AFC Bournemouth v Manchester City

Solent

CHERRIES: Eddie Howe reports Steve Cook, Junior Stanislas & Dom Solanke all remain sidelined this weekend. Brooks could start, Wilson “not totally ruled out”. #afcb #BOUMCI
 
Sounds better re Brooks and Wilson, get those 2 back and Lerma back from suspension we could start to pick up again. Need to get Steve Cook back quickly if we can.
 
Monmouthred said:
Your previews are excellent but 'they have a number of players who can cause us problems' made me spit out my tea!
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Yep, probably stating the obvious. :grinning:

But being an optimist, if the other three clubs can beat them, why not us? Especially at home.

Still good to see Brooks might start and surprised Eddie mentioning possibly Wilson, as normally we usually find out on the day as Eddie always ‘keeps his cards close to his chest’.
 
----------------Boruc----------------
Clyne-Mepham-Ake-Simpson-Smith
----Gosling----Surman----Fraser----
---------Mousset-------King---------

Subs: Begovic, Rico, Daniels, Taylor, Brooks, Ibe, Surridge

First off, flat back 5. No mucking about here, just make a wall in front of Boruc. Next, 3 man midfield. Gosling and Fraser can scamper around, kicking the City players and disrupting their awful sexy football. Don't give them any space, make them miserable. Win the ball, and then BANG! Fraser charges up the pitch, we hoof it into the channels, and we have three pacy players bearing down on them. If we lose the ball, or the attack breaks down, foul 'em. Rinse and repeat. If we're still in the game with 20 minutes to go, introduce the Welsh wizard into the equation. If the planets themselves align in the sky, we might just be able to shithouse our way to a point.

To not be utterly humiliated in this game, we need a few key things to happen:
- The midfield need to press City's midfielders to stop them dictating the game and to initiate counterattacks.
- Gosling needs to pass the ball out like a footballer, not like a toddler waddling around in his back garden.
- Ake has to step up and lead the defence, communicate with Mepham and Simpson and try and keep them organised. Mepham can't afford to go walkabouts like he did for Arsenal's first two goals.
- King and Fraser really need to step up their game. They're two of our most important players and have been playing well within themselves for weeks now, especially King. King would have been dropped long ago if we weren't so thin on numbers.
- Magic Moose. We need to coax the Mousset out that we know is in there. King is key to this; if King presses City and puts in the hard graft, Mousset will probably do likewise. If King mopes around, tries a few fAnCy sKilLZ and refuses to track back when needed, then Mousset will probably do the same. Thats just how he plays unfortunately. He needs to be led by example. Hopefully the goal gives him a confidence boost.
- Brain farts, goofs, unforced errors, whoopsies- cut them out! Professional footballers should not be attempting the sort of passes that Smith did vs Arsenal. They were there for the taking IMO, and we shot ourselves in the foot for no reason at all. Unacceptable.
- Linking on from the previous point, whatever the gameplan may be: just stick to it. If the plan is to sit back and frustrate them, do it. Don't attempt Hollywood Iniesta passes across your own back 4 like some kind of deranged maniac.
- And the most important point of all...DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, GIVE AWAY A GOAL AT THE START OF THE SECOND HALF.


If we can do all that then we might be able to keep the score down to 0-3.
 
I'm not normally a pessimist but I think we just need to get this one out of the way. City are stronger than us throughout the squad and given our injuries and absences we must not worry if we get beaten. Concentrate on the next run of games and build on getting back to winning ways and consistent performances.
:utc:
 
...didn't Man City recently lose at Newcastle?...they are a great side but I am not going to say that we will get thrashed on Saturday...they are under considerable pressure to keep pace with Liverpool and only just scraped past West Ham on Wednesday...our players should be pumped up for this one given the abject performance and result against Arsenal...I am going expecting a big reaction and raising of our game in front of the home fans!
 
NWCherries98 said:
----------------Boruc----------------
Clyne-Mepham-Ake-Simpson-Smith
----Gosling----Surman----Fraser----
---------Mousset-------King---------

Subs: Begovic, Rico, Daniels, Taylor, Brooks, Ibe, Surridge

First off, flat back 5. No mucking about here, just make a wall in front of Boruc. Next, 3 man midfield. Gosling and Fraser can scamper around, kicking the City players and disrupting their awful sexy football. Don't give them any space, make them miserable. Win the ball, and then BANG! Fraser charges up the pitch, we hoof it into the channels, and we have three pacy players bearing down on them. If we lose the ball, or the attack breaks down, foul 'em. Rinse and repeat. If we're still in the game with 20 minutes to go, introduce the Welsh wizard into the equation. If the planets themselves align in the sky, we might just be able to shithouse our way to a point.

