OPINION: Gary O'Neil deserves far more credit for the job he has done at Bournemouth
But with just one game left of the season, the Cherries are sitting comfortably in 15th place. In fact, they secured their place in the Premier League a while ago. They have proven all the naysayers wrong, and a large portion of the credit has to go to Gary O'Neil (40).
Bournemouth's start to the campaign was far from ideal. Despite a very tricky set of fixtures to begin their season, three points from a possible 12 did little to change people's opinions of them.
Scott Parker - who had started to cut a querulous figure - was sacked after four games, days after suffering a 9-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield.
Parker's words following their thumping at Anfield didn't help the narrative that Bournemouth were all but doomed.
"I am not that surprised given the level here is far greater than we have,” he said after their thumping at Anfield. “I feel sorry for the players because we are ill‑equipped at this level.”
Not to mention that Bournemouth had spent just £22 million in the summer. They had failed to improve a squad littered with Championship quality players.
Enter Gary O'Neil.
The former Portsmouth midfielder was a first-team coach at the Cherries but was named interim manager while Bournemouth searched for someone to take permanent charge.
Although he had no management experience under his belt, O'Neil got a big new manager bounce. Over the next six games, Bournemouth picked up 10 points. 10 matches in, they were suddenly 13th in the league. He was to be rewarded with the permanent manager job soon after, signing an 18-month contract.
What goes up must come down though. Following their bounce, the ball came plummeting down at an alarming rate. Eight points were accrued from a possible 45, and Bournemouth sat slumped at the bottom of the Premier League after Gameweek 26.
Had they been too quick to appoint an unproven manager with no experience purely because he had got off to such a good start? Was this an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 2.0?
Once again, they were looking certain to go down. It had been a good effort in truth, but their destiny was calling. The Championship was beckoning.
Bournemouth suffered a gut-wrenching last-second loss to Arsenal at the start of March which looked like they had missed out on their last chance saloon. But instead, it seemed that that was in fact the catalyst for their revival.
A week later, they clinched a 1-0 home win against Liverpool, which was the start of a season-defining run.
A staggering six wins from their next nine games - including a stunning 3-2 victory at Tottenham - propelled Bournemouth to safety. They had defied all the odds.
It's equally important to bear in mind the significant injury problems they endured throughout their campaign. Key players like Dominic Solanke, Marcus Tavernier, Lewis Cook, Neto, Junior Stanislas, and Lloyd Kelly all had long-term spells on the sidelines, while January signing Ilya Zabarnyi has taken a while to get fully fit.
The board deserves credit too. They were unequivocal in their support of O'Neil. They backed him in the January transfer window, with the signing of Dango Ouattara proving to be a fine piece of business.
O'Neil instilled an 'us against the world', never-say-die attitude into his team. They leaked the most amount of goals in the league (70) but scored more (37) than Chelsea (36), Everton (33), Southampton (32) and Wolves (31). And that's probably what has saved them.
When it really mattered, they were able to win the pivotal games at the business end of the season, mainly thanks to the goals from Philip Billing, Solanke and Ouattara. Despite the severe lack of quality in defence, that was enough.
When the contenders for the Premier League Manager of the Season were released, it came as a surprise to many that O'Neil didn't make the list.
The six men on the shortlist - Mikel Arteta, Pep Guardiola, Unai Emery, Roberto De Zerbi, Marco Silva and Eddie Howe - have all had fantastic seasons, though, so it is impossible to begrudge them that honour.
Howe would be my pick as Manager of the Season but they had to find a place for O'Neil on that list, too. Keeping a Bournemouth side that had been written off before a ball was kicked in the Premier League is a prodigious feat and he undoubtedly deserves acclaim for that.
If O'Neil is continued to be backed by the new owners this summer and he can move Bournemouth forward then, who knows, maybe he will find himself on the Manager of the Season shortlist in the near future.
