Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterSteve Fletcher is a bona fide Bournemouth legend, having been around the club for almost three-and-a-half decades, witnessing the Cherries go from the brink of extinction to European football.Few people, therefore, can quite appreciate just how close the club came to disappearing altogether.One of Fletchers key contributions in this story was the goal he scored against Grimsby Town in 2009 which helped ensure that Bournemouth avoided relegation out of the Football League at a time when the club faced a deeply uncertain future.Pick the ultimate 4-4-2 line-up from players in FourFourTwo's definitive Top 100 ListFletcher on Bournemouths journeyIm going into my 34th season at AFC Bournemouth, Fletcher tells FourFourTwo. I came down here from Hartlepool when I was 19, and Im 54 now, with only one campaign away during my playing career. I love this place.During my first spell at the club as a player in 1997, the receivers were called in, but we got together as a squad and decided to play the game, even though we werent getting paid. If wed said no on that day, the club would have folded. You may like Bournemouth's history makers on their European bow Bournemouth have waved goodbye to Andoni Iraola, but will they continue to build upon the fine work he laid down? - Bournemouth 2026-27 season preview Hull City have had a great start, but it will be a tough season and they must stick together we did in 2008, even after Phil Browns teamtalk, and the club stayed in the Premier League Dean Windass talks to FFT about the Tigers survival chances That would not prove to be the only time that Fletcher had to endure such an experience.When we went into administration during my second spell in 2008, I was the only player whod experienced what happened previously, he continues. But there were moments in that following season where I thought If we go down to the Conference, were in trouble.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.We didnt have an owner, and Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall were doing every job available the jobs of 20 or 30 people. People said that if we got relegated from League Two, the club would probably have to start again from many leagues below wed have gone into liquidation and that would have been the end of AFC Bournemouth for the foreseeable future.Fletchers experience and standing at the club meant that he felt the gravity of the situation more than some of his team-mates.I felt it more because I was 36 some of the younger lads probably didnt understand the magnitude of what was at stake, he admits. What to read next "Marco Rose asked to meet me I thought 'Why?' Hed done his homework, he knew the history of the club, and hes got an aura" Bournemouth legend on why hes been impressed by the clubs replacement for new Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola Steve Coppell on his management sliding doors moment at Crystal Palace I have no regrets about turning down Liverpool and Manchester United. I needed that Bolton experience in my life Youri Djorkaeff on his 2002 Bolton move Its still a great honour to have been the person who scored the goal that meant we avoided relegation when you think of Europe, if I hadnt scored that goal, none of this would have been possible.But it could have been any player on that day against Grimsby in 2009 the whole team pulled together after we got deducted 17 points that season. When the cross came in, it could have fallen to anyone, or I could have smashed the volley into row Z as usual, but that time I smashed it into the roof of the net.That was my moment, one Id waited 36 years for.Fletcher was speaking in association with MrQ, the new official sleeve partner of AFC BournemouthTOPICSAFC BournemouthPremier LeagueJoe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromEd McCambridgeStaff Writer
