Bournemouth Turnaround a Reward for Sticking to Principles
.jpg "Bournemouth Turnaround a Reward for Sticking to Principles")
By the time the November international break came around last year, many were beginning to doubt Bournemouth’s possession based philosophy. With his side sat in the relegation zone at the time, just three points above bottom club Aston Villa after 12 games, Eddie Howe could have panicked.
"I'm going to sound like a broken record on this question because I get asked it a lot. We're not going to change our ideals, our way of working and our way of playing for various reasons.”
The young manager suggested that to ditch the approach that had earned the Cherries such acclaim en route to the Championship title would be detrimental. He believed the technical players he had in place suited their way of playing despite a tough start to the campaign. Telling them something different having fostered a sense of an engrained understanding between his squad would only waste the years of work put in to secure their top-flight status for the first time in the club's history.
Some remained unconvinced, labelling Howe’s opinion naive. Five months down the line, they’re eating their words.
Bournemouth’s turnaround since suffering defeat to Newcastle prior to the league breaking up for November’s Euro 2016 play-offs and international friendlies has been remarkable. That game was the perfect example of how their style of play was not the issue. They had 20 shots to Newcastle’s 2 but lost due to a stellar performance from the Magpies’ keeper Rob Elliot, who secured a man of the match WhoScored rating of 9.08.
That said it did highlight the fact that Bournemouth would need to be more ruthless in front of goal in order to avoid the drop, having picked up just one point from six games at the time. The squad had been struck down by long-term injuries to key players, most notably Callum Wilson.
Nevertheless, Howe showed faith in those that were fully fit and stuck to his principles. His players have repaid him for that show of confidence. Seventeen matches later and Bournemouth are safe with room to spare. Currently on 35 points, there’s every chance they needn’t pick up another one to avoid the drop, and they deserve immense credit for their results.
Indeed, if the Premier League had started after that international break Bournemouth would be sixth, behind Liverpool only on goal difference. Only Leicester, Tottenham, Chelsea and West Ham have lost fewer matches in that period than the Cherries’ 4, with Howe’s side earning one more point over the last five months than Arsenal and three more than Manchester City. All that despite the quite remarkable fact that the aforementioned Callum Wilson remains the club’s top scorer this season with just 5 goals from 7 appearances.
Bournemouth have pulled together to become a unit in everything they do; defensively, in possession and attack, sharing the goals around. There are no star players within their ranks but more importantly there are no weak links either. What they lack in top-flight experience is negated by the fact that every player is willing to show for the ball and composed when they receive it. It’s for that reason why they can no longer be considered relegation candidates.
The notion that they were too gung-ho early on in the season was ill-founded. It’s true that Bournemouth concede too many goals but in terms of their organisation as a whole it’s hard to pick holes in their set-up. The fact that only Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United have conceded fewer shots per game this season (10.9) is a sensational achievement for a side whose weakness ahead of the campaign was deemed to be a lack of quality in defence. The club’s three highest rated players this season - Simon Francis (7.12), Charlie Daniels (7.05) and Steve Cook (7.04) - have been mainstays at the back and didn’t have a single minute of Premier League experience between them before the current campaign.
On current form Bournemouth are better placed to secure a top half finish than to fall back into the Championship, which is stunning given their record after 12 matches. Achieving a top 10 spot, however, may well be easier said than done given their remaining fixtures, making Bournemouth's healthy points haul at this stage all the more important.
Howe’s men host the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea before the season’s end, as well as making trips to Tottenham and Manchester United. In their position though, there’s no reason whatsoever for the Cherries to fear any of those sides. If Bournemouth continue to progress at the rate that they have in recent months they will be the team striking fear into their opponents.
Just imagine if this side had had a goalscorer of Wilson’s evident ilk fit for the whole season, or indeed Benik Afobe - who has made an impact since his January arrival. They should have both for the next campaign and they’re already certain to be plying their trade in England’s top-flight once more. One wouldn’t bet against Bournemouth staying there for some time.
With a favourable home tie against Swansea, I'd be confident in buying shares in Bournemouth's forwards this weekend. The likes of Max Gradel and Josh King will be worth keeping an eye on in the match market but my tip is for Benik Afobe to continue his strong start on the south coast, buying shares at £0.35.
