Bournemouth have played 11 games in the Championship and are now well acquainted with the relative standard of the Championship again. While an automatic return to the Premier League is everyone's hope, can Bournemouth consider the first 11 games as a good platform to press on or should they be concerned with how some of the games have gone?
the Championship's automatic promotion places.
I think it is easy for us as fans to think not much has changed at AFCB since Eddie Howe's departure. After, a lot if not all the routines and framework of the club have been build by Eddie Howe's time at the club. But Jason Tndall is not Eddie Howe and he has his own ideas on how he can get more from the players. Taking the club back to the next level though is not as simple as carrying on as if Eddie was still there, and his legacy is all around the club. I think that is not necessarily a bad thing. Eddie's time was successful and it should inspire people at the club to try and do even better.
Getting back to the Premier League at the moment is probably Bournemouth's best chance of doing it. It will only get harder in future seasons if it is not accomplished now. But the Cherries can only be competitive at the moment, which they have managed and to keep in the race for automatic promotion. The challenge ahead is to be more consistent and to play better and better football which other teams can't live with. There appears to still be enough quality in the squad to win most games at this level, but if the first 11 games have taught us anything it is that it is possible to get stuck in drawing games, and that while Bournemouth might not lose too many games they have to find ways to break teams down with more success.
I believe the team now know where they have been falling short and against Birmingham City the layers actually had fun out there. That is what they really need to feel. Once the players get those smiles back on their faces they can get control of the Championship. Coming back from two weeks away for some of the squad is going to be hard, but they have to focus on the job of winning games. In away I'm glad that it is Reading in the next game as that will be seen as a real test and should get the players up for an exciting game next weekend.
It's becoming apparent we have to move to a more possession based game, so midfield of Lerma, Cook and Gosling will be key. The last thing we want to see is retreating after taking early lead - as against Cardiff - this makes no tactical sense whatsoever, as the equalising team often then becomes favourite to win.
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