'Our spirit was so good... nothing could stop us'

Equally, the facts and figures which underpinned an improbable triumph are readily available in today’s information-loaded world.

But who knew of England World Cup winning skipper Bobby Moore’s serendipitous involvement in this Harry Redknapp-inspired success story?

And what of the less conventional contribution of Bournemouth’s pine trees and their soporific effect?

Gerry Peyton, player of the year in the finest season in Cherries’ then 88-year history, is ready to dole out some credit where it is due.

“The whole environment, having played and lived in London, was a breath of fresh air,” says Peyton, speaking exclusively to the Daily Echo.

“There are pine trees all around the town and they make you feel relaxed. I remember talking to Harry and saying ‘I am feeling so calm and tired’.

“He said, ‘that’s the pine trees, you’re breathing in pine, you have to get used to it because it relaxes you’.

“I slept better than I had ever done and enjoyed my football immensely. I loved the ground and the fans.

“And the weather down there, you don’t seem to have really bad winters. I remember in January seeing the sun rising out of the sea.”

Cherries’ heady 1986-87 campaign was goalkeeper Peyton’s first at Dean Court.

He was signed by Redknapp; persuaded to leave Fulham by a rookie boss already demonstrating the motivational skills – not to mention working of his contacts book – which would help him carve out a storied managerial career.

That isn’t to say Redknapp was all happy-go-lucky, a fact to which Peyton’s predecessors in the Cherries number one jersey, John Smeulders and Ian Leigh, would attest.

“Harry sold the club to me,” says Peyton. “He had so much charisma and confidence, he was very ambitious, very driven and he knew what he wanted from you.

“When I first met him, he told me ‘I’ve just got rid of two goalkeepers – Smeulders and Nipper (Leigh) – because I want one good one.

“I asked him what would happen if I got injured and he just said: ‘you can’t, you have to play the whole season’.

“I had played with Bobby Moore early in my Fulham career and he recommended me to Harry. Harry wanted a goalkeeper who came for crosses, a shot-stopper and an organiser. His aim was to get a top keeper, then build from there.”

While Smeulders moved on to Torquay and Leigh was loaned to Bristol City, Peyton set about vindicating Redknapp’s faith in him.

He recorded a staggering 20 clean sheets as Cherries won 29 of 46 league matches, losing only seven, to be crowned champions at Middlesbrough’s expense.

Redknapp’s team were unbeaten in their final 11 games and clinched promotion by winning 3-1 at Fulham on the penultimate day of the season, 30 years ago today.

Five days later, they beat Rotherham 2-0 to seal the title.

“Right from the start of the season it was magical,” says Peyton. “I was 30 when I signed. I had spent two years at Burnley, 10 at Fulham and played for Republic of Ireland from the age of 21.

“I remember people telling me I was going down there to live by the sea and take it easy.

“In reality, I was moving to Bournemouth with the intention of training harder than I ever had. I was out of the Ireland picture and Jack Charlton had just been appointed manager.

“I wanted to make sure Bournemouth were successful, because I knew that would help me back into the Ireland team.

“We had strength, character, purpose and determination and we were a side nobody fancied playing.”

Peyton’s personally stellar campaign hit its apogee when he kept out Peter Scott’s early penalty in that decisive victory at Fulham.

“I saved a few penalties that season,” he says.“The big one was magical. The Fulham fans were singing my name, they hadn’t wanted me to leave.

“It was the best decision I ever made. I stayed with some of my Fulham friends after the game. They were hammering me!

“Before we were promoted people were saying ‘there’s a spell on Bournemouth, they won’t go into the Second Division, people don’t want them to get there’.

“But the spirit was so good, nothing could stop us... then winning the championship ahead of such a strong Middlesbrough team was an extra feather in our cap. The whole club was lifted.”

Now in his 61st year and with his passion for football undimmed, Peyton is coaching the goalkeepers at Arsenal, where he still cites Cherries’ class of ’87 as an example of what is possible with the right “spirit and togetherness”.

He was crestfallen when he learned Cherries’ official 30-year anniversary celebrations were to be staged on a Friday night in March.

Arsenal’s match at West Brom the following day kicked off at lunchtime, meaning two of Peyton’s former team-mates, Tony Pulis and Mark O’Connor, were similarly affected.

“I wouldn’t have got to bed until about 1am in the morning if I’d gone,” says Peyton.

“I have never been unprofessional in my career, so I wasn’t going to start then. It would have been fantastic to see the boys.”

And to fill his lungs with Bournemouth’s soothing air, no doubt.