-1 Arsenal

• Man City 3-1 Chelsea

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Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "It was a great result. We knew we were facing a very good team and that they were also coming in a very good run but in this game I think to score first is key.

"In most of their last games they have been winning form the first half and then it becomes the game that they want. The goal from Justin in the beginning helped us and made the game look better for us."

On hat-trick hero Dango Outtara: "I think he has been very good in the four game she has played as a number nine. He has played well apart from the goals. He has been a threat in behind, even coming to behind he can link up play. It is good for him because we can use him in different positions and it's good for his minutes and for his chances to play."

On pushing for Europe: "I think we are not going to change. We are taking the games game by game. We have a more difficult one against Liverpool next week. We are in a good run while we're quite thing of numbers so we try and regroup a little bit and try and recover at least one more player. I will not change the approach we are taking."

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Bournemouth are unbeaten in each of their last 11 Premier League games (W7 D4) – extending their longest run without defeat in the competition.

Against Nottingham Forest, the Cherries recorded their biggest victory in the top-flight since April 2019 (5-0 vs Brighton).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Bournemouth's performance

What did you make of Nottingham Forest's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Six matches make up Saturday's Premier League action.

• Bournemouth v Nottingham Forest

• Brighton v Everton

• Liverpool v Ipswich

• Southampton v Newcastle

• Wolves v Arsenal - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Man City v Chelsea (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

What a game this is, between two of the form teams in the Premier League.

We all know how good Nottingham Forest have been but I am fed up with writing off Bournemouth because I keep on getting them wrong.

I didn't see their big win over Newcastle coming last week, but they were brilliant, and they thoroughly deserved it.

The bad news for Cherries fans, of course, is that as soon as I start backing them, you can guarantee that their results will tail off.

I actually think this is more likely to be a draw, because Forest have an excellent away record - only Liverpool have picked up more points than them on the road this season.

The BBC readers will be predictable and go for it to end 1-1, but like I say, I am backing Bournemouth now.

Sutton's prediction: Bournemouth 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Read all of his predictions and have your say here

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Former Bournemouth defender Joe Partington spoke to the Cherries: Unpicked podcast about Saturday's match against Nottingham Forest.

On Forest's tactical approach: "It's going to be a huge challenge. They beat Southampton 3-2, but Southampton had the majority of the ball - even at the City Ground. Nottingham Forest aren't a team who are going to come and dominate possession, but they are dangerous.

"They have players who can really hurt you. Anthony Elanga is playing out of his skin and he is the fastest player in the Premier League at the moment and he can really hurt you. Morgan Gibbs-White could probably play for most teams in the Premier League and is the reason Nottingham Forest are doing so well at the moment - Callum Hudson-Odoi is the same. Chris Wood is one of the Premier League's best strikers.

"Bournemouth have got to be careful that if they give the ball away, they are likely going to give away a chance. It is going to be an interesting game for sure."

Listen to the full episode here