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Bournemouth Fan View: Cherries risk losing Lewis Cook

Lewis Cook looking a tad confused, possibly because Dan Gosling is above him in our midfield pecking order.
Lewis Cook looking a tad confused, possibly because Dan Gosling is above him in our midfield pecking order.

Put yourself in Lewis Cook’s shoes for a moment. You’re one of the biggest young talents in the English game. You’ve just won the Under 20s World Cup, and been the captain of that side no less.

You even managed to land a place on the bench for the England senior squad in their recent friendly against Brazil.

Despite all this you’re seemingly below Dan Gosling in the pecking order. Dan Gosling, the man who struggles to avoid his second touch always being a tackle. As an AFC Bournemouth fan I find it all rather perplexing.

Lewis Cook snubbed

One of our few chances came right at the death, as Dan Gosling failed to anticipate a cross from Charlie Daniels and missed the ball by inches.
One of our few chances came right at the death, as Dan Gosling failed to anticipate a cross from Charlie Daniels and missed the ball by inches.

This makes even less sense after our 0-0 draw with Swansea City this weekend. A game that could be described, at best, as excruciatingly dull.

We struggled away for ninety minutes towards a draw we barely deserved. Our main issue was that we simply had no supply from midfield towards our two strikers.

READ MORE: Swansea v Bournemouth – How the match unfolded

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Josh King and Callum Wilson were simply cut out of the game due to receiving no support. Which makes placing Lewis Cook – a player who can pick out runs and link play – on the bench not just baffling, but hugely frustrating.

If I was the former Leeds United man I’d be wondering what I have to do to be given a chance. Especially considering Harry Arter is still toiling away in the first team, despite offering very little going forward.

Lewis Cook’s slight frame would not have been an issue against Swansea City either, as the Welsh side lacked any truly combative or physical midfielders.

No cutting edge

This brawl in the second half was possibly the most exciting thing that happened in the entire match. Not that that’s saying much.
This brawl in the second half was possibly the most exciting thing that happened in the entire match. Not that that’s saying much.

What was truly bizarre is that we’ve struggled in recent games – namely Newcastle away and Huddersfield Town at home – to gain control in midfield as well.

In both those games we ended up getting a little fortune in order to win, and we rode our luck in Wales this weekend too in order to gain a point.

Surely Eddie Howe can see that our midfield is simply not working, but his substitutions would suggest not. Instead he just swapped a striker and then a winger for Dan Gosling.

Which makes no sense at all seeing as our main issue is in the middle of the park. I hope Howe realises the solution is staring him in the face sooner rather than later – because if we lose Lewis Cook it would be a disaster of epic proportions.

Defensive solidity

Charlie Daniels puts in a tackle and was part of a back four that did its job on Saturday. Shame about the midfield.
Charlie Daniels puts in a tackle and was part of a back four that did its job on Saturday. Shame about the midfield.

What we don’t have a problem with however is our back four. We’ve now kept three consecutive clean sheets – something we hadn’t yet achieved in the Premier League until Saturday.

Nathan Aké and Steve Cook look a solid centre back partnership, and they’re amply backed up by the solid-as-a-rock Asmir Begovic in goal.

As soon as we crack our midfield dilemma – and I would suggest the solution involves Lewis Cook – everything will be looking quite rosy.