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AFC Bournemouth Fan View: Adam Smith will have a point to prove against Swansea
Adam Smith has often lurked at the periphery of my AFC Bournemouth side’s first eleven. Most of the time, undeservedly.
He’s proved himself as a capable right back at the top level in my view, but yet he still struggles to hold down a place in the first team. But why is that?
Competition is one factor, and Eddie Howe’s stubbornness is another. But let me explain.
Adam Smith a victim of backline reshuffling
Nathan Aké being signed in the summer has resulted in us reshuffling more than a nervous rookie casino dealer.
We’ve played with two centre-backs most this season, but also tried a 3-5-2 on occasion. This has meant that certain players have dropped in and out of the team.
Steve Cook, our most consistent performer in the last campaign, hasn’t played every game for example. But the biggest concern is that Simon Francis has been shoehorned in at every opportunity.
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Francis a fraud
Simon Francis is, quite simply, done at this level. Everyone can see it apart from the only man that matters – Eddie Howe. His persistence in selecting him is as baffling as it is annoying.
It’s not clear quite how many errors Francis has to make to be dropped down to our bench. He slipped allowing Eden Hazard to score when Chelsea beat us 1-0, and then got sent off against Huddersfield. On another day that dismissal could have cost us dearly.
He’s ulimately no longer agile enough to play at right back, and he’s not as accomplished a centre back as either Nathan Aké or Steve Cook.
The only reason he’s in the team is because he’s the captain, but really Howe should pass the armband to someone else. His stubbornness in not addressing this problem is going to cost us even more points in the long run.
Swans struggling
It will, therefore, be interesting to see how Adam Smith does this weekend – as due to Francis’s aforementioned sending off he’ll almost certainly be starting against Swansea.
He’s a far more attacking full back than Francis, and could therefore really help us take the game to a struggling Swans side. Because make no mistake, this weekend’s match is a winnable one.
It’s far more important for the Welsh side to win than us however, so hopefully we can use that to our advantage. Attacking them on the break with pace – with Adam Smith being part of this – could help us do just that.
Hopefully Smith can prove his worth and cement his place in the first tea as a result.
