At least Lerma and Danjuma were great

At least Eddie Howe could smile a little at the performances of Arnaud Danjum and Jefferson Lerma on Saturday. The two payers had a pretty thankless task of trying to lift the side after a disastrous first half. Lerma is proving that he just can't be left out of the side and Danjuma's desire to want to play well was shown to be more effective than a switched off Harry Wilson.

Lerma is on the prowl.

What I liked about Danjuma is that he tried to take the game to Wolves. He may not have had the best control and the best passing game to unpick Wolves' defence, but he went at them head on and made the defenders have to try and stop him. We just didn't see that front footed determination from Harry Wilson in the first half and Bournemouth are a team that need battlers. It's what gets the crowd gong, and if Danjuma can play with that grit in his teeth to have a real go, then he'll become a favourite at Dean Court, because we love a trier.

Advertisement

Eddie Had a Dream is on sale now!

It's not the same with Lerma. He just has a quality that is beyond the rest of the current team in my view. He drifts across the pitch with an effortless ease and can sense danger straight away, which is what Bournemouth lacked first half. The first half was all about reaction to Wolves' play. There was no bite in Bournemouth's tackling and they didn't do enough to anticipate what Wolves might do next. Lerma is a player that sniffs out possible interceptions. The only time when I thought AFCB might jump on a chance in the first half was when Ryan Fraser tried to get in off a back pass.

Advertisement

Coastal Garden Buildings

Jefferson may have been only at 80 per cent because of his travelling, but Lerma's 80 per cent is much higher than most players' 100 per cent. It underlined to me that Bournemouth are still a player short in the middle when Lerma is not available. They need one more world-class central midfielder to really push up this league. I suppose Dan Gosling and Lewis Cook can be sensational on their day, but it's going to take time for both of these players to get back to their best and I still don't see Philip Billing taking a game by the scruff of its neck yet. Lerma can do that and Bournemouth look a pale imitation of what they can be when Lerma is not on the starting line up. 

Advertisement