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.
This morning I awoke to the news that Tokelo Rantie had completed his transfer to Turkish side Genclerbirligi yesterday. While Tokelo has had his problems at Dean Court it is probably a relief on all sides that his move has finally gone though - although on Tokelo's side I expect there will be a lot of disappointment that he never really fulfilled the potential that the club believed he had. A fresh start for him may ring him the success he craves and I hope he does well for himself. His transfer fee was not disclosed but it is likely that the club recouped a reasonable amount of the £3m he was originally signed for as English clubs had been interested in him who did not get a look in at the end. Tokelo's departure is likely to be followed up by another out-going transfer as Leeds Utd and Wigan have been reported to be after Eunan O'Kane. The Irishman has not featured greatly in the first team of late and his appearance as a right back against Portsmouth could be his last start for the Cherries even though he was on the bench for the match against Valencia.
Tokelo Rantie gets his move.
Making room for players to move is necessary for the players that are no longer in the manager's plans. The squad has grown significantly and it cannot have been great for Tokelo to know that his football career was stalling at AFCB, while also having to recover from injury in South Africa.
I read with great sadness the article on Tokelo Rantie's continued absence from pre-season training posted on Sowetan Community News. I can understand that Tokelo is disappointed with his lack of first team opportunities at AFCB and his injury in the FA Cup Third Round at Birmingham was a major disappointment for him and fans alike. Back in South Africa now, his continued refusal to meet up with Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall in the USA for pre-season training, according to the article. This would only be likely to harm his chances of finding a swift exit from the Cherries' hold on him.
Tokelo Rantie is still under contract as an AFCB player until August 2017.
Apparently Tokelo has not found it at all easy to settle in England and wants to remain in South Africa, according to the local newspaper article, even though the clubs there could not afford his transfer fee. There was interest from European clubs last January and if he could get himself fit this summer he could easily engineer himself a move. For AFCB though that might only be a loan spell at another English club and perhaps that is not what Tokelo is striving for. Either way, he needs to talk to AFCB and sort out his future. It is a waste of talent for him not to be plying his trade with a team that can benefit from his services. Bafana Bafana also start playing their World Cup Qualifiers in October and he needs to be happy in what he is doing by then to give of his best for his national team. If AFCB can sort out a move for Lee Tomlin then you would think they could put Tokelo Rantie's best interests at hear and find him a club that he wants to play for if he can't fit in at Dean Court. Leeds Utd are said to be interested in signing Tokelo.
Update Rantie's Twitter feed has had a lot of support denouncing Soweto Community News as writing lies. I asked Tokelo Rantie to respond but received no answer. It is good to see there is a lot of good will for Rantie from AFCB fans and it is quite possible that like Max Gradel's rehabilitation in the Ivory Coast, Eddie Howe and AFCB have given permission for Tokelo to recover in South Africa.
Former AFCB player news Congratulations to Jayden Stockley who scored his first goal for Aberdeen yesterday in a 3-0 win over FK Ventspils.
I was one of the lucky ones to see Tokelo make his last appearance in an AFCB shirt at Birmingham City in the FA Cup third round back in January. On that day AFCB won the game but Tokelo was sidelined after just 39 minutes. Is that now the end of Tokelo's AFCB dream?
Tokelo Rantie has had another injury-ridden season.
I fear it is likely to be a parting over the summer, even though Tokelo still has a year on his contract to go. Injuries and bad fortune have not helped his spell at the Cherries. Yet, I believe there will not be a player that leaves the club that is not more sorely missed than Tokelo when it happens. There was a question on social media wondering why this would be the case? After all, Tokelo has not made a big impression in terms of minutes on the pitch with six appearances in 2015-16. But there is an undeniable fondness for the South African striker who was of course the club's record signing when he came to the club in August 2013 for roughly £2.5m. At that time he was about to embark on their first Championship season in some 23 years. Rantie was the big signing from Malmo and signalled the start of a new era for the club. There is also Tokelo's joy at being at AFCB and his appreciation for Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall. It is always warming to hear the Bafana Bafana strikers words that really hit home and remind fans that not every player takes their position and stardom for granted. Tokelo found an escape from his situation through football and he has always been thankful for the opportunities he has had and this is why I believe AFCB fans have been so keen to sing Tokelo's song and encourage him to score. He maybe an underdog and virtually swept aside by the pace of the Cherries' rise and yet I'm hopeful he can get a move that helps his career. At 25 there is still plenty of years ahead of Tokelo and last January there was a strong link with AFCB's number nine about to make a loan move to Sint-Truidense in Belgium. The injury in the FA Cup against Birmingham stopped any hope of a second half of the season loan and while Cardiff City were said to be interested in Tokelo last summer, AFCB may well allow the striker to leave this summer for a small fee if there is some interest. Euro2016 - High kicking Portugal keep England sedated until the last five minutes.
