Analysing the Premier League relegation battle at the halfway stage

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16th – Bournemouth – 21 points

I saw Bournemouth beat West Brom 2-1 at the Hawthorns in December and despite playing against 10 men for more than an hour I was thoroughly impressed with Eddie Howe’s outfit. They were crisp and controlled in possession, counter attacked with menace and in Matt Ritchie they have a super footballer. It seems almost condescending to constantly laud Bournemouth’s rise from League 2 to the Premier League and for so little so be said about how excellently they have acquitted themselves in their inaugural top flight campaign. Let us not forget they have lost Callum Wilson, the top goal scorer in their promotion season, Max Gradel, the £7m record signing and Tyrone Mings all to cruciate ligament injuries. Captain Tommy Elphick hasn’t kicked a ball for 3 months either so for Bournemouth to be where they are is testament to their club’s character. The January signing of Juan Iturbe will no doubt excite fans on the south coast; if the Argentine settles quickly Howe may pull off another great story in this season of great stories.