Match Report and MOM v Leicester

Neil Dawson

UTC Legend
Double Dom as Leicester Bomb.

Bournemouth sealed a massive win in their last-ditch battle against relegation from the Premier League with unlikely talisman Dominic Solanke scoring twice in a game that breathes faint hope into their survival chances.

In the definitive 'game of two halves' Bournemouth had an epiphany on the back of a Schemichel error to score more goals in twenty minutes than they had managed in their previous 5 games since football returned. Eddies change to a five man midfield for the second half and finally a number ten to feed the forwards also deserving of great credit.

There were three changes to this game - King nursing a hamstring gave way to Solanke, Stacey started for Smith and Danjuma came in for a tired Stan. The team though bore all the hallmarks of the insipid stretched out football riddled with uncertainty and mistakes that we have seen since the return. No cohesion, no bodies forward - just an incredibly dull passive display that showed no desire to stay up.

Leicester went ahead with a typical goal conceded by Bournemouth. Gosling tried to turn past two people which is not really his game and his control let him down almost as badly as his lack of effort to chase the ball back, not once but twice for VARDY to bundle home. Gosling deservedly hooked at half time as a result. The game nearly got out of reach but Ake made a phenomenal stretch to deny Vardy after Danjumas fatal back-pass (that also saw him hooked). Unfortunately for Ake this was his last involvement with what looked like a stretched groin and he made way for Steve Cook.

The only moment of any entertainment for Bournemouth coming with a Solanke/Brooks interchange that saw the Welshman's drive well saved by Schmeichel.

HT - Bournemouth 0 Leicester 1

Then started the remarkable second half. Eddie made a crucial change. He moved to a back three of Rico, Cook and Kelly, That gave him Stacey and sub Stanislas as wing-backs and Brooks moved into a genuine number ten slot to feed the front two. Finally - an attacking formation and it paid off handsomely as Bournemouth started to get serious numbers of players in an opposition box for the first time in two years.

It was an error that sparked the way but Eddie won't be complaining - Schmeichels kick hit his own player, Ndidi, and Wilson pounced to be brought down by the same man. STANISLAS calmly chipped the ball down the middle to draw level.

Like London buses after an interminable wait for the first the second goal was not far behind. Another excellent Rico pass released SOLANKE on the left and he cut in and powered a shot that went in through Schmeichels legs and trickled over the line. A cherished first Premier League goal in Bournemouths colours. Crucially as well, as Wilson went to retrieve the ball he was mugged in the net by Soyuncu's feet and arms and the visiting defender saw red. This sparked the football of a team reborn - playing high up the pitch with players between the lines and a constant swarm of bodies into the box. It was like Bournemouth of old and reminded us all why we used to love going!

Dreamland was close and became reached when a very influential Stanislas was found in acres of space with a superb Lewis Cook through ball and he fired in a low cross which went in off Evans for an own goal. The team still pressed high as it wasn't set up tactically to defend and there was one more moment of magic that would have brought the house down had their been a house. Fuchs's ball across the box lived up to his name as far as Leicester fans were concerned and SOLANKE nipped in, tricked his way past Evans with great feet before pausing and flicking the ball through Schmeichels legs for his second of the game - a goal born out of pure confidence.

There were two more moments of drama to come... but both passed without troubling the scorers. First Surridge, a late sub for Wilson, was released one on one and blasted narrowly over then Ramsdale pulled off a great save with his feet to deny Barnes a consolation.

FT Bournemouth 4 Leicester 1

Ramsdale 7 - Smart saves and handling

Stacey 6 - Quiet but solid performance
Ake 7 - Great goal saving tackle - his last moment?
(Cook 7 - Faultless second half)
Kelly 7 - Patrolled Vardy well and recovered from error
Rico 7 - Once again great passing and defensively strong.

