5 reasons for AFC Bournemouth fans to be cheerful

The walk back to the car after an AFC Bournemouth match is usually punctuated by lively discussion with my friend and father about the game we had just witnessed – but not so on Saturday.

Instead we walked in silence, with next to no analysis given of our unjust defeat against Newcastle United, and to be honest - how could there be? The result felt worse than a punch to the stomach, and was more akin to a wrecking ball to the heart.

So to try and remedy the pain of seeing us drop into the bottom three for the first time this season I’m trying to look at the positives – five, to be specific.

1 – We’re still playing good football

Despite the demoralising defeats coming thick and fast the team is standing firm and continuing to play good football when they can - and personally I find that to be hugely heartening amongst the gloom.

It’ll clearly take a huge amount to destroy the superb team spirit that’s been built up in the camp over the last 2-3 seasons, and I can only hope the team get the luck they deserve sooner rather than later.

2 - The sides around us look poor

It’s no exaggeration to say Newcastle were terrible against us on Saturday, with even Steve McClaren - a man who often has the demeanour of a shifty second hand car dealer with his post-match comments - critical of the Magpies’s performance, stating that they treated the ball like a ‘hot potato.’

Losing to such a shambles of a side was embarrassing to say the least, and Alan Shearer can post on Twitter as much as he likes about how games aren’t “about stats and playing well. It’s about winning” – if Newcastle keep playing like they did on Saturday they’ll go down, either with or without us.

Sunderland are equally as poor, but we did beat them at least – largely down to the help of a certain Callum Wilson. That said…

3 – Joshua King

Joshua King – signed back in May - has been a scapegoat by many AFC Bournemouth fans for our occasional attacking impotency this season, and to be fair it’s often not been hard to see why. Back during his time at Manchester United he was said to show huge potential – but he never managed to demonstrate his training pitch prowess on a match-day.

That has been much the case in his stints while he’s been on the south coast too, with him often looking lost playing behind Callum Wilson – but now that our talismanic forward is injured Howe is clearly attempting to use him as a makeshift replacement, and as the out-and-out attacker his displays have demonstrated some real promise. On Saturday he put in his best performance in an AFC Bournemouth shirt for example, with some powerful forward runs – and was unfortunate to come up against an in-form Rob Elliot.

4 - New investment on the way?

Rumours came out from Sky Sports on Saturday that American private equity investors may be taking a 25% stake in the club, with current owner Maxim Demin still holding the controlling share.

That may not sound that spectacular, but the leader of the investors – Matt Hulsizer – allegedly has a net worth of $2.6 billion. Whether that’s a sign that the amount of investment given to transfers in the January window will increase if this story turns out to be true, who knows – but it could well represent a huge chance in helping the club establish itself in the top flight. Maybe.

5 - Eddie Howe

Whatever happens this season – and if you believe almost any pundit, that would seem to be certain relegation – as long as Howe stays at the club I’m confident we’ll be successful in the long-term, whether that’s fighting for survival in the Premier League or for promotion in the Championship.

He may not be perfect, but he’s almost always learnt from his missteps and his commitment to the club cannot be questioned – which is a good sign he’ll be in the AFC Bournemouth dugout for a little while yet.

Perhaps all of the above is a little too optimistic and happy-go-lucky for you though? You want some fear mongering and a good helping of doom and gloom? Well you’re in luck - as tomorrow I’ll be posting why my fellow AFC Bournemouth fans should be fearful when it comes to the months ahead…

[Note: This post was placed on the Yahoo Sport website and Twitter feed.]