McQuoid will need to get up to speed fast

Eddie Howe loves pulling a surprise on everyone and while it had been strongly rumoured that Josh McQuoid was on his way back it was a slight shock to see him in the starting line up against Ipswich Town. Josh played just in behind Lewis Grabban and managed to play for an hour without any problems which was good to see. I expect that he would have liked to mark his comeback with a goal, but he did not have many shots that I recall. His linking play with O'Kane, Grabban and Surman was reasonably good and he looked like he was on his way to being sharp enough to contribute even more to the team.

Josh will have his eyes on more starts.

Can he find the clinical finishing touch to help the Cherries?

I don't think Eddie Howe could expect too much more from him in his first competitive match back in the Championship. Ipswich were hardly going to give McQuoid an easy ride and the good thing is that Josh did not look out of place in the side, because I think it was a big ask to make him come straight back in to the starting 11.

Next match we could well see Arter resume normal service in the middle which may mean McQuoid has to settle for a space on the subs bench, but I think he is a good option to have and on his day he can score some valuable goals. Firepower is something that I think AFCB will need to get them further up the league. While most of the top clubs have a striker who is getting the 20 goals a season, the Cherries will need to have many of their midfield players contributing to the goal tally because we don't have an £8 million striker yet. Hold that thought just for a year - Grabban is work in progress.

I think McQuiod has a few more gears which he can go through yet and when he does get to his optimum match fitness I believe he will surprise a few AFCB supporters. He is a quality player that has not been at his best in the past, but 2014 is a new year and a fresh start for Josh. He could have had no bigger incentive than his manager letting him go straight into the starting line up last match, so let's hope he can start to payback Eddie Howe with some memorable goals.