Wednesday 26 February 2020

Will Eddie drop his captain?

Burnley targeted a weakness in AFCB's line up I believe last Saturday. They tried to get Vydra up against Simon Francis whenever they could in a one-one one and Bournemouth looked stretched whenever Francis had to try and go out wide to keep Matej Vydra in sight. Franics had had some reasonable games at home in the last few games, but even Eddie Howe must see that he can't keep playing Francis and expect him to keep pace with top strikers in the Premier League.
Francis gets caught out at Burnley but will Eddie Howe stay loyal to him?
The next match will be against Chelsea and their striker, Olivier Giroud having just scored last weekend, will be relishing the chance to play against Bournemouth's captain. He'll have seen how much trouble Vydra gave him. So will Eddie Howe be brave enough to drop his captain?
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I think he has to as long as Nathan Aké is back and fit enough to play. Bournemouth's best central pairing is Steve Cook and Aké and must play his best team against a top four side if it is available. Simon Francis doesn't now command that automatic selection in my book and Bournemouth need to work out a way their defence can get a clean sheet.

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I don't think Eddie Howe got it right with dropping Diego Rico either unless Rico was struggling with something. It looked like just a way to shoe-horn Jack Stacey into the team and keep Adam Smith in the first 11. But it would have been simpler to choose between Smith and Stacey for the right back spot and let Rico resume at left back. Moving Adam Smith to left back didn't exactly go well, and I wonder if a left-footed Rico would have positioned himself slightly differently for that high ball that caught Adam Smith out for the  handball.



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Selection is really important now. It's time to drop the egos and personal favourites. Bournemouth need points and it needs to be round players in round holes. The best player for the best job. Some players just haven't been producing and it's more than time to let some of those players know who isn't up to the job at the moment.
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous26 February 2020 at 14:34

    Francis and Adam Smith need to be dropped: Howe too reliant on old favourites rather than the best team.

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  2. Gbwoody27 February 2020 at 05:53

    Franno is still good in the air and an asset from set pieces. Unfortunately he is 35 and is just too slow for premiership level for the ball over the top or a forward running at him.

    Regardless of where we finish this season (and I believe it will come down to wire). The club needs to consider which players are past their best and no longer part of the clubs onward plans.

    Hard choices but it doesn’t mean the supporters aren’t grateful for all they have contributed. Necessary though

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