Is Bournemouth’s expansive style of football going to cost them their Premier League place?

Add as preferred source on Google

In their first season in the top flight, Bournemouth enjoyed every moment. This is understandable given that, little more than ten years ago, they almost dropped out the Football League. Neutral fans have bought into the South Coast club’s attractive style of possession football, something embedded in their DNA by Eddie Howe, who unquestionably has worked miracles since he first took over. However, the Cherries’ recent form has found them freefalling toward the wrong end of the table, posing the question: will they become another victim of second season syndrome?

Despite their recent hearty showing against Manchester United to leave Old Trafford with a valuable point, despite being down to 10 men, these gutsy defensive displays have been few and far between over the course of the season. As a result, Bournemouth has the 3^rd worst defensive record of all teams in the Premier League. The problem sees Howe’s men unable to grind out points away from home, and also sees them struggle to win games at home knowing they almost inevitably have to score to take something from the game.

At the centre of the problem, individuals continue to commit errors and should take more responsibility for the lapses in standards defensively. At times this season, opposing teams seem to open up and drive through Bournemouth’s midfield easily, as shown by Harry Arter being one of the most dribbled past players in the league, and the low figures surrounding their tackling. At the back, players such as Simon Francis and Charlie Daniels, who performed so admirably last season, have fallen well below the required standard, committing numerous errors over the course of the season. Whilst the individual mistakes can be eradicated, this would not see Bournemouth overturn their defensive woes. The bigger problem lies within their style of play – an issue that requires rethinking and a change in direction from those in charge.

Although their style of play has seen them become people’s second team within the Premier League, on the back of their current form, it may need to be reconsidered. Howe and Bournemouth pride themselves on their effective use of possession, recycling the ball wherever possible, playing football ‘the right way’, some would argue. This has drawn many admirers, as their style of football was thought to be only successfully implemented by the bigger teams at the top of the league.

However, many positional aspects of the system create bigger defensive concerns. Most notably, in a quest to play such an attractive brand of football, Bournemouth open the pitch up, creating space for players to pass and move. Daniels and Smith, the full-backs, will tend to push higher up the pitch, spreading the game to create the space required. If the ball is then lost in the midfield, teams can exploit the space left behind the full-backs, and the two central defenders become exposed. One simple long ball forward can the create an opportunity for the opposing team, as the defence is isolated. Far too often this season, as shown by the likes of Everton and Liverpool, amongst others, Bournemouth ended up conceding from situations where they are on the front foot.

In the Championship and League One, players may well have not exploited the space Bournemouth’s system tends to create. However, in the Premier League, they are not afforded this luxury. Even against the teams in the top six, Howe sets up his players to play the same way, leaving opposing teams coming into games knowing that, during the course of the game, they will have space to operate within centrally, or in the channels behind the full-backs. If the systemic faults at the centre of Bournemouth’s defensive troubles, and subsequent poor form, aren’t overhauled, the South Coast outfit may well find themselves in the Championship sooner rather than later.

An alternative for Howe, who has been touted as a possible successor to Wenger by journalists and ex-pro’s alike, due to his emphasis on style and his philosophy, may not have to lead to a retraction in his values that underpin his possession-based philosophy. In away games or games against those pushing the upper echelons of the Premier League, Howe could opt to deploy his central midfielders, Arter and Jack Wilshere, deeper. They both have the tenacity, and the drive, to win the ball in the defensive third and carry the ball forward, freeing the space for the likes of Junior Stanislas, Josh King, Benik Afobe and Ryan Fraser to use their pace and creative nous.

Whilst they both have the attributes to play in a box-to-box manner, they also can combine these attributes with an effective shield in front of their back four, tightening the space for the opposition forwards to work within. In addition, Smith and Daniels could be deployed deeper, choosing their moments to bomb forward, to protect the channels behind them, whilst offering more protection for their centre-halves. As a result, Bournemouth would be more compact and defensively sound, increasing their chances of picking up points more regularly, given they have not struggled offensively.

With their place in the Premier League on the line, a more pragmatic, defensively minded approach implemented by Howe may seem a more astute option and will give them the opportunity to collect the points required to continue to dazzle the neutrals for years to come at the top level.