AFC Bournemouth have had a reasonable enough start to their first ever Premier League campaign.
Eddie Howe’s side have managed four points in as many games and, for the moment, sit mid-table. The Cherries will take comfort in the fact that they have had the best start of the three newly-promoted teams.
First four games
Bournemouth started off the season in lame form with two 1-0 defeats at the hands of Aston Villa and Liverpool, but could boast the positive of having played their own, enthusiastic brand of football over the first two rounds. Their persistence with their own style of play finally paid off during their 4-3 dismantling of West Ham United and carried over into the following week, where they managed to take a point away from an undefeated Leicester City.
Howe has opted for a similar starting lineup in each of his opening four fixtures. The Cherries boss often selected reliable figures from his championship-winning season instead of newly purchased players. The most prominent case is the selection of Charlie Daniels over club record signing Tyrone Mings. Mings has not been able to get a start in the Premier League this season and only managed a six-minute stint against Norwich after Daniels had to be withdrawn through injury; Mings himself would be substituted with his own injury problems.
Transfer window performance
Howe recruited exactly as you would expect a newly-promoted side to, bringing in first team quality players and putting aside a fair portion of the budget for squad strengthening players, commonly refereed to as ‘depth’. By the Premier League’s standard, Bournemouth have not spent all that much, but from an internal point of view it is the most expensive squad investment in the club’s history (about six times more than than their current record).
Bournemouth spent a combined €31 million on a quartet of new players that included Max Gradel, Lee Tomlin, Glenn Murray and the aforementioned Mings. However only Gradel has managed to tie down a starting spot.
Bournemouth operated with financial savvy when they brought in a host of unattached players during the transfer window. Names like Sylvain Distin, Joshua King and the goalkeeping duo of Adam Federici and Artur Boruc helped to add both first team quality and squad depth to the Cherries.
The only other notable ascertainment was the loan deal for Christian Atsu from Chelsea. Atsu was signed by the Blues back in 2013 as one of the bigger talents in Europe, but is now stuck in the loan merry-go-round, spending time at Vitesse, Everton and now Bournemouth.
Key player
Callum Wilson is the standout in the newly-promoted Bournemouth squad. The spearhead of their attack and main goal scorer, Wilson is the man the Cherries will hope can perform for the whole season if they are to survive relegation.
…And the Bournemouth fans know it.
In the opening few fixtures when Wilson was still finding his feet, Bournemouth looked good, but failed to produce a result. When he detonated against West Ham and bagged a hat-trick, Bournemouth secured their first ever Premier League win. When push came to shove against Leicester City, it was Wilson that stepped up for his side and snatched the lead at the time with a stellar overhead shot.
That is not to say the Bournemouth striker is in any way inconsistent or one of those hot and cold strikers. When one watches Bournemouth, Wilson is always the most eager, most threatening player in their colours. Despite a slow start over those first two fixtures, Wilson is now tied with Bafetimbi Gomis and Riyad Mahrez for top goalscorer in the Premier League.
What has gone right?
They have remained stubborn. Despite the standard of opposition faced, Bournemouth have never flinched away from their footballing values. Each week they play an attacking, open and possessive style of football that encourages opportunity and excitement. There are a lot of teams that would not dare play in such a way, but Bournemouth should be commended for their ability to do so.
The added bonus is that they have stuck to that appealing style of play, but still managed to take points away from their games. They could have easily snatched a win against Liverpool in the second round had some contentious refereeing decisions gone their way and went toe-to-toe with both Aston Villa and Leicester, only to have late goals spoil their outings.
Where to improve?
Having not kept a clean sheet so far this season, Bournemouth’s defense is an area that needs fine tuning. 95% of the time, the Bournemouth back line is water tight, but near enough is not good enough in the Premier League and conceding unnecessary goals hurts in the long run – especially if you are in a relegation battle, or expected to be involved in one.
Next four games
Facing the likes of Norwich, Sunderland, Stoke and Watford over the next four rounds, Bournemouth should be looking to take away at least seven points from those games.
Given that over the course of the Premier League, Bournemouth will have to face the Chelseas, Arsenals and Manchesters, it is important that they get results against lower sides. If Bournemouth are to avoid relegation come May next year, they are going to have to take full advantage of fixtures like these.
Six-point games mean this next stretch of games could ultimately decide the outcome of Bournemouth’s season.
Grade – C+ (A for effort)
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