Captain, Leader, Legend: Steve Cook brings up 350 Bournemouth appearances

Steve Cook joined Bournemouth all the way back in 2011, on an initial loan before making the move permanent for just £150,000 three months later.

That season, the Cherries finished 11th in League One as Cook’s journey on the south coast began.

Since then, he has gone onto make 350 appearances for the club, featuring across three different divisions and playing a vital role in getting the club to the Premier League under Eddie Howe in 2015.

His landmark moment came in last night’s comfortable 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at the Vitality Stadium and it was very noticeable just how vocal and important Cook’s leadership is His strong form and experience will be vital as the season goes on as the club look for an immediate return to the Premier League following relegation on the final day of last season.

Not only has the 29-year-old been an important part of Bournemouth’s recent history, but he has also been vital behind the scenes, being captain of the club for a lengthy period, you get the sense that Cook is far from being finished.

Proud moment making my 350th appearance for the club tonight. Delighted with the win and clean sheet. That day at Preston only seems like yesterday though. Hopefully the journey can continue for a while yet ?❤️ pic.twitter.com/pmyiiZOHG6

— Steve Cook (@SteveCook28) November 24, 2020

Bournemouth earned promotion to the Premier League in the 2014-15 season and Cook was an ever-present, not missing a single minute of the league campaign, whilst also contributing in front of goal with four goals and fully merited a shot at playing in the Premier League.

Arguably one of his best moments for Bournemouth came in the club’s second season, all despite conceding three goals to Liverpool and being 3-1 down in the second half, but he firstly scored to equalise before setting up Nathan Ake to secure the club’s best result in their time in the Premier League.

Cook began his professional career along the coast at Brighton, although he only made three competitive appearances for the Seagulls, one in the Championship and two in League One, before going on some non-league loans at the likes of Eastleigh and Havant and Waterlooville before finding his happy place at Bournemouth.

His longevity as a Bournemouth player is no coincidence whatsoever and he continues to put in fine performances week in week out and he is showing no signs of stopping any time soon.

Cook spoke about reaching the milestone after last night’s victory over Forest, explaining he wasn’t aware of him approaching 350 matches for the club.

“In terms of the milestone for me. I’m delighted to make that. Hopefully I can make many more in the future and see where it takes us.

“I hadn’t thought about making 500 appearances. To be honest, I didn’t realise it was my 350^th until someone tweeted me!

“It’s not something I keep track on. I am just focused on staying in the team first and foremost and performing when I’m in it.”

There is certainly a lot left in the tank for Cook at the age of just 29, it is very feasible to see him playing at the top level for at least the next six or seven years. A testimonial is likely to come in the next few years with the defender now having spent nine years at the Vitality Stadium.

Cook will already go down as a club legend, but the Sussex-born defender will be looking to create plenty of more great memories at the club in the months and years to come.

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