There have been reports this week that Juan Iturbe has been sidelined by AFCB perhaps too often and could make a return to parent club AS Roma in the summer. From what Eddie Howe and the club have been saying though it is far too premature to judge Juan Iturbe's future just yet. In midweek Juan played a very important part in an 8-3 win against a Leyton Orient side in an U21 game managed by Stephen Purches. Eddie Howe was more than pleased by Juan's efforts which included a hat-trick, the second time he has been in the goals in such a match, following on from his impressive showing against a Colchester U21 side last month. So why should articles be suddenly appearing questioning whether Juan is a right fit for AFCB?
Juan is still getting used to AFCB. He needs time to shine.
Eddie Howe has stated that it will take time for any player let alone a foreign player to come into this side that has been together for several years. He also pointed towards Juan's fitness levels not quite being high enough for him to challenge for place yet, but he has shown in the Development games and in the match against Portsmouth that he can be a threat in front of goal and can be very good on the ball, even if the team is not always giving Juan the ball in the areas of the pitch where he can hurt other teams, AFCB have paid in the region of £1.1m for the services of Juan on loan until the summer and it is unfair to expect the young winger to be an instant success. We have seen Tokelo Rantie not manage to get in the squad for the second half of the season and even players that have lots of Premier League experience like Glenn Murray are not first picks every week. Iturbe is having to deal with a lot more than just playing well enough to get into the side and any time in the UK training with Eddie, Jason and Chris is going to benefit him and give him new ideas on his play. It maybe that it is more important to see how well he adapts to the English style of play and how suited he is to it and how receptive he is to what he is being taught than just how many games he plays for the first team at this stage. Nobody is yet shelling out £16m for him, so let's see how he goes. In a few more weeks we could see a much fitter and stringer Juan Iturbe and at that stage he could be a big asset to the team as the fixture come thick and fast.
Lee Tomlin has probably not had as good a start to his AFCB career as he would have liked. He simply has not played many games and has been suffering with little niggles early season. It is an important time for Lee with Benik Afobe joining the club and other players coming back to fitness. He needs to get regular games and the pressure for Lee to get more involved is something he should relish now.
Lee Tomlin got hi AFCB scoring record going with a powerful
spot kick against Birmingham City in the F Cup.
During the game against Birmingham I thought Lee made a few trademark dribbling runs and started to look a bit more like the player who had such a strong influence on the Middlesbrough side last season. He has tough competition for a place now and Eddie Howe has been building a team that is fit for the second half of the season when goals are going to be needed if the club is to avoid the bottom three. Lee is a player that unlocks doors for other but he also needs to get on the score sheet and having not started since the Stoke away game in September he will have been delighted to have slotted away his penalty against Birmingham. Yann Kermorgant who also played against Birmingham would perhaps have been the more expected penalty taker but Lee showed how much he wanted to get off the mark by getting the ball and blasting his kick down the middle. His reaction was very much as if he was putting some demons away as he punched the air in celebration. It felt to me like Lee was saying he is here now and ready to play and contribute. I think Eddie Howe has a difficult job to keep players like Yann Kermorgant, Lee Tomlin and Tokelo Rantie getting minutes in games, but there should be some opportunities for them to impress from the bench and who knows whether that could lead to some starts. However, it seems that far from being satisfied with just adding Benik Afobe in the front line, Eddie Howe is now going back after Lewis Grabban, according to SkySports.
While it would be great if AFCB could play its first team in the match at St Andrews, the sad truth is that at this stage of the competition most managers will not put out their strongest sides. The FA Cup is a tournament that the club would love to do well in and the rewards of making it to the final rounds are clearly fabulous both for the players and the fans, but the competition is going to see Premier League managers protect their best players with the demands of the top league taking priority.
There is a chance for some game time for many players that have been on the sidelines.
