While AFCB can be pleased that they have come back in so many games this season, it does seem that there is a bit of a rut that they are getting into. It has become usual for them to be chasing the game in the last 20 minutes and the best that Bournemouth seem to be able to do is to try and get draws, while staring defeat in the face in games.
Eddie Howe has talked about the inability of the team to control games. He clearly sees Andrew Surman as a method to get more control in the way he has been putting Surman on for the last 20 minutes to try and steady things. The art of keeping the ball is perhaps lost on the players at times and while we have taken it for granted when Arter and Surman have played together in the past in the middle, now there is more emphasis on that magical penetrative pass to find the striker rather than the safe pass to keep the ball.
As Eddie said it led to too many transitions and turnovers where Bournemouth gave the ball away in dangerous areas of the pitch. It may be that AFCB need to deprive themselves of some cutting-edge in midfield for a bit of safety as the goals have been going in at an alarming rate and if the Cherries are gifting goals they will keep losing games.
There needs to be more work on keeping the clean sheet. If that means being a little more dull in the centre of the park then I'd advise Howe to do that if it is more likely to get the team the point they so dearly need. Staying in the league means financial security and another chance to do better next season, but how the team gets that point is now the question. AFCB don't want to give up their principles of attacking play, but they have to stem the number of goals that they are conceding and all out attack is not enough in the Premier League anymore when you can get so easily picked off.
Making Bournemouth harder to beat will change the mentality of having to chase games so often which has been an all too frequent part of AFCB's season.
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| AFCB can't get out of the habit of playing catch up. |
As Eddie said it led to too many transitions and turnovers where Bournemouth gave the ball away in dangerous areas of the pitch. It may be that AFCB need to deprive themselves of some cutting-edge in midfield for a bit of safety as the goals have been going in at an alarming rate and if the Cherries are gifting goals they will keep losing games.
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Making Bournemouth harder to beat will change the mentality of having to chase games so often which has been an all too frequent part of AFCB's season.
Yes, keeping the ball is the key.
ReplyDeleteThere really is very little to separate the bottom half teams, and results often hinge on chance factors on the day. Perhaps Bournemouth have more attacking options than most, which has kept us clear of the relegation zone.
But to break meaningfully clear, we need to consistently dominate possession, even if it's just 55/45. Over the course of a season, these percentages move the win odds decisively. After all, the opposition can't score if they don't have the ball !