“Bournemouth have lost their way” - Guardian

L

langham

First Team
“I saw them at Crystal Palace this month and was shocked by how flat their performance was. They did not seem to have any idea how to create chances. ... I think they have lost their way, in terms of their brand of football and have been unable to adapt and find a new way of winning.”

This assessment from Eni Aluko this evening in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2019/dec/12/bournemouth-need-fresh-ideas-from-eddie-howe

Certainly reflects what I’ve seen over the past month. We are stale - ponderous and predictable. Eddie Howe is a great talent but needs to change his ways - new ideas in midfield and new recruits. Urgent.
 
Not really saying anything we haven't said on here: "Stubborn Eddie" being one of those phrases.

Feels all the worse to have it pointed out by an outsider, though.
 
Spot on really and unfortunately. The normal eight or nine on here will disagree and point to the lack of coaching experience of the journalist but it is bang on. We haven’t adapted or addressed obvious weaknesses and are currently bearing the consequences and let’s hope we can turn it around.
 
Aluko says she’s shocked - that’s how I feel after the decline since September. We’ve been wobbly over the past year but in recent months it looks like a muddle from back to front (bar Rambo’s excellent form). Our opponents crowd the midfield and we’ve no answer, leaving Wilson, Fraser and Co isolated and increasingly demoralised.

Real problem - can’t see where the creativity and drive will come from. IMO new blood needed in the squad to wake things up in midfield and show some leadership.
 
Wow she wrote all of that on the back of watching one of our games!....a bright future in journalism awaits.
Some interesting points tbf like her opinion that we are not evolving and are still trying to do what we've always done.....which is contrary to the opinion of some of our fans who seem to want us to go back to doing what we've always done......oh and less possession and counter attacking is the way forward for clubs like ours apparently.... can't see stubborn Eddie trying that!.....:confused:
 
Neil Dawson said:
Spot on really and unfortunately. The normal eight or nine on here will disagree and point to the lack of coaching experience of the journalist but it is bang on. We haven’t adapted or addressed obvious weaknesses and are currently bearing the consequences and let’s hope we can turn it around.
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Palace was a shocker so criticism is deserved. Let’s not forget though we were 4th at one point this season!!!

No doubt injuries are taking their toll but is masking other issues; something has gone badly wrong since the West Ham game, starting with the calamity at burton. The seeds of this were shown in the opening game with Sheffield, although some credit is due to the opposition. Brooks’ return on October would have helped but this isn’t going to happen now.

IMHO 3 players are helping to nullify the attacking threat: billing has dropped off badly while playing with Callum and Fraser removes all attacking potency in their current form. Unfortunately Danjuma is not yet having much impact to justify his place.
 
She was slagging us off before the kick off in that game if I recall saying we were the 'lesser side' and having a dig at Ake. My guess is she's trying hard to make a name for herself and bullying the small kid on the block having a bad run is her way of doing it.

If we win two games in succession Eddie will be the next Messiah.
 
AFCBade said:
IMHO 3 players are helping to nullify the attacking threat: billing has dropped off badly while playing with Callum and Fraser removes all attacking potency in their current form. Unfortunately Danjuma is not yet having much impact to justify his place.
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Nobody is having any impact to justify their places. We have to play someone though.
 
Neil Dawson said:
Del offering no opinion other than an opinion on the same people’s opinions again...;)
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Well my opinion is that she completely contradicts what you've been banging on about all season yet you couldn't help but say she's "spot on" because she was slating Howe so your instincts tell you she must be right.

My opinion is that there's some truth in it but that most of our games this season have been 50/50 - even Wolves second half showed we can compete with these teams we a supposedly miles off. We need to work out how to create more chances though. As ever, confidence is key.
 
It is a good article, yes, but I do feel that some of the comments are slightly misguided and made by someone that hasn't watched us over along period of time...

As has been said on this thread, this isn't really anything new. We've been on this decline for some time and EH has acknowledged this by stating "we've always been in a relegation scrap, however, we've always had that one result that constantly keeps our heads above the line..."

I would also disagree with the comment on Fraser and Wilson... They 'have' seemingly become bad players... Neither are on form and I don't think that is the formation as we're playing the same formation. Fraser gets lots of the ball but just does nothing with it atm.

Wilson too... he seems to not be able to take anyone on, his touch is awful and his shooting non existent... It seems an age ago that we beat Utd and Everton down here with fine displays...

And the comment about us having injuries but they can't be used to justify our bad run and spiral... We've 10 potential first team players out FFS... Whilst not saying that is 100% of the issue, it's still a bloody big issue... If anything, we have no options to change things up...!!!!!!! As someone pointed out on another thread... Could Leicester or City, or Liverpool operate 'to the same levels' with such a decimated squad...

So, yes, I agree with a lot of what this article has said... We are stale, we are boring and we look a shadow of ourselves from a couple of years back... Will Eddie change his style? Who knows if it is even that simple as one would guess Eddie's buys (AKA Billing) were based around his new way of playing... Rico is no Daniels... He is not anywhere near as attacking a LB, more a solid (ish) defensive player... Our CMs don't create, just break up, which mean our forwards don't get the service they need to enable them to score... There a re still a few bright lights in Danjuma and Lerma, and I hope L.Cook sees a return and Eddie realises we need creativity in there...

Like it or not Eddie has set us up to be more defensive and injuries have and will continue to result in us not even being able to do that... Me, I'd rather se us just go at Chelsea with pace and a new formation... But it won't happen...
 
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tedisking said:
Good article, sums up what most right minded fans have been saying on here for the last few weeks
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Yes it's almost that she's flicked through this forum and the crap from fans of ours on twitter in order to come up with an article so inaccurate it's seems laughable to any 'right minded' fan who has actually watched us since we've been in this league......tbf to her our statue is suchlike that the only people watching our games are fans of ours....therefore journalist's like this one only form an opinion on their perception of how we play .....which is why she thinks we are still trying to play the same way we always have.
 
For me one of the reasons we are not performing well is key injuries, one being Brooks, badly missed.

Another is Fraser, he is not the player this season we know and that has affected Callum Wilson, the understanding, assists and goals are missing so far this season.

Callum Wilson is lacking the pace to outstrip defenders we have seen before.

Then we beat Manchester United and Josh King scores a great goal and looked sharp, next thing he is out injured.
 
in her article she says..
"but there are lots of clubs in the Premier League this season proving you can win matches without the fan-base or the finances the so-called top six have to play with, by defending well, having a reliable goalkeeper, counter-attacking well and having a coach who gets the best out of the squad. It is no longer clear that Bournemouth offer any of these things. "

can anyone name some of these 'lots of clubs' (apart from Sheff Utd)
 
Topfarrier said:
Yes it's almost that she's flicked through this forum and the crap from fans of ours on twitter in order to come up with an article so inaccurate it's seems laughable to any 'right minded' fan who has actually watched us since we've been in this league......tbf to her our statue is suchlike that the only people watching our games are fans of ours....therefore journalist's like this one only form an opinion on their perception of how we play .....which is why she thinks we are still trying to play the same way we always have.
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You have your opinions, which I respect even though they are wrong.. :grinning:
 
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