When England play the Netherlands on this Friday, there is going to be at least one AFCB player involved and we know that Nathan Aké is likely to play well, because we know just how good he is when he turns out on AFCB colours. The match will be intriguing for AFCB fans as we will be able to see Nathan playing for his national team and will see him working with different defenders than at Bournemouth, and he'll be playing against players we know very well.
I have no fear that Nathan will get to the very top in the game because he has that natural ability and the honesty to try his best all the time. He can only benefit from playing for his national team and it is a shame that Holland won't be involved in the World Cup this summer. But for AFCB, it might be just as well that Nathan is not seen too frequently on the TV. His reputation is already growing and it is just a question of how much he can learn at AFCB to keep him satisfied. It was a brave move for him to transfer from Chelsea to AFCB and while outsiders will say he has given up the chance for silverware, AFCB have already got to quarter finals of competitions and might well get a bit further in coming seasons.
If Bournemouth are to succeed in future seasons it will be because they have been able to retain players like Aké who is a new generation of player for Eddie Howe to work with. He is among the best of his age and while I might not want England to lose to the Netherlands on Friday I know that I will enjoy watching Nathan Aké take the ball off a few English players.
In other news, AFCB have announced that the home game against Man Utd has been brought forward to Wednesday 18 April at 7.45pm. The match is also being shown on BT Sport.
 |
| Nathan will be playing against England tonight for Holland. |
Nathan has already made his mark at AFCB. I will be surprised if he does not win at least one of the player awards this season, because he has that class about his play that is unusual for a central defender. He gets out of trouble when he really shouldn't and he carries the ball with a kind of elegance that befits a top player of a team that is even higher than AFCB. Yes, he could play for a side like Real Madrid or AC Milan with no problem in my mind, but I'm just glad that AFCB have him for the moment and we can watch and learn how he progresses.
Advertisement
I have no fear that Nathan will get to the very top in the game because he has that natural ability and the honesty to try his best all the time. He can only benefit from playing for his national team and it is a shame that Holland won't be involved in the World Cup this summer. But for AFCB, it might be just as well that Nathan is not seen too frequently on the TV. His reputation is already growing and it is just a question of how much he can learn at AFCB to keep him satisfied. It was a brave move for him to transfer from Chelsea to AFCB and while outsiders will say he has given up the chance for silverware, AFCB have already got to quarter finals of competitions and might well get a bit further in coming seasons.
If Bournemouth are to succeed in future seasons it will be because they have been able to retain players like Aké who is a new generation of player for Eddie Howe to work with. He is among the best of his age and while I might not want England to lose to the Netherlands on Friday I know that I will enjoy watching Nathan Aké take the ball off a few English players.
In other news, AFCB have announced that the home game against Man Utd has been brought forward to Wednesday 18 April at 7.45pm. The match is also being shown on BT Sport.
There is no doubt Ake is highly talented and also that Bournemouth would be in a bit of trouble without him. The last time I saw Holland play, he was used at left back, so it will be interesting to see their formation this time.
ReplyDeleteBournemouth could use pre-season to experiment with Ake in defensive midfield, depending on what other defensive options are available.
I too see Ake playing up the pitch slightly but as a versatile defensive midfielder who can be deployed as an out and out midfielder or more like an old-fashioned sweeper as a game reminds. He's simply too good to be stuck in central defence. This will demand shelling on at least one reliable centre back as Franno sadly is no longer always dependable enough (although can get the odd start and provides great cover from the bench). It also means a slight change to the attacking wing back set up. I know you shouldn't necessarily build a team around a player but he is something else! UTCIAD
ReplyDeleteQuality players such as Lewis Cook and Ake are ambitious and will want to be in teams challenging for trophies. And for that reason our bod will now have to add more quality in order to conclusivly prove that they have that same ambition. Settling for what we have achieved will no longer be suffcient! The bod cannot now stand still and settle for 'premiership consolidation' mode anymore. They now have to prove they are going make substantial investment in the first team and make progress on the pitch just as they are with the infrastructure projects off it. If they don't do that we will quickly lose the quality we already do have... and the players will be pushing to move on to more ambitious teams with the first offer that comes in.
ReplyDelete