150, Not Out.

It is commonplace in recent years for Bournemouth FC, a true hub for the local community within the town, to be situated within the lower echelons of the Wessex League’s Premier Division. However, largely due to the work of manager, Phill Brown this season has seen a drastic change in performance on the field. With the club on 31 points, two off their tally from last season, in January. It is important to understand just what has happened to enable this progress as Brown and club captain Tyrone Carkeet tell all in their midseason assessment, exclusively for BUzz News.

At this time last season it was a completely different story, Poppies were 15^th in the table, on 19 points and conceding a hatful of goals, 67 in 22 games. The season prior Poppies needed a win in their final home game of the season to confirm safety from the drop. In a league where squad instability is such a massive issue, as only six players who were in the squad last season have remained at Poppies’ home ground of Victoria Park.

This can largely be explained due to the part-time nature of the league, all the playing staff in the league are semi-professional and often have quickly changing circumstances in their own lives which can affect availability and where, or even if, they can continue playing.

On the vast post-season changes, manager Phill Brown said, “Big turnover of players, which was hard work in the summer, I’ve had to bring players in as certain ones let me down at the end of last season. The ones we’ve got have gelled together and are going forward.”

In terms of the biggest differences between previous seasons and this one then, where do the divisions currently lie? It can easily be attributed to the management getting it right with recruitment, however Brown suggests there’s a deeper reasoning. He said, “It’s a mentality thing, I think. There are players here who actually want to be here, rather than just potentially taking their wages and going home again. People now actually care about what they do and work hard and listen, which is the most important thing.

Club captain Tyrone Carkeet had a say on the switches in personnel, and also highlighted which key difference he believes has had the most impact on the squad so far, he said, “Last season we had a goal scorer in Joe Freak, which yes it was good, but let’s be honest he didn’t bring much to the team, this year we’ve probably got five players that play in that position who all bring something.

“I think we’re more of a team and you see others looking for strikers, but I think the teams who can score from almost anywhere on the pitch are the ones who are successful.”

On this season, Carkeet said, “I think it’s been good to be fair, ups and downs, positives and negatives. If you actually take a look back at the season; 31 points, 33 last season in the whole season, you’d like to think we’d get past that this season.

“I’ve been at this level a long time, it’s not the points you should get, but it’s the ones you’re not expected to get, like our draws against Baffins [Milton Rovers] and against Stoneham.”

Poppies Manager, Phill Brown. Photo credit: Dan Crowther.

Poppies captain, Tyrone Carkeet. Photo credit: Dan Crowther.

One defining factor for clubs in the Wessex League is money, and in a world where former EFL talents are rumoured to have earned more than £1,000-per-week for clubs in the Premier Division, it can be argued that those who have large capital are more likely to have success. Despite being older than Premier league neighbours AFC Bournemouth, the Poppies’ financial struggles have potentially held them back in comparison to their rivals.

Brown said, “The budget is very small, I think if we did up the budget a little bit that would help, then we could probably push up the league a little bit higher, but I haven’t had any conversations with the chairman about that. We’ve just got to see where we can get with the players and budget we’ve got at the minute.”

Carkeet also shared his opinion on budget and how Bournemouth have tackled it, he said, “The teams at the top, are top because they’ve got everything. More people aren’t here because it’s good money or close to home, we’ve got people here because they want to play here.”

Victoria Park, Bournemouth FC. Photo credit: Will Mead.

Poppies players warm up. Photo credit: Will Mead.

So looking forward, it was previously reported by BUzz, on Tuesday, that the Poppies’ players had set themselves a target number of points for their next ten fixtures. Carkeet was asked on this, which he jokingly revealed, “It’s not quite thirty, but it’s not quite ten.

“Our performances have been so much better game by game, we actually played really badly at the start of the season yet continued to win games. I think there’s a big opportunity for us to push on.”

2025 is a significant year for the club, as Poppies are now in their 150^th year. The turn of fortunes so far this season couldn’t have come at a better time, as the club are now viewed as a much more attractive project.

The fact that this small, family-run community hub is an older footballing institution than a current Premier League success story in AFC Bournemouth, is often overlooked. Cherries supporters are asked to go and try supporting their second local club if they have a spare Saturday.