Friday 13 July 2018

What kind of shape are the Cherries in?

While the Cherries are away in La Manga getting fit and building their friendships on and off the pitch the work for new players goes on. The news from the club has been pretty slow about what is going right and where they are having problems, but news of the departure of Operations Manager John Yems, after five and a half years with the club, is not something that AFCB were able to keep quiet, thanks to the Daily Mirror.
It's down to business for the players.
Eddie Howe's focus is going to be solely on the players at the moment and getting them in better shape for the start of the season than in 2017/18. Andrew Surman probably has every right to think that this summer is going to be tougher for all concerned and reading between the lines, I think its likely that a few old friendships have been tested in recent months.

Getting a positive vibe going though is crucial now. We have seen it with the England national tam and the Cherries could take note of how the preparation and relaxed nature around that squad brought results. When there is unease and tension about things it doesn't create the conditions for winning games and I'm keen to see how the players find their way through the friendlies.
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We know there is a need to bring in new players and not to over spend. But while we might be sweating over what signings AFCB may or may not make it is clear that a lot of Premier League clubs are in a similar position looking at the ins and outs of SkySports' Premier League transfer list.

AFCB need to get on and prepare as best they can with what they have at the moment and I want to see Eddie Howe working the players hard as the players at the club, I believe can improve further if they are incentivised to want to be the best. I see the newly promoted teams as having that excitement and desire to do well and AFCB need to find that kind of excitement again that got them into the Premier League. With a month to go to kick off, AFCB are keen to sell tickets but I'm more concerned about how the club is going to go forward with the new ground, pulling in better signings and whether the players on the pitch are showing early pre-season form.

I've no doubt that how well AFCB get things in order in the next four or five weeks will have a huge impact on how well the 2018/19 season goes. We'll get a first view of the players at least in tomorrow's match against Sevilla.

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