Thursday 15 October 2020

An extract from the Disrupted Season: Games like Burnley put AFCB bang in trouble

While looking back at games in 2019-20 it is not clear when exactly Bournemouth fans thought that it was going to be a difficult season, but games like those at home against Burnley really left even the most optimistic of fans cursing Bournemouth's bad luck. Having come off an away win against Chelsea, the feeling was that Eddie Howe was now getting an extra amount of effort out of his players. However, the upcoming defeat against Burnley made it abundantly clear that Bournemouth would be fighting relegation in 2020

The home defeat against Burnley was a particularly miserable 
day that put most Bournemouth fans in no doubt that the club was struggling.

While analysing the Burnley stats pre-match, it was clear that they had scored more goals than Bournemouth with 22 to the Cherries’ 19 goals from 17 games. Burnley also sat two places higher in 12th, so we couldn’t expect anything but a tough, physical game. Just what you need when you have a team that is already patched up and stretched for available players.

      The rain greeted fans to Dean Court on match day. There was plenty of Christmas cheer about on 21 December with AFCB Santa hats being given out and a festive MatchDay programme. Spirits didn’t remain high for long though. It was a turgid first half with no shots on target, and it was incident-packed with free kicks. Simon Francis picked up a head injury from Ashley Barnes’ boot and Ryan Fraser was left face down, looking at the turf on more than one occasion.

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The Disrupted Season (2019-20) completes the story of Eddie Howe's reign at AFC Bournemouth 
- it's available now for £11.49 as a paperback - visit Amazon to order


      Bournemouth fans were annoyed at the referee, Martin Atkinson, who didn’t want to use his yellow cards at first. But more animosity was saved for Ashley Barnes when he went down in the penalty box, before a corner. Philip Billing had swung around but hadn’t touched him. The home crowd yelled, ‘You are embarrassing!’ to Barnes for the rest of the game until he was subbed. The game was so bad, there were also chants to the Burnley fans of ‘How can you watch this every week?’ 

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      Burnley had come to make it as physically demanding as they could on Howe’s injury ravished team. But Bournemouth couldn’t create any chances. They defended well at the back for 88 minutes and then, a minute later, a cross found its way to substitute Jay Rodriguez who headed a winner. Burnley had done it again, spoilt Christmas and taken all three points!
      It was left to a disappointed Howe to speak to the cameras and utter his dismay at how a team that he prides on its attacking desire couldn’t manage a single shot on target. He admitted that the players had switched off in the last few minutes when Burnley had scored but felt the defence had otherwise dealt with the Burnley attacks well.

      If the team had lacked creativity, Dominic Solanke and Callum Wilson hadn’t made much difference second half. I was more surprised that Howe hadn’t used Junior Stanislas who was also sitting on the bench. I wrote on Cherry Chimes, ‘He was just what Bournemouth needed - fresh legs, creativity and a real goal threat. But Howe chose not to play him. Whether he wanted to protect him or didn't feel it was the right match for him, I'm not sure. But when the team lacks creativity, why leave one of the most creative players in the squad on the bench?



       ‘I'd like to think that Junior was ready to play. He shouldn't be on the bench unless he is fit and ready. We know how good he is and what he can do, which made it all the stranger that Eddie didn't turn to him. Burnley was an old club of Junior's, and he would have busted a gut to do well against them.’
      I was also of the feeling that Bournemouth had not played their own game against Burnley. They had got tangled up in the physical battle and hadn’t stuck to their game by getting the ball down and getting their quick passing going.


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Bournemouth could rue their luck and look to move on, but the home defeat against Burnley was crushing because the goal they conceded was so late. It knocked the stuffing out of the players and the crowd, and Christmas was turning into a bleak period for points when in previous seasons it had been the period of unexpected wins. Little did we know that games like the Burnley match when one point could have been earned would be the difference between staying up and being relegated the next July.

Free to enter Competiton - Book giveaway
To read more insight into last season you can try and win a copy of the Disrupted Season (2019-20). If you are on Twitter simply Retweet one of my tweets on the Disrupted Season competition and follow @CherryChimes by 5 November. I'll pick a winner out of those who have done this.

Order The Disrupted Season (2019-20)

You can also order a copy of the Disrupted Season (2019-20) as an ebook download for £9.99 or a paperback copy for £11.49

Some copies of the paperback are also now available from In off the Far Post, 901 Christchurch Rd, Pokesdown, Bournemouth BH7 6AX. Copies of Eddie Had A Dream are also available here as well as online.

In other news, Bournemouth are now favourites to win promotion from the Championship in 2020-21 - Watford fans love that, see the Hertfordshire Mercury

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - How ready will AFCB for QPR?

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