Watching Chris Mepham play for Wales against England was a hard watch. He was on the big stage and hasn't had that many games for Bournemouth since returning from injury. He was up against some great forwards in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Ings and found it hard going, but he has played against some of the best Premier League strikers many times before and has to start finding his best game now.
What I like about Mepham is that he is such a natural defender. He is calm and brings the ball out of defence with such a smooth and classy rhythm that he looks effortless. In some instances, it looks like he isn't fully switched on enough, but I imagine it is just the way he is. Where his game has to improve is watching players making moves on the turn and running off of him. He lost Calvert-Lewin on Saturday night and was immediately punished for the first goal.
It will be interesting to see how he does in the Championship this season if he can get a good run of games. If Steve Cook is sold, then Mepham will have every opportunity to be the senior centre-back. Mepham has played at this level well before and he should feel confident that he can be the voice at the back, but I haven't really seen it in him yet. He has been at Bournemouth long enough to be a main figure on the field and I hope he finds that by playing games he does get better at stopping forwards are looking to manipulate him.
It is really a fresh start for Bournemouth and for Chris Mepham and he has to quickly stake his claim in Jason Tindall's side. Playing three at the back should give him more confidence that he can rely on others helping him to not miss anything. I think a back three really suits the way he plays. But we really need Mepham to bring his A-game now, and I still think he has quite a way to go even though he has it in him to be a big player for AFCB.
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