AFC Bournemouth: Come what may, nothing will ever recreate the wonder of 2015

Maybe Eddie Howe will continue to pilot the juggernaut that has left most trailing in its wake on its journey from the backwaters of League Two to an established spot among England’s elite.

Perhaps Cherries will even thrive, flourish and end up with a major honour, a European spot in the months and years to come.

But even if there is more magic stashed in the vast labyrinth of analysis that Howe calls his office, nothing will ever recreate the wonder of the year they hit the big time.

The club’s achievement is unprecedented in its history and unrivalled by any club of similar standing and despite Russian investment, remains the romantic tale that football in 2015 will be remembered for.

Like any individual or family, there were testing moments, times to tear out your hair and tragedies that saw tears shed in every corner of Dean Court.

But years like these make the Tuesday night trips to Morecambe, breakdowns on the M6 and every dodgy pasty at service stations in between worthwhile.

Top of the Championship when Auld Lang Syne was belted out, Cherries kicked off with a 5-1 FA Cup victory at Rotherham which proved a watershed for up-and-coming talent Harry Cornick, who debuted from the bench.

However, a 14-match unbeaten run was abruptly halted by 10-man promotion-rivals Norwich and was soon followed by a setback at Leeds in which Yann Kermorgant missed a penalty.

A vital 2-0 win over Watford was backed up with a 3-1 success at Wigan but February was to prove a month to forget. Draws with Derby and Huddersfield were followed by defeats at Brentford and Nottingham Forest.

Pockets of natives became restless following a 0-0 draw with Blackburn but Spring came early as a five-match winless run was halted at home to Wolves.

A crushing 5-1 victory on a Friday night under the lights at Fulham was captured by Sky television and taken as a serious signal of the club’s intent. Brett Pitman stole the show but Steve Cook did his best to upstage the long-serving striker with his own Exocet.

Cherries crushed Blackpool and drew at Cardiff before one of the most telling results of the run-in, a 3-0 larruping of Middlesbrough.

Never a club to do things the easy way, Howe’s men trailed 2-0 before beating Birmingham 4-2 to return to the top of the league on Easter Bank Holiday Monday and forged ahead with battling victories at Brighton and Reading.

Sheffield Wednesday, the club that had cursed their late play-off bid the previous season, threw a spanner in the works with a 2-2 draw in Dorset but after others results went their way, Cherries knew victory in front of the Sky cameras at home to Bolton would all but seal promotion.

A packed and expectant crowd were on the edge of their seats with Marc Pugh’s thunderous strike across goal settling the nerves. Matt Ritchie added a second before half-time and leading marksman Callum Wilson took to 23 his total for the season in the second half.

Under the fiercest of spotlights Cherries had done it and their way – 24 shots, 10 on target and 58 per cent possession in a match they simply had to win.

And there was more. Charlton became their latest victims on the final day with Sheffield Wednesday (who else?) upsetting Watford’s title party at the death, the late leveller handing Cherries the silverware that capped the most remarkable of campaigns.

It was the ultimate rags to riches tale but one that had to herald significant structural changes within the club and its playing personnel.

More than £6million was spent on facilities, primarily to welcome the world’s media, while more than £20million of the bumper cash injection from the Premier League was spent on the squad.

In came Ipswich left-back Tyrone Mings for a record-breaking £8million, Max Gradel returned to a club he scarcely recognised for £7million and veteran defender Sylvain Distin came in on a free from Everton.

Loan keeper Artur Boruc signed a permanent deal, as did out-of-contract Adam Federici. Blackburn frontrunner Joshua King was snapped up and Chelsea winger Christian Atsu penned a season-long loan.

The incomings naturally paved the way for some difficult decisions with regard to exits. Ian Harte was the most senior name on the list of released players but the biggest bombshell was crowd favourite and three-time promotion winner Pitman being granted a free transfer to Ipswich.

He led the goal charts during the Greatest Escape in 2009 and completed a hat-trick of Dean Court golden boots having finished as top scorer in the 2010 and 2013 promotion campaigns.

Pitman, who joined Cherries as a 15-year-old and rejoined for a fee of £60,000 from Bristol City in January 2013, netted 13 goals in 34 appearances in the Championship and became the club’s fourth all-time leading league marksmen when he plundered a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Blackpool in March 2015. Winger Ryan Fraser also headed to Portman Road on a season-long loan.

Despite their new-look squad, Cherries kicked off their top-flight adventure with nine mainstays of their promotion win.

King was the only newcomer as Howe’s men dominated Aston Villa only to be caught by Rudy Gestede’s sucker punch – little did anyone know it would be Villa’s last league win of the calendar year.

More ill fortune and a sizeable dose of controversy followed in the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool with Tommy Elphick denied a seemingly-legitimate first top-flight goal with the Reds bagging a winner that the Premier League later admitted should never have stood.

The first victory was not far away, though, and arrived in show-stopping fashion as Wilson made his mark with a hat-trick in the 4-3 win at West Ham. Substitute Pugh netted the other to register goals in all four professional divisions.

A frustrating 1-1 draw against surprise package Leicester signalled one of the worst spates of injuries in recent times with Mings, Gradel and Charlie Daniels substituted in the second half. The mood was worsened by Jamie Vardy’s late penalty as shell-shocked Cherries retreated.

With hours to go before the transfer window slammed shut, speculation was rife over a widely-publicised return for Lewis Grabban from Norwich.

Glenn Murray made a £4million move from Crystal Palace on deadline day, as did Villa left-back Joe Bennett on loan with Mings sidelined long-term and Daniels recovering.

A dismal 3-1 defeat at Norwich was quickly wiped out by a first home win with two goals in the opening nine minutes seeing off Sunderland 2-0.

But the injury jinx struck again with Elphick joining a growing list of casualties before Wilson ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in a 2-1 defeat at Stoke.

If only that had been the worst thing to happen that day.

While taking pictures for the Daily Echo, revered and loved former club photographer Mick Cunningham (inset) collapsed at the Britannia Stadium and never recovered. He died aged 55.

Touching tributes, led by Howe, came pouring in from up and down the country. Cherries dedicated the following home match against Watford to Mick’s memory with a minutes’ applause featuring on Match of the Day.

A goalkeeping error and saved penalty saw Cherries draw 1-1 with the Hornets in a fashion that typified many of Mick’s years chronicling the club’s fortunes at so many of the game’s less glamorous outposts.

Wobbles between the sticks continued to be a feature as Cherries were walloped 5-1 in back-to-back matches at Manchester City and against Tottenham.

Signs of promise, particularly from King’s shift into Wilson’s number-nine role, began to emerge despite a 2-0 defeat at Southampton, although a scarcely-believable 1-0 home setback against Newcastle saw Cherries slide into the bottom three where they remained despite a creditable draw at Swansea and Junior Stanislas’s 98th-minute salvo in a 3-3 thriller with Everton.

Displays were improving but an eight-match winless streak provided little hope ahead of a December schedule which featured Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.

Who would have thought that by the end of fearsome festive period that Cherries would double their points tally from the previous four months with a nerve-jangling late win at Stamford Bridge, a 2-1 success over United and a repeat of that score at West Brom.

A stoic 0-0 against high-flying Crystal Palace on Boxing Day could yet provide a precious yield come the end of May and with the January transfer window about to open, who knows what 2016 could bring?

But whatever that may be, the warming flame of 2015 will burn brightly forever in the hearts of all at BH7.