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Bourne of frustration

Beags reviews the best of the Football League

Peter Beagrie Posted 15th September 2011 view comments

Bournemouth chairman Eddie Mitchell's rant last weekend made incredible viewing and conjured up memories of Delia Smith's outburst at Norwich a few years back.

He was very angry at Cherries fans after they vented their spleens following a 3-0 home loss to Chesterfield.

I suggest it might have gone a different way if Eddie had come on to the turf suited and booted and with his hair not so bedraggled; he certainly looked a little bit worse for wear.

Mitchell: lashed out at Bournemouth fans

Mitchell: lashed out at Bournemouth fans

And I think if he looks back on the incident, he'll regret it because it's definitely not PC for a chairman to go onto the pitch and display his anger like that.

You do it professionally, either through notes in the match-day programme or via an organised fans' forum. He acted anything but professionally.

Playing devil's advocate for a moment, though, he's put a lot of money into that club, is passionate about it, and he'll be hurting as much as anyone with all the playing-staff departures over the summer.

Playing devil's advocate for a moment, though, Eddie's put a lot of money into that club, is passionate about it, and he'll be hurting as much as anyone with all the playing-staff departures over the summer.

Peter Beagrie
Quotes of the week

Mitchell, along with former Cherries' boss Eddie Howe, bought the club back from the brink when they were in League Two, fighting administration, had a points deduction and scraped the barrel with loan signings - and through all that, Bournemouth were promoted to League One.

And last season they had a cracking year, getting to the play-off semi-finals before losing to Huddersfield in an excellent tie.

The problem is that a when a club as small as Bournemouth over-achieves, their star players will be poached because they haven't got the financial muscle to keep hold of them.

The likes of Danny Hollands, Jason Pearce, Rhoys Wiggins and Danny Ings have departed, leaving only three of their regular line-up from last term - and the Cherries battling at the bottom end of the table.

It seems as though the money has been used to keep the club running and they haven't been able to pay transfer fees or give the sought-after free agents the wages they are looking for. Due to their budget, Bournemouth will always be playing catch-up.

You can understand the fans' frustrations; the squad has been decimated and the results not forthcoming, but I would just urge them to think back to those times of uncertainty and be grateful that they still have a football club.

Nevertheless, Eddie was misguided in thinking he could quell the annoyed supporters by ranting at them. That will only be done by wins. The Cherries got one on Tuesday against Leyton Orient, and perhaps that can act as a springboard.

Ipswich v Coventry, 7.30pm, Mon, Sky Sports HD1

Monday's Sky Live game sees Ipswich host Coventry. Like Bournemouth, the Tractor Boys have endured a tough start to the season and have only taken six points from their opening six games, a run that has included thumping defeats to Southampton and Peterborough.

There is real quality in that side, so I can only think Town's problems stem from their new boys having not bedded in yet. There has been a dramatic overhaul of players and maybe they are still getting accustomed to their new environment.

Ipswich's midfield, which includes Jimmy Bullard, Keith Andrews and Grant Leadbitter, should fire soon but their defence is an issue. Northern Ireland international Gareth McAuley, who joined West Brom on a free this summer, is a big loss; he was their organiser and tremendously resolute, too. Town have really missed him.

Paul Jewell is still searching for that magic blend but he'll be given the tools to succeed: time and money. But knowing Paul from when he managed me at Bradford, he'll be disappointed.

He took a long time to get back into management after a scarring experience at Derby and saw Ipswich as the perfect job. It hasn't begun brilliantly but I'm sure, over the next few years, the Tractor Boys will push on.

Coventry, who got their first win of the season last week against Derby, did very little business in the summer, and have had to rely on academy graduates like Gael Bigirimana and Cyrus Christie.

On paper, they have one of the weaker squads in the Championship, but the fact these youngsters know each other from junior football and will be playing as all kids do - without fear and determined to express themselves - could serve Coventry well.

I still think they could be in in for a for a very arduous season so some of the Sky Blues' older hands will have to step up, particularly Sammy Clingan and Lukas Jutkiewicz.

Clingan would get in most Championship sides; he gets on the ball, dictates things from midfield, has a great range of passing and is tremendous at set-pieces.

Jutkiewicz, meanwhile, is very fleet of foot for a tall frontman and can play both wide in a three or as a central striker. It's no surprise Middlesbrough were sniffing around him during the transfer window because of his all-round game and ability to find the net.

It's imperative that manager Andy Thorn keeps both of those players at the club so that even if he can't add to his squad, he has a realistic chance of keeping City in the Championship.

What else we learned this week

Chris Wood is a very talented young player... The Birmingham striker, on-loan from West Brom, netted a hat-trick against Millwall. A similar player to Connor Wickham, Wood is big, strong and accomplished with the ball at his feet, and could be pivotal for the Blues, who have struggled to score goals over recent years.

Leon Clarke has settled in quickly at Chesterfield... After his short and acrimonious stay at Swindon, Clarke has scored two in two and helped the Spireites find their feet in League One. Clarke didn't cover himself in glory at the County Ground, but John Sheridan has given him a platform and he's taken it.

Izale McLeod likes being a big fish in a small pond... He never really got going when he was at Charlton, but at League Two level, firstly with MK Dons and now Barnet, McLeod is a goal machine. Always an astute finisher but now with more wherewithal in his game,he has netted eight goals this season, including two in the last week.

Macclesfield are very quick off the mark... Silkmen striker Ben Tomlinson scored a goal after just seven seconds against Morecambe on Tuesday. That earned his side a very good draw against the League Two leaders - who had thumped Crawley 6-0 the preceding Saturday.

It was a sobering midweek for Sheffield... Wednesday lost 5-1 at Stevenage, while United were defeated 3-0 by Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield at Bramall Lane. I'm sure there haven't been too many smiles around the Steel City!

Peter's had his say... and now he wants to hear your opinions. Whether you've got a view on the goings-on at Bournemouth, or just want to get your club a mention, send in your thoughts using the feedback form below...

Comments (2)

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Sam Arnold (Bournemouth) (Bournemouth fan) says...

I think I should let people know. It's just a small minority of fans abusing Eddie Mitchell, whereas the majority are backing him and Lee Bradbury to turn this poor run of form around, by getting in a few loan signings and free agents.

Posted 22:45 15th September 2011

Jon Price (West Ham) (West Ham United fan) says...

Sounds to me like the Bournemouth fans are being ungrateful. He's done a lot for the club over the years and yes it was unprofessional of him to go on the pitch and act like that but that at least shows he cares. The fans should be very grateful for that at least as it's a rare thing for a chairman to have the club truly in his heart as opposed to in his back pocket.

Posted 16:57 15th September 2011

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