Lee Tomlin shows real promise

Seeing Lee Tomlin get his first start at Dean Court was a change that probably few saw coming last Saturday. While Josh King had not hit top form, it was not clear where Lee was in the pecking order and how much Eddie Howe would favour him with the likes of Gradel and Kermorgant able to play the number 10 role.

Will Tomlin keep his starting place against Norwich City?

Eddie decided on Tomlin though and he put in one of the best performances on the day. He tends to like the fight from what I can see and is always in the thick of it, with a busy intent to get the ball or hold on to it, to bring other players into the game. His pairing with Callum Wilson was strong and he found it fairly simple to get the ball through to Wison. Where Lee might have to improve is in trying to get some shots off himself, but that is true of much of the team at the moment.

Tomlin has not got the pace of some and yet he has a fine touch and tends to read the game very quickly which is something that he and Surman have in common. Whether he can keep ahead of other strikers for the games coming up remains to be seen but he can't be disappointed with his first top flight outing. He showed that he can be competitive and cause problems for the opposition and probably should have been awarded a penalty in the first half against Leicester. He'll be after that first goal for himself though to really feel that he has made the next step up and he may get his chance to do that against Norwich City.