Would You Rather Win The UEL & Get Relegated OR Finish 17th & Lose In the RO16?

AFC Bournemouth have never won a major trophy before, and winning one has been out of the realms of possibility for most of Cherries existence, so to even have this dilemma involving winning a major honour, let alone a European trophy.

Whenever you ask a Crystal Palace, Swansea or Leicester fan on the best day that they ever experienced as a fan, most will mention the day the won a major trophy. From a match going standpoint, it would be a day that could rival the feeling of the Bolton promotion, Charlton league win or the Nottingham Forest promotion in terms of achieving 'success'.

Getting relegated from the Premier League would be disappointing to experience in person, as the only previous Premier League relegation was during Project Restart. However, the Championship poses a plethora of new away days, no VAR and a high chance of winning most weeks.

If you are a fan that enjoys delving into the financial infrastructure of how AFCB work and develop on and off the pitch, having Champions League TV money combined with EFL Championship money would be an interesting comparison to the money you get off finishing 17th in the Premier League and not going deep in the Europa League.

AFC Bournemouth have such a high ceiling of the current squad, and things seem to be clicking on the pitch in the last week, so relegation doesn't look to be a likely event, but the Premier League is such a competitive league that a few injuries to key players like Evanilson and Truffert as well as 2 games a week could lead to a less comfortable ride than expected.

Again, it is important to remember that me posing this hypothetical question is not a subtle hint that I think AFCB will be relegated, nor win the Europa League either. 

A lot of chat around Manchester City's potential expulsion from the Premier League has led to fans asking about which players would stay loyal if they had to play Championship football, and for Bournemouth, that could be an even more confusing debate.

Naturally, when a club gets relegated, the players that are deemed 'too good for the Championship' will join a Premier League club or head abroad to another top league, but would the pull of Champions League football off the back of winning the Europa League be a pull for more players to stay, and maybe even more to join?

International players like Rayan, Adrien Truffert and Alex Scott would not get into their respective National teams if they are playing EFL Championship football, but other high profile players who may not prioritise international football as much would see playing for AFCB as a chance to play in the UCL, and have much easier, lower intensity games at the weekend. 

In an ideal world, Cherries will lift the Europa League in May as well as being comfortably mid table in the Premier League, but do Bournemouth ever do things the easy or traditional way?