Jaidon Anthony
Posted inDaily News

#PLStories- AFC Bournemouth’s Jaidon Anthony on assist for David Brooks against Swansea in League cup #AFCB

August 30, 2023
Anthony provided a fantastic assist for Brooks to equalise after Cherries trailed 1-0 in Wales thanks to Matt Grimes’ first-half penalty. The away side then took a lead through Hamed Traore, before the hosts again levelled scores via Jamie Patterson. In the end it was substitute Ryan Christie who had the last say, finding the bottom corner in the 90th minute to send Cherries through to the next round. Discussing his assist for Cherries’ first, Anthony insisted that Brooks deserved the credit for applying the finishing touch. He told the Daily Echo: “It was a good ball and to be fair it's not an easy finish either, on his weak foot. “I think he's had a really good pre-season and a start to the season in front of goal. “I'm happy he could put it away and help us to win.” Brooks’ goal came about after Cherries won the ball high up the pitch, with Anthony believing the strike to be representative of the way Andoni Iraola wants Cherries to play. “I think the manager wants us to be aggressive in every game,” explained the 23-year-old. “It's a perfect example of the high press and what that can do. “Win it back and then attacking pass, and we get the goal - happy days. “The most important thing was getting through to the next round. “The first half, we knew we weren't at the races and we knew we had to react in the second half. “I think obviously the second goal is probably a bit unfortunate, but I think we deserved what we got in the end.” The draw for the third round will be made on Wednesday evening, following the conclusion of second round ties. Teams will not be regionalised, meaning Cherries could be handed another lengthy trek. Sides competing in Europe enter at this stage of the competition, with third round ties being staged the week commencing Monday, September 25.
Gary O’Neil
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- AFC Bournemouth’s Gary O’Neil on David Brooks return after injury #AFCB

May 22, 2023
Welsh international Brooks made his first senior start in 599 days as Cherries fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester United. Brooks had missed the majority of the past two seasons after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in September 2021. An injury setback in the form a hamstring issue delayed his return, with the winger playing with Alan Connell’s development squad in the Hampshire Senior Cup. After four substitute appearances, Brooks played 56 minutes of Saturday’s contest before being replaced by fellow countryman Kieffer Moore. O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “I thought David did well. “Obviously he’s been out for a very long time. “First start, he showed a good energy, showed a good understanding of what we're trying to do as well. “It's obviously quite new for him but yes, still a part of the journey to go for Brooksy. “I think the summer will be very important for him. “Pre-season, report back in July or end of June, whenever it is, and it's a level playing field then. “I think the situation us being in a relegation battle, Brooksy being out for so long, very difficult from my point of view to give him enough time to see whether he's ready. “Whereas he can come back in pre-season, level playing field. “Hopefully Brooksy can impact the group and be ready to impact football matches every week.” Asked if the switch was pre-planned, O’Neil replied: “He can't play for too long at this moment, so we need to be careful with him. “He's worked so hard, he's earned his chance to start today, with how well he's done in training, but to have left him out there for much longer than the hour that he did would have been a risk. “We're not in a situation, thankfully, where we need to be taking too many risks.  
David Brooks Bournemouth
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- David Brooks hopes to make impact during Premier League run-in for Cherries #AFCB

