Cherries have £6m motive to do City an enormous favour...
THIRTY-TWO years ago, Tony James wrote himself into Leicester City folklore, scoring a final-day winner against Oxford to stop the club falling into the third tier for the first time.
But it was not just James’ goal that City needed that day. A win itself wasn’t enough. They also needed West Brom to slip up.
Doing half the job for City on that day – May 11, 1991 – were Bristol Rovers.
They were mid-table with nothing to play for, but despite going down to 10 men early on, they took the lead and then, after the Baggies equalised, held out for a 1-1 draw, meaning the 1-0 win at Filbert Street was rewarded with survival.
It is the same predicament for City this season.
A player needs to make themselves a hero at the King Power Stadium, scoring the goal that earns three points against West Ham.
But they also need a favour to stop Everton from winning. This time, the
club they are asking for help are Bournemouth.
The Cherries are also without any obvious motive.
They have been officially safe for a couple of weeks, but since they hit 39 points with a win over Leeds, they’ve lost three games in a row.
Their manager Gary O’Neil is saying all of the right things though.
He wants his team to “suffer and sacrifice” at Everton in the pursuit of more points.
And while the results haven’t gone
their way, they have not put their flip-flops on yet.
The performances against Chelsea and Manchester United were okay. Only at Crystal Palace did they really disappoint.
But while they may not need to fight for survival any longer, there are rewards to be gained.
While this may not impact the players so much, there is effectively £6 million on the line for the club.
For every place a team finishes up the Premier League table, they earn
just over £2 million in merit payments. Bournemouth are currently 15th, but could end the season anywhere between 13th and 16th, with just over £6 million the difference between the two positions.
They are also just one point from the magic 40 mark.
That would represent a significant achievement for a promoted team like Bournemouth, even if it’s not the figure that signifies survival any longer.
It seems like O’Neil is keen to get there too. Speaking before the loss to Man United, O’Neil said: “We set ourselves a goal and we’ve achieved it, but does that mean that we’re just happy to just stop, park up and finish on 39 points? Definitely not.”
There are factors too that suggest Bournemouth can go to Goodison Park and get a result.
They’ve only picked up one fewer point on the road than the Toffees have at home, while they’ve already beaten them twice this season at an aggregate score of 7-1.
Perhaps boosting City confidence too is that Everton could quite possibly implode without Bournemouth’s help.
Their fans dragged them over the line last season, but despite efforts to do so this season, they have now lost their last three at Goodison, conceding 10 in the process.
They also look like they will be missing striker Dominic CalvertLewin through injury again, and they have only scored 16 goals in the 20 matches he’s been out for this term, not even one a game.
Add in a few other injuries at fullback and the Toffees look short.
For Dean Smith, it’s not something he can consider.
He has to ensure City get the win they need to avoid any final-day regrets.
But for the fans at the King Power, and those at home, they will be checking in on Bournemouth throughout the 90 minutes to see if they can lend an almighty helping hand.