Bournemouth

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We asked for you to tell us in one sentence why Bournemouth will qualify for the Champions League.

Here are some of your comments:

Michael: This season is already a first, like the first time we have ever beaten Manchester City, so if not now, when?

Ross: Andoni Iraola has transformed AFC Bournemouth and he and the team deserve it.

Peter: Iraola is the reason that Bournemouth will succeed.

Andrew: We will qualify for the Champions League because Iraola will keep them running and pushing forward until the very last second of the very last game.

Jules: AFC Bournemouth play an aggressive game, press hard, never give up and they've got a great manager.

Mathews: With valuable points being available from the next six fixtures, and having gained points in all but one of the reverse fixtures (Brentford), an upturn in closing out games will push us over the line.

However, not everyone is convinced. Here is a flavour of the other side of the argument:

Martin: I think we have gone off the boil a bit and are not as sharp as we were with some tough games between now and the end of the season.

Nigel: There are many other teams in the mix who are finishing their chances better than the Cherries.

Real Madrid are interested in signing Bournemouth's 19-year-old Dutch-born centre-back Dean Huijsen, who played youth football for the Netherlands before opting to represent Spain Under-21s. (AS - in Spanish), external

Meanwhile, Milos Kerkez, 21, is one of Liverpool's main targets, with the Reds' reportedly scouring the market for a left-back to replace 31-year-old Scot Andy Robertson. (Mail - subscription required), external

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

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We asked you to tell us one thing that no-one is talking about at Bournemouth at the moment.

Here are some of your comments:

Marty: How secure are we to holding onto our coaching staff? I am really concerned that, as well as we have done and are doing, the staff are are on many shortlists.

Nick: James Hill - revelation at centre-back, how well he has settled in. How great to have further options in the team and he can also play full-back. Just quietly goes about his business. Unsung hero.

Andy: The Championship graduate class of 21-22. Nottingham Forest are third in the league, Bournemouth are ninth and Fulham are 10th. When the majority of promoted sides from the Championship go straight back down again (this season being an example of this), the performance of these sides has been nothing short of exceptional and yet gets no column inches as everyone focuses on the big six.

Andrew: The men's team have been outstanding this season. It has been a joy to watch them play such exciting football. However, the really exciting prospect is the AFCB women's team being currently unbeaten, having not dropped a point, and with a chance to secure the title and promotion in front of a big crowd at the Vitality Stadium.

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On this week's episode of Radio Solent's Cherries: Unpicked podcast, former Bournemouth defender Joe Partington spoke about left-back Milos Kerkez:

"He's a standout player at the moment. He's involved in moments that define the outcomes of games.

"When Kerkez is on it, which he has been for the majority of this season, making those lung-busting 70-yard sprints to either recover or to overlap, and the Newcastle goal sticks out in my head, the assist over the weekend as well, the more moments like that, which he is doing consistently, the more people speak about you and the more people speak about you the more calls he will receive from those [bigger] clubs.

"From a player's perspective he's in a nice moment, playing very well. He probably knows there's interest and he's using it as fuel. Inevitable is a strong word, but I think it's pretty, pretty clear that he will probably move on."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Milos Kerkez has been a great signing by Bournemouth because I do not think many clubs would have had him on their radar.

He fits in perfectly with how Andoni Iraola wants his team to play. It is very much a front foot, counter-pressing, attack-minded system which involves a lot of high-speed running and the creation of clear opportunities from quick play.

In that position, he is one of the best at doing that this year in the Premier League.

He is really suited their style and you could see him fitting in at other teams as well with his work-rate, desire and defensive solidity. Kerkez seems very coachable and Iraola is making all of his players better.

He is an attacking full-back, which not every team has as a priority these days, but I have been very impressed. The more I see him, the more I see how settled he is within the Bournemouth side and how good he is for their balance.

I think he has been terrific. I am not sure he will be there next year as I do not know his personal motivations, but when people are talking about players in this way, it is usually for good reason.

He is one of the best left-back prospects in the Premier League with a bright future ahead of him.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Ten games to go and we need your positivity.

It is looking likely the Premier League will be awarded an extra Champions League spot for the 2025-26 season, so finishing fifth will mean a seat at Europe's top table.

We want you to tell us, in just one sentence, why Bournemouth will qualify for the Champions League.

Let us know here

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The latest episode of Cherries: Unpicked has landed.

BBC Radio Solent's Jordan Clark presents reaction to Bournemouth giving up a two-goal lead at Tottenham.