March 22, 2023
Brooks stepped up his bid to return to full fitness with a 45-minute run-out for the club’s development squad on Tuesday night. The 25-year-old shone with a hat-trick as well as an assist as Cherries beat an experienced Portsmouth side 5-2 at Vitality Stadium to book their spot in the Hampshire Senior Cup semi-finals. Brooks made his long-awaited return for the first-team on Saturday, coming off the bench for the final 11 minutes of the 3-0 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa. It was the Wales international’s first competitive outing for the club since being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in October 2021. He announced he was cancer-free in May 2022 and has been working his way back ever since, set back by a hamstring injury and illness along the way. COMMENT: Brooks offers reminder of his quality with hat-trick against Portsmouth And while the Hampshire Senior Cup is not the end goal for Brooks, Tuesday felt like a significant night in his recovery, impressing in front of first-team boss Gary O’Neil. “I think if you look at it, it’s obviously been a difficult 18 months,” Brooks told the Daily Echo. “It’s not been without it’s challenges. “I’m under no illusion, I’m not exactly going to be starting the next game and playing 90 minutes. “I know where my role is and I think everyone at the football club knows where I’m at physically and what the demands of the Premier League are. “Days like (Tuesday) I’m just ticking off boxes to try and get in the best shape possible to obviously help the team.” Asked if he feels he showed a glimpse against Portsmouth of what he may be able to provide Cherries in their bid to avoid relegation, Brooks added: “That’s what I’m hoping for. “These are the nights where I’m coming in trying to build fitness, just to be able to do the end of games at the moment. “Just to try and help the team. In the best case scenario, I want to be coming on when we’re winning 3-0! But obviously that’s not going to be the case every week. “So I need to be as fit as possible, as sharp as possible if the gaffer needs me in any scenario.” The perfect return for @DRBrooks15 ✨The winger netted a hat-trick for the development squad this evening 👊 pic.twitter.com/86rKQWBuke — AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) March 21, 2023 Reflecting on his hat-trick, one of which was a deflected strike and another he knew little about as the ball was fired against him, Brooks admitted: “It was nice. I don’t think it was the cleanest of hat-tricks I’ll ever get! “But it’s always nice to put the ball in the back of the net and it was just nice to be back out there.” Asked if he had ever scored a 13-minute hat-trick before, Brooks said: “I can’t say I have. It was a bit of a scruffy hat-trick so I won’t be replaying the highlights that much, but it was nice to put the ball in the back of the net. “It’s a nice habit to have and hopefully I can score a few for the first team.”
Gary O’Neil
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Gary O’Neil on AFC Bournemouth’s David Brooks #AFCB

January 13, 2023
GARY O’Neil insisted Cherries will not rush back David Brooks – with the head coach stressing: “My only thought on that is what’s best for David Brooks.” Highly-rated Brooks has been sidelined for over a year since a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s’ Lymphoma in October 2021. After being given the all clear in May 2022, Brooks has been on the long road to full match fitness, with a hamstring injury setting back the Welsh international earlier this season. Pictured training with the first team this week, there is hopes that a return to action is not far away for the 25-year-old. Asked for the latest on Brooks, O’Neil told the Daily Echo: “Yeah, he's done some stuff with us. “Trained really well, looks good. “Obviously still a lot of progression still to do to get him match ready, but yeah, he's trained really well. “Looks bright, looks sharp, still see the real quality that he has. “So it would be a lovely bonus to get Brooksy back in and around it.” With Cherries out of form and looking threadbare due to outgoings and injuries, there might be the temptation to rush Brooks back. However, O’Neil reiterated that Cherries will look after Brooks, ensuring that he returns when he is “ready to go.” “My only thought on that is what's best for David Brooks,” restarted O’Neil. “I think that the journey he’s been on, there'll be no rushing David Brooks for what we need. “It will be around what he needs and what's best for him, until we can get him back to fully 100 per cent and ready to go.” Trio Junior Stanislas, Ryan Fredericks, and Marcus Tavernier were all pictured training together as they step up their returns from injury. Speaking on veterans Fredericks and Stanislas, O’Neil shared: “They're both working hard to get themselves up to speed. “I'm not sure on the exact time frames on either of them, but they're both at a similar point in their recovery. “They’ve been doing a little bit of work on the grass together. “It'd be good to get them back because obviously we've had a couple go out on loan, we've had a few injuries, a few illnesses, so numbers aren't as big as they were before the break.” Discussing star Tarvernier, O’Neil added: “Tavs, the time frame now - they're probably at a similar level (Tavernier, Fredericks, and Stanislas.) “It changes. Obviously some progress faster than others. There's no set date for a return on any of them, but obviously we're pushing them. “We have some big games coming up, so to get as many involved as possible will be big for us.” O’Neil also confirmed goalkeeper Neto was back in training following a hamstring injury.
Gary O’Neil
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Gary O’Neil believes David Brooks will be huge for Bournemouth #AFCB

