Players won't be in the shape or the mood to play football

AFC Bournemouth still have a directive for players to return to the club for training on 6 April. It seems pretty improbable that that suggestion wont be abandoned in the next few days. Players like David Brooks and Diego Rico have spoken out to the Bournemouth Echo about their stories and in Rico's case it seems that his hardest problem could just be getting a flight back to the UK from Spain.

David Brooks just wants the club to stay up.

For David Brooks it was always going to be a bit of an uphill battle to be fit for games in April, but the whole squad has similarly not been able to train, and it is hard to see how any player could be match fit for the end of April. In Scotland it is starting to dawn on clubs that they need to pack things up now to protect the TV rights for the 2020-21 season. I can only assume similar thoughts will have to be taken on board in England soon.

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The players have also mentally gone through as difficult a time as the rest of us. This is not normal living and being confined to your house is already something that some of us deal better with than others. A young football player is energetic and full of inquisitive thoughts, and being cooped in a confined space is hardly conducive to being in a great mindset for going to play football at the highest level, even if you live in a footballer's mansion.

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I liked the honesty though of David Brooks when asked about whether he would rather play out the season or stay up by seeing the league made null and void. Replying to the Bournemouth Echo he said, "the satisfaction levels would be there to do it on the pitch," but he wasn't against "just staying up". He's right of course, the fans want to stay up just like the players, and if it comes by way of a defaulted season we'd take it, because it gives the club a whole season to do better than last time.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - What has Eddie Howe learned from this season?

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Cherry Chimes' April Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blog and the thoughts behind them from last month. The newsletter has a special story - What will it be like when play is resumed?

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What has Eddie Howe learned from this season?

Eddie Howe will not have expected the season to have gone the way he had expected. He felt he had his strongest squad ever, and yet they have been the closest squad yet to find relegation trouble. So he will be aware that the players he has are in need of strengthening, and that perhaps some of them are not as good as he thought they were.

A difficult but perhaps a valuable season for Eddie Howe.

Eddie Howe does know that he has one of the best goalkeepers in the land in Aaron Ramsdale. The only problem there is that many other teams also know what a quality player he is. The back four has been chopped and changed far too often, and while Nathan Aké has been the mainstay of that defence with Steve Cook, the goals against have been raising to 47 from the 29 games and without Charlie Daniels, the team has perhaps looked less effective on its left side.

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The quest for Howe could be to try and take more pressure off the defence in the next season. Jack Stacey is new and will be gaining experience all the time, but protecting him and others in the back line will make it easier for the team next time around. Jefferson Lerma has been the rock to protect the back line, but it has been hard for Howe to find another like him for when he is injured or just to alternate. It would be a massive help if he did find that player.

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The other main problem is that the team has seen its goal count drop to a goal a game and that will always cause problems if you are trying to stay in the Premier League. Bournemouth need to find more goals to take the weight off their defence and with Ryan  Fraser expected to move on, the jury is still out on whether Arnaut Danjuma can step in and if Josh King wants to stay. This could be the biggest summer turnover among players that AFCB has seen for sometime with Francis, Surman and Boruc perhaps not being offered new contracts.

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Howe knew his job was under threat in January when he had to wait for the win against Brighton to bring some life back into Bournemouth's campaign. This summer Howe perhaps has an even bigger task of finding a team from the remnants of this awful season.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Is Solanke another Afobe?

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Is Solanke just another Afobe?

Dominic Solanke was going to be one of the bright England U21 stars that would help AFCB reach the next level. He'd done well in tournaments and with his Liverpool pedigree he was learning the game in the right way, but as soon as he came to the Cherries he lost any semblance of form or belief that he could be a Premier League striker. So what do AFCB do with him now?

Dominic Solanke - what is his future?

There will be those that still have faith that Dominic can turn it around. Perhaps if Bournemouth are relegated, Solanke could find form in the Championship. I find that hard to imagine, as even dropping down a level I don't see a striker that could muster double figures in goals. While Solanke was injured when he first came to the club, he hasn't exactly inspired when he hasn't been injured either. We were just as unimpressed with Benik Afobe, but at east Afobe came with a few quick goals when he came to the club and had the physical attributes to make himself a nuisance. With Solanke we don't even get that.

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Sometimes it is the hardest thing to admit that the recruitment was wrong and I suspect there are those at the club who still believe they can polish this player into a diamond. But rather than spend more time with trying to make Solanke into a half decent player, it is perhaps a clearer vision to sell him, even if he can't bring in half the amount that he was bought for. Cutting losses is something that Bournemouth don't always seem keen to do, but sometimes you have to make decisions that are best for the player and the club, and while the fans would love Solanke to suddenly be a success, I imagine that very few hands would go up who saw him as the next best thing at AFCB.

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Solanke just doesn't look to have any fire in his belly. Strikers are greedy and ruthless. I look deep into Solanke to see how much he wants it in the field and I just don't see a player who thinks he is better than the rest. Without that belief and determination it is hard to succeed at this level, and if the decision is made to make a loss on Solanke this summer I don't think too many fans would think it was necessarily a bad idea.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Is Lewis cook going to be one of the reasons why AFCB stay up?

Is Lewis Cook going to be one of the reasons why AFCB stay up?

