Cherries' faith in Iraola handsomely rewarded after poor start - Interview Friday, 5th Jan 2024 20:54 by Clive Whittingham Two seasons ago this was a league game between two teams going for second spot in the Championship, now it's a forgone conclusion cup tie with Bournemouth powering ever higher up the Premier League - Jon Spark from the Cherries Red Army Podcast is our sympathetic visitor. How's the season gone for Bournemouth? Couldn’t really ask for more right now, especially given the start. We lost our most recent game to Spurs (away) but that ended a seven-game unbeaten run, a club record in the Premier League and a series of four straight away wins, another club record at this level. Twelfth and safe in mid-table are where I think a lot of fans’ expectations were this season, but it’s more than just the position in the table that have Cherries’ fans loving games recently. Bournemouth have been fun to watch again for the first time since Eddie Howe left. Bournemouth in the league so far… Few eyebrows raised at the managerial change in the summer after the job Gary O’Neil did last year, any concerns when results were poor at the start? There was a growing undercurrent of discontent after the 3-0 loss away to Everton. Despite some encouraging displays in the first six games, the performances against Arsenal and Everton were verging on diabolical and I said that if he couldn’t pick up results in the next few games, then we might have to consider his position. The following game we then lost at home to GON’s Wolves and it was looking grim. Gary’s appearance on MNF a couple days later rubbed an extra healthy dollop of salt in the wound too. My goodness it's turned around since though, what's Iraola getting right? Any January rumours? What needs doing? So far just two rumours: one in and one out. A 19-year-old Ecuador midfielder Óscar Zambrano is a youngster every Cherries fan has been searching for highlight reels of recently. The club is trying to be the next Brighton to the point it’s even looking to bring in youngsters from Ecuador. I mean if we can sell this guy on to Chelsea for £125m too then I won’t mind. As for the outgoing, that’s Kieffer Moore who is heavily linked to Cardiff. He’s not getting any game time here, the issue being that we’d need to replace him. On top of striker competition, I think we need to bring in another LB, probably on loan. The three players we’ve had play there this season are all currently out injured. Ins >>> Tyler Adams, 24, DM, Leeds, £22m >>> Hamad Traore, 23, AM, Sassuolo, £21m >>> Alex Scott, 20, CM, Bristol City, £20m >>> Milos Kerkez, 19, LB, Alkmaar, £15m >>> Romain Faivre, 25, RM, Lyon, £15m >>> Justin Kluivert, 24, LW, Roma, £10m >>> Max Aarons, 23, RB, Norwich, £6m >>> Luis Sinisterra, 24, LW, Leeds, Loan >>> Ionut Radu, 26, GK, Inter, Loan Outs >>> Ben Pearson, the goblin boy, nobody knows how he was born, Stoke, £1m >>> Siriki Dembele, 26, AM, Birmingham, Undisclosed >>> Christian Saydee, 21, CF, Pompey, Undisclosed >>> Jefferson Lerma, 28, DM, Palace, Free >>> Jordan Zemura, 23, LB, Udinese/Watford, Free >>> Jack Stacey, 27, RB, Norwich, Free >>> Romain Faivre, 25, RM, L’Orient (typical, fucking, Leyton Orient), Loan >>> Jaidon Anthony, 23, LW, Leeds, Loan >>> Mark Travers, 24, GK, Some Of These People Have Come From Stoke, Loan >>> Jamal Lowe 29, AM, Swansea, Loan (good luck with that) >>> James Hill 21, CB, Blackburn, Loan >>> Will Dennis, 22, GK, Kilmarnock, Loan >>> Junior Stanislas, AM, 33, Free Agent We were massively impressed with Alex Scott when he played here last May, how's he done? Unfortunately, he’s been injured for a lot of games this season. Thankfully, unlike Tyler Adams, he has played a few matches and we are all loving what we are seeing. As a young professional he is still going to make mistakes (see Forest’s first goal a couple weeks back) but he’s also got the whole package as a technically brilliant and intelligent midfielder. He got his first assist against Fulham and scored his first goal against Spurs in the last couple weeks. The competition we have in midfield is really good right now, so we should be able to manage his minutes and keep developing him. No doubt that, as long as he stays fit, he won’t be at Bournemouth for long and an England cap is surely just around the corner. Revised expectations for the season? Given you're safe, midtable, might the FA Cup be something to aim for? Or are we expecting 11 changes? I would love to play a small violin here and whine about injuries to extract some sympathy, but really despite the players we have out, Iraola could still feasibly make 8-10 changes. The only player who started against Spurs that I am confident will start against the R’s is Marcos Senesi, as he is suspended for the next league game on five bookings. However, some of those who will want to come in and make an impression are the likes of Billing, Brooks and the aforementioned Scott. There’s enough quality in the squad that, despite a change of over half the team, I’m confident of a win. Links >>> Bournemouth official website >>> Bournemouth Echo — Local Press >>> Up The Cherries — Forum >>> AFCB — Blog >>> Cherries Red Army — Podcast >>> Back Of The New — Podcast The Twitter @loftforwords, @jonsparkafcb, @CherriesRedArmy Pictures — Action Images Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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