AFC Bournemouth
If a picture paints a thousand words, Tommy Elphick should have been an artist.
Elphick’s celebrations following AFC Bournemouth’s promotion to the Premier League said it all.
An inspirational figure on and off the pitch, he skippered the Cherries during one of their finest hours as Eddie Howe’s heroes penned a new chapter in the club’s history.
Today is the fifth anniversary of an unforgettable 3-0 win over Bolton which all but secured the Cherries a place in the top flight.
To mark the special occasion, afcb.co.uk caught up with Elphick to get his memories of the match and the build-up.
He said: “There wasn’t as much pressure on us to go up that season as there had been in 2012/13 and I had every confidence we would get the job done.
“All the other teams had played on the Saturday and we played on the Monday night. I think that played into our hands because we had such a cool customer in the manager.
“After we had trained on the Friday, he told us to try to switch off and not to take too much notice of what was going on elsewhere.
“He told us not to waste energy trying to control something we couldn’t control. He said he wanted us ready to train on the Sunday and to play out our hearts on the Monday to show everyone why we deserved to go up.
“Everybody did their own thing on the Saturday and I went for lunch in the New Forest with my fiancée.
“It’s easy to get caught up with what’s going on elsewhere and you can lose sight of what you need to do so I thought it was important to take myself away.
“I turned off my phone for the afternoon and turned it back on about five o’clock and the messages were pinging!
“Fulham’s win over Middlesbrough meant we could all but secure promotion if we could beat Bolton.
“Everybody was buzzing in training on the Sunday and the game couldn’t come quickly enough.
“I reckon we could play that game a million times and we would never lose it.
“How we had been drilled over the season and the trust everyone had in the manager, we were so geared up for a game like that.”
Goals from Marc Pugh and Matt Ritchie saw the Cherries reach the interval leading 2-0 before Callum Wilson registered his 23rd of the season to complete the scoring 12 minutes from time.
Elphick, ever present at the heart of defence alongside Steve Cook, added: “My clearest memory of my whole career at Bournemouth comes from that game.
“The energy from the supporters was palpable, there was a media frenzy and a massive buzz around the ground ahead of kick-off. Everyone was bang on it.
“It was 0-0 and I just felt we were trying to do things too quickly. We were going a bit faster than we needed to and needed to relax.
“Someone passed the ball to me and I just put my foot on it and screamed at the top of my voice for everyone to calm down. I remember it as clear as day.
“We dropped it down a gear and went into auto pilot. After that, we just blew away another team like we had been doing all season.
“It was testament to the group and the management staff. We needed to chill a little, enjoy it and just play the way we had all season.
“The league was so competitive and Bolton had some great players but we just brushed them aside. It was an absolute privilege to play in that team and a great honour to be the captain.”
Jubilant scenes greeted the final whistle and manager Eddie Howe and his players celebrated before supporters joined them on the pitch.
Elphick added: “I always look for my family when I’m playing and I went over to see my mum, dad and fiancée and gave them all a cuddle.
“I remember getting carried in by the fans but the focus very quickly turned to trying to win the title at Charlton on the final day of the season.
“My thoughts went back to League One when we didn’t win it at Tranmere and not being able to lift the trophy. That was our motivation.
“The manager wants to win everything, he is a machine. We all went out and celebrated on the Monday night but it was business as usual in training for the rest of the week.
“Although we were 99.9 per cent over the line, it wasn’t mathematically certain and we had a chance to win the league.
“The gaffer told us to enjoy the celebrations but to make sure we were ready to train. There was no way we were going to lose at Charlton.
“He builds relationships on trust and a respect to work hard. As a player, you very quickly find out that you can trust what he’s telling you.
“If you carry out his instructions to the best of your ability, you are going to get positive results. As a captain, it was so easy to lead something like that. I was very privileged to have had that relationship with him.
“The attitude of the lads who didn’t play as much as they probably would have liked was what made the squad so strong. They knew they were improving working under the manager and their chance would come.
“It was testament to the way it was managed and put together. It is a season I will never forget and will cherish those memories for the rest of my life.”
Click here for details of how to watch a re-run of the Cherries' memorable win over Bolton.
Bolton revisited Supported by