For AFCB that could still mean that one or two of his fist 11 are played to keep some continuity but I don't expect the starting 11 who turned out against Leicester to be highly represented at Birmingham. Adam Federici is a certain starter you'd think unless he is injured in midweek training and in front of him it is possible that Tommy Elphick could come back in to captain the side, especially with Simon Francis carrying out his one match suspension. My preference would be to see Baily Cargill get some minutes as well, but Sylvain Distin is perhaps more likely to partner Elphick at the back. In midfield we could also see several changes with Lee Tomlin and perhaps Shaun MacDonald given rare starts. Eddie is likely to want to play a few of those who have been on the edge of the team, but if there is interest coming in for the likes of Yann Kermorgant that could also affect team selection. Yann also played well in midweek. Tokelo Rantie would of course return to the scene of one of his best performances for the Cherries and that could encourage the manager to play him. Whether Juan Iturbe gets his work permit in time for this game is not known but I would not expect him to start, even if he does get clearance. Eddie would want to bring him in gradually and a heated cup tie might not be the best debut for him unless he could come on in the second half when some of the heat has already been taken out of the game. It would be good to see some of the Development players that almost got to feature in the League Cup as well. Perhaps Jordan Lee or Matt Butcher could be included among the subs along with Jordan Green who travelled with the team to Chelsea a few weeks ago.
Competition If you fancy predicting the score send your predictions in via twitter to @PeterBell19 and we'll have another go to give away the AFCB 2016 diary to someone who gets the score right. Send them in before 6pm on Friday for a chance to win. You must also follow me on Twitter. Best of luck!
Boxing Day is going to be very entertaining at Dean Court. I can't see Crystal Palace and AFCB sitting back at all in this match and it just could be an end-to-end thriller. AFCB come into the game on the back of three wins and Palace themselves are unbeaten in four.
Get yourself down to Dean Court for more Christmas action from the Cherries.
Eddie Howe has to be very careful in getting the balance just right for this game. Crystal Palace will be confident that they can take all three points and stopping them will need full concentration for the 90 minutes. The pressure on the Cherries may have dipped a little with recent wins, but they are still only four points off the relegation zone and every point is so valuable at this stage. Going into the Arsenal game, Eddie will not want a hiding from Crystal Palace and as the final home game of 2015 he'll want to close the year with a positive performance. While we could see a change in attack from the Cherries, I am also interested to see what the bench line up will be for this game. Tokelo Rantie came on at the Hawthorns and he may just be getting closer to getting even more time on the pitch now. We've also seen Christian Atsu back in training which could see him land a place on the bench if Stanislas and King are struggling. One position that I don't think will be under threat at the moment is Artur Boruc's in goal. He pulled out another fabulous save against WBA early on and is really working hard to get that third clean sheet. If the Cherries can keep Crystal Palace from scoring then that will be a great way to end the home games in 2015. Transfer update According to the Daily Mirror, AFCB could be looking to land Atlanta keeper Marco Sportiello in January for around £6m - the fitness problems of Boruc and Federici are forcing Eddie Howe to look for another keeper option. Possible AFCB team for Palace game
(4-1-4-1) Boruc (GK), Smith (RB), Francis (CD), Cook (CD), Daniels (LB),
The Cherries have not scored since their 5-1 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspurs. Going forward they have tried to create and have made many chances for the strikers and midfield players and yet they have not been finding the net. It is therefore of great interest what Eddie Howe is going to do for the match against Swansea. Does he stick with King leading the line? Or does he bring Murray back into the team?
Josh must make the most of his opportunities.
