GROUND HISTORY TRAVEL

It is probably important to remember that this is AFC Bournemouth we're talking about and not the local non-league club, Bournemouth FC. You'd think that it is pretty easy but the difference in name terms is a subtle one that can get you lost on Wikipedia. We think you'd be OK locally if you asked for directions though.

Initially formed in 1890 as Boscombe St John's Institute, the club was dissolved in 1899 and reformed as Boscombe FC. The name AFC Bournemouth didn't appear until 1971, having been known as Bournemouth and Boscombe Athletic from the time the Cherries joined the Football League in 1923 until that point.

More familiar with the bottom two divisions of the League structure, The Cherries spent a couple of years in the second tier during the late 1980s. More recently, there was a two-year stay in League Two before promotion in 2009/10, that being nearly followed with a second promotion in 2010/1 after qualifying for the League One playoffs.

It was a remarkable resurgence for Bournemouth, having nearly been forced out of business in 2008. After relegation to League Two, the club started the 2008/9 campaign with a 17-point deficit due to breaking insolvency regulations. It was a superb effort to negate that penalty and finish comfortably clear of the relegation zone.

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