https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/08/02/why-bournemouth-sleepwalking-towards-disaster/Why Bournemouth are sleepwalking towards disaster
Chronically underfunded in the transfer market, Scott Parker faces one of the toughest tests of his managerial career.
Have Bournemouth given themselves even a fighting chance of staying in the Premier League? It felt like a desperate plea for help from Scott Parker when, at the weekend, the manager said: “We’re way short of where we need to be.” And it sharpened the focus on the newly-promoted club.
Eight first-team players have left from the squad that went up last season. Just three have been signed. Two of those are free transfers – Joe Rothwell from Blackburn Rovers and Ryan Fredericks from West Ham United – and both are injured. Just £10 million has been spent, on midfielder Marcus Tavernier, and he only arrived from Middlesbrough this week, days before the season kicks off on Saturday at home to Aston Villa.
Little wonder Parker has suggested, quite remarkably if under-reported in the euphoria around England Women’s European Championship triumph, that the club did not “want to give ourselves a chance of being competitive” and the apparent lack of ambition has led to confusion and concern at Bournemouth.
There are storm clouds on the south-coast when fans should be relishing a return to the top-flight.
The logical conclusion is that Bournemouth are staring at going straight back down with the suspicion that owner Maxim Demin may not have the stomach, or perhaps even the finances, for the fight. Why else would he not invest or does he really believe the squad is good enough or is he simply prepared to accept relegation?
Rumours still swirl, having emerged last year, that the Russian businessman (with UK citizenship) may be looking to sell the club. No comment was forthcoming when Bloomberg first reported this. Clearly Bournemouth would be a far more attractive proposition now they back are in the Premier League while the situation has left Parker understandably cutting an increasingly frustrated figure.
For a young, ambitious manager it is an extremely tough position. Parker has done an excellent job at Bournemouth. Just as he did at Fulham. The 41-year-old has managed two seasons in the Championship, widely acknowledged as the hardest, most attritional of leagues, and gained promotion on both occasions. That is actually an unprecedented achievement.
Sandwiched in between is a relegation and the fear has to be that he has, again, been left with a squad clearly not equipped to even compete in the Premier League.
Bournemouth have just three central defenders
Even earning promotion was impressive. Parker lost Arnaut Danjuma for £20m and replaced him with academy graduate Jaidon Anthony; one of four he promoted. High-earners such as goalkeeper Asmir Begovic and Diego Rico were moved on. He persuaded Dominic Solanke to stay, with the striker going on to score a career-best 30 goals last season.
A club that had finished sixth the year before, with a stronger squad, went up automatically. Reinforcements arrived in January but, of those, only striker Kieffer Moore has made a difference while Todd Cantwell, on loan from Norwich City, is one of the eight who has left along with centre-halves Nat Phillips (also on loan) and Gary Cahill.
In fact Bournemouth have just three central defenders. Their young captain Lloyd Kelly is certainly good enough but after him there is only Chris Mepham, who was not always a regular last season, and 20-year-old James Hill who was bought as a player to develop from League One Fleetwood Town and has made a couple of first-team appearances.
Parker pinning hopes on handful of players
Just as alarmingly Bournemouth have only two goalkeepers – first-choice Mark Travers, 23, who replaced Begovic, and Will Dennis who has played one first-team game, an FA Cup tie, and has spent most of his career in Southern Counties football. What happens if Travers gets injured?
It appears Bournemouth are pinning their hopes on a small handful of players – Solanke (who needs support), Kelly, Lewis Cook, Philip Billing and Jefferson Lerma (who only has a year left on his contract) – and even more so on Parker’s nous, drive and coaching ability. But with the manager appearing frustrated, and becoming vocal in his frustration, is that sustainable? He desperately needs reinforcements and has called for two more defenders to be signed before the weekend but that looks unlikely.
Given the investment from clubs around them, not least from also promoted Nottingham Forest – who finished below Bournemouth but who have spent £80m and brought in 12 players – then it is hard to see anything but a grim battle against relegation. Most pundits, not unreasonably, predict a 20th place finish with that worry that Bournemouth are prepared to accept that.
But will Parker? The former England international, who already boasts an impressive CV in his short managerial career, is desperate to cement his reputation as a Premier League manager and has now been left in a terrible quandary.
He earned promotion, his remit when he arrived last year after deciding to leave Fulham having grown fed up with the lack of control he had at that club, and surely could have expected at least a little more investment to help? Instead he looks unfairly exposed.
To a degree Bournemouth may be taking a realistic stance. If they, say, spent £40m as Norwich City did last season will it make that big a difference? Would they go down anyway as seven of the past 12 teams to be promoted from the Championship have done?
It means, in a sense, there is no pressure on Parker or – indeed – on Bournemouth although maybe he, at least, wants that pressure.
Parker, who was typified by his fighting spirit throughout his entire 20-year playing career, is not averse to battling against the odds, but with such an apparent lack of financial backing from the club, it would seem that this is a challenge even he cannot overcome.
Few expect Bournemouth to stay up. But it does not feel right that they appear to not even be giving themselves that fighting chance.
