More fire power required

Where are the goals I hear you say, following that big 5-0 win the other day? Well they seem to have dried up and it is in part due to the fact that the team has been playing a lot of games and could just be getting a bit stale. Lewis Grabban is still running into the corners and doing a lot of fetching runs, but no one is benefiting by getting up quickly to support and get in behind defences after Grabban is looking up to pass. 

Yann came on in the second half and we were soon shouting his name.

The return of Yann Kermorgant has to be the answer. Surely Yann must play with Lewis up front against Barnsley and the shots on goal must be significantly increased if Bournemouth are going to have a chance of getting three points. Once again we could see Yann's class and invention as soon as he came on the pitch at the Valley. He was calm and assured, while Rantie I'm afraid still looked like a fish out of water!

Eddie must find more fire power and if that means bringing in Coulibaly for a tired Ritchie or Fraser then he'll have to do it. Was Ritchie shattered or injured? Without him AFCB did not really have as much forward threat as they might have. After last night's game there could be even surgery required to Eddie's plans, because it was a surprise to see O'Kane come off early against Charlton, although I belive it was simply for tactical reasons to try and get the team playing forward more quickly as a 4-4-2. Arter had one of his less effective games and the engine room was a bit under power. It could be that MacDonald with the fresh legs is an option Howe will also now consider employing.

Whatever the personnel though the beautiful football that we saw for spells during the Charlton game once again did not have a cutting-edge. AFCB need to find that sharp finishing technique again, but for the second game in a row they failed to score and even worse they lost their unbeaten record for March. That is going to hurt the players with the Charlton goal coming in extra time. We can only hope it makes them stringer and more determined for the next game. The Charlton game was the second chance AFCB had to get a double over a team for the season (the first being Doncaster - which I had forgotten), perhaps they will manage that against Barnsley. Any new incentive now is a bonus if it helps the team stay on course for a top half finish.