Bournemouth have lost their last five games and won only one of 11 since mid-September and, given their form and their position a point off the bottom three, for the first time since their promotion in 2015 they look in genuine danger of relegation. This weekend they visit Chelsea, another difficult fixture in a season unexpectedly full of them, and despite Chelsea’s habit of letting their opponents back into games towards the end, it would be a surprise if Bournemouth broke their bad run at Stamford Bridge.
I saw them at Crystal Palace this month and was shocked by how flat their performance was. They did not seem to have any idea how to create chances. They played a 4-4-2 with Callum Wilson and Dominic Solanke up front and, even though Palace went down to 10 men early on, Eddie Howe did not seem to make any tactical change to adopt a more attacking approach. They did not look as if they were going to score at all until towards the end, when they abandoned their principles out of desperation and started pumping the ball into the box.
Related: Liverpool go 11 points clear as Mohamed Salah seals win over Bournemouth
Related: Eddie Howe: ‘I don’t want to be told my team didn’t play well by my piano teacher’
Continue reading...