Dan Gosling had an unusual game against Liverpool. While he was chasing down Wijnaldum and Salah for much of the first half, it was quite a different quest for him in the second half when Solanke came on. Gosling was moved out to the right wing and it was evidence that Bournemouth were having trouble putting out round pegs in round holes.
BBC Radio Solent did comment that Marc Pugh would have been good to have had on the bench but for his loan deal with Hull City. While Brooks and Stanislas are out, the winger situation at AFCB does look a little thin on the ground. Howe could have put King on the wing, but he wanted two up front to try something different.
To see Ibe come off having been playing well to bring Solanke was tough on Ibe. But it was also tough on Gosling who would not have been in his comfort zone laying out wide. AFCB have perhaps lost a few players that could be versatile enough to play in several positions. Adam Smith was one option that Howe could have used, but he was having a strong game at the back and Howe probably thought nobody would do a better job than Smith where he was.
It was perhaps a shame that Sam Surridge or Kyle Taylor didn't get a run out at Anfield. Instead Chris Mepham got a few minutes to sample what it was like going up against one of the best teams in Europe. Mepham did okay and playing basically five across the back he would have felt fairly well protected in this outing, so let's hope it is a help for him in future games where he may get called upon.
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| Even Gosling is having to be versatile in this current environment. |
To see Ibe come off having been playing well to bring Solanke was tough on Ibe. But it was also tough on Gosling who would not have been in his comfort zone laying out wide. AFCB have perhaps lost a few players that could be versatile enough to play in several positions. Adam Smith was one option that Howe could have used, but he was having a strong game at the back and Howe probably thought nobody would do a better job than Smith where he was.
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It was perhaps a shame that Sam Surridge or Kyle Taylor didn't get a run out at Anfield. Instead Chris Mepham got a few minutes to sample what it was like going up against one of the best teams in Europe. Mepham did okay and playing basically five across the back he would have felt fairly well protected in this outing, so let's hope it is a help for him in future games where he may get called upon.
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