BOURNEMOUTH ALMOST GOING NON- LEAGUE

In 2004, Cherries fans crowdfunded enough money to re- sign defender Eddie Howe at his penniless boyhood team. Four and a half years later, the local hero was appointed as manager, tasked with saving his club from relegation out of the Football League. Bournemouth had been deducted 17 points and were seven adrift of safety when he arrived, but Steve Fletcher’s goal against Grimsby Town on the penultimate day secured one of the decade’s greatest escapes. Under Howe, the south coast side sealed promotion the following season – by 2015 they were a Premier League club.