Wednesday 7 June 2017

Cesc ticks all the boxes as a replacement for Jack Wilshere

Jack Wilshere was a big player for the Cherries last year, as his experience and know-how on the ball gave a confidence to the side that is not easily replaced. While Jack didn't unlock all the doors going forward for the team, he was reliable and was an assured passer, which is something that AFCB need to find if they are to stay a top 10 club in the Premier League. 
Will Cesc Fabregas go where the money takes him or will he choose
a team that plays an attractive style like AFCB?
The amount of goals that the Cherries let in last season, 67, is the biggest challenge that Eddie Howe now has to improve on going forward. While the team did well as an attacking unit, it has to find a way of keeping more clean sheets and taking pressure off of the keeper and the back four. Eddie has not gone heavily into the transfer market for defenders as much as he has in picking up midfielders and attackers, and I can't see him changing that opinion.

So how is he going to tighten up on defence? Well, apart from working the players hard and getting them to make better decisions, I believe he will continue his policy of trying to make the team even more attacking in their play and to retain possession even more. It is a difficult thing to improve on, but when you have the ball and are comfortable in possession it is hard for other teams to score against you. It works for the very best teams like Spurs and Chelsea, but can Eddie turn AFCB into such an offensive force that they take the heat off of their own defence?
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I only feel that he can do this if he relies on more central midfielders. It's asking a lot for Arter and Surman to play so many games for the Cherries to such a high standard. The consistency of the team is always helped by regular starters, but he also needs to have players that can come in and be as good. I think that Lewis Cook and Eemrson Hyndman are fully primed to have big seasons next time around and Dan Gosling has more than shown that he is capable of handling the role. It's whether these five players are good enough - in their ball retention and distribution - that Eddie has to ask himself? If they are not, why not go and get a player that can hold the ball under tremendous pressure and pick a pass?

There is a former team-mate of Wilshere who would be an amazing play-maker to bring to Dean Court, but AFCB would have to be ambitious to go and get him. We have been spoilt perhaps by having Jack Wilshere last season, but if AFCB can pay for the wages of a player like Defoe, they can probably also pay for the services of a player as good as Cesc Fabrigas. Okay, before you say he's out of AFCB's league, the front runners for his signature are Liverpool and Man Utd, but even with Champions League football as a pull, he knows he would not be the main man at either of these clubs


AFCB have to start thinking big if they want to go up another level, and why that may seem to soon for some fans, it is a reality of the league that they are in now. Even with the Defoe deal going through, the Cherries could afford an additional senior player, and Cesc ticks all the boxes and more, as a replacement for Jack Wilshere. 

In other news, Benik Afobe scores for DR Congo and John Terry looks set for talks with AFCB, according to the Daily Express.




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