Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Councillor wants backing for lifting of embargo
Cherries could get another backer in their bid to beat the transfer embargo with a well-known local councillor calling on Town Hall chiefs to get behind the club.[LNB] Boscombe West Conservative Phil Stanley-Watts will put forward a motion on Tuesday, suggesting that the council votes to support the Dean Court outfit in its attempts to resume transfer activity.[LNB] It is the first sign of active support from the council since Cherries' Football League transfer embargo was tightened more than a year ago.[LNB] The ban on new recruits has meant that manager Eddie Howe has been limited to just three short-term loanees this season.[LNB] Despite this restriction and a severe lack of numbers in their squad, Howe's Cherries have mounted a spirited League Two promotion push against the odds.[LNB] And Stanley-Watts, a Cherries fan since 1969 and a former member of the club's ground staff, is hoping Howe and his team get support from the corridors of power.[LNB] He told the Echo: I don't think many local authorities or councils have motions concerning football clubs.[LNB] Not every football club is closely connected with the community, but AFC Bournemouth has been connected with the community over many different aspects.[LNB] I think the council needs to give them every support they can to try to force the league to lift this transfer embargo. Every little helps.[LNB] They have limited resources but have achieved an incredible amount over the past few weeks.[LNB] The 51-year-old added: There is no finance in the move or anything like that. It is just a simple move to support the club. It is not political or controversial, I just feel the club needs all the help it can get.[LNB] Cherries boss Eddie Howe said: We won't turn down any support. If someone wants to help, then great.[LNB] As a condition of exiting administration in August 2008, Cherries had to accept that all transfer activity would be monitored for three seasons.[LNB] And while the club was subject to a rolling embargo to begin with, the ban was tightened fully 12 months ago following a hectic January transfer window.[LNB] The Daily Echo launched an End the Embargo campaign in July to call for the league to allow the club to sign new players.[LNB] Despite more than 700 readers signing the petition, the appeal fell on deaf ears.[LNB] The embargo ruined Cherries' chances of recruiting a number of potential transfer targets, most notably former Poole Town striker Charlie Austin, who has gone on to make a big impression in League One with Swindon Town.[LNB]