Lewis Cook and Dan Gosling have been after the same spot this season

Lewis Cook had such a great start at AFCB it was hard to see anything going wrong for him. He even made it to the full England squad and was in line for top international honours. But injuries and a need to fight his way back into the Bournemouth team have taken their time, and even this season we have not seen many games with Lewis Cook in a Bournemouth shirt.

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Now he is getting to play games with Jefferson Lerma and his vision and passing have always been a great asset to the team. I find Lewis a busy little player that goes quietly about his work and that is perhaps why he doesn't always get the plaudits he deserves.

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What he does do is get Bournemouth going forward. It seems simple, but forward passes are the most risky and Lewis Cook plays with that element of risk which is why he is popular in my opinion. When it comes off for him he looks world class and yet by losing the ball in great areas it can put pressure on those at the back, as we saw in the Liverpool game. Bournemouth are better though when they take risks and that is why I think Lewis Cook will be a big player in the club's attempt to stay up. 

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Is Adam Smith wasted at left-back?

This season we have seen more players having to move about to fill different positions than I am sure Eddie Howe would have liked. Bournemouth do have what many would term utility men and perhaps the most prone to being requested to do a job for the team is usually Adam Smith.

Adam Smith best as a right back?

I think Adam finds it hard to get a break. Even when he plays well and has had a good run at right back, the emergence of Jack Stacey gave Eddie Howe a problem this season. It was Adam Smith who was again asked to move and to pay on the left side. But while Smith can do a good job in midfield on the right and left and at the back on both sides, it must be disconcerting for the player to find himself being moved and having to reestablish connections with players nearest to him when he was getting use to being on the other side of the pitch.

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Even Adam Smith has picked up his fair amount of injuries this season and his form has been in and out, which is no doubt not helped by playing in different positions. It would surely be beneficial for Adam to get a season of playing in a regular position for the majority of games. While a player can't really complain if he is being picked, there must be a position that Adam prefers more than most and I wonder how much Howe stretched the players' minds to think they can play just as well anywhere on the pitch. If the players do well then, all is well and good. But if they get depressed in not playing where they feel they are best, as we have seen with Josh King then it does provoke some resentment.

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While I think Adam Smith can do a job at left-back, I don't think he looks as comfortable there as say Diego Rico, and if Bournemouth are to maintain a good chance of staying up, I hope in the remaining games that players like Adam Smith are put in their best positions.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Has Fraser blown his Bournemouth legacy?

Has Fraser blown his Bournemouth legacy?

The Wee-man has been a popular figure around Dean Court over the last five or six years and his football has always done the taking for him. While he hasn't always been first choice on the left wing, he has made the position his own having rivalled Mark Pugh for many years. Now that his contract is coming to an end, how do we feel about the Scotsman who came to Bournemouth as a boy and will leave as a talented football star?

Is Ryan Fraser as popular as ever?

I imagine Bournemouth fans' views on Wee-man may have changed a little in the last 12-months to what they were before that time. The 'I want away' calls are never flattering and Fraser admits himself that he found it hard to put heart and sole into his game when he didn't get his move last summer. For many that will be water under the bridge as they have delighted in seeing this winger run the line and provide great crosses for Callum Wilson and Josh King.

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The Wee-man has also been a goalscorer although he has lost his way on that front this season. What would it take for the Wee-man to have a big send off? He needs a big end to the season with goals and assists aplenty. I kind of think we are coming to an end of an era with Fraser about to leave the club, but I am sure he does not want his legacy to include the club being relegated.

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Fraser has been nothing if not honest all his footballing career. It has been a pleasure to cheer him on at Dean Court since the Championship years and I still believe he has one of the best reputations at the club as a trier, and for Bournemouth fans that's really all we want to see.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Harry Wilson has been fabulous for Bournemouth

Harry Wilson has been fabulous for Bournemouth

There are Liverpool fans wondering if their young Welshman, Harry Wilson, is ripe for selling, or if he should be given a chance at Anfield. To break into Klopp's side is going to need some special talent. At Bournemouth thought, Harry Wilson has more than justified his loan move and the Cherries can be very thankful that he decided to play for Bournemouth this season.

Harry has spent his time atBournemouth well.

It is not just he goals that have been a tonic. Harry has jumped into Bournemouth life on the pitch with two feet and when he was unable to play, he was sorely missed. Eddie Howe has not rested him that much and with so many injuries this season, it has been a lifeline that Harry Wilson has been able to play as many games as he has.

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We do forget that this is his first season in the Premier League. He has been excellent though at taking on the best defenders and while he will have had a lot of pressure on him, as a loanee from Liverpool, he has more than lived up to top billing. If Klopp decides to sell him, Liverpool will surely get a good fee. But I wonder if Wilson would become a better player eve quicker if he did stay at Liverpool and worked with some of the very best players in the world.

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For Bournemouth, it has been a case of a generous loan deal and to have such a player has been a big help in masking over the pain of losing David Brooks for so long. Now that Harry Wilson's time is coming to an end at Bournemouth though, I hope our fans continue to watch his development with Wales, and wherever he ends up, as he could yet be one of the players that saves the Cherries from life in the Championship, and that is no bad thing to have on your CV.

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Previous post on Cherry Chimes - Footballers shouldn't play until its safe for all