Josh King was said to have his best game in a Bournemouth shirt in his last game against Newcastle, but is it enough that he plays up front on his own and yet fails to score? While it would do him the world of good to get a goal, I don't believe it is the only thing that the team needs from him. It is more important that he stretches play and get the team's midfield players chasing into the box to pick up possible shooting opportunities when he is out wide. I don't want to see him hide though when Simon Francis or Charlie Daniels go on a run and seek to get a low cross into the near post. It is up to King to time his run and get in front of the defender and we have not been seeing enough of that. With Glenn Murray the Cherries do have a target man that they can hit from long, but I don't think Howe is really happy in playing that way. Murray can turn and run at goal though and we saw him do it against Man City. The belief with Murray is also there. He thinks he can score and the players know he can score, so it is tempting to have Murray involved and if he was carrying a knock last week it is surely prudent to have him on the bench to give the team another way of playing after 60 minutes if the Cherries need to change things up. The likelihood of Stanislas, Gosling or Ritchie coming up with a goal is only going to be strong if they can be calm and not over work opportunities. If they keep hitting the target one will go in and it is a matter of not getting frustrated. I hope Eddie also looks closely at who is on the bench. The subs need to be able to add something meaningful in the second half. Rantie is clearly in form and is now a possibility and Pugh has the coolness in front of goal to be considered. Lee Tomlin and Yann Kermorgant have not shown enough yet and if they are not razor sharp then they have to be left out of the squad. That is probably annoying to Charlton Athletic who have certainly been interested in grabbing Yann back. My best guess at the AFCB team Federici, Francis, Cook, Distin, Daniels, Ritchie, Arter, Gosling, Surman, Stanislas, King Cherries Subs Boruc, Smith, Bennett, MacDonald, Pugh, Rantie, Murray Possible Swansea team according to the Guardian Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Cork, Shelvey, Ayew, Sigurdsson, Montero, Eder Swans subs from Nordfeldt, Tremmel, Ki, Bartley, Rangel, Barrow, Gomis, Emnes, Barrow, Tabanou, Routledge, Britton, Amat, Grimes Safe journey to those making the trip today. UTCIAD!
If the January window is to be salvation for the Cherries then they'll have to be successful in that market with at least two strikers coming into the squad. We have seen Eddie look to find goals with Glenn Murray and with Josh King, Junior Stanislas, Lee Tomlin, Tokelo Rantie and Yann Kermorgant, but January offers an opportunity to restructure and it will surely be the most important part of AFCB's season in terms of deciding their fate. The difficulty is in finding the right type of strikers and ones that come at the right price. Whether that means buying abroad or from a Premier League team, I think a pedigree striker or even two is really the additions that will be required to start getting the Cherries more results. It is not that the team's play does not control games or create chances. There are weaknesses in areas at the back, but if they have a goalscorer that can snap up chances they would be much higher up the table.
AFCB's forwards don't have long to impress.
Without more firepower it is hard to see how AFCB are going to buck the trend in the results that we are currently seeing. There is a financial structure to the Premier League and keeping ahead of that was always going to be very difficult but the team deserves an addition or two who can put away chances. The level of passing throughout the team is better than many in the league and yet some of the other teams have that striker that is able to put away the odd chance that keep them out of the bottom three. With the news that Peak6 has joined the investors at the club it is now possible that Eddie Howe will have more spending power in January, but who does he go for? Charlie Austin is keen to stay at QPR, Dwight Gayle has Norwich City watching him, Lewis Grabban is finding it hard to get games at Norwich, Jordan Rhodes is wanted by Middlesbrough. Eddie has to find a striker that can take to the Premier League straight away and someone who is prolific - he may not go British this time. Whoever Eddie gets in will be a gamble, but it is hard to see how the team won't be hoping for a very productive January window to boost it's chances of beating the drop.
The Cherries toiled away against Newcastle last week creating plenty of chances to score. While they did not take them in the first 70 minutes, it was expected that the substitutions with 20 minutes to go would make a difference. Eddie Howe seemed bemused why the changes though had not sharpened the scoring edge of the team. Fresh legs alone should have had some kind of effect, but Newcastle looked more comfortable in the last 20 minutes than at any other part of the game.
AFCB subs are struggling to make an impact. Without as much pace in
the team, and on the bench, it has been difficult to transform the team.
That is not great news for the players that came on. However, Lee Tomlin, Yann Kermorgant and Tokelo Rantie may not individually been at fault. If the team stops functioning as a whole in pressing forward and making opportunities, then it is hard for those coming on to lift everyone else. Firstly, the new players need to be able to get on the ball. They also have to be comfortable in fitting into the system that is being played and with Yann Kermorgant initially playing on his own up front, the team did not manage to find him enough. When Rantie entered the game and went up front on his own, he found himself drifting out to the wings a bit and had a difficult take trying to hold the ball up. It should be remembered that McClaren also made changes in the second half. Cisse came on for Mitrovic as early as the 63rd minute and Thauvin replaced Perez on 77 minutes. This seemed to make Newcastle more sturdy and Cisse had quite a few runs at the Cherries eve if he did run offside more often than not. I did wonder if anything why Howe did not make his subs earlier. The team was creating chances at the start of the second half, but on 60 minutes the game was crying out for a change and it is the usual time when a change is made by AFCB. Giving Rantie just 11 minutes though is not giving him much opportunity to make an impact, and if he had been given longer and a few chances to run at the Newcastle back line, he might have had the chance to get that vital goal. Still I am sure Eddie Howe will look at matters in that second half and try and fathom out why the game died away so easily, and how the subs might make more of a difference next time. UTCIAD!
