I was busy looking around Dean Court while the players were warming up on Tuesday and was keen to see 20 year-old Jack Simpson getting involved and relishing his chance to play in the first team. While Arsenal rave on about their new sensation Eddie Nkeitah, it's good to know that Bournemouth are perhaps starting see the work being done at the Academy level starting to pay off with promising players such as Jack Simpson emerging.
There was also some moments of sheer quality about his play when in the first half he saw Adam Smith available for a long pass and found him with a great cross-field ball that had the crowd gasping. It was Glenn Hoddle-like in its execution and I was having to look twice to make sure it really was Jack who had made the pass.
All-in-all, it was a match Jack will certainly never forget and it kind of makes me proud to see one of the young players proving that they can do it on the big stage. I wish Jack well and hope we see more of him, as it is difficult to see players like Baily Cargill do well and then have to play games elsewhere. But it looks like Bournemouth have a great young centre-back pair if they can keep Cargill and Simpson in their ranks.
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| Jack had been in and around the squad but was pleased to make his first start for the first team and you could say he grabbed his chance rather well. |
Eddie Howe says Jack has been converted from a midfield player and you could see how elegant and cultured the centre-half was when on the ball. He made a couple of excellent early passes that settled him down and when Adama Traore looked poised to test Boruc he was very quick to close the shot down and take the full blast of the shot.
There was also some moments of sheer quality about his play when in the first half he saw Adam Smith available for a long pass and found him with a great cross-field ball that had the crowd gasping. It was Glenn Hoddle-like in its execution and I was having to look twice to make sure it really was Jack who had made the pass.
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To score on your debut is always going to be a dream come true and to get the first goal was special indeed. I had thought that Jack had headed it in, but saw only on replay that he had stuck out his left foot to claw the ball into the back of the net. It was all about the timing of his run to get ahead of his marker at the corner, and I think he would have scored again had he not been pulled back by Fry at a subsequent Bournemouth corner when he won a penalty.
All-in-all, it was a match Jack will certainly never forget and it kind of makes me proud to see one of the young players proving that they can do it on the big stage. I wish Jack well and hope we see more of him, as it is difficult to see players like Baily Cargill do well and then have to play games elsewhere. But it looks like Bournemouth have a great young centre-back pair if they can keep Cargill and Simpson in their ranks.
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