December 7, 2022
BOSS Gary O’Neil believes the return of David Brooks will be “huge” for Cherries, but insisted: “We haven’t put a timeframe on it.” Brooks has not featured competitively for Cherries since a 0-0 draw at Peterborough United in the Championship in September 2021. Shortly afterwards, the Wales international was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin lymphoma and underwent a lengthy course of treatment. Brooks then announced in May of this year that he had been given the all clear and was cancer free. The 25-year-old then returned to the training pitches during pre-season following the club’s promotion to the Premier League and looked to be edging closer to first-team action, starting in a friendly for the development squad at Brentford in August. However, he did not last long, forced to withdraw due to a hamstring complaint, something he is still recovering from. Brooks has travelled with the rest of the Cherries squad to Dubai for a mid-season warm weather training camp, with the first team due back in action on December 21, following the World Cup break. He is working on an individual programme away from the main group, alongside fellow injured due Lloyd Kelly and Neto. Brooks was also pictured supporting Wales during one of their World Cup matches in Qatar last month. Asked if he can see Brooks being back available to be in the Cherries team after the World Cup break, O’Neil said: “David Brooks is coming along really well. “We haven’t put a timeframe on it, because we have a break in the middle (of the season) that allows people time to assess. “It’s a unique situation this season obviously, with a mini break and a mini pre-season type situation in the middle of it. “So that will give everybody with longer-term injuries or niggles a chance to really recover and make sure they’re in prime condition when we come back. “The thought of David Brooks is just, let’s see where we are after the break, see how he does, see how he comes along and take it step by step.” O’Neil added: “I’d love David Brooks in the team. I think he’ll be huge for us. “But we obviously need to remember that he’s been off the pitch for a very long time. “David Brooks’s health and wellbeing is of the utmost importance.” Since joining Cherries from Sheffield United in the summer of 2018, Brooks has made 90 appearances, scoring 17 goals.
Lloyd Kelly
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Bournemouth captain Lloyd Kelly provides an injury update #AFCB

December 6, 2022
CAPTAIN Lloyd Kelly says he and David Brooks have helped “pull each other through” during their respective injury rehabs. Kelly has not featured for Cherries since suffering an ankle injury in training in September. The 24-year-old played a key role in helping the club clinch promotion last season, featuring in 41 of their 46 Championship fixtures. But his game-time at the elite level remains limited. Injury also wrecked Kelly’s first season in the Premier League, after joining Cherries from Bristol City in 2019. He has made 145 appearances in his professional career, but only 13 of those so far have come in the top flight. Kelly is currently stepping up his return to fitness during Cherries’ mid-season training camp in Dubai, alongside David Brooks, who himself is battling back from a hamstring problem. “In terms of myself, I’m getting up to speed,” Kelly told afcbTV. “The first half of my rehab was quite slow in terms of getting the ankle stronger. “This part is a lot more exciting for me because I can get up and do some running, which are things I’d do in training and games. “I’m definitely enjoying working hard and I’m ready to go again to be honest.” He added: “Some sessions, me and Brooksy have been together and it’s been nice to push each other. “There’s been sessions that have been tough and we’ve had to pull each other through. “Of course, when you’re off to the side and doing your own individual rehab programme, you’re seeing the team train next to you and it can affect you, especially if you’re on your own. “Having someone there, it definitely helps.” Discussing the time in Dubai so far as a whole, as preparations continue for a return to action at Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on December 21, Kelly said: “It’s great for everyone to get together and go into a different environment. “It’s definitely beneficial and helps us come back after the two weeks we had off. “It’s important to regroup and the training here is different with the weather. “It’s definitely been good for everyone so far, everyone has enjoyed it.”
Kieffer Moore
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Kieffer Moore says It will be ‘amazing’ when David Brooks returns from injury #AFCB