The Cherries' bus got stuck in the mud on eight points as they broke down at home, not knowing how to reach their destination of a second home win. Having dropped Glenn Murray, and with a clutch of players trying to grab the scoring wheel, AFCB ran their visitors hard but only seemed to steer the majority of their shots wide. Eddie Howe was full of praise for his players for most of their efforts in the first 70 minutes of this game, but the need for a goalscorer in the team was never made more evident than in this match which saw the Cherries lay siege to the Newcastle goal, but ultimately run out of ideas on how to beat Rob Elliot. He admirably defended Newcastle's lead that was scored by Perez in the 27th minute, when AFCB's defence seat on deck chairs and forgot to clear a bobbling ball that Perez duly prodded underneath Adam Federici. It was an undeserved lead and a one-sided contest, but the Cherries now look a side that has a real problem in front of goal and has a habit of leaking goals themselves.
Dave and Zak talk Newcastle Utd on Cherry Chimes FanCam.
Newcastle in their change strip.
Lee Mason in the middle with the captains.
Newcastle players get ready.
More pictures are on MatchDay Gallery. There were a couple of changes to the AFCB team with Marc Pugh being injured with a soar achilles tendon problem and Glenn Murray dropped from the 18-man squad. Artur Boruc made it to the bench and there were starts for Josh King up front and Junior Stanislas in a five-man midfield. Steve Cook also made it back to the bench. This was a game that the Cherries dare not lose and they came out early on firing well with Josh King going close in the first five minutes having raced up the right and powered his shot at the left side of the Newcastle goal, where Rob Elliot turned it round the corner. Charlie Daniels then had a dig from distance that just ran wide of the left post! Junior Stanislas was keeping moves going and he forced another corner on six minutes. Harry Arter also looked for space in which to shoot and Ritchie and Gosling found their efforts blocked by some stout Newcastle defending. Surely the Cherries would get a break with this kind of pressure mounting up. However, when Distin missed a pass from Daniels and Mitrovic in a race to get to the ball it was lucky that the Newcastle attacker did not beat Federici to the ball. A slip at the other end by Mbemba almost let King in similarly, but Elliot was out sharply. King was making his presence felt and there were calls for a penalty when Coloccini took him down in the box, but referee Lee Mason felt it was too soft. Newcastle too wondered if a ball that hit Gosling might be worth a penalty shout in the Bournemouth box but play went on. AFCB's best chance of the first half came when Josh King was played in by Gosling on the left and the striker just had Elliot to beat. He took one touch, to create more space, and then a second and before you knew it the angle had narrowed and he hit his shot right at the keeper! An opportunity gone on 21 minutes. Meanwhile, Francis was bombing forward sometimes perhaps forgetting that he was playing centre back but it was good to see. Newcastle were not making much of a game of it, but a flick from Mitrovic outside the box seemed to cause havoc in the centre of AFCB's defence on 27 minutes. The ball just wasn't cleared, but fell nicely to Perez who seemed to have a clear path through to goal. He stabbed his shot passed Federici who got an arm to it, but the ball dribbled into the back of the net from Newcastle's only attack. It was 0-1 and we knew it even if the scoreboard didn't show it. Harry Arter got on the ball now and blasted a shot wide in retaliation. The corners kept coming with the Cherries looking to get back on equal terms. A free kick from the right saw Josh King get a glancing header to it that Elliot clung on to. Adam Smith then blasted a shot just over the bar with another shot from a poor corner clearance. More corners saw Gosling leap highest and head down only for Elliot to save down low right by the post. King then put another header over from another corner. It was getting frustrating! Janmatt was yellow carded for a foul on King, but Newcastle held the lead at half time 0-1.
Half time scoreboard.