Brooks 6 - Became more involved in the number ten role second half
Lerma 7 - Steady and strong performance - not pretty
Gosling 4 - Off-pace and dreadful mistake.
(Billing 7 - energy and presence)
Danjuma 4 - Not a wide midfielder
(Stanislas 8 - Continued his excellent spell of mastery)

Solanke 8 - Worked hard and finally got just rewards then blossomed.
Wilson 6 - Won penalty and ran willingly but fairly blunt.

MOM - You would have to have a heart of stone not to give it to Dom. Walked off the pitch twice the player he walked onto it. Stan turned the game-play though.

Verdict
There was a second half none of us were expecting! It was so frustrating that Eddie had once again gone with a deep lying formation with a two man central midfield. It is just like he never, ever learns from any mistake. We got exactly what he has largely got all season - insipid, dull, shotless football that just invites teams to add to the 60 goals we have now conceded for the fifth season in a row. Painful.

What changed? Eddie said that he realised we had to 'go for it' and put a formation together that pushed players further up the pitch. Clearly, credit to him for doing so, and it worked. Interestingly we didn't concede either - proof if ever he needs it that inviting teams on to you in the Premier League only works when you have a well drilled defence and we don't. All we have ever needed is one of Brooks or Harry Wilson in the number ten role to receive the ball between the midfield and the forwards and to gamble midfielders into the box. How we have realised that now after capitulating to two poor sides in Palace and Newcastle without laying a glove is very infuriating. If we go down it will be because we didn't 'go for it' until we had no other option. What we saw today is what most fans always knew - the personnel is as good as we have ever had - it's the tactics that has destroyed them the proof of that being how different Solanke looks when he has bodies near him.

With a modern formation in place the football flowed and the world looks a rosier place. The problem now being we need to beat Everton and Southampton to stay up as even Solanke won't believe a win at Man City is possible tonight.

Eddie has a big dilemma now. He knows that he put together a formation to deliver what he wants but he has never started a game 3-4-1-2 before and can a last ditch tactical blitz become a formation for the two winnable games? Either way he has to keep Brooks in the number ten role where he looks involved and gets closer to goal. With his return from injury its less leg work too. That extra man in the middle is so key. Surely he now has that straight in his head.

Final word to Solanke. It can't have been easy for him. I'm not going to re-write history - he has been rank bad and todays strong performance doesn't write off all the poor ones. What it does do though is offer confidence for the future. Every escape act team has a talisman goalscorer as Steve Jones and Steve Fletcher will testify. Could Dominic Solanke be the saviour of our season, and having written that sentence i'm off for a lie down on the night the Fat Lady didn't quite get to turn on her music stand light as planned.
 
I do wonder why Rico hasn’t started more games since the restart, he has such a vision for passes and creative play although he does lack some other defensive attributes it’s better than having your first choice right back play out of position.
Wednesday - King in for Callum? Stacey keep his place?
Excellent report as always.
 
When ever we’ve discussed using wing backs, it’s always been clear they don’t get high enough up the pitch so it effectively becomes a flat back 5 rather than a 3 like it should be.

Stan at RWB was obviously going to be more of an attacking outlet but have a look at the replay of the 4th goal. The nearest player to Solanke was our LWB Jack Stacey.

I don’t think this 3-4-1-2 formation is a magic formula we have just found. However, I hope the attacking intent we saw from this system can be used as a template for the final 2 games
 
Double Dom as Leicester Bomb.

Bournemouth sealed a massive win in their last-ditch battle against relegation from the Premier League with unlikely talisman Dominic Solanke scoring twice in a game that breathes faint hope into their survival chances.

In the definitive 'game of two halves' Bournemouth had an epiphany on the back of a Schemichel error to score more goals in twenty minutes than they had managed in their previous 5 games since football returned. Eddies change to a five man midfield for the second half and finally a number ten to feed the forwards also deserving of great credit.

