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| Philip Billing has been a central part of AFCB's season. |
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This is a fan’s personal view of AFC Bournemouth from the outside looking in. It reports on the daily official activities reported by the club and comments made by individual fans on social media and fanbase websites. Life as an AFCB fan is never dull. As a life-long supporter of the Cherries, it is the friendliness of the staff, fans and my enthusiasm for the club that inspired me to write this blog.
Saturday, 11 April 2020
How should we rate Billing's first season at AFCB?
Philip Billing joined at the start of the current season and was a brave choice for Eddie Howe to make considering that Huddersfield Town were relegated last season. Billing was no doubt a major signing for Bournemouth, and the club pursued him quite aggressively last summer as a main target. While Huddersfield seemed reluctant to let him go, Bournemouth got their man, but did they get good value?
The importance of Billing was shown straight away when he started in the first game against Sheffield Utd which was a 1-1 draw. Since then Billing has totalled 27 games this season which is already the same amount of games he played last season. It shows me that Billing has been a central pillar of the Cherries, even if his performances have perhaps not been quite as consistent as he or the team would have liked. He is a strong box to box player, but he has found it hard to get on the end of moves.
What I find equally questionable about Billing is his ability to dominate games. Against Luton in the FA Cup he managed that but Bournemouth don't play Championship clubs very often at the moment. The only other match where I thought Billing also really fund his focus against Southampton, early in the season, when he was crucial in breaking the Saints' lines and helping Bournemouth to perhaps their best away win of the season so far. Getting Billing to play that well more frequently has been the difficulty.
I must admit, Billing's former team-mate at Huddersfield, Aaron Mooy has looked a better player at Brighton & Hove Albion has looked a stronger player this season, but Billing is only 23 and has time to improve. Whether Bournemouth can expect Billing to make a bigger step up in his next season is perhaps when we will see if he was really a good buy. For the moment, I think he has done okay without consistently hitting the top highs that we know he has in his locker.
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