Onwards to Bournemouth – Bohs Invasion

Now then this story goes back all the way to early December of 2004

The football (soccer to our friends across the Atlantic) team I follow passionately are a Dublin based side in the League of Ireland Premier Division called Bohemians (hence the title of this whole little tome!).

Our League season runs from March to November each year – meaning a huge 4 month period without any live football on our doorstep to watch and get involved in.

Suffice to say some of my fellow supporters and myself were getting major withdrawal symptoms (kind of like those a smoker gets when going “cold turkey”).

So one day in early December from a conversation on our message forum (Gypsiesweb) that started out as a debate on dodgy off-topic posting from the workplace, heroin junkies and St Patrick’s Athletic (link there – I don’t seem to be able to see it ) – someone made a suggestion to “adopt” a lower division club in England and support and follow them as our second team during our winter off season. Which also meant attending games in person.

Various names were banded about – Yeovil Town, Worcester City, Weymouth, Yeading (of the FA Cup run) and Colchester.

I made the suggestion (as quoted from my posting on the forum):

What about Bournemouth?

They play in the black & red (our own first choice colours) – and still have Shaun Maher (who used to play for us) playing for them…

Plus they’re not too far away from Yeovil (who play in green and white hoops – same as our arch-rivals Shamrock Rovers)

A poll was quickly created and with 54% of the vote – Bournemouth came out on top due to the above reasons (they also have another of our ex-players play for them), plus there are cheap flights to Bournemouth from Dublin!

So this Saturday, January 15th 2005, sees 12 hardy souls jetting in from Dublin and myself (commuting 4 hours south by train from my home in the Midlands) to watch, nay fervently support, the red & black clad warriors of AFC Bournemouth as they crush the might of Sheffield Wednesday on the south coast of England – followed by one heck of a night out.

Apparently word of our decision has reached the top brass at AFC Bournemouth, and we have apparently been invited to the Members Bar before the game for a drink with the Club Chairman (plus I heard the local press might be in attendance!)

A hotel room has been taken for this weekender – and photos plus a full account of the trip will be posted on my return on Sunday afternoon.