Eddie Howe was keen to stress that Bournemouth had created problems by being too passive against Chelsea in the first half. They lost the initiative very early on and did not manage to really get hold of it again even when they made substitutions.
The substitution of Jermain Defoe helped, but not enough to be totally convincing. Bournemouth did create more in the second half and did try to push more into Chelsea's half once they had gone a goal down. But turning a game like this into a positive match was always going to be difficult once Chelsea had scored. I'm hoping Bournemouth set up with a more aggressive approach in the next few games.
Cherry Chimes' Fan Verdict on the Daily Mail
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| Bournemouth found it hard to impose their game against Chelsea. |
Admittedly, Chelsea are a strong team and one of the better ones that will play at Dean Court this season, but the Cherries can't afford to make it easier for teams by not getting at them from the start. Whether the formation contributed to the negative mindset early on is a valid point to ask, but even with three centre-backs Bournemouth know they must push up their wing backs to move the whole team up, and while Daniels and Smith were prone to see Chelsea putting two players on them as frequently as they could when attacking themselves, AFCB always looked out played in the wide areas where they are usually so strong.
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The side fell back into setting up more or less a defensive wall against the heavy number of crosses that came in, especially from Bournemouth's left wing. While the centre-backs coped well with the headers they had to make there was not out ball for the Cherries and it was like the wind was against them for much of the first half - they just resorted to trying to keep Chelsea out. With the likes of Eden Hazard keeping the ball so well it was all that the Cherries could do, but once stuck in that sense of duty to defend it became more and more difficult for them to change the pattern of the game.
The substitution of Jermain Defoe helped, but not enough to be totally convincing. Bournemouth did create more in the second half and did try to push more into Chelsea's half once they had gone a goal down. But turning a game like this into a positive match was always going to be difficult once Chelsea had scored. I'm hoping Bournemouth set up with a more aggressive approach in the next few games.
Cherry Chimes' Fan Verdict on the Daily Mail
Eddie needs to settle on his best team. Continually making major changes to team tactics, team shapes and formations to suit whatever opposition we might be playing is fine as far it goes, but it continually unsettles and undermines everything and hinders the formation of partnerships, which incidentally were the foundations of our previous successes. There is simply too many changes being made and Ibe is a case in point. Is he good enough at this level or is he not? In recent matches I think he has started to show he IS. Yet against Chelsea he was reduced to the bench yet again. Is Eddie going to have the courage of his convictions and stay with the flexible attacking 3-5-2 that can become a defensive 5-3-2 when under pressure, or is he going to continually change back to 4-4-2? Why wasn't Ibe trusted to do the job in place of Stanislas after some great creative and attacking performances where he has linked well with Defoe in recent matches?
ReplyDeleteWas Defoe actually bought in as an impact player and cover for injuries? Defoe didn't score for Sunderland during the whole second half of last season and so far it's pretty obvious why... he doesn't work hard enough to create his own chances and has to rely on others to do that for him. Ibe can do that, he's proved he can do that and should have been on from the start OR at least replaced the increasingly ineffectual Pugh at half time, NOT Defoe who is by far the best at grabbing a half chance made for him if one arises... and which was our only chance of getting something out of this match! One 'on target' shot by S.Cook in injury time playing at home, regardless of the quality of the opposition .... suggest there is something seriously wrong with Eddie's taticle thinking!