Who fancies a punt at goal?

Before each game we always see the Bournemouth strikers lining up to take pot shots at Lee Camp, Darryl Flahavan and Ryan Allsop. It may be more self-defeating at times to see players miss their target by a wide margin. How useful are such routines? I'd say it is important that the keepers get used to the pace of the shots and get used to hitting the deck, but more often than not our strikers don't get the opportunity to hit that many screamers from 20-25 yards out during the game. 

I have not closely analysed the distance that most of the AFCB goals were scored over during the last season but I'll have a cheeky guess that maybe as many as half were scored from 12 yards or closer to the goal. So would that mean that players should think more about working on their reactions and simply turning and running onto lose balls a few yards out from goal rather than trying to blast balls n from distance? It's an area of the game which can of course be analysed and perhaps it would show some interesting results.

Fraser gets in shape to make the back of the net ripple.

Hot shooting from Pugh.

I notice that only the defenders do a few warm up headers during the warm up too. The strikers and midfielders don't look to get involved in such things and yet come the corner kicks during the game they all want to try and get on the end of crosses. There are only so many things you can do during the warm up though and it is the culmination of the week's training. 

Go on Arter, bang one in.

I probably did not used to pay too much attention to the players warming up but you take a closer look when you are photographing them every pre-match and I know exactly where a player or group of players are likely to be at a given period during his warm up period. That tells me that the routines don't change much and perhaps routine is a help to the players to get themselves into the right mental zone before a game to know what they are about to face.

Familiarity and being comfortable in your surroundings is something that we take for granted when we go to Dean Court, but even with you sitting in a certain spot of the ground you could be helping one of AFCB's players to feel at ease that he is about to start his work and that everything is in the right place. Even then, I'll still bet that Harry Arter hits a few of his warm up shots into the highest rows of the North stand! I don't mind that as long as he scores a few during the games.

World Cup Chimes is in reflection mood as England were shown the exit door from Brazil by Mr Suarez.