Plus, former defender Joe Partington joins the podcast to analyse of Kepa Arrizabalaga's goalkeeping, debate Milos Kerkez's transfer value and discuss the return of Illia Zabarnyi.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

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"Be patient, and your time will come" is a common football aphorism. James Hill's career has likely featured variations on that phrase, but the Bournemouth defender's patience has now been rewarded with his longest run in the team, in which he has looked increasingly assured at Premier League level.

Hill is only 23, yet his career began when he became Fleetwood Town's youngest ever player aged 16. He was a few days short of his 20th birthday when Bournemouth came calling in January 2022, with the Cod Army receiving a club-record £1m fee.

Earmarked as "one for the future", Hill made just one late substitute appearance under Scott Parker that season, looking on from the bench as promotion to the top flight was secured.

Restricted to two League Cup appearances in 2022-23, Hill did not play a league game under Parker's successor Gary O'Neil, and was loaned out to Hearts for the second half of the season.

When Andoni Iraola replaced O'Neil, Hill made his Premier League debut as a substitute on the opening day of 2023-24, but soon found himself back in the Championship, joining Blackburn on loan.

Hill impressed in both of those temporary moves, with both Hearts and Blackburn interested in keeping him for longer, but Bournemouth always saw him as a long-term investment.

Recalled in January 2024, Hill finally made his first Cherries league start two years after signing, though patience was again a virtue as just three more substitute outings came in the second half of the season.

Hill would have been forgiven for wondering if his chance would ever come, having seen several centre-backs – Marcos Senesi, Illia Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen – arrive from overseas, the latter two younger than Hill.

However, it was telling that last summer, with five central defenders on the books, it was Chris Mepham who was loaned out, with Hill retained.

The squad's injury problems meant Hill's chance came in December, and he has not looked back. Despite the lack of cover at right-back, he impressed enough at that position to allow Max Aarons to leave on loan, while Zabarnyi's recent suspension thrust Hill into the centre alongside Huijsen, and gave a particularly assured display at Tottenham on Sunday.

His adaptability will be key as Iraola attempts to navigate the squad through their next few games. With Zabarnyi now available, Hill may find himself at right-back against Brentford on Saturday, but should be back in the centre for the FA Cup quarter-final with Manchester City, which Huijsen must sit out through suspension.

Hill's patience has well and truly paid off.

Bournemouth are through to the last eight of the FA Cup and still right in the mix to qualify for Europe, despite letting slip a 2-0 lead at Tottenham on Sunday.

And there is no doubt plenty more going on that you know far more about than we do.

So tell us, what's one thing - good or bad - that no-one is talking about at Bournemouth but really should be?

Let us know here

Liverpool have started to explore a deal for Bournemouth's 21-year-old Hungary full-back Milos Kerkez. (Teamtalk), external

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

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Sam Davis
Fan writer

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Bournemouth have scored plenty of visually appealing goals this season and it was no different on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur.

A sublime run and cross by Milos Kerkez was finished perfectly by Marcus Tavernier to give the away side the lead.

It is always a bitter-sweet moment for Cherries fans when Kerkez catches the eye, as we know it tends to prick the ears up of the vultures elsewhere in the league. This beautiful assist was yet another example of the impact he can have.

The young Hungary left-back was signed by the Cherries in July 2023 for about £15m and his clear progression has unsurprisingly alerted many of the "big" clubs, underlining another smart bit of business by the club's recruitment team.

Under the guidance of Andoni Iraola, Kerkez has been an absolute star on the south coast. An offensive and explosive full-back first and foremost, Kerkez has also developed into a warrior defensively.

At only 21 years of age, he really has the potential to become one of the most complete left-backs around Europe.

Bournemouth do not need to sell and,given that European football is still a realistic target, there is a chance he could stick around and continue to relish at the club. It will be difficult for the Cherries though, as it is evident Kerkez is in high demand and has found himself on the radar of some gigantic football clubs.

However, with other top left-backs in the Premier League such as Josko Gvardiol and Marc Cucurella costing about £77m and £62m respectively, Bournemouth will either have one of the league's best left-backs for another campaign or a huge profit to reinvest.

Not too shabby!

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

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Super Sunday wasn't fabulously super this week. The Chelsea v Leicester match was less than astounding - other than Cole Palmer finally missing a penalty. The first half of Manchester United v Arsenal was predictable and uninspired, well until the 44th minute wonder strike by Bruno Fernandes. It livened up as a spectacle in the second half but the only relevant headline is that absolutely no one gives Arsenal a chance of catching Liverpool now.

Thank goodness for the mayhem of Spurs v Bournemouth. There are so many live games on TV every weekend, you sometimes have to decide which game to watch in full and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium tempted me above the others, yes even the initially sexier sounding Manchester United v Arsenal game.