Second Half The second 45 started with a fabulous Bournemouth move. It was started by Sylvain Distin who played the ball towards Matt Ritchie who did a step over, allowing the ball to run to Adam Smith. Smith then cruised to the byline on the right and put in a deep cross that Ritchie headed but right at Elliot, who pushed it over the bar! Next it was the turn of Gosling who got on the end of a Ritchie cross but headed over. A real scramble in the Newcastle box saw an Arter shot blocked and the keeper failing to get the ball safe, but no AFCB player could poke the ball home. A more glaring opportunity fell to Junior Stanislas after Ritchie crossed a ball from the right and Gosling missed it, before it landed at Junior's feet. He leaned back and ballooned his shot over and stood in disbelief for a few moments afterwards. Oh no! AFCB were still in command and getting the opportunities but there did not seem to be a goalscorer on the pitch for them. Elliot was punching corners away now and getting fairly used to them. On 63 minutes Cisse replaced Mirtovic. The game was disappearing and it was not shaping up well for the Cherries. Arter's annoyance ended up with a yellow card for a clear shirt pull on the half way line. Eddie Howe finally made some changes with Tomlin and Kermorgant replacing Stanislas and King. McClaren took off Perez and brought on Thauvin. Perez was roundly booed by the AFCB fans for his early injury claim when he had wasted time with a physio running on but finding he had no work to do. There were a few more cheers when Rantie came on for Harry Arter. The last 10 minutes only prolonged the suffering. Adam Smith went into the book and Tiote followed him into the book, but even with six minutes of extra time the Cherries could not fashion a clear chance. The last minutes were even prolonged further with a Newcastle sub as Anita was replaced by Mbabu. FT 0-1.
Sometimes you don't get what you deserve.
A great day for Newcastle fans.
Federici on his way off the pitch.
Summary It is never a good time to be in the bottom three and yet on performances it is hard not to agree that the Cherries probably are a bottom three side at the moment. Endeavour is all well and good but there has to be a finish. There was no quality in front of goal for them in this match and AFCB need to find some way of punishing teams for all their possession. Without that they can expect to spend a lot of time in the bottom three. Sadly, there aren't many options for Howe in his team selection and that is becoming abundantly clear. AFCB Federici, Smith, Francis, Diston, Daniels, Ritchie, Arter (Rantie 79), Gosling, Surman, Stanislas (Tomlin 73), King (Kermorgant 73) AFCB Subs Boruc, Bennett, Cook, MacDonald, Tomlin, Kermorgant, Rantie AFCB Ratings Federici 6, Smith 6, Francis 6, Distin 7, Daniels 7, Ritchie 8, Arter 6, Gosling 7, Surman 6, Stanislas 7, King 6 Newcastle Utd Elliot, Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Dummett, Sissoko, Tioté, Anita (Mbabu 93), Wijnaldum, Mitrovic (Cissé 63) Pérez (Thauvin 77)
Newcastle Subs Cissé, de Jong, Gouffran, Lascelles, Thauvin. Woodman. Mbabu Referee watch: Lee Mason - let's just say we have history 2/10. Didn't expect him to give AFCB any decisions and they didn't get any.
It is unusual for Eddie Howe to make two subs at half time. In the Southampton match he had little choice though. Without pace in the side AFCB looked static and were easy to pick off, never really getting their passing or quick attacks going early on at St Mary's. In home games it has been King and Murray that have been the main option that has provided the platform for Bournemouth's attacks. Away from home though, with one up front, the team can't create space quickly enough with their movement in midfield to find Murray and then give him options to keep moves going. But Howe will want Murray on the pitch as he is one of the players that is going to get goals. The difficulty is finding a way to play away from home with Murray in the team and yet not leaving themselves weak in midfield.
Glenn Murray was withdrawn at half time as he was not getting
balls given to his feet and he was not able to chase after long balls over the top.
The return of Harry Arter may well add more stability to central midfield, but while Harry is no slouch he is not the quickest. He'll need to be able to pick passes for players like Stanislas and Ritchie, while driving forward himself. But the player that does have the pace to turn past defenders is still not getting a look in yet. It is Tokelo Rantie. I wonder how long it will be before we see him on the bench a bit more often? At the moment, Eddie is sticking with Stanislas and King for pace. They have now become more important in the overall strategy, at least up until January when Howe can dip back into the transfer market. Tomlin and Kermorgant are other considerations, but it's the players with pace that give the team more of an out ball and that is something they struggled with away at Southampton until the second half.
Eddie Howe could not hide his pleasure in seeing how well the Cherries took the game to Liverpool in the Capital One Cup in a night that was never going to be easy for a revamped team. While Liverpool had made a lot of changes they still had quality in those positions and AFCB were playing on the back of two disappointing performances. The challenge was for players to try and press a case for a starting spot in forthcoming games as well as try and get AFCB through to the next round.
