Here Come the Cherries

After a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Vitality Stadium, AFC Bournemouth returns to the Premier League after a two-season absence. Under the leadership of former Fulham manager Scott Parker, the Cherries rebounded from last season's Championship campaign when the club blew a one-goal lead in the promotion playoffs against Brentford in the second leg. Bournemouth has been known as a side that seesaw's between the second division and the third division of English football for most of its history. The Cherries' creative free-kick allowed Welsh international Kieffer Moore to slot home one of the biggest goals in the history of the club past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Brice Samba. Led by former Chelsea and Liverpool player Dominic Solanke up top and Danish midfielder Philip Billing in the middle of the pitch, the Cherries are on their way back to the big time with the hope of cementing their spot in the top level of English football for the foreseeable future.

C/O: Dorset Live

Following the win, manager Scott Parker spoke on the performance and the season as a whole, stating, "I am excited and pleased we are in the Premier League. We deserve it. Our aim was to get promoted and we have done it. I thought we were incredible in the second half...It is part and parcel of the Championship that there will be bumps along the way, but the fans stuck with us and that is why we are in this position and going to the Premier League...The atmosphere was incredible and that probably got us over the line. The fans were our 12th man and that helped us massively. I want to say ‘thank you’ to the owner and the people involved in this club. I have nothing but the utmost support and that gives me the opportunity to do the best job I can."

Fans at the Vitality Stadium stormed the field at the final whistle, as the club bathed in its glory on its way to the Premier League. The Cherries had the innate combination of experience and plenty of youth all throughout the pitch. Parker's 4-2-3-1 formation with defenders Lloyd Kelly, and Liverpool loanee Nathaniel Phillips anchoring the defense allowed the fewest goals in the Championship at 39 along with Fulham and Nottingham Forest. The Cherries' attack had plenty of contributors throughout the season. Every player had a role in the promotion, from Siriki Dembélé's late winner in a comeback against Blackpool on the road back in February to coming back from three goals down against Swansea City just a few weeks ago, this Bournemouth team had been through more than an average promoted side.

Moving into the next phase of Bournemouth football, Parker looks to build on what he has crafted since moving from Fulham and replacing Jonathan Woodgate as the leader of the Cherries. Parker has now successfully led two different clubs to promotion to the Premier League in just his first full season in charge. While he has yet to find success in the top flight, there is no doubt that he has the ability to motivate his players, and put them into the best position to succeed.

There were many questions about why Parker would take on this project with the Cherries with Fulham having a much higher ceiling? The pressure was almost insurmountable as the money spent during the transfer window in January made the promotion to the top-flight a necessity. Parker spoke on how the pressure "consumed" him and with Forest closing the gap continuously every week, the Cherries needed a leader.

With a young team at his disposal, Parker knew he had to take on a more demanding role. No need to stress about the playoffs and the idea of missing out on the Premier League once again. Parker did what Woodgate could not, but the question becomes what will Parker's second time around in the top-flight look like? The phenomenal fitness, and mentality to come back and tie Swansea showed that this side has the "it" factor with plenty of things to work on. Before Parker arrived at the club, it was believed by many that Bournemouth was in a bit of a stalemate after Eddie Howe left the club on mutual consent.

The older players were given preference by some of the previous men in charge, preventing the progression of some of the Cherries' stars that captained them back to the big time. The club needed a visionary, and someone who was a believer in the future, not an individual who lived in the past and tended to take the easy road out. Through reportedly one of the toughest preseason's in some players' careers and getting some key individuals like Kelly and Billing on his side, Parker altered the perception of Bournemouth in the blink of an eye.

C/O: Dorset Chambers

He set a goal for his team to become the fittest squad in the entire Championship, and as the season went on the players and the owners put their trust in Parker. He cemented a physical identity at AFC Bournemouth. Parker never moved away from his ways and through the ups and the downs of the season, the Cherries always possessed that relentless spirit that Parker valued to his core. The outcome all came from believing in a man with a vision despite some unfortunate results, the club knew deep down it had the right guy at calling the shots out on the pitch.