It was always going to have plenty of energy because these are two teams whose philosophy is to develop controlled chaos in order to open out the game. They are risk-takers who encourage expansive football, compared to the over-technical, over-passing, which is beginning to look a bit passe.‌

I hope that this style, which is designed to entertain even the neutrals, will in time be the dominant force in the Premier League once again but it needs success. Sadly, that still seems a long way away for Spurs, but it was fun to watch.

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Tottenham and Bournemouth.

Here are some of your comments:

Tottenham fans

Kelly: Another lacklustre performance. Some serious errors when in possession should have seen Bournemouth out of sight by half time! Perform like this on Thursday night and our season is over.

Robert: Very poor performance, so fortunate to get a draw. The story of our season is sloppy passing.

Roger: A flattering result for one of the worst organised Spurs teams for years. It's the same problem every week with us giving chances away because players are trying to play in a way and do things that they are not good enough to do against good sides. Not sure what on earth the coaching staff are doing - the system may work against the reserves in training but it has to change because our attack is not good enough to get three or four goals every game to compensate.

Alex: Really poor performance. No energy, no desire. Lucas Bergvall made a difference in the second half, but everything is so static. Every throw in, goal kick and free kick, players are just standing around. Eight-year-old's know how to look for space, why can't we?

Terry: If you have players on the bench that means they are fit to play. So why didn't the manager pick them? I always thought that you pick your strongest available team, if you want to win football matches. I'm starting to think now that if that was the best team he could start with, then I have my doubts if he could pick his own nose. We could have been two goals down in four minutes and could have lost by four or five goals. The Spurs supporters deserve better than this.

Bournemouth fans

Tim: Bournemouth play magnificent football but keep throwing points away. Dreadful decision making by Kepa [Arrizabalaga] to concede the penalty.

Steve: Iraola is spot on, Bournemouth have been one of the most improved and entertaining sides this season but haven't got the knack of killing games off or gaining those scrappy 1-0 wins that the top teams seem to manage. However, they are a joy to watch at times so that's a definite plus.

Andrew: Get out of jail card played by Spurs today. Cherries should have finished them off before half time. It's an interesting world when you're disappointed to be held by Spurs!

Bernard: Always happy with a point away from home. However, Bournemouth were much the better side and unlucky not to be 2-0 up after 15 minutes. A rush of blood by the keeper cost us all three points today, so it feels like a loss. Onwards and upwards hopefully.

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Chelsea 1-0 Leicester City

• Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal

Bayern Munich have gathered information about Bournemouth centre-back Dean Huijsen, although the 19-year-old is not yet a specific target for this summer. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Bobbie Jackson
BBC Sport Journalist

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Bournemouth's hopes of securing a historic first-ever campaign in Europe took a further blow after throwing away a two-goal lead at Tottenham.

The Cherries were coasting to all three points and set to climb up to sixth in the standings with 65 minutes played after Evanilson doubled their lead following Marcus Tavernier's opener.

Just two minutes later Pape Sarr's cross ended up looping towards goal and nestling into the net, before Son Heung-min drew the hosts level from the penalty spot in the final minutes.

Bournemouth will look back at chances spurned, with Evanilson and Justin Kluivert both denied by good saves in the opening five minutes, while the latter also saw a shot cannon back off the post in the second half.

The draw leaves Bournemouth sitting eighth and two points behind Brighton with 10 games to play and Europe is still firmly on the agenda.

However, Andoni Iraola's side will need to address their sliding form, having won just one of their past five fixtures, or their dreams may end up dashed.

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Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, speaking to sky Sports: "Before coming here it is probably not a bad result, but after how the game went and how well we performed, we are not happy with a point.

"We have to be more efficient. It's not just about the performance. We have to win the games when we are the better team and we were the better team. We have to be more clinical and smarter.

"We played well and pressed well but we have to capitalise. We were winning and we needed to kill the game.

"We are playing well and performing well but we lack this thing that the big teams have when they win games. Even if they don't play well they find a way to win.

"If we want to fight with the big boys then we need to compete better.

"The first goal we conceded is a matter of luck but the second one we should do better, defend better, it's a cheap penalty to concede."

On Kepa Arrizabalaga conceding a penalty: "I think he is frustrated. I think Son Heung-min is smart. He goes to one side and forces the contact but Kepa gives the referee an option."

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No team has scored more open play goals from crosses in the Premier League this season than Bournemouth's eight, with three of those being assisted by Milos Kerkez.

The left-back has been involved in four goals in his last nine league matches (one goal, three assists), which is as many goal involvements as he managed in his first 47 appearances in the competition.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Tottenham's performance

What did you make of Bournemouth's display?

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