Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
West Brom’s impressive season shows no signs of faltering at present, a run of four games unbeaten has seen them solidify their 8th place in the table as they have a comfortable 5 point gap over the likes of Stoke and West Ham below them.
Today they will look to make it five without defeat as they play host to a Bournemouth side who are in the opposite vein of from. Eddie Howe’s men have not won in their last six with their last three matches all ending in defeat and it’s that run of results which has changed the complexion of Bournemouth’s season.
At one point Bournemouth were sitting pretty in 9th place but a poor start to 2017 has seen The Cherries slip to 14th and should this negative run of results continue they will be dragged into a relegation battle, one that no one would have expected at the end of last year.
Tony Pulis’ side continue to exceed all expectations at the two thirds stage of the campaign. 14th place is usually the preserve of The Baggies so to see the side in the top half of the table means credit has to go not only to Pulis but the players also.
The likes of Nacer Chadli and Matt Phillips have been assured purchases and have transformed what many perceived as quite a languid club towards the end of last season. The argument was would you settle for ‘boring’ football as long as it meant staying up.
Now fans can take that to a certain degree but it was felt that it was like ‘Groundhog Day’ at The Hawthorns, with nothing really changing and no progress being made. Such was the perceived lack of progress that many felt that Pulis would be the first man to lose his job this season what with the club being taken over by Chinese owners.
But Pulis managed to lose that particular sack race and you would have to say he has probably one of the most secure employment statuses in the Premier League right now. A status which is helped with the fact that they have only lost once in the last seven league matches.
What Bournemouth would give for that record as the rot really begins to set in at The Vitality Stadium. Defensive issues continue to rear their ugly head as they have conceded 18 goals in their last 6 matches. An average of 3 per game in a run of games without a win.
It seems no coincidence that Bournemouth has been poor at the back since the return of Nathan Ake to Chelsea, since then Eddie Howe’s side have lost any real cohesion in their backline.
Whether that shows just how good Ake has been or how bad his now former teammates have been can be argued but what cannot be argued is that if this plight continues they are going to be in real trouble.
They did make life hard for Manchester City when Pep Guardiola bought his side to the South Coast just under a fortnight ago but a lack of attacking verve was also to be their undoing as a City ended up running 2-0 winners in what was a hard fought encounter.
Eddie Howe knows that he needs a result soon as they six teams below them seem to be edging closer and closer to them, if results continue to go against them then we could very well be looking at a relegation fight now containing 7 clubs.
West Brom are a tough nut to crack this season and when have scored four goals at The Hawthorns twice this season with wins over West Ham and Burnley and if the mood takes them there is no reason why they could not repeat that feat later on.
I don’t think I’m going to advocate a 4-0 win to West Brom this Afternoon but I do think they will further strengthen their grip on 8th place in the table and if Manchester United win the EFL Cup tomorrow their hopes of an unlikely European place next season can become one step closer to reality. Home win for me.
