Every team has its off days when things don’t go to plan and players under perform, but one thing fans find hard to accept is when a side gives the impression they lack commitment.
It was hard to single out any one Bournemouth player who had a particularly bad game in Saturday’s match at Port Vale, but the whole team effort seemed flat all afternoon.
There seemed to be a lack of passion and, I don’t want to accuse the players of simply not trying, but there must be a reason we were second to practically every single 50-50 ball throughout the 90 minutes.
Only Marvin Bartley, a combative midfielder signed from non-league Hampton and Richmond last summer, appeared to be really scrapping in his typical bullish fashion but his efforts were somewhat wasted as he was played out of position on the right wing.
The fact that we aren’t playing well isn’t the most worrying thing, it’s that we seem incapable of battling through and grinding out results.
The best sides - the ones that finish highest in the league over the course of a season - are not just those who dazzle at their best, but those who are able to pick up points whether they are at their best or well below par.
Arsenal, for example, are unrivalled when they are playing well and few sides can live with them, but the reason they have not been in the reckoning when the major prizes have been dished out in recent years is their inability to put away weaker teams when their measured game is off the boil.
Chelsea, on the other hand, barely played well at all last season, but they managed to win ugly and as a result they pushed Manchester United all the way.
United were brilliant at times, but both domestically and in Europe their solid defence got them through some testing times – such as their Champions League encounter with Barcelona when they were comfortably outplayed by the Catalans over both legs but managed to stick in their and Paul Scholes’ sweet strike won the tie.
Now I’m not comparing Bournemouth to Arsenal, or United and Chelsea for that matter, but my point is we need to learn to convert patchy performances into results.
On Saturday, despite being outplayed for the best part of an hour, we managed to draw level and maybe another team would have fought out a draw, but minutes later poor defending saw us concede two quick goals and we lost 3-1.
Our opening fixture against Gillingham was another poor performance but we went ahead against the run of play and should have closed the game out but contrived to concede a late equaliser.
After the game there were some people, obviously with the patience levels of West Ham fans, calling for boss Kevin Bond to go.
For me though the problem was not tactical but in the players’ attitude, I know the manager has to take some responsibility for motivating the players but these are professional footballers and shouldn’t need to be specially fired up to give 100 per cent.
Away fans who make the effort to go to games deserve more than the Cherries gave us on Saturday, even if there were only 141 of us who had made the trip.
I spent £28 on the coach up there and £19 on the match ticket and after leaving home at 7am I didn’t get home till after 11pm.
I’m not asking for sympathy – I knew what I was potentially letting myself in for – but the least fans can ask for when they travel to away games is for their team to give it their all.
Last season it seemed the points deduction administered by the football league for our financial failings created a siege mentality within the squad and the players gave a little bit extra.
This year though, the 17-point deduction seems to have resulted in a defeatist attitude with players’ heads dropping the minute something goes against them.
It’s going to be a long old season and I’m sure I’ll clock up a few more miles watching Bournemouth, I just hope they put up more of a fight in the future.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment