Eddie Howe has mixed up his starting 11 a bit since the injury to Callum Wilson, and he has had to find a balance at the back that forms a good basis for launching attacks. While we now have the back four that have played the most games together back in place, it is this stability that Howe will hope to keep until the end of the season if the Cherries good form is to continue.
Stability makes me think of another man in particular who missed the last match - Andrew Surman. Does Surman walk straight back into the side having been sent off at Man Utd's ground? Eddie won't have been pleased with the vice captain's second yellow and I can't say that Dan Gosling has done much wrong since filling in for Surman. It will be a matter of whether Howe sees the match against Swansea as one that will be easiest won with most of his regular starters on the pitch, or if he feels that those that have come in are best to stick with.
No doubt Jack Wilshere is also now pressing for a midfield role and yet the option to play Afobe and King together has been a key ingredient of recent success. It is not that Afobe has been hot with his finishing, but it has meant that King has been able to find the spaces to exploit. As Charlie Nicholas recently said on SkySports - Afobe doesn't get in the areas that often to hurt teams. The good thing is that King has been doing this and scoring as well.
So Eddie has some options as to how he sees the best chance of gaining more points in the remaining games, but most of these decisions will be in midfield and in the forward lines. Lys Mousset is still looking like a lost sheep when he does get a few minutes and while it is good to see Max Gradel and Brad Smith making up the numbers on the bench, it's hard to see them getting many minutes.
I'd expect Jordan Ibe and Junior Stanislas to be pushing to get into the team after the international break, but by playing near enough the same players, such as Fraser and Pugh, it has been easier for AFCB to find their lost rhythm once again and maybe the side is still six months or more away from having players that can easily make more of an impact from the bench.
What I would like to see is what Eddie Howe is going to start thinking about is how this side progresses without Jack Wilshere? If Jack is not around next season then there is a big hole to fill and are Dan Gosling, Lewis Cook or Emerson Hyndman at Rangers getting enough exposure at present to fill Wilshere's boots when he departs?
You can also read some views I gave to Read Swansea and another piece on SOS Swansea before Saturday's game.
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| Stability man - Andrew Surman. |
No doubt Jack Wilshere is also now pressing for a midfield role and yet the option to play Afobe and King together has been a key ingredient of recent success. It is not that Afobe has been hot with his finishing, but it has meant that King has been able to find the spaces to exploit. As Charlie Nicholas recently said on SkySports - Afobe doesn't get in the areas that often to hurt teams. The good thing is that King has been doing this and scoring as well.
So Eddie has some options as to how he sees the best chance of gaining more points in the remaining games, but most of these decisions will be in midfield and in the forward lines. Lys Mousset is still looking like a lost sheep when he does get a few minutes and while it is good to see Max Gradel and Brad Smith making up the numbers on the bench, it's hard to see them getting many minutes.
I'd expect Jordan Ibe and Junior Stanislas to be pushing to get into the team after the international break, but by playing near enough the same players, such as Fraser and Pugh, it has been easier for AFCB to find their lost rhythm once again and maybe the side is still six months or more away from having players that can easily make more of an impact from the bench.
What I would like to see is what Eddie Howe is going to start thinking about is how this side progresses without Jack Wilshere? If Jack is not around next season then there is a big hole to fill and are Dan Gosling, Lewis Cook or Emerson Hyndman at Rangers getting enough exposure at present to fill Wilshere's boots when he departs?
You can also read some views I gave to Read Swansea and another piece on SOS Swansea before Saturday's game.
I would play lewis cook every week...voted championship player of the year last year....if he is not given a regular chance if i were him
ReplyDeleteI would demand a move