Four weeks ago, AFC Bournemouth were said to be in trouble. An unkind start to the campaign by the fixture calendar had left the Cherries on the back foot. Seven games without a win. The difficult fixture list was supposed to be easing with games against Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but two more defeats, especially against former AFC Bournemouth head coach Gary O’Neil’s Wolves put the new incubant of Andoni Iraola under pressure…by the mainstream media at least, who were desperate to be proved right over the apparent unjust sacking of O’Neil by the Cherries in the summer.
However, the majority of the Dean Court faithful didn’t waiver, the plan was for more attacking, entertaining football, a new ethos, a new identity, a new style of play, more akin to “the Bournemouth way” of the past decade prior to the pandemic.
Victory over Burnley restored some confidence amongst the group of players and then came a dominant, swashbuckling performance that blew a below-par Newcastle United away.
Sheffield United were up next, with three wins in four on the cards. A 3-1 away win, that, like the Newcastle scoreline didn’t give the credit the Cherries performance deserved.
AFC Bournemouth now find themselves (in part due to the ten-point penalty for Everton) 7 points clear of the bottom three after 13 games. AFC Bournemouth are now closer to the top half of the Premier League than relegation, just 4 points adrift of Chelsea in tenth.
AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola told Sky Sports after the game…
“Performance and result were impressive. It’s good that we give continuity between performance and result.
“We wanted to make it clear we were coming for the three points – we tried to stay front foot and play in their half.
“It was the kind of game we prefer. For us, scoring early helped because it makes them push a bit higher and leave space. We could find spaces in between and more importantly in behind.
“It’s difficult to win a Premier League game away but this is really important. Three wins from the last four – we’re in a good moment.”
Man of the match against Sheffield United
Tavernier
Kluivert
Semenyo
Cook
Senesi
Smith
Zabarnyi
Christie
Solanke
Neto
Written by thegazzyb
Sublime.
90+ minutes of pressing again, not a hint of sitting back, trying to hang on.
Compare that game with some earlier in the season where we would relapse into playing the ball sideways and backward in the second half!
This was the second game in a row where every time we gained possession, we attacked. Brilliant to watch and some of our flicks and control were outstanding. We have a very skillful squad of proper ball players and grafters.
Stick with this set of players and this way of playing and we should comfortably end up around the top ten.
Christie is absolutely incredible. Wrap him in bubble wrap please AI !!!
I’ve always been a proponent of us having more shots but today we overdid it a bit. Lots of lovely one-twos ended up being ones and chance wasted. But that is nitpicking of the highest order. We just need to find the right balance. That will come with time.
Great to see Tav get his goals. Watch him go now !!!
That one is for you all ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LAoeai2QBr
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) November 25, 2023
corfe_red
Really looking like the real deal now, Newcastle and Sheff Utd matches show what we are about, full of confidence and pace, Smith looked comfortable at FB, the central defense looked solid, midfield and forwards playing short passes and not losing the ball. Finishing could be better but that’s just being picky. Well done at concerned.
AFCBade
Definitely been seeing signs of progress lately – even in that heavy defeat at Manchester City – and a number of players are upping their contributions to be more consistent over the whole game.
Disappointing that we aren’t winning by more goals after another game of missed chances but at least we are creating them.
Injury to Kelly with Aarons already sideline again highlights the lack of depth in our defence. Think this is where the January priority needs to be
Bitzer
Great performance this afternoon. They’ve been beaten by the odd goal in the majority of their games so far this season. They’ve been thrashed twice by Arsenal and Newcastle and on Newcastle, that line up that turned Chelsea over today wasn’t far off the side that we played off the park apart from Isak.
The game plan today worked a treat and we certainly put their supporters on mute.
Neil Dawson
The first thought I had was when was the last time i relaxed at an away game in the top flight. Been awhile.
The pleasing thing for me is you can see the patterns of play coming through now. A real identifiable style. The little triangles the winger bombing on and the ball over the top to them. Great to see.
The standout to me today was Smith… loved his game. Tavs a close second, took his goals and was lively. Cook linked everybody together, Semenyo was powerful. Nobody had a bad game. The only criticism would be you see we lack natural goal scorers by the large volume of chances we missed again.
We’ve had 42 shots in two games. This would have taken O’Neil half a season. That’s why we wanted change. I don’t care where we finish I just want to be entertained and today again we were.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola says his side showed their class in their 3-1 win at Sheffield United.#SHUBOU #BBCFootball #FinalScore pic.twitter.com/hvG5sV2YBX
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) November 25, 2023
darwinsdummy
To add to the discussion of our midfield, much as I appreciate Billing’s eye for goal and finishing talent, I think Kluivert-Christie-Cook is our best setup at the moment (all the better for Scott and Adams to have to compete against and earn their places when back from injury). Kluivert in the attacking midfield role the last two games has shown the skill to drift into spaces and form overloads with the wingers, has a strong shot when the opportunity presents itself, and is capable of an energetic forward press with Solanke and the wingers. Cook stays as a primarily defensive midfielder, fairly good at the press, intercepting, and tackling when out of possession while being a calm and collected passer when in possession – just does all the basics well, a good anchoring presence. These two then serve as the bookends for Christie to fully utilize his magnificent engine as a true box-to-box midfielder, getting back to act as a second defensive midfielder when needed while also getting forward to link the ball up with the attack, playing him here is like having an extra player on the field.
Barring any injuries/suspensions, I think Billing is notched down to a substitution and rotation option due to Kluivert’s recent performances. When chasing a game against a defensive team that is giving us lots of possession, Billing’s shot and creative passing play will still be useful, and I don’t think he drops our pressing ability up front from Kluivert by too much (a little bit, yes, just not a lot) so he can be rotated with Kluivert occasionally when dealing with midweek games.
Scott and Adams I think are the most interesting proposition when they’re back from injuries. Scott showed in his time on the limited time on the pitch so far that I think he could fill in for all 3 positions. He can both be good in Cook’s role anchoring the defensive midfield and advancing the ball in a very silky and collected manner. Along with those latter characteristics, he also looked good on the front foot, so could be competition for the Kluivert/Billing attacking role – if he stakes a claim there Billing could be 3rd choice and looking for a way out. And in his time also seemed a relentless runner, so could rotate with Christie if Christie ever needs to catch his breath (not sure I’ve ever seen that though). Adams I haven’t really seen enough of, but from what was spoken when signing it sounds like he’ll be more focused on competing for Cook’s role. To be honest, when both of them are healthy, we’ll be overflowing with competition for the midfield positions. Defensive midfielder: Cook/Adams/Scott. Box-to-box: Christie nailed on with Scott/Cook possible. Attacking: Kluivert/Billing/Scott.
I don’t really see Rothwell outcompeting anyone here for those positions. For box-to-box he’s behind Christie and Cook in my opinion due to less defensive skill (or sheer energy to make up for it in Christie’s case) and probably Scott as well once he’s healthy, and for attacking midfield (which I think is his preferred position?) Kluivert and Billing have both shown enough either this season or last to still get the nod over him – and then you have Scott or even Brooks as further competition. My money would be on Rothwell leaving this summer unless others are forcing moves (if Billing or Cook were to go for a fancy penny then we may keep Rothwell for depth) or are utterly broken with injuries (looking at you, Adams, please be healthy).
Three wins in four league games 📈 pic.twitter.com/rEL62ShKmg
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) November 25, 2023
