Eddie Howe spoke of the win against West Ham as being a relief. I can only imagine what the feelings might have been around the ground had Josh King not put around that last minute winner at Dean Court. Going into the game with Swansea would have been much more pressurised, and instead the players will feel a lot more confident now heading into these big game battles after their last two results.
It may be that AFCB need to give themselves something else to target rather than simply just keeping away from the bottom three. A mini table might include Watford and Burnley and even West Ham as these teams are only just sitting above the Cherries now and by bringing them back into the frame, AFCB will be able to feel that they are still chasing rather than being the chased, which I think is always more healthy.
Getting to 30 points is good in itself, but maximising the number of points from the remaining games is now Eddie Howe's big challenge and beating last season's total of 11 wins and 42 points with a finish of 16th. Eddie Howe always wants to see progress and come May, he will be able to see if he really has moved this side on or not.
So while it may seem like a relief at the moment that AFCB have stopped their bad run, there is still lots to do before being really elated about the side. At the moment I see the club repositioning itself as a club that is now trying to push again, and to grab as high a finish as they can to help the funding of the new stadium, as well as strengthening of the squad. These matters may not seem that immediate, but if AFCB want a new stadium in three year's time they have to ensure that everything is good on the pitch now and the relief of winning in 2017 has started the ball rolling again towards a brighter future. UTCIAD!
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| Eddie is starting to breath a little easier, but the Swansea game can almost get AFCB over the finishing line. |
The side has been really tested perhaps more than ever before, but there is a sense that the Cherries have come out the other side of that now and they are re-finding their energy and exciting forward play. The defence still has some way to go to being more concrete, but with the mood in the camp much better, there is time to work on such things as shape and set pieces now and basically getting the basics right.
It may be that AFCB need to give themselves something else to target rather than simply just keeping away from the bottom three. A mini table might include Watford and Burnley and even West Ham as these teams are only just sitting above the Cherries now and by bringing them back into the frame, AFCB will be able to feel that they are still chasing rather than being the chased, which I think is always more healthy.
So while it may seem like a relief at the moment that AFCB have stopped their bad run, there is still lots to do before being really elated about the side. At the moment I see the club repositioning itself as a club that is now trying to push again, and to grab as high a finish as they can to help the funding of the new stadium, as well as strengthening of the squad. These matters may not seem that immediate, but if AFCB want a new stadium in three year's time they have to ensure that everything is good on the pitch now and the relief of winning in 2017 has started the ball rolling again towards a brighter future. UTCIAD!
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