To not be utterly humiliated in this game, we need a few key things to happen:
- The midfield need to press City's midfielders to stop them dictating the game and to initiate counterattacks.
- Gosling needs to pass the ball out like a footballer, not like a toddler waddling around in his back garden.
- Ake has to step up and lead the defence, communicate with Mepham and Simpson and try and keep them organised. Mepham can't afford to go walkabouts like he did for Arsenal's first two goals.
- King and Fraser really need to step up their game. They're two of our most important players and have been playing well within themselves for weeks now, especially King. King would have been dropped long ago if we weren't so thin on numbers.
- Magic Moose. We need to coax the Mousset out that we know is in there. King is key to this; if King presses City and puts in the hard graft, Mousset will probably do likewise. If King mopes around, tries a few fAnCy sKilLZ and refuses to track back when needed, then Mousset will probably do the same. Thats just how he plays unfortunately. He needs to be led by example. Hopefully the goal gives him a confidence boost.
- Brain farts, goofs, unforced errors, whoopsies- cut them out! Professional footballers should not be attempting the sort of passes that Smith did vs Arsenal. They were there for the taking IMO, and we shot ourselves in the foot for no reason at all. Unacceptable.
- Linking on from the previous point, whatever the gameplan may be: just stick to it. If the plan is to sit back and frustrate them, do it. Don't attempt Hollywood Iniesta passes across your own back 4 like some kind of deranged maniac.
- And the most important point of all...DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, GIVE AWAY A GOAL AT THE START OF THE SECOND HALF.


If we can do all that then we might be able to keep the score down to 0-3.
Click to expand...


You missed "Raheem Sterling needs to contract Noro virus, and be ruled out"
 
NWCherries98 said:
Pretty poor for the free kick vs Arsenal but not a lot he could do about the others really. I personally prefer his presence on the field to Begovic- at least for now haha.
Click to expand...

But the Arsenal players on the end of the wall pushed our players over like a stack of dominoes. It wasn't Boruc's fault that he couldn't get to it.
 
I think our hope lies in that they'll be arriving with no Laporte, Stones or Fernandinho.

I'm quietly optimistic.
 
paul49 said:
But the Arsenal players on the end of the wall pushed our players over like a stack of dominoes. It wasn't Boruc's fault that he couldn't get to it.
Click to expand...

The free kick was nowhere near the corner and, with the wall had pushed out of the way, then he would actually have had a better view of it as well. His starting position was wrong and he was at fault for the goal. Still want him in goal for the foreseeable future.
 
NWCherries98 said:
----------------Boruc----------------
Clyne-Mepham-Ake-Simpson-Smith
----Gosling----Surman----Fraser----
---------Mousset-------King---------

Subs: Begovic, Rico, Daniels, Taylor, Brooks, Ibe, Surridge

First off, flat back 5. No mucking about here, just make a wall in front of Boruc. Next, 3 man midfield. Gosling and Fraser can scamper around, kicking the City players and disrupting their awful sexy football. Don't give them any space, make them miserable. Win the ball, and then BANG! Fraser charges up the pitch, we hoof it into the channels, and we have three pacy players bearing down on them. If we lose the ball, or the attack breaks down, foul 'em. Rinse and repeat. If we're still in the game with 20 minutes to go, introduce the Welsh wizard into the equation. If the planets themselves align in the sky, we might just be able to shithouse our way to a point.

To not be utterly humiliated in this game, we need a few key things to happen:
- The midfield need to press City's midfielders to stop them dictating the game and to initiate counterattacks.
- Gosling needs to pass the ball out like a footballer, not like a toddler waddling around in his back garden.
- Ake has to step up and lead the defence, communicate with Mepham and Simpson and try and keep them organised. Mepham can't afford to go walkabouts like he did for Arsenal's first two goals.
- King and Fraser really need to step up their game. They're two of our most important players and have been playing well within themselves for weeks now, especially King. King would have been dropped long ago if we weren't so thin on numbers.
- Magic Moose. We need to coax the Mousset out that we know is in there. King is key to this; if King presses City and puts in the hard graft, Mousset will probably do likewise. If King mopes around, tries a few fAnCy sKilLZ and refuses to track back when needed, then Mousset will probably do the same. Thats just how he plays unfortunately. He needs to be led by example. Hopefully the goal gives him a confidence boost.
- Brain farts, goofs, unforced errors, whoopsies- cut them out! Professional footballers should not be attempting the sort of passes that Smith did vs Arsenal. They were there for the taking IMO, and we shot ourselves in the foot for no reason at all. Unacceptable.
- Linking on from the previous point, whatever the gameplan may be: just stick to it. If the plan is to sit back and frustrate them, do it. Don't attempt Hollywood Iniesta passes across your own back 4 like some kind of deranged maniac.
- And the most important point of all...DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, GIVE AWAY A GOAL AT THE START OF THE SECOND HALF.


