Eddie Howe made five changes against Brighton. It is perhaps too many as the team was disjointed and unable to compete in midfield with a dominant Aaron Mooy who had the central area to himself for most of the game to direct Brighton to their victory.
While Eddie didn't tinker with the back four too much with only Jack Simpson coming out of the starting eleven, the defence was not solid enough to deal with the dynamism of Trossard, Maupay and Jahanbakhsh, who blazed past Bournemouth's defenders. But the defence had little protection without Jefferson Lerma on the pitch. Gosling, who has done so much running in the last few weeks looked a spent force and Billing continues to jog around the middle, like a spectator more than a committed midfielder who wants to impose his game on the opposition.
It is just as difficult to see where the goals are going to come from. Callum Wilson is so out of form it is hard to know how he is going to find a goal. Josh King keeps trying to get around players and get into great positions, but he can't buy a finish. Then there is Ryan Fraser who is running faster and trying to remember how he played so well last season, but in front of goal he's lost his confidence.
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| Did Eddie make bad choices for Brighton game or did he have no choice? |
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The sum of all parts are simply not up to it. For the first time, I am even doubting if Eddie Howe is capable of turning things around. It's injury after injury and without a settled team there is little hope of Bournemouth beating the drop. Eddie's choices now are absolutely critical. He has to pick the fit players and the players that are full of energy. It's time to drop a lacklustre Philip Billing and give Lewis Cook game time, leave Lerma in the middle with him and put Harry Wilson behind King up the middle.
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If Eddie can make the spine of the team strong again, he might get away with a close shave with relegation, but if the team remains weak right down the middle then AFCB are soon gong to be in that bottom three. We can't have four or five changes every game now. It's time to choose the players who are going to get AFCB through this rough patch.
Mooy has taken Brighton to a higher level due to his superior control. The most similar Bournemouth player is Lewis Cook, who will probably be crucial in the coming weeks.
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