Can the Cherries Stay in the Premier League?

So the once little club that is AFC Bournemouth have finally hit the big time. After years of being a nursery for football, credited with introducing the likes of Darren Anderton, Tony Pulis, Harry Redknapp to the footballing world, the South Coast club now has the chance to be famous on its own right.

Indeed, thanks to its wealthy owners who bailed the club out 5 years ago and have turned it around with immense investment and faith in staff, Bournemouth have a real chance of staying in the top flight and establishing themselves in a way not dissimilar to Derby County and Nottingham Forest all those years ago.

Here are 3 keys for the Cherries to stay in the Premier League -

Dean Court
Bournemouth's little ground may only currently seat 12,000, but should be one of the noisiest grounds in the Premier League with sellout crowds expected for the season. Most of them will be on the side of the home team and this will definitely be a big boost for Bournemouth; home form helped the likes of Crystal Palace stay up in the Premier League.

There is talk of expanding capacity over the years but that will really depend on how Bournemouth go in the Premier League. If the Cherries can stay for 2 seasons, expect Dean Court to expand quite quickly to 18,000 and possibly even 20,000.

Lots of Goals 
What has made Bournemouth such a favourite for the neutrals over the last couple of seasons is their impetus on attacking, eye-catching football. If you thought Blackpool were thrilling, wait till you see the Cherries.

Matt Ritchie, Callum Wilson, Brett Pitman and Yann Kermorgant had 69 goals between them in the season just completed and while they will find the Premier League a huge step up, they should still be a very productive outlet for the Cherries at some stage of the season. Kermogant has plenty of experience on the continent, Ritchie is a Scottish international and Brett Pitman could have been in the Premier League earlier had Ian Holloway had his way when he was at Blackpool.

Finally, Callum Wilson has been hailed as the next Charlie Austin - a player who has done his time in the lower leagues and proven a goalscorer in whichever league he plays.

Of course, Eddie Howe will strengthen the side in the summer and will take advantage of loan signings from the more established clubs but the side is essentially very good as it is and a very good platform to work of.

Eddie Howe
The Championship manager of the last decade, Eddie Howe's time in the Premier League could have come earlier had he stayed with Burnley. Alas, he went back to his roots and now with his hometown club has his chance to show what a good manager he is in the top flight.

Howe is a more positive and English version of Jose Mourinho - both men have strong philosophies about their football and know how to get results on the field with the squads they have. Both also know the personnel to achieve their goals.

Howe's downfall could be a lack of experience in the top flight - but that in itself could be a blessing in disguise in Bournemouth's debut season as it means Howe can define himself in whatever way he chooses.

Conclusion -
Bournemouth will be fun to watch in the 2015-16 Premier League. Expect them to score lots of goals home and away, and expect them to concede lots of goals as well. If the Cherries fail to stay up, at least they can say they did it in the most pleasing way possible. There might very well be a few giant killing stories next season.