Jordan Ibe has lots of work to do

It was great to see that Jordan Ibe was able to play for a few minutes against Leicester at the end of the season, but from his demeanour all did not look quite right with him to me. This was not the energetic excited youngster that came to Bournemouth at the start of last season, but a man who has perhaps been shaken and still isn't quite producing what he must know he has in his talent.

It's not all gone right so far for Jordan Ibe,
but I still believe he can be the star of this AFCB side.

Eddie Howe asked fans to be patient with Jordan, and I can understand why when he had to be taken out of the firing line for a few games and having been held up in London at knifepoint. Sometimes there are things happening outside of football that have an impact on it, and I can only hope that we get the fearless Jordan who wanted to express himself reemerging over the summer. The game is not easy when you uproot and start afresh in a new town. You just want to concentrate on the football.

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Jordan looked half as quick and his touch was some way behind what we would see with a fit Junior Stanislas or Ryan Fraser. I am sure that Ibe is trying to battle with himself as much as anything, and I hope fans can give him some space as there was no damage done last season - AFCB didn't go down. Moreover, players who hadn't played many Premier League games got to experience match day with Ibe missing out on some games. 

How do we rate Jordan though? It should not just be on a goal count as we can say that Jack Wilshere didn't score a goal either this season. I wanted to see Ibe beat his wing back and get crosses in the box, but he has been failing to beat the first man of late. He has no assists from 26 appearances and 12 of those were as a sub. I simply think Ibe is work very much in progress. He needs to get fully fit and come back to the game with some enjoyment and a clear head at the start of next season. He needs that first goal or assist to get some confidence, and while we know what the likes of Fraser, Pugh and Stanislas are going to give you, we never quite know what the level of performance will be from Ibe. 

Eddie and Jason will look at what is best for Jordan to help him on the pitch. But I get the feeling that the drive must come from Jordan himself. Leaving Liverpool would have seemed a wrench for a while, losing the potential to be at a top four club, but he can flourish in a smaller ground with fans that want to see him do well. He only needs to look at how Wilfred Zaha has improved at Palace, after leaving Man Utd, to know that you can make legendary comebacks. I  have no qualms about players being dropped when they are not performing well, but Ibe I fear really needs a great game this summer on the club tour just to start moving forward again. All the best Jordan!