Why are subs struggling to make an impact?

The Cherries toiled away against Newcastle last week creating plenty of chances to score. While they did not take them in the first 70 minutes, it was expected that the substitutions with 20 minutes to go would make a difference. Eddie Howe seemed bemused why the changes though had not sharpened the scoring edge of the team. Fresh legs alone should have had some kind of effect, but Newcastle looked more comfortable in the last 20 minutes than at any other part of the game.

AFCB subs are struggling to make an impact. Without as much pace in
the team, and on the bench, it has been difficult to transform the team.

That is not great news for the players that came on. However, Lee Tomlin, Yann Kermorgant and Tokelo Rantie may not individually been at fault. If the team stops functioning as a whole in pressing forward and making opportunities, then it is hard for those coming on to lift everyone else. Firstly, the new players need to be able to get on the ball. They also have to be comfortable in fitting into the system that is being played and with Yann Kermorgant initially playing on his own up front, the team did not manage to find him enough. When Rantie entered the game and went up front on his own, he found himself drifting out to the wings a bit and had a difficult take trying to hold the ball up.

It should be remembered that McClaren also made changes in the second half. Cisse came on for Mitrovic as early as the 63rd minute and Thauvin replaced Perez on 77 minutes. This seemed to make Newcastle more sturdy and Cisse had quite a few runs at the Cherries eve if he did run offside more often than not.

I did wonder if anything why Howe did not make his subs earlier. The team was creating chances at the start of the second half, but on 60 minutes the game was crying out for a change and it is the usual time when a change is made by AFCB. Giving Rantie just 11 minutes though is not giving him much opportunity to make an impact, and if he had been given longer and a few chances to run at the Newcastle back line, he might have had the chance to get that vital goal. Still I am sure Eddie Howe will look at matters in that second half and try and fathom out why the game died away so easily, and how the subs might make more of a difference next time. UTCIAD!