Cherries on top (half finish) !
Apr 03, 2024
Bournemouth won again last night and are up to 11th and are one of seven teams in contention for what appears to be four remaining top half of the table spots .......
| 7 | West Ham United | 31 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 50 | 55 | -5 | 45 | XLXX | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 26 | 23 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 32 | ||
| 8 | Newcastle United | 30 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 64 | 52 | +12 | 44 | XWLW | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 39 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 25 | 32 | ||
| 9 | Brighton & HA | 29 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 51 | 46 | +5 | 42 | LWLX | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 28 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 23 | 30 | ||
| 10 | Wolves | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 43 | 47 | -4 | 42 | XLWL | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 26 | ||
| 11 | Bournemouth | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 44 | 53 | -9 | 41 | WWWX | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 24 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 23 | 29 | ||
| 12 | Chelsea | 28 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 49 | 47 | +2 | 40 | XWXX | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 24 | 25 | ||
| 13 | Fulham | 31 | 11 | 6 | 14 | 47 | 50 | -3 | 39 | LXWL | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 29 | 15 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 35 | ||
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 34 | 50 | -16 | 30 | LXXL | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 30 |
They are quoted at a best price of 2.375 to clinch one of those places and we are on at 9.0 and without that dismal start ( 3 points from 27 games), they would have coasted into the top 10, having played at top 6 level since Matchday 10 . The original notes (written July 28th) went a lot like this ..........
The Cherries were favourites with everyone for the drop last season, their first back in the top flight and with a pretty much Championship level squad at best, not much changed in that regard after they lost 9-0 early at Anfield and manager Scott Parker was dismissed and replaced by Gary O'Neill. Firstly on an interim basis, he later got the job full time and guided Bournemouth to 15th place, playing very well at times and pretty much securing safety with 5-6 weeks of the season remaining, way beyond expectations. His reward, the sack!
He was Immediately replaced by Andoni Iraola who had allowed his contract at Rayo Vallecano to expire and who was being courted by a number of clubs. Owner Bill Foley said: It wasn’t about Gary, it was about a different opportunity."We just felt that to be as successful as we believe we can be in the transfer market and we are going to change the style of football that we played, then we needed to go a different direction."I don't feel good about it, I don't feel happy about having someone move on from a position within our club."It was not just my decision, it was a decision made by football management and we all separately came to the same conclusion. "So it was a unanimous decision amongst us all and I don't want to be viewed as one of these owners that fires people and goes on and fires them again."That is not our plan. Our plan is to go with this coach and give him every opportunity to be successful."If it means that we are relegated at the end of the season because of a mistake, then I will live with it. That is reality."
That highlighted line feels very important, so let's see what they change and who they bring in. Iraola comes from Gipuzkoa, a tiny province in the north of Spain, just 2,000 sq km, yet he is the 4th current EPL head coach to hail from there, along with Arteta, Emery and Lopetegui, which is just crazy! He is a student, an intelligent man, very into his analytics, playing with relentless pressure, a high block and incredibly offensive desire. I loved this quote which I think came from one of his Rayo players, Andoni doesn't park the bus, he takes it on a wild ride!
Hard not to feel compassion for GON, but this feels like the right appointment and Bournemouth had to act fast, or risk losing their man.
I feel genuinely excited by the prospect of watching Bournemouth and how Iraola attacks the EPL, in La Liga, Xavi said Rayo were the "biggest pain in the arse in La Liga".They had the three players with the most high-intensity sprints in Spain, they were #3 for time spent in the opposition half, 2nd for balls into the box, number one for long (and completed long) passes, 4th for chances created. Iraola said he likes to create organised chaos.
Bournemouth have signed AM Hamed Junior Traore from Sassuolo ( so we already like him!). LB Milos Kerkez from AZ, RM Roman Faivre (Lyon), Justin Kluivert (Roma) and goalkeeper Ionut Radu on loan from Inter.
The Cherries did well last season, but where they were weak, is where Vallecano and Iraola were strongest. I watched their second preseason game the other day and the pressing was already not just intense, but high quality, with 5-6 players not in the final third, but in and around the box when the opposition looked to play short and then again in midfield. I see them as a potential big improver and likely to catch a lot of teams out in the early season.
Let's be brave !
3 units Bournemouth to finish in the top half 9.0 general quote................. they need to find an extra 10-11 points to have a chance and I feel that is do-able and well priced.
I like the fact that Iraola and Justin Kluivert both spoke in post match interview last night about how "really important" the win was and how much the team still had left to play for. Kluivert said "we can still create something beautiful this season".
Good luck!
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