November 3, 2022
CHERRIES striker Kieffer Moore said it would be “amazing” when David Brooks eventually makes his return to first-team action for the Dorset club. The Warrington-born star has not featured for Cherries since September 2021. He was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma last year, but revealed his cancer all-clear, on the same day Cherries were promoted to the Premier League back in May. Since, the 25-year-old has been working his way back to fitness and began training with Cherries' first team. Brooks stepped up his recovery by featuring in a development squad behind-closed-doors fixture against Brentford in August. He started the contest, but suffered a hamstring complaint and has not featured since. There has been no public timeframe on a return to action for the former Sheffield United star. He was however pictured away from his teammates ahead of Saturday’s 3-2 home defeat against Tottenham. Asked what it would be like to see Brooks back when he does return, Moore told the Daily Echo: “It will be amazing. “Everything Brooksy has been through. To go through what he did and then to do his hamstring is a lot to take. “It’s so much of a mental battle as well as a physical battle – well, I’d say equally similar. “The day he returns here, I am sure he is going to get one of the best receptions there has ever been here really. “With everything he has been through, had to overcome. I am sure everyone in that stadium will be full of emotion watching him step over that white line.” Moore and Brooks are yet to line up together in Cherries colours but have both represented Wales on the same international stages, along with fellow Cherries star Chris Mepham. Brooks has played 90 times for Cherries in all competitions, scoring 17 goals and contributing 12 assists. Asked how Brooks was mentally after dealing with his latest setback, Moore replied: “He is a great guy. “He is really happy, is keeping fit, working on his rehab and is doing really well. “I don’t know when he would be looking to come back but he looks in great shape.” Brooks signed a contract extension this summer, tying him to Cherries until the summer of 2026. Speaking about the playmaker back in September, interim Cherries boss Gary O’Neil said: “He’s obviously had a long, tough journey. "There will be no rush to get David Brooks back. "I will be led purely by medical and on what is best for David Brooks.”
Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Scott Parker on Anfield ‘challenge’, transfers and Nat Phillips #AFCB #LFC

August 26, 2022
BOSS Scott Parker’s message to his squad ahead of Cherries’ trip to Anfield is clear – to ‘try and challenge’ Liverpool, rather than find the experience ‘daunting’. Parker will travel to Merseyside as the last manager to record a Premier League win away at Liverpool, with his Fulham side the last team to beat Jurgen Klopp’s Reds at Anfield back in March 2021, a 1-0 victory. Liverpool are yet to record a win this season, with Klopp’s charges tasting defeat to arch-rivals Manchester United on Monday. Their first home game of the campaign ended in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, with the away side opening scores. Reflecting on the challenge ahead, Parker shared: “These are the games that certainly when I was as a player and even now, sitting here as a coach, these are ones you thrive off, really. “You're going up in boxing terms, pound for pound. “They’re elite in everything they do. And you need to adopt an attitude, which is you want to go and try and challenge that. “You want to relish that opportunity and try and get the better of that, rather than the opposite, really. And I think that's probably the main message. “That was certainly the main message before when I’ve been to Anfield, certainly the way I thought about playing against these big players in these big teams. “It was one I embraced and one that I look forward to, really. So, yeah, I need to give that message to the team, really. "And these players, which is very new to some of them, the Premier League, Anfield, Man City away. “These are all big challenges, but ones they need to embrace and look forward to. “The other option is you find it very daunting, you find it very difficult. "And that's the polar opposite to what I want, really. So, yeah, we need to (It’s cliché), but we need to enjoy it. Of course we do. “We need to enjoy it in a real positive way. We need to establish ourselves. We need to show our qualities, for sure. “And while they may be limited and while they may be very difficult, is certainly something we need to embrace in that sense.”
Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Scott Parker shares delight after Norwich City cup win, transfer business and David Brooks contract signing #AFCB

