AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth will be bidding to bring up a hat-trick of Premier League wins when they face Cardiff City on Saturday.
Ahead of the clash at the Cardiff City Stadium, afcb.co.uk caught up with Wales Online’s Cardiff City correspondent Dom Booth to get the lowdown on Neil Warnock’s side.
afcbco.uk: How has the season so far gone for Cardiff?
DB: It’s probably gone if not as expected then even slightly above expectations.
Most people probably expected Cardiff to be rock-bottom and predicted they would go down with a record-low points tally.
That’s not proving to be the case. They are proving to be competitive at home, especially against teams outside the top six.
Neil Warnock has played down expectations all season but Cardiff are still in the mix to stay up, even if the gap at the moment is a little wider than it has been.
afcb.co.uk: Where do you think they have improved since the first day of the season when they lost at Vitality Stadium?
DB: In almost every area but the key ones have been game intelligence and with the tempo of games in the Premier League, which maybe they found a bit of a shock to the system to start with.
In the first game, Bournemouth were very much in charge and Cardiff didn’t really cope with their movement and guile of their forward players.
In terms of having a game plan that will cope with Premier League attacks, that’s something they have improved a heck of a lot.
afcb.co.uk: Is Neil Warnock’s popularity among supporters as strong as it was last season?
DB: Yes. Cardiff always knew they were going to be in a relegation battle and Neil Warnock prepared the fans for that.
He has done really well to manage expectations and to grind out results.
There has probably been a little bit of frustration from the fans that Cardiff haven’t performed in games which they have needed to.
Recent games against Huddersfield and Newcastle were disappointing and there was a little disquiet towards the manager after those games.
But he has handled himself really well and with great dignity during the past couple of weeks and he’s still very popular.
afcb.co.uk: Is Cardiff’s home form going to be the difference between staying up and not?
DB: That was always going to be the case and the fact they have only won one away game shows that.
They have beaten Brighton, Fulham, Wolves and Southampton at home and have built a really good atmosphere in those games.
The fans have been behind them, the ground has been packed and they have nicked positive results. I think it’s going to be like that for the rest of the season.
afcb.co.uk: With four of the top six to play in their final seven games, do they need to start getting positive results as soon as possible?
DB: Definitely. February and March are going to be crucial months.
Three of their next five games are at home – Bournemouth, Watford and Everton – which you would suggest are games they could get positive results from.
Away games at Fulham and Southampton may open opportunities but, other than that, home games in the next couple of months are going to be absolutely vital.
They need to rediscover the form they found around November when they were a force at home and won three on the trot.
afcb.co.uk: What has been your opinion on Harry Arter’s impact this season?
DB: He’s been excellent and the fans took to him really quickly due to the way he plays.
He’s that passionate, bustling midfielder and his style of full-blooded tackles and haring all over the place has really gone down well with the fans. He’s the kind of player they like.
He has also done well to bring more control to the midfield area, something they lacked in the Championship last season. He’s been fantastic and will be a huge miss on Saturday.
afcb.co.uk: What plans are there to mark the disappearance of Emiliano Sala?
DB: There was a minute’s silence planned before the Arsenal game which turned into a minute’s applause. Cardiff fans held up yellow cards, the colour of Sala’s club Nantes. Staff members wore daffodils which have become a symbol because it’s the Welsh flower and the colour of Nantes. I think we will see something similar on Saturday.
You can follow Dom on Twitter at @DomBooth19