AFCB warming up at Anfield.
The way that the side went forward and created chances was much more considered in this match. Having Simon Francis move into a centre back place may have been unusual to see but he coped for the main, and with Tommy Elphick out for a while it does give Howe the option of moving Simon in there when either Cook or Distin need a rest. In some ways I was expecting to see Baily Cargill get the nod for the role, but if Eddie is thinking about playing Francis at centre back in a Premier League game, then I can see why Cargill missed out this time. I had also thought that Harry Arter would play and I was equally impressed with what he brought to the team on the night. He worked extremely hard and looked better than some of the others when he was taken off after 70 minutes. He and MacDonald provided a good barrier to Liverpool through the middle, and I felt their performances were what gave the team the basis to push attacks for most of the evening. At times the team found it difficult to get out of their half, but there were no rash decisions and the players were calm in trying to make progress up the pitch when Liverpool pressed high. The forward positions were perhaps less spectacular for the Cherries on the night. Junior Stanislas showed that he can get in scoring positions but is not taking the chances, while Kermorgant found it difficult to have much influence on the game. I would have preferred to see more of Tokelo Rantie and there was one instance when TK was almost slipped through by Ritchie in the last 10 minutes that would have been testing for Bogdan if only one of the Liverpool defenders had not read the pass. So all in all, a positive evening despite the result. The picture on players and positions is changing fast at the moment and there is a bit of choice for Eddie now going into the derby with Southampton.
Later today I'll post an update on how my two boys and I got on in Liverpool when we went up for the match earlier this week.
Kolo Toure leads the Liverpool players down the line.
AFCB travelled to Anfield in hope of a bit of relief after their recent games and a better performance. They managed to up their game for sure, and with Liverpool making nine changes and giving a couple of players their debut, there was a possibility of really taking the game to the hosts. The presence of Harry Arter in midfield was certainly a boost and with Stanislas playing in behind Yann Kermorgant, the Cherries caused plenty of problems for Liverpool. However, it was the talent of Jordan Ibe and Roberto Firmino that gave Liverpool an attack that purred at times, and on 17 minutes Divok Origi broke through after an Ibe run and back heeled the ball past Federici, only for Adam Smith to clear off the line. Unfortunately for AFCB, Nathaniel Clyne was on hand to ram the ball home from close in, and while the Cherries pushed all match to get an equaliser, their best chances came early, and Junior Stanislas was the player that probably will have most to regret about not slipping the ball past Adam Bogdan. Fans got to see Tokelo Rantie in the last few minutes, but most pleasing of all is that there were no moments of dangerous hesitation at the back and the 1-0 cup defeat was a vast improvement on recent outings.
The 96 remembered.
Another massive flag in the Kop.
More pictures are now up on Match Day Gallery. The team news was a little surprising, but it was a fairly strong AFCB line up. Andrew Surman was an absentee and a possible doubt for Sunday's match against Southampton. Simon Francis was moved to centre back with Adam Smith starting at right back. Arter replaced Surman and MacDonald made up the other side of the centre midfield pairing with Junior Stanislas playING in the number 10 role with Yann Kermorgant up front. Steve Cook and Lee Tomlin were among the subs.
AFC Bournemouth stride towards the cameras.
AFCB fan Sam gives his view prematch on Cherry Chimes FanCam.
It's kick off time.
