Thursday 19 May 2016

Man Utd didn't give the Cherries a foothold in the game

Eddie Howe will not have gone away from Old Trafford thinking that he has a side that are likely to challenge or the very top places in the division next year. He was realistic in conceding that AFCB had not really found it easy to get a foothold in the game and Man Utd had kept possession extremely well which had no doubt been a blueprint that Howe would have liked to see his side do to the FA Cup finalists. 
It was a hard defeat at Man Utd. Eddie Howe would have hoped
the gap would have been smaller between the two sides.
The Cherries should not be too hard on themselves though. They were only a goal down at half time and it was a see-saw battle for a while before United got their second and could get the full control of the game. Still Howe knows that his centre-halves struggled against these top-class players and up front we did not see AFCB manage to attack on the counter with enough skill to make the most of their small amount of possession by getting shots away and on target.

It has been a similar story of the last few weeks of the season. While there are times when the side looks comfortable it can quickly lose confidence just when the side has been having some of the best moments of a match. The need for AFCB to get better at what sides like Man Utd manage to do against teams that come to Old Trafford is a timely lesson for next season for the Cherries and their games when playing at home. 

There were some mitigating circumstances with having to travel back up to Manchester and having not trained with no pitches to practise on, Eddie Howe will not make excuses. He can look to see how AFCB can find ways to take the club further again and the club has already made a statement in that regard by turning down a second improved bid of £20m for Callum Wilson and Matt Ritchie from West Ham Utd. 


Back of the Net has released it's latest podcast - What a Finale! out now. Check out their site or listen by scrolling down the side panel on Cherry Chimes until you come to the Back of the Net soundbar.

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