Five changes that worked out well

Okay, who got the team line up for AFCB correct on Saturday? I thought not. It is always hard to predict what Eddie Howe is going to do when injuries cause a rethink and while the Cherries have not had many bad days when they do drop below the standards required he does not hang about in pulling those out of the lineup when changes need to be made.

Team changes don't always have to be disruptive. 

It was still very brave to make as many as five changes on the day against Sunderland. While the choice at centre back was enforced with Tommy Elphick sustaining an ankle injury in the week that was kept quiet the big improvement came on the left side with regulars Pugh and Daniels coming back into the side. Those two work so well together that they gave the platform for the early pressure on Sunderland and the team looked more powerful on the left side than it has in recent games.

Other changes saw the return of Dan Gosling in central midfield which was perfect for this game as well as the reintroduction of Lee Tomlin who has certainly been given the nod over Yann Kermorgant of late. So the likelihood of the latest team keeping their places for the next game is quite high now. That could mean that Simon Francis has the captain's armband for some time if Sylvain Distin continues to start instead of Tommy Elphick. 

Stoke City will cause different problems to those provided by Sunderland, but the feel good factor is back on the south coast and if the Cherries can start to pick up more points on the road the belief will only get stronger.