Adam Smith is starting to shine

Adam Smith has not often been picked out as man of the match and yet it is undeniable that his contributions to games are getting stronger these days. The text he faced against Marko Arnautovic last Saturday was one of the hardest he has had all season, but he stuck to his game well and even gave a little back in the confrontation stakes when he got rattled with the treatment he was getting.

Adam Smith takes a drink after his man of the match performance against Stoke City.

In away games Adam is usually singled out early as a player that annoys the away fans. I think Adam should take that as a compliment in a way, as he is the player who gets right into the game from the start and puts his body on the line by going into challenges where he is not always favourite to win the ball. He works extremely hard at trying to get back into position, and yet is often one of AFCB most advanced players when he sees the Cherries with the ball.

I saw the anger in Steve Cook's face just before the first Stoke City goal when Smith had been caught out a little and Cook had come to the rescue to stop Arnautovic getting a shot in on the break. There is a pecking order in the team and while Adam may not be near the top in being the newest member of the established back four, he holds his own and doesn't back out of confrontation.

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It was in the last third though that Adam did his best work against Stoke. He has become a more precise in his crossing and looks up more now to ensure he beats the first defender and picks out a Bournemouth striker. His neat work with Fraser and Stanislas in the creation of his shot that came off the post, in the first half against Stoke, was another demonstration of how he will try and work himself into good shooting positions when he can. Smith's next job is to keep his play as consistent in future games.