Tuesday, 19 March 2019

We want Ibe to keep tackling back

It was disappointing that Jordan Ibe was booked after tracking back to stop the run of Almirón in the match against Newcastle last weekend. I know that many of the fans around by me don't even think he fouled the Newcastle player.
Ibe seems damned if he does and damned if he doesn't do something these days.
While I have been a critic of Ibe at times, he is doing the kind of jobs that Eddie Howe wants him to do. He is trying to help the defence out when the opposition come down the right side, and while he didn't quite get his tackle right against Almirón, I'm sure Howe would rather he make a challenge then just leave his defender exposed.

The fact that Solomón Rondón hit a great free kick and scored should not put Ibe off from making such challenges in future. We don't want AFCB to concede free kicks around the box, but we need players to put pressure on the opposition and prevent them having strikes when cover is thin. The Premier League does have many free kick experts who can test keepers from outside the box, but at least a team gets the chance to organise themselves if they do concede a free kick.

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Whether Mike Dean was correct or not, he gave the free kick and it was a harsh reaction for AFCB to be 0-1 down at half-time. Ibe was perhaps not in Howe's good books as he was the first and only substitution and Howe felt that both Newcastle goals could have been prevented. Still I want Ibe to develop into an all round player who can defend as well as attack and this latest episode will hopefully not hold him back.

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