As we draw to the end of the season, it is as good a time as any to assess where AFCB are and how Eddie owe is doing as a Premier League manager. We have seen some improvement in the attacking ability of the team I believe, over the past year, but there is still a defensive softness to the team.
The last season has been strange in that at times the team was flying and then at another it was the worst performing team in the league. Fans may just judge progression league position or points total, but the general way of playing and formations that are being chosen now are an advance n what Bournemouth were doing in the last couple of years.
We can say that the comebacks have been harder to achieve than last season. There are plenty of negatives that we can also say about the goal keeping and number of clean sheets. But consider that the profile of the team is also changing - we have more younger legs in the team and they don't have the experience of the senior players.
The age profile of the team is really important in this debate. If Howe had stuck with more of the players that had got Bournemouth promoted would they have been a better side or had they peaked? Howe had to bring in new faces to try and take the play on and the only question I have about the team this season is, why didn't it perform better against the top six? It was poorer than in previous seasons. Only the win against Chelsea gave Howe any joy in this respect, but he felt in interviews that the team was closer this season in many of those games and more competitive.
The Man City home defeat was applauded by the home crowd not because AFCB didn't have a shot, but because they kept in the game and defended manfully. We may expect more next season in these kind of games, but there is the home game against Tottenham to come to see whether the result against Brighton is really a signal that AFCB are becoming more formidable, or are still a soft touch when it comes to the big teams.
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| Bournemouth's young crop of players have to target more than just Premier League survival. |
We can say that the comebacks have been harder to achieve than last season. There are plenty of negatives that we can also say about the goal keeping and number of clean sheets. But consider that the profile of the team is also changing - we have more younger legs in the team and they don't have the experience of the senior players.
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The age profile of the team is really important in this debate. If Howe had stuck with more of the players that had got Bournemouth promoted would they have been a better side or had they peaked? Howe had to bring in new faces to try and take the play on and the only question I have about the team this season is, why didn't it perform better against the top six? It was poorer than in previous seasons. Only the win against Chelsea gave Howe any joy in this respect, but he felt in interviews that the team was closer this season in many of those games and more competitive.
The Man City home defeat was applauded by the home crowd not because AFCB didn't have a shot, but because they kept in the game and defended manfully. We may expect more next season in these kind of games, but there is the home game against Tottenham to come to see whether the result against Brighton is really a signal that AFCB are becoming more formidable, or are still a soft touch when it comes to the big teams.
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