Because I’m bored.
Travers- 7 made a vital intervention in the first half to deflect a cut back away from the path of an onrushing Boro player. Also made a fairly decent (albeit routine) save late on in the half. Didn’t have much to do but did what he had to.
Smith- 6 certainly not MOTM like the sponsors suggested but put in a decent enough shift on his unnatural side. Struggled a bit to get involved from an attacking perspective (not helped by playing behind a very uncomfortable Cantwell) but defended admirably against a tricky opponent in Jones.
Phillips- 7.5 MOTM had one very shaky moment in which he was very fortunate not to give away a penalty, but that aside didn’t put a foot wrong defensively. Read the game pretty well today. Would have scored higher if not for slightly wayward distribution.
Kelly- 6 defended well when tested and his recovery speed allowed him to snuff out dangerous situations on numerous occasions. However he had one of those days where his distribution was all over the shop, most passes felt like they were either misplaced, over hit or under hit.
Laird- 7 thought he looked pretty decent after a shaky first few minutes. Showed a great engine to overlap on numerous occasions and was unlucky not to get an assist with a lovely cut back in the first half. Also looked pretty solid from a defensive perspective mostly. First real showing was not too bad at all.
Cook- 6 thought he struggled to really impose himself on the game. Showed some nice neat touches as always but never felt like he had control of the midfield. Looked more comfortable when we went 4-4-2 late on and he had a proper midfield partner.
Lerma- 6 still not so sure about him in this advanced midfield role, he does a job there and every once in a while looks very good but does it really get the best out of him? Not sure why we don’t just play him deeper alongside Cook and let him play his natural game. Should have scored with his header that hit the bar.
Billing- 5 flattered to deceive yet again. Every once in a while he will really use his physical attributes and drive forward with the ball and you will think ‘wow this guys a player.’ However he just doesn’t do this often enough. Very much a luxury player again today. Not really getting involved very often and losing out while competing for second balls. Honestly think it is time to give the guy a rest, hasn’t been on it for a while now and we can’t afford to carry anyone at the moment.
Christie- 5 pretty anonymous today, didn’t get involved much at all. Worked hard as always but needs to provide more of an impact on the ball.
Cantwell- 5 no idea how Parker thought that playing him wide left could work, looked very uncomfortable out on the flank. You could tell he was just itching to drift infield at every opportunity.
Solanke- 6 it’s a hard one to score really because although he was largely anonymous this is due to a systemic failure, not an individual one on his part. What can we expect him to do when he’s having to fight off three centre halves without another Bournemouth player anywhere near him. You really are asking an awful lot of him to make a mark on the game while being so isolated. He could get on the ball a bit more when he had Lowe as support.
Subs: won’t mark but will offer thoughts
Lowe- bright cameo. Got into a couple of good goal scoring positions and linked play well while on the pitch.
Anthony- put a couple of decent balls into the box. Certainly looked more of a threat with him there than Cantwell.
Dembele- a few nice touches but not given long enough.
Final Verdict:
Going to approach this purely from a tactical perspective. IMO our starting 4-3-3 is not reliable enough when tasked with breaking down teams who play a back 5 and like to sit in. I feel like we instantly looked a better side today later on in the game when we switched to a more traditional 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 and went back to basics. Having two centre forwards on the pitch allowed us to build a bit of sustained pressure later on and we even created one or two openings. Would really like to see us drop Billing and start with a more conventional 4-4-2 next game, going back to basics could just be our best chance.
Travers- 7 made a vital intervention in the first half to deflect a cut back away from the path of an onrushing Boro player. Also made a fairly decent (albeit routine) save late on in the half. Didn’t have much to do but did what he had to.
Smith- 6 certainly not MOTM like the sponsors suggested but put in a decent enough shift on his unnatural side. Struggled a bit to get involved from an attacking perspective (not helped by playing behind a very uncomfortable Cantwell) but defended admirably against a tricky opponent in Jones.
Phillips- 7.5 MOTM had one very shaky moment in which he was very fortunate not to give away a penalty, but that aside didn’t put a foot wrong defensively. Read the game pretty well today. Would have scored higher if not for slightly wayward distribution.
Kelly- 6 defended well when tested and his recovery speed allowed him to snuff out dangerous situations on numerous occasions. However he had one of those days where his distribution was all over the shop, most passes felt like they were either misplaced, over hit or under hit.
Laird- 7 thought he looked pretty decent after a shaky first few minutes. Showed a great engine to overlap on numerous occasions and was unlucky not to get an assist with a lovely cut back in the first half. Also looked pretty solid from a defensive perspective mostly. First real showing was not too bad at all.
Cook- 6 thought he struggled to really impose himself on the game. Showed some nice neat touches as always but never felt like he had control of the midfield. Looked more comfortable when we went 4-4-2 late on and he had a proper midfield partner.
Lerma- 6 still not so sure about him in this advanced midfield role, he does a job there and every once in a while looks very good but does it really get the best out of him? Not sure why we don’t just play him deeper alongside Cook and let him play his natural game. Should have scored with his header that hit the bar.
Billing- 5 flattered to deceive yet again. Every once in a while he will really use his physical attributes and drive forward with the ball and you will think ‘wow this guys a player.’ However he just doesn’t do this often enough. Very much a luxury player again today. Not really getting involved very often and losing out while competing for second balls. Honestly think it is time to give the guy a rest, hasn’t been on it for a while now and we can’t afford to carry anyone at the moment.
Christie- 5 pretty anonymous today, didn’t get involved much at all. Worked hard as always but needs to provide more of an impact on the ball.
Cantwell- 5 no idea how Parker thought that playing him wide left could work, looked very uncomfortable out on the flank. You could tell he was just itching to drift infield at every opportunity.
Solanke- 6 it’s a hard one to score really because although he was largely anonymous this is due to a systemic failure, not an individual one on his part. What can we expect him to do when he’s having to fight off three centre halves without another Bournemouth player anywhere near him. You really are asking an awful lot of him to make a mark on the game while being so isolated. He could get on the ball a bit more when he had Lowe as support.
Subs: won’t mark but will offer thoughts
Lowe- bright cameo. Got into a couple of good goal scoring positions and linked play well while on the pitch.
Anthony- put a couple of decent balls into the box. Certainly looked more of a threat with him there than Cantwell.
Dembele- a few nice touches but not given long enough.
Final Verdict:
Going to approach this purely from a tactical perspective. IMO our starting 4-3-3 is not reliable enough when tasked with breaking down teams who play a back 5 and like to sit in. I feel like we instantly looked a better side today later on in the game when we switched to a more traditional 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 and went back to basics. Having two centre forwards on the pitch allowed us to build a bit of sustained pressure later on and we even created one or two openings. Would really like to see us drop Billing and start with a more conventional 4-4-2 next game, going back to basics could just be our best chance.
