Are AFCB's flying full backs getting enough help?

Simon Francis is finding the Championship quite a challenge. I am sure that he will be enjoying the task he faces every week. How much he can improve though could have a big bearing on AFCB's season. While Bournemouth are known for their overlapping full backs it is an area where the opposition can see a possible weakness when Francis and Daniels push up.

Up against talented wingers, Francis has his work cut out.

Can Francis start to own the right side of the pitch?

If you look at the first goal in the Bolton game it is Lee who is found in space on the left wing with Simon Francis trying to rush back before the ball is played in to David Ngog, who makes the finish. It is when AFCB lose the ball in midfield and their full backs are out of position that we give opponents a good opportunity to get in behind or to find away to attack our centre backs.

Keeping our shape is so important in the Championship, because the strikers are so good at finding the net that you will be punished at some point if you gamble all the time by leaving too much space at the back. I think that AFCB have also been playing some of the best wingers in the last few weeks that have highlighted the way teams can get at our full backs. At Forest it was Abdourn who gave Daniels problems and at Leicester it was Dyer who was teasing Francis, and last Saturday it was Lee who had the beating of Francis.

Winning your own battle is very important no matter where you are on the pitch, but in these wide areas it is key for Bournemouth to win their battles with the attacking wing play we like to see. When the team is not able to win these battles though I would like to see a  little more cover from midfield. That would mean Pugh and Fraser having a bit more of a defensive mindset when Bournemouth don't have the ball to check the runs of these good opposition wingers and doubling up on them with the full backs.

We often hear Eddie Howe talk about working on the shape of the team and I expect that he will be looking at this part of our game, because with quick turnovers of possession against us we do seem to be offering opportunities from balls that are won in the centre of the pitch and are then fed out wide.