Tuesday 21 March 2017

Afobe and King are looking very strong together

The calls for Afobe and King to play together have been loud at times and while Callum Wilson has often had first nod, there is a message that is coming through from the pitch that the partnership of King and Afobe is a profitable one. The main reason I see for this is the work rate of Josh King who is like a busy bee in his desire to get on the ball to hurt teams.
Afobe was unfortunate not to have two goal to his name against Swansea.
I said last week that Afobe would score goals and Benik has been lacking in confidence, but will now see that his persistence is coming off. The first goal against Swansea was taken away from him because of the deflection, but just for him to see the ball hit the back of the net is the boost he needed. Benik did make himself available when AFCB had the ball in the box on the day and he might have done better with his finishing at times. The second goal though was extremely well taken as Benik had almost lost his balance, but kept his cool to aim at the foot of the far post.

It's the partnership that I'm particularly interested in. Josh King does not mind to play Benik in when he is on the last man and when he sees a killer pass he has made it as easy as he can for Benik. Benik himself has been concentrating more of hitting the target from what I can see and although the power is sometimes reduced in his shots, just making the keeper work is going to bring rewards in some games.

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With King playing in behind Afobe, there is the chance for King to come back and win balls in and around the midfield and he picks off players so well that it is probably King's strongest position. I have also said that Howe might consider that he needs to build the side around King if he is going to be the man that he always now looks to start. I see every need to get the best out of Josh and if that means playing Afobe in front of him in the number nine slot, then so be it. Of course, that is a hinderance for Jack Wilshere, but I also believe Eddie Howe has one eye on next season and what's best for the overall development of the team.

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