There were three changes to this game - King nursing a hamstring gave way to Solanke, Stacey started for Smith and Danjuma came in for a tired Stan. The team though bore all the hallmarks of the insipid stretched out football riddled with uncertainty and mistakes that we have seen since the return. No cohesion, no bodies forward - just an incredibly dull passive display that showed no desire to stay up.

Leicester went ahead with a typical goal conceded by Bournemouth. Gosling tried to turn past two people which is not really his game and his control let him down almost as badly as his lack of effort to chase the ball back, not once but twice for VARDY to bundle home. Gosling deservedly hooked at half time as a result. The game nearly got out of reach but Ake made a phenomenal stretch to deny Vardy after Danjumas fatal back-pass (that also saw him hooked). Unfortunately for Ake this was his last involvement with what looked like a stretched groin and he made way for Steve Cook.

The only moment of any entertainment for Bournemouth coming with a Solanke/Brooks interchange that saw the Welshman's drive well saved by Schmeichel.

HT - Bournemouth 0 Leicester 1

Then started the remarkable second half. Eddie made a crucial change. He moved to a back three of Rico, Cook and Kelly, That gave him Stacey and sub Stanislas as wing-backs and Brooks moved into a genuine number ten slot to feed the front two. Finally - an attacking formation and it paid off handsomely as Bournemouth started to get serious numbers of players in an opposition box for the first time in two years.

It was an error that sparked the way but Eddie won't be complaining - Schmeichels kick hit his own player, Ndidi, and Wilson pounced to be brought down by the same man. STANISLAS calmly chipped the ball down the middle to draw level.

Like London buses after an interminable wait for the first the second goal was not far behind. Another excellent Rico pass released SOLANKE on the left and he cut in and powered a shot that went in through Schmeichels legs and trickled over the line. A cherished first Premier League goal in Bournemouths colours. Crucially as well, as Wilson went to retrieve the ball he was mugged in the net by Soyuncu's feet and arms and the visiting defender saw red. This sparked the football of a team reborn - playing high up the pitch with players between the lines and a constant swarm of bodies into the box. It was like Bournemouth of old and reminded us all why we used to love going!

Dreamland was close and became reached when a very influential Stanislas was found in acres of space with a superb Lewis Cook through ball and he fired in a low cross which went in off Evans for an own goal. The team still pressed high as it wasn't set up tactically to defend and there was one more moment of magic that would have brought the house down had their been a house. Fuchs's ball across the box lived up to his name as far as Leicester fans were concerned and SOLANKE nipped in, tricked his way past Evans with great feet before pausing and flicking the ball through Schmeichels legs for his second of the game - a goal born out of pure confidence.

There were two more moments of drama to come... but both passed without troubling the scorers. First Surridge, a late sub for Wilson, was released one on one and blasted narrowly over then Ramsdale pulled off a great save with his feet to deny Barnes a consolation.

FT Bournemouth 4 Leicester 1

Ramsdale 7 - Smart saves and handling

Stacey 6 - Quiet but solid performance
Ake 7 - Great goal saving tackle - his last moment?
(Cook 7 - Faultless second half)
Kelly 7 - Patrolled Vardy well and recovered from error
Rico 7 - Once again great passing and defensively strong.

Brooks 6 - Became more involved in the number ten role second half
Lerma 7 - Steady and strong performance - not pretty
Gosling 4 - Off-pace and dreadful mistake.
(Billing 7 - energy and presence)
Danjuma 4 - Not a wide midfielder
(Stanislas 8 - Continued his excellent spell of mastery)

Solanke 8 - Worked hard and finally got just rewards then blossomed.
Wilson 6 - Won penalty and ran willingly but fairly blunt.

MOM - You would have to have a heart of stone not to give it to Dom. Walked off the pitch twice the player he walked onto it. Stan turned the game-play though.

Verdict
There was a second half none of us were expecting! It was so frustrating that Eddie had once again gone with a deep lying formation with a two man central midfield. It is just like he never, ever learns from any mistake. We got exactly what he has largely got all season - insipid, dull, shotless football that just invites teams to add to the 60 goals we have now conceded for the fifth season in a row. Painful.

