It is no secret that AFC Bournemouth began this Premier League season as hot favourites for relegation, a view that was quickly cemented last August when they were crushed 9-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.
It prompted anguished Bournemouth manager Scott Parker to announce his team was "ill-equipped at this level" and few disagreed with this assertion. It came as no surprise that Parker who admitted the Liverpool defeat was "a really humiliating experience", was sacked after just four games.
After that traumatic start to the season, who would have thought that when the Cherries run out onto the pitch at the Vitality Stadium today they will have the same points as their Chelsea opponents? It is an encouraging tale for anyone who supports the smaller clubs in the top flight.
Stepping into the breach after Parker's departure was first team coach Gary O'Neil who was appointed interim manager. Nobody envied his situation as Bournemouth looked destined for a quick return to the Championship. Somehow in the next 12 games O'Neil managed to steady the ship enough to be given the job full-time on Nov 27. Two weeks later owner Maxim Demin sold the club to American businessman Bill Foley who must be delighted how things have turned out.
Bournemouth's Jefferson Lerma celebrates scoring against Leeds. (Photo: Reuters)
However, things did not begin well for Foley and Bournemouth experienced a wretched winter. In early March they still looked destined for the drop.
Hopes were raised when the Cherries performed well in a 3-2 defeat at league leaders Arsenal and followed it up with an excellent 1-0 win over Liverpool in mid-March. Then a good run in April with four victories including a fine away win at Tottenham has seen them pull away from the relegation pack. They have also been playing attractive football.
After last weekend's comfortable 4-1 cruise over Leeds which put them close to safety at 10 points clear of the relegation zone, O'Neil joined his players in a celebratory run around the pitch to applaud the fans.
"I thought it was important we did that together," O'Neil told the local newspaper, the Daily Echo. He said he was "proud" of everyone involved. "Not many people outside of Bournemouth would have given us a prayer this year," he said.
O'Neil praised the performance of Colombian midfielder Jefferson Lerma after his two goals against Leeds. "Jeff's had a good season and part of the reason we are on 39 points," O'Neil said. Other players who have caught the eye are Danish midfielder Philip Billing and striker Dominic Solanke who have notched seven goals apiece. Marcus Tavenier has also been very effective, contributing five goals.
When Bournemouth first won promotion to the Premier League in 2015 it already felt a bit like a fairy tale. This was a club that had spent its entire history in the lower divisions but had somehow finally achieved the Holy Grail. With the Vitality Stadium only having a capacity of just over 11,000 it was also by far the smallest club to reach the lofty heights of the top flight.
Most pundits thought the Cherries would be relegated immediately but they survived for five seasons and won many admirers playing entertaining football under manager Eddie Howe who of course has since made a very successful move to Newcastle.
Relegation finally consumed them in 2020 and many wondered if that was the last we had seen of this south coast club. But after two seasons in the Championship they were back.
It is hard to imagine that as recently as the 2008-9 season the club was in dire straits in the basement of League Two with minus 17 points. But they miraculously escaped relegation, finishing in 21st place in what became known as "The Great Escape".
The following season they won promotion to League One, the first of three promotions under the guidance of Howe, who eventually took Bournemouth to the Premier League.
While Bournemouth can look forward to a second straight season in the Premier League plenty of work is needed to ensure they stay in the top flight. They don't want to begin next season as relegation favourites again.