If we can do all that then we might be able to keep the score down to 0-3.
Click to expand...

Get Rico in on merit from the Arsenal game. Get Smith in attacking role on the right where he doesn't have to worry about last line defending but can drop in to shore things up if needed along with Fraser.

Surman is a bit of a waste against City where we need quick counters. Smith, Gosling and Fraser to do the high pressing and then bring on Brooks later on.

----------------Boruc----------------
Clyne-Mepham-Ake-Simpson-Rico
----Smith----Gosling----Fraser----
---------Mousset-------King---------
 
NWCherries98 said:
They were there for the taking IMO, and we shot ourselves in the foot for no reason at all. Unacceptable.
Click to expand...

and IMO that is just delusional.

Yes we made mistakes, which we need to cut out, but Arsenal were never 'there for the taking'. They played exceptionally good, fast football against a team that could not cope with the pace of their play anywhere on the pitch.

We got a good beating but let's, please, not make out that we are sh*t or that we could have got anything out of that game. It would have been very, very tough even with the first choice players playing at the top of their game.

For the record IMO we will do exceptionally well to get anything out of Saturday's game. Hoping is great but expecting is a bit over the top.

:utc:
 
We need to get more legs in midfield for this game. Surman and Gosling cover a lot of ground, but don’t have the speed to either quickly plug a gap in front of our defence or track midfield runners. Lerma can do that but isn’t available.

——————Begovic
Clyne——Mepham—Aké——Rico
——————Smith——————-
Ibe——-Gosling—-Surman—Fraser
——————King

Ok a bit controversial playing Adam Smith at DMC. However, his rightfootedness has been exposed at LB in the last 2 matches. The thing with Smith is he is a bundle of energy and I think he could do really well covering in front of the back 4. He is also a better ball carrier than Surman or Gosling. Positionally it’d be a challenge but we are already playing him out of position.

I’ve gone for Rico instead of Daniels simply because he is quicker. I feel we lack speed in defensive transitions and that’s going to be vital against City. There is an argument for Simpson starting to avoid ruining Mepham’s confidence. If Simpson was right sided it’s be an option but as it is we should stick with Mepham.
 
Audenshaw Cherry said:
and IMO that is just delusional.

Yes we made mistakes, which we need to cut out, but Arsenal were never 'there for the taking'. They played exceptionally good, fast football against a team that could not cope with the pace of their play anywhere on the pitch.

We got a good beating but let's, please, not make out that we are sh*t or that we could have got anything out of that game. It would have been very, very tough even with the first choice players playing at the top of their game.

For the record IMO we will do exceptionally well to get anything out of Saturday's game. Hoping is great but expecting is a bit over the top.

:utc:
Click to expand...

I must be equally deluded. I thought Arsenal were bang average and made to look better by our tactical ineptness. They looked shaky at the back and all their goals could have been prevented. 5 goals from 7 on target vs 1 from 5 for us tells its own story. We made it easy for them.

When we switched to 4-3-3 we looked like the better team by miles.

Compare the goals with Liverpool's goals vs Watford for perspective. That's what I call exceptionally good, fast football.
 
Red Sky said:
I must be equally deluded. I thought Arsenal were bang average and made to look better by our tactical ineptness. They looked shaky at the back and all their goals could have been prevented. 5 goals from 7 on target vs 1 from 5 for us tells its own story. We made it easy for them.

When we switched to 4-3-3 we looked like the better team by miles.

Compare the goals with Liverpool's goals vs Watford for perspective. That's what I call exceptionally good, fast football.
Click to expand...

Arsenal - bang average. Oh OK, it must be me living in cloud cuckoo land. Fair enough I stand corrected. Happy clappy land it is for me then.

:utc:
 
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