HEAD back to the 2008-09 season and Bournemouth have barely survived relegation out of League Two and into the wilderness of non-league football. That was their lowest point as a club across England’s top four tiers since the late 1970’s but just 16 seasons on, now the Cherries are absolute thriving in the Premier League.

A stunning 5-0 victory over fellow high-flyers Nottingham Forest highlighted the south coast club as a potential UEFA Champions League finisher this term, as Spanish manager Andoni Iraola continues to work wonders with his side. 23 matches into this season, Bournemouth have amassed 40 points following their victory over Forest last weekend, with their tally of 11 wins already the same as they managed in each of the 2015-16, 2017-18 and 2022-23 seasons in total.

What has paved the way for their success this season is their near-perfect recruitment plan over recent years, which again under owner Bill Foley, has targeted younger players with big potential. The stand-out this time around in that regard has been defender Dean Huijsen, who after joining the Cherries this summer for only around £13million, is already being touted for a big money move next summer.

But his return of two goals and five clean sheets across 17 Premier League appearances this campaign for the Cherries wouldn’t have been achieved without the brilliance of Iraola, who himself is making huge waves in the world of football management.

So far this season, he’s got Bournemouth playing some fast-paced, free-flowing football, a system that is built upon the philosophy of getting in the face of the opposition regardless of their quality and stature. A main component of that has been their ability to win the ball back high up the field through their pressing, highlighted by their return of 197 high turnovers – the fifth-most in the competition.

But what’s been even more impressive is Bournemouth’s ability to make the most of those situations. No side in the English top-flight this term has recorded more than their 45 shot-ending high turnovers, five of which have ended in goals – a tally only Nottingham Forest (7) and Liverpool (6) can better. That output has been aided by their fantastic ability to cover the field in general, covering the second-most combined distance of any side in the league this term after only Tottenham (2576 km).

There’s been other parts of the game where Bournemouth have thrived this season too when stacked up against their Premier League counterparts. To list a few, the Cherries have had the third-most shots (375), fourth-most shots on target (137) and have won the most penalties (7), whilst their players combined have recorded the most times winning back possession (1161), second-most interceptions (222) and sixth-most tackles (446).

Additionally, their PPDA tally of 10.3 can only be beaten by Tottenham and Arsenal, whilst their tally of total defensive actions – which adds up to 1901 in total – is the highest figure in the league as the south coast club’s performance at both ends of the field remains extremely high.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the Cherries’ season though, has come with the quality that their substitutions have brought onto the pitch when needed.

With their collective backs against the wall in certain matches, Iraola has been able to call upon plenty of attacking firepower from his bench which has seen his side amass 17 points won thanks to direct goal contributions from subs.

That’s the most of any side in the division, whilst Bournemouth’s oncoming subs have also netted the most goals (11) and provided the most assists (7) amongst the 20 teams ahead of this weekend’s showdown with table-toppers Liverpool.

So is it likely that Bournemouth will qualify for European competition come the end of this season then? Simply put, yes it is.

With a look back through the history books, we can look at the teams who have had 40+ points after 23 matches of a Premier League season, of which all but two of the 144 applicable sides have finished in the top seven – with the exception of Tottenham in 1995-96 and Manchester City in 2007-08. 

A top seven finish is looking very likely to net a European spot of some description this season in the Premier League, though the Opta Supercomputer paints an even more positive picture for Bournemouth fans. That’s because after its latest round of calculations, it predicts the Cherries to be most likely to finish in 6^th spot this term which would be their highest ever finish in club history.

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