Simon Francis has some serious thinking to do. He will be devastated about his last match. It should have been a great return for the captain and yet he was out of touch and unable to cope with the pace of Wolves attack. Jota had his number and Simon will be frustrated that he didn't do better.
While defenders are always going to make the odd mistake, it was a risk to bring back Simon Francis into the set-up that had been doing well as a back four. The balance just didn't work with Simon trying to fit in and seal up the right side. While Eddie believes he picked the right man for the job, Francis has been out for a long time and perhaps hasn't been tested enough before making this return against such a quick attack.
The second yellow card was a momentary lapse. Francis must have forgotten that he was already on a yellow card. He had let his man get the wrong side of him and as soon as he reached out to pull him back, he knew he had made a big mistake. It was silly and self-inflicted, but simply an instinctive reaction. I didn't see the pull back in real time, but when I saw it back on TV you can see why he had to go.
Now Francis has a match ban. Bournemouth will go back to a back four. But does Eddie Howe trust Francis not to make similar mistakes in his next game? Francis has battled back from a possible career ending injury, so I hope he does get the opportunity to put things right. I'd like to see him be absolutely right to play in his head and physically before he says he is ready to go again. He has given wonderful service to AFCB over many years and one bad game should not leave a lasting memory of his worth. He is coming to the end of his career, but it has been a fantastic career at AFCB and I for one won't forget what he has done for the club.
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| Will Simon quickly get over the Wolves game? |
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Francis will know that he didn't have to make the tackle he did in the first half on Jota, as Steve Cook and Nathan Aké were with their men and marking in the box, if the cross had come in. Francis was simply trying to make up too much ground and was never going to get there. Perhaps he felt a foul outside the box was okay and worth the risk, but Bournemouth were certainly punished from the free kick. It was the second yellow card though that was the big mistake.
The second yellow card was a momentary lapse. Francis must have forgotten that he was already on a yellow card. He had let his man get the wrong side of him and as soon as he reached out to pull him back, he knew he had made a big mistake. It was silly and self-inflicted, but simply an instinctive reaction. I didn't see the pull back in real time, but when I saw it back on TV you can see why he had to go.
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