The game started very abruptly with Firmino shooting wide in the first minute. AFCB regained their composure though and very quickly looked up for the fight. Ritchie sent a cross over that Pugh just missed out on.The Cherries then saw Stanislas have a fantastic chance. Arter had won the ball around the half way mark and had threaded Stanislas in to his left. Having stepped inside one man it looked like Junior was set to score but he hit his shot too close to Bogdan who made the save with his legs. Liverpool started to reassert a bit of authority when Distin sliced a clearance which went out for the first corner. Federici chose to punch the ball clear, which was unorthodox but it did the job. Bournemouth were starting to get Arter on the ball a lot and he had a shot blocked on 14 minutes. Jordan Ibe looked a challenge for Charlie Daniels to keep up with on the wing and he made a good ball into Firmino who got Federici to pull off his first big save tipping over the well hit shot for a corner. Liverpool were starting to drive the game more and on 17 minutes Firmino played a crisp ball through to Origi to run on to, and as Federici came out he backed heeled a shot towards goal. Smith was quick thinking and had run back to cover, clearing off the line but Nathan Clyne had the whole goal to aim out with Federici still not back and he finished smartly to put Liverpool 1-0 up. AFCB came straight back through and Arter shot that went wide. Marc Pugh then got in the box and created a chance for Stanislas that he headed but Bogdan saved. Kermorgant was finding it hard to get involved, but Ritchie and Pugh were finding space on the wings to deliver crosses. Problems for Liverpool came when Kolo Toure had to be subbed on 33 minutes and he was replaced by Martin Skrtel. They were soon testing Federici again though when Firmino tried a curling shot that Bournemouth's keeper caught well high to his left. There was more confidence in AFCB's play than in recent games as was seen by Distin's dummy to get past Brannagan when just outside his own box. What we did not want to see was any yellow cards and Arter was lucky not to get pulled up having upended Origi and then Teixera in quick succession just before half time. Liverpool had one more opportunity to extend the lead in the first half and Ibe was the player the created it with his strong wing play on the right. He crossed to Teixera who slammed his shot into the side netting. It had been a fairly even first half, but Liverpool had shown an instant of quality that had made the difference.
Just one down at the break.
Second half AFCB began well in the second half with an early corner. Simon Francis got in a good header from it, but it just went wide. Liverpool played much higher up the pitch as they sought to defend their goal and Distin and Smith were employed fairly regularly at just clearing AFCB's lines. Some of the passing was being over hit and the Cherries were finding it harder to get out of their half. A particularly worrying moment was when Pugh was robbed of the ball from about 30 yards out and Firmino powered forward and hit a blistering drive wide. MacDonald was also trying to plug gaps in the midfield, but over did it on Joe Allen and picked up a yellow card. Liverpool were still the team coming forward as the hour mark passed. Firmino again flashed a shot high and wide, but the Cherries were struggling to stem the tide. Brannagan was replaced by Lucas on 65 minutes and four minutes later AFCB made a double sub with Lee Tomlin and Josh King coming on for Kermorgant and Arter. Lucas then hit a thunderbolt of a shot from 30 yards that Federici saved, top left. Adam was having a good game. Liverpool's only yellow card came when MacDoland was fouled by Joe Allen. Tokelo Rantie made an appearance on 82 minutes to great cheers from AFCB supporters and Stanislas came off. It did not take long for Rantie to have a shot either and it sadly went well over the bar. With Lallana replacing Firmino, I think AFCB's defenders were quite happy about that change. The last few minutes saw the Cherries give it one last go with Ritchie coming closest with a shot at Bogdan's left hand post that the keeper pushed out for a corner. But it remained 1-0 and Liverpool had made it to the quarter finals.
Final whistle 1-0.
A packed house under the scoreboard.
A pretty strong performance from the Cherries.
Jurgen Klopp has his first win.
Summary It was an enjoyable game to be at. some of the AFCB fans on the coaches had got caught up in traffic and were a bit late but at least they saw a much more solid Bournemouth performance. It is a pity that they are out of the cup but the needs was for some confidence to return and Eddie Howe will have been pleased with the players efforts. Liverpool did not have anywhere near their strongest team out but is was a full stadium and a good experience for the AFCB players.
AFCB players come towards the fans.
Sylvain Distin gives his shirt away before leaving the pitch.
AFCB Federici, Smith, Francis, Distin, Daniels, Ritchie, Arter (King 71), MacDonald, Pugh, Stanislas (Rantie 82), Kermorgant (Tomlin 71) AFCB Subs Allsop, Cook, Cargill, O'Kane, Tomlin, King, Rantie AFCB Ratings Federici 8, Smith 6, Francis 6, Distin 6, Daniels 6, Ritchie 6, Arter 7, MacDonald 6, Pugh 6, Stanislas 6, Kermorgant 6 Liverpool Bogdan, Clyne, Toure (Skrtel 33), Lovren, Randall, Allen, Brannagan (Lucas 65), Tiexeira, Ibe, Firmino (Lallana 87), Origi Liverpool Subs Skrtel, Fulton, Lucas, Coutinhio, Lallana, Moreno, Sinclair Referee watch: Michael Jones 5/10 - missed playing the advantage more and annoying got in the way of a good AFCB move!
