First of all, I would like to offer my congratulations to both Bournemouth and Watford who have been promoted to the Premier League this weekend. Both sides have played some wonderful football over the course of a long season and fully deserve what they have achieved. I believe that both clubs will do themselves justice in the top flight.
It was refreshing to see Bournemouth play fast, fluent football and outplay Bolton in the 3-0 win that all but guarantees the cherries promotion. (Middlesbrough need a 19 goal swing to deny Bournemouth promotion.) Eddie Howe has got his team well drilled and from the first minute they played gorgeous football and looked to attack at every opportunity. In truth, visitors Bolton were never really in the game and rarely threatened Arthur Boruc in the cherries goal.
And Watford, who have also played opposition off the park at will this season, went through a period of turmoil and confusion earlier in the season after four managers left the club within a month. But after that brief spell of turmoil, hornets boss Slavisa Jokanovic has steadied the ship and Watford have flown to the top of the league since he arrived.
When teams like Derby, Nottingham Forest and my team, Cardiff City, were being touted as title winners by fans, pundits and bookies before a ball had been kicked, Watford slipped under the radar. That is a tad surprising considering that they came third two seasons ago and boast players such as Troy Deeney and Matej Vydra up front. However, I'm sure they weren't complaining. The teams I have previously mentioned have had fairly poor seasons by their high standards while teams like Bournemouth, Watford and Wolves have all risen the table as underdogs.
Bournemouth's quick rise is a truly remarkable story reminds me of Swansea's a few seasons ago. The cherries were fighting to stay in the football league just 6 seasons ago and were living on pennies, but now will get a minimum of £90 million this time next year. Eddie Howe has done an unbelievable job to achieve two promotions in three seasons.
It could easily be said that strikers Callum Wilson and Troy Deeney make these two teams click, and that would not be a ridiculous comment, but I don't exactly agree. For Bournemouth, midfielder Harry Arter has been a revelation this season. Signed for £4000 by Eddie Howe from Woking, Arter has been one of the unsung heroes in this Bournemouth side. Arter has the unique ability of being able to pick a pass or a shot from virtually anywhere in the opposition half. He has also popped up with some wonder goals at pivotal times.
For Watford, Adlene Guedioura has been fantastic all through this campaign. His link-up play with Watford's front two is quite superb, and like Arter, he can score some wonder goals. I would be surprised if he does not shine in the Premier League next season.
Despite the fact that I recognise Bournemouth are not a huge club and I respect he fact that they have built a fantastic squad from virtually nothing, it's an untruth that they have not had cash to spend. At the start of the season they took an inspired gamble and spent £3 million on then Coventry striker Callum Wilson. Not all the teams in the championship can just find that money to spend on a then unproven championship striker. They also tabled a £6 million bid for Birmingham youngster Demari Gray, which in the end got rejected. Gray is a fantastic talent but £6 million is not exactly pennies. I'm not looking to be bitter, because I respect Bournemouth massively, but let's not be under the illusion that they work on scraps.
Although Bournemouth and Watford will no doubt remember this weekend for a long time, their focus must now turn to the final day of the season, where both of them will compete for the Championship title. Watford currently sit at the top of the table on 88 points, one point ahead of Bournemouth on 87. The hornets host Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday while Bournemouth travel to Charlton.
It's very close to call but something tells me that Watford will slip up and Bournemouth will end up being crowned league champions. We'll see...
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