August 22, 2022
BOSS Scott Parker is hoping players with Premier League experience can be added to his Cherries squad by the end of the transfer window, insisting: "Everyone is trying everything they can to try and strengthen us." Cherries fell to a second humbling defeat in as many weeks on Saturday, crashing to a resounding 3-0 home loss against Arsenal, having been beaten 4-0 at Manchester City seven days earlier. Parker's men currently sit 14th in the embryonic Premier League table, picking up three points from an opening-day win over Aston Villa. They are set to drop to 15th tonight, once the third round of matches have been completed. Speaking after the loss to Arsenal, Parker slammed his squad's first-half performance, in which they conceded twice in the opening 11 minutes. He said: "In terms of our general endeavour, our body language, our humility to accept certain situations, I thought we were just easily disappointed. Our general demeanour was pretty poor really and I was disappointed immensely with that." Asked if he felt any of that could be put down to his squad lacking in Premier League experience, and perhaps some players being overawed by the occasion, boss Parker told the Daily Echo: "Maybe, it could be. "I think you’re right to maybe say that. "This is a young team. There’s a lot of young players out there, players that have probably not experienced the level and the quality that they’re going to be facing. "That’s my job to obviously let them understand that that’s part and parcel of the Premier League. "Many a bigger team than us have faced what they faced (on Saturday) and Arsenal have done that to them. But we need to understand that and keep going in those situations really." Cherries have so far this summer recruited five players, but only one of those arrived having played in the Premier League before, in injured full-back Ryan Fredericks. Asked if he would like to bring in some more players with Premier League experience before the transfer window slams shut on September 1, or if it is hard for the club to get deals over the line for players within that sort of bracket, Parker added: "Hopefully that can be the case, for us to evolve as a football club. "When you get promoted, the expectation of getting promoted and the levels of what you’re going into, to evolve and to improve is certainly something that hopefully we can do with obviously getting promoted. "There’s 10 days left and everyone is trying everything they can to try and strengthen us and try and move the squad on in that sense."
Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories – Scott Parker gives updates on David Brooks return from cancer recovery #AFCB

August 13, 2022
HEAD coach Scott Parker said David Brooks was “getting closer” to a return to full training as Cherries looked to step up his workload. The Warrington-born star was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin lymphoma back in October. But the 24-year-old announced in May that he had completed his treatment and was now cancer free – hours before the Dorset club sealed promotion to the Premier League. With Brooks having been working on a return since pre-season, Parker insisted the club would continue to “tread carefully” with him. The Cherries boss did however reveal Brooks could take part in modified work alongside his squad “in the next 10 days”. Asked for an update on Brooks during Thursday’s pre-match press conference, Parker told the Daily Echo: “He is progressing really well. “Brooksy as well, probably in the next 10 days, maybe will start integrating a little bit with us – again modified, so not actually training but will be doing little bits with the team and start progressing and pushing forward. “Probably the last week to 10 days has been his biggest volume of work in terms of really pushing on a little bit now. “We treaded carefully before and there were a lot of factors involved in that, in terms of markers and seeing how he responds to the physical work - albeit that work was light. “We have probably come through that a little bit now and now we are at the stage where we are going a little bit more in terms of trying to get him up to speed and fit to play football matches. “He is doing really well with that. Fingers crossed that keeps moving in the right direction and he’s getting closer.” Former Sheffield United and Manchester City man Brooks has made 91 appearances for Cherries, 30 of those came during his breakthrough season with the club in the 2018-19 campaign. “David Brooks is a Premier League football player. He is top class in that sense,” said Parker. “We lost him all last year. Now, to get him back will be like a signing for us really because we have missed his quality and missed him really. “We will still tread carefully and we have one eye on that, but hopefully he gets through these coming weeks really and go from there.”