A.F.C Bournemouth lost to Sheffield United at the weekend courtesy of a late John Lundstram goal for the hosts, which left Eddie Howe’s side in 16th place on 26 points.
However, the worry for supporters of the Cherries will be that they are at risk of dropping into the relegation zone as both Aston Villa and West Ham, who are a point and two points behind Bournemouth respectively, have a game in hand. Should Howe’s side drop back to the Championship at the end of this season after a five-year stay in the Premier League, what will their legacy be?
Bournemouth comfortably have the lowest capacity ground in the English top-flight with the Vitality Stadium seating 11,329 people, over 10,000 fewer than Turf Moor, the next smallest ground in the Premier League. Though there have been plans to build a new stadium by the summer of this year, those were shelved in 2018 after the club admitted they had been “overly optimistic” with their redevelopment ambitions.
However, should they return to the Championship, those plans may continue to remain on the shelf due to a loss in revenue from television money, which is shared across the EFL clubs and was formerly 96.5 percent smaller than the Premier League’s deal.
The Cherries have plans for a £35m development to create a new training facility with nine pitches, which was approved in October last year. Still, a fall in revenue from being outside of the Premier League could change Bournemouth’s financial situation.
Meanwhile, there is the possibility that if the south coast club were to be relegated, manager Howe could leave for greener pastures. Should the Cherries be left in a position where they have no manager, no plans to develop the Vitality Stadium and strapped for cash to improve the training facilities, what would their Premier League legacy be?
Some fans may suggest that they have the memories of being in the top-flight with some of the best results in the club’s history. But there has been no tangible evolution in Bournemouth since their promotion to the Premier League, and it threatens to tarnish the club’s legacy in the top flight.
