Bournemouth went into the 2014-15 season with a sense of optimism brought about by a fine first campaign back in the second tier of English football.
Tipped by many to struggle during the 2013-14 season - just their second spell above the third tier - promising young manager Eddie Howe led them to a 10th-place finish and even threatened a late push for the playoffs.
Their optimism proved to be well placed as the Cherries embarked on the most successful season in the club's history, culminating in the Championship title and automatic promotion to the Premier League for the first time.
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Howe's side ended the campaign with a 13-match unbeaten run to stave off challenges from the likes of Watford, Norwich City and Middlesbrough, losing just eight games all season and boasting the league's best attack and second stingiest defence.
Uncharted territory awaits in the top flight next season, but having stylishly overcome every challenge in their path so far on the way to three promotions in six years, they will be confident of making the step up once again.
Five key results
Huddersfield Town 0-4 Bournemouth, August 9, 2014: The match that started it all. Bournemouth's season got off to the perfect start when they took the lead inside one minute on the opening day, with Marc Pugh setting the tone for what was to come. New signing Callum Wilson added a brace on his debut either side of a Yann Kermorgant strike to hand the Cherries an emphatic victory at the John Smith's Stadium, memorably costing Mark Robins his job at Huddersfield after just one game of the season. It could have been even better for Bournemouth too had Wilson not spurned the opportunity for a hat-trick by missing a penalty.
Birmingham City 0-8 Bournemouth, October 25, 2014: After back-to-back wins in their opening two games, Bournemouth went on a run of just one victory in eight league outings. However, they then embarked on a 14-game unbeaten streak to thrust themselves into contention for promotion, and in the midst of that run came the most emphatic victory in the club's history. Managerless Birmingham were the victims of a ruthless display from the Cherries as they scored eight goals in a league match for the first time ever.
Howe's side went on to find the net a whopping 98 times in the league alone this season, but St Andrew's was the scene of their goalscoring zenith in October. Brett Pitman got them on their way after just three minutes, while Birmingham were reduced to 10 men shortly afterwards. Bournemouth proceeded to pile more misery on their hosts, with Wilson and Matt Ritchie opening up a three-goal lead at the break. Pugh went on to net a second-half hat-trick and Tokelo Rantie helped himself to a brace, while Birmingham's woes were compounded when Paul Caddis missed a penalty.
Bournemouth 3-0 Middlesbrough, March 21, 2015:
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The 2014-15 Championship title race developed into one of the closest and most fascinating battles in recent memory. Bournemouth and Boro were both very much in the mix when the Cherries welcomed Aitor Karanka's side to Dean Court in March, with only two points separating them in the table. A spell of just three wins from their opening 10 league games of 2015 damaged their automatic promotion bid, but they had won three of their last four when Boro came to town. Even so, they were still outside of the top two, and only a victory would see them displace their opponents. As it happened, the Cherries returned to the top of the pile with a comfortable win that saw Howe's side score two penalties either side of a Harry Arter strike.
Bournemouth 4-2 Birmingham, April 6, 2015: It was impossible to take your eyes off the title race as it continued to twist and turn into April, by which time it had effectively become a four-horse race. Derby County had slipped away, but only two points separated leaders Middlesbrough from fourth-placed Watford. Slip-ups at the top were an increasingly regular occurrence as the pressure got to everyone, and it looked like Bournemouth could throw some vital points away when they welcomed Birmingham for a Monday afternoon fixture.
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The visitors - by now a very different proposition to the side that was dispatched so mercilessly by Bournemouth earlier in the season - raced into a 2-0 lead inside 21 minutes to leave the Cherries floundering. However, Steve Cook pulled one back six minutes before half time, and they went into the break level courtesy of a Wilson strike in first-half stoppage time. Kermorgant completed the turnaround just three minutes into the second period, before Charlie Daniels added a fourth with just over 15 minutes remaining to send his side back to the top of the table.
Bournemouth 3-0 Bolton, April 27, 2015: A day that will go down as arguably the finest in the club's history. The pressure was very much on Bournemouth going into the penultimate match of the season but, as they had done throughout the campaign, they passed the test with flying colours. Howe's side knew that victory over Bolton would guarantee them promotion to the Premier League for the first time ever, and they quickly set about completing the job. Pugh and Ritchie gave the hosts a two-goal lead at the break and, despite Kermorgant missing a penalty, Wilson added a third with a little over 10 minutes left to send Dean Court wild. Victory on the final day saw the Cherries pip Watford to the title too, capping off an incredible campaign.
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Best Player - Matt Ritchie
A surprise exclusion from the official Championship Player of the Season shortlist, Ritchie dazzled from midfield to help Bournemouth to the title. No player in the Championship was involved in more goals than the winger, who scored a joint league-high 15 from midfield as well as contributing a further 17 assists.
His form was noticed by Scotland manager Gordon Strachan, who handed him a maiden international call-up for the matches against Northern Ireland and Gibraltar. It was fitting that Ritchie scored in both the match that sealed promotion and the game that clinched the title as he ended the campaign with four goals in the last three games.
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Most Improved Player - Marc Pugh
It was Pugh who got Bournemouth up and running inside the first minute on the opening day of the season, and much like that set the Cherries on their way to the title, it also set the tone for an impressive personal campaign. The 28-year-old winger made 42 appearances in the league, including 35 starts, during which he contributed nine goals - four more than last season - and five assists.
Best Signing - Callum Wilson
When Lewis Grabban left Dean Court in the summer of 2014, there were concerns that the Cherries would struggle to replace the 22 league goals that the Norwich-bound striker scored in 2013-14. Those were soon put to bed by Wilson, however, who scored twice on his league debut and found the net five times in his first seven games for the club.
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His predatory instincts and cool finishing ensured that Bournemouth's slick build-up play more often than not had an end product, and he ended the campaign with 20 goals in 45 league games. Andrew Surman was also brought in on a permanent basis last summer and was voted the club's Players' Player of the Year, but it was Wilson's impact that was most keenly felt following his arrival from Coventry City.
Best Goal - Harry Arter vs. Watford
Unsurprisingly, there were a number of stunning strikes among Bournemouth's 98 league goals this season. Kermorgant's acrobatic scissor kick against Ipswich Town and Cook's beauty at Fulham stand out and would be equally worthy winners, but we've gone for a long-range thunderbolt from Arter. The diminutive midfielder scored his fair share of wonder goals this season, but this was the pick of the bunch as he collected the ball 30 yards from goal before finding the top corner with the sweetest of hits.
Must Do Better - Tokelo Rantie
In truth, it is a little harsh to give anyone this 'award', such was the quality of Bournemouth's season. However, Rantie was one of few players to underperform for the Cherries, scoring just two goals in all competitions, with both of those coming in the 8-0 drubbing of Birmingham.
In fairness to the South African, he could point to a lack of game time having failed to start a single league match all season, with injuries and the form of Wilson, Kermorgant and Pitman keeping him as very much the fourth-choice striker. Even so, a player who is thought to have cost Bournemouth a club-record fee upon his arrival in 2013 should have been able to force his way into the starting XI and, when given the chance in cup competitions and from the bench, he generally failed to take it.
End-of-season grade: A+
It is hard to imagine how things could have gone much better for Bournemouth. Six years after almost dropping out of the Football League, they clinched promotion to the top flight and won the title along the way. They did it in style too, playing an attractive brand of football that won them many admirers en route to the Championship crown. This has been the greatest season in the history of the club, and it will be interesting to see how they adapt to the Premier League next term.
