Eddie has been looking for balance

After the match against Middlesbrough, Eddie Howe said that he had been looking for the right balance and that he felt that he had found it for that match. It was a surprise for many supporters that Brett Pitman was not starting after the last few games he had been involved in but whatever weaknesses Eddie saw in Middlesbrough, the team were able to exploit it with stunning effect.

Crowd reaction to the third goal going in against Middlesbrough.

It is not always easy to drop a player that has been doing well. But it is the overall team on the day that has to be the most important consideration and Eddie Howe has never been afraid to go against what people expect to get a result on the pitch. I am sure some of his independent thoughts together with collective decisions with Jason Tindall have carried AFCB to the very top of the division and you can't argue with that. Against Middlesbrough he chose Yann Kermorgant and he put away the first penalty well, while Brett still got his opportunity later on from the spot.

Yann has been in and out of the team of late, but if Callum
Yann fit he tends to be the preferred partner.

The balance of the team against Middlesbrough seemed stronger to me on the left though for once and Charlie Daniles and Marc Pugh were pretty sensational that day. Simon Francis was not as prolific up the right wing as he has been and he had to be alert to the breaks by Middlesbrough, especially when Lee Tomlin was drifting and trying to get in between AFCB's defence and midfield.

The balance of the team could well be altered again for the Ipswich match. I have not heard news about Marc Pugh yet but I am sure we will soon find out how he has been doing and if he can take part in the matches over Easter. Callum Wilson looks out though having not trained in the last two weeks. All those on international duty will also need to be assessed and some of the players out in Dubai just might have caused some rethinking with their form. I would not think that Kenwyne Jones will get many training sessions in with the squad before Friday and yet he may well have to lead the line.

Whatever the selection for the Ipswich game, it is going to be bigger than the last game in terms of pressure I feel, but the players have shown that they can deal with that. Being away at Portman Road one would imagine that the pressure on Ipswich will be equally as high and even higher if they find AFCB can get off to a flyer.

You can vote on our poll in the side panel which asks if you think Kenwyne Jones will have a successful loan period at AFCB - the poll closes at 10pm.

Cherry Chimes April Newsletter - is out now!

Cherry Chimes' April Newsletter picks over the top stories from the blog in March.

You can read extra posts as well that are not on the blog entitled: 'The scrap for the title is on and the special newsletter story: 'Is Pitman under-rated by fans? All you need to do is sign up here if you don't already receive the newsletter:

To subscribe to the Newsletter sign up here

Email Address 

First Name

Last Name

Email Format

• html
• text