Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe was lauded with plaudits throughout the course of the season as he masterminded a successful first Premier League campaign for the Cherries following their promotion from the Championship in the previous term.
When Bournemouth were still plying their trade in the depths of English football some years ago, Eddie Howe advocated an attacking style of play, but as expected the consequences of playing fluid football hit Bournemouth hard in a couple of games but they managed to get some good results along the line.
From then on they got promoted to the Championship, got a new official sponsor – Mansion group, owner of several online casinos like Slotsheaven.com, and we all know what happened next.
The Eddie Howe’s tactical approach was expected to change when Bournemouth got promoted to the EPL, but he stuck with what the team knows best – fluid attacking football.
It’s almost customary for newly promoted sides to play defensive football, but Bournemouth piqued the interest of the Premier League as a whole with their dazzling performances along with their relatively tremendous results against the League’s so-called heavyweights.
It’s worth noting that even though Bournemouth had entertaining football on display in front of their home crowd as well as during their visits to other grounds, they struggled a lot this season as a result of their style of play. They focused too much effort on getting the ball into the opposition’s half of the pitch while not paying much attention to their own defensive duties.
But the fact that Bournemouth were able to secure their Premier League status by a stretch just goes to show how successful Howe’s tactical approach was in the long run. With the new season set to begin in a couple of months, Howe will have to go back to the drawing board to reevaluate his tactical theories in a bid to push for a higher place in the league.
This term was undoubtedly a season unlike any other, but by the looks of things, the next one is set to be a gruesome affair regarding its unpredictability.
A couple of new teams have now joined the Big Boys category and with the Champions League places being limited to just four teams, it’s going to be a massive scrap next season regarding who makes it into Europe’s elite club competition.
Surely Bournemouth are far more concerned with staying in the Premier League rather than going on to have a Leicester sort of season. On that front, Eddie Howe needs to take in the possibility of the seemingly impossible happening once again in a League filled with various uncertainties from the nooks and crannies of the teams involved.
Should Bournemouth Continue Playing Attacking Football?
Bournemouth’s style of play has become almost synonymous with them ever since Eddie Howe took over so basically it’s all they know how to play.
But in a sport like football, we all know that there’s always room for change even if it requires a team going out of their comfort zone such as in Bournemouth’s case. Attacking football kept them up last season so with a couple of tweaks and tactical improvements they may be able to launch a bid for a higher position in the League, possibly even a top ten spot if they play their cards right.
Bournemouth must stick to what they’re used to as it could prove to be a decisive factor once the season kicks off.
Having been likened to Jose Mourinho on some occasions, Eddie Howe will be keen on proving that his success with Bournemouth was not a fluke by any stretch of the imagination so we should most probably be in for an exciting campaign on the south coast next season.
