AFC Bournemouth took a lengthy statement to communicate one major piece of information: the new stadium will not be ready as planned. Its construction is delayed and no new deadline has been set.

On Thursday the smallest team of Premier League (by stadium capacity, of course) released a lengthy statement to reassure its supporters that everything is well. There is a strong vision and strategy in place, which should establish the Cherries as a top flight team for many years.

However, that strategy requires funding and “every penny of those funds, together with significant, additional investment from the club’s shareholders, has been put in to ensuring AFC Bournemouth remain at this level”.

While it all seems quite obvious, it took AFCB eight paragraphs to get to the point: their new stadium is not coming along as well as it was planned when they named King's Park as the preferred site. It was hoped to open not far away from Dean Court in mid-2020.

Photo: Markus Unger

“The board acknowledge we were overly optimistic that a new stadium would be completed by the summer of 2020. Any future developments will be undertaken around a healthy financial strategy that does not take away our ability to perform at our strongest levels on the pitch and risk what has been achieved to date.” the statement reads.

“With regard to the developments, when we have a reliable timeframe we will make those facts known.

“In this respect, we appreciate the fans’ continued and passionate support of the team, which is wholeheartedly felt on the pitch every week by the manager and the squad.

“Be assured, the board is working hard to achieve not only the vision of supporters but also the ambitions of all those associated with AFC Bournemouth for an exciting future in the best league in the world.”