Forget the match, it was the tribute to Paul Gethin Willis that truly stood out in my trip to Dean Court this weekend.

Willis was a life-long AFC Bournemouth supporter, but sadly passed away at the young age of 40 earlier this week. He had been diagnosed with liver cancer in December last year.

Present at every AFCB game, no matter the day of the week – Willis was a true die hard supporter. Chesterfield away on a Friday night? A pointless end of season trek to Scunthorpe? He’d be there. He was always easy to spot too, constantly sporting a full kit and a multitude of scarves.

In the 44th minute – as this was Willis’s favourite number – of my side AFC Bournemouth’s 2-1 win over Burnley everyone across all four sides of the stadium stood up and applauded in tribute to Paul. Even Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall joined in, despite the ball being in play throughout the entire minute. Steve Cook, Charlie Daniels, and Artur Boruc also put their hands together when the ball was deep in Burnley territory.

Huge credit to the Burnley fans too, joining in with the applause to make it a tribute that I’ll remember far more than a game which had next to nothing riding on it.

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Community club

It was spine tingling stuff. It also made me realise how lucky I am to be a supporter of AFC Bournemouth. Although there’s still a lot wrong behind the scenes at the club in my opinion – especially when it comes to a potential stadium expansion – in cases like the Willis tribute it is still top drawer.

Willis’s family were also taken good care of by the club. Paul was even given the chance to meet the team and management earlier this season. Howe said that “it is incredibly sad news. I have great memories of him. When we pulled up on a coach, whether I was playing or managing, he would usually be the first person I would see, in his various Bournemouth shirts.”

I think a reason that the tribute was so moving was because of the intimate size of the ground. We are still very much a community club, and things like this weekend’s applause proves it. I doubt the support at a club the size of Manchester United or Arsenal would have rallied together for such a cause.

Burnley fans who sung “how small is your ground” at us during this weekend’s game simply don’t get it. Although we certainly need a larger stadium at some stage, when it does arrive we’ll certainly lose something in the process.

Howe > Dyche

As for the game itself, it was a clear example of how we’re very lucky to have Eddie Howe in charge. Sean Dyche has done a fantastic job at Burnley, but he simply doesn’t compare to Howe in my eyes.

Whereas Dyche started the game with a very defensive set-up, Howe always attempts to win a game whenever possible. This weekend was no exception. Although we weren’t at our best on Saturday, this difference in styles was the difference between the sides.

It was a fairly combative game between two teams who have been assembled for very little. Well, very little for Premier League sides at least. They also both have fan-bases who have seen their fair share of bad times, and can therefore appreciate these great seasons all the more.

Ultimately I’m very happy both sides have stayed up. After all, we definitely need a bit more community spirit in a league which can too often treat fans like cattle.