What changed? Eddie said that he realised we had to 'go for it' and put a formation together that pushed players further up the pitch. Clearly, credit to him for doing so, and it worked. Interestingly we didn't concede either - proof if ever he needs it that inviting teams on to you in the Premier League only works when you have a well drilled defence and we don't. All we have ever needed is one of Brooks or Harry Wilson in the number ten role to receive the ball between the midfield and the forwards and to gamble midfielders into the box. How we have realised that now after capitulating to two poor sides in Palace and Newcastle without laying a glove is very infuriating. If we go down it will be because we didn't 'go for it' until we had no other option. What we saw today is what most fans always knew - the personnel is as good as we have ever had - it's the tactics that has destroyed them the proof of that being how different Solanke looks when he has bodies near him.

With a modern formation in place the football flowed and the world looks a rosier place. The problem now being we need to beat Everton and Southampton to stay up as even Solanke won't believe a win at Man City is possible tonight.

Eddie has a big dilemma now. He knows that he put together a formation to deliver what he wants but he has never started a game 3-4-1-2 before and can a last ditch tactical blitz become a formation for the two winnable games? Either way he has to keep Brooks in the number ten role where he looks involved and gets closer to goal. With his return from injury its less leg work too. That extra man in the middle is so key. Surely he now has that straight in his head.

Final word to Solanke. It can't have been easy for him. I'm not going to re-write history - he has been rank bad and todays strong performance doesn't write off all the poor ones. What it does do though is offer confidence for the future. Every escape act team has a talisman goalscorer as Steve Jones and Steve Fletcher will testify. Could Dominic Solanke be the saviour of our season, and having written that sentence i'm off for a lie down on the night the Fat Lady didn't quite get to turn on her music stand light as planned.
I great report on the button, I thought we where dead & buried. How wrong was I !
I can't believe what I watched, the first time the team played with true conviction. I like yourself didn't think Dom had it in him, I apologise to him & congratulate him on a great second half. Hopefully he will pick up & play to the potential we all thought he would bring when he signed. We have a second chance maybe the fat lady might not sing at all. I liked what I saw from Surridge 2 chances in the short time he was on the pitch. Maybe Eddie might give the lad a chance again in the last remaining games. Lets hope the injury to Ake is not serious & he can finish his time with us on a great note. It will be the first time for a long time I will go to sleep with a smile on my face not a frown.
 
I said we hadn’t started with a 3-4-1-2 like we did today with a player in the ten role.

We have started with wing backs in a 5-4-1 on several occasions.

There's very little difference in how you've described today's formation and a 5-3-3 other than getting everyone to push up the pitch. It was attacking intent and luck that got us the points.
 
Victory from the jaws of defeat, leicester beat themselves by making more mistakes than afcb. Football is about ability and attitude, do the basics better than the other team.
Enjoy the result.
 
What is interesting is tha
I do wonder why Rico hasn’t started more games since the restart, he has such a vision for passes and creative play although he does lack some other defensive attributes it’s better than having your first choice right back play out of position.
Wednesday - King in for Callum? Stacey keep his place?
Excellent report as always.
Ironically our comeback came with Rico playing out of position....left of a back 3.......he had a terrible first half at LB tbf.
Also i think his strength is in defending........i dont think he has a creative bone in him tbh.
 
There's very little difference in how you've described today's formation and a 5-3-3 other than getting everyone to push up the pitch. It was attacking intent and luck that got us the points.
There are two key differences. It’s the first time I’ve seen us play wing backs that were wing backs not full backs. It’s also the first time we have done that and played a genuine number ten to link it all together.
 
What is interesting is tha

Ironically our comeback came with Rico playing out of position....left of a back 3.......he had a terrible first half at LB tbf.
Also i think his strength is in defending........i dont think he has a creative bone in him tbh.
Despite another assist yesterday and his high number of assists all season.....
 

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