Bournemouth Fan View: Burnley show European football can be achieved on a budget

There was very much a feeling of “this is what you could have won” watching my AFC Bournemouth side beat Burnley on Sunday.

Because despite outclassing the Lancashire side on the pitch, they will be play in the Europa League next season – not us. There are many reasons for this in what has been a slightly frustrating season.

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Burnley a tough cookie

In a post I wrote earlier this season I said European football was possible, but this was sadly a little too optimistic. I was perhaps foolish in thinking that we might actually address some of the issues we’ve had in previous campaigns.

Namely the defence, which yet again shipped over sixty goals in the top flight. I dread to think of how we would have fared without summer signing Nathan Aké.

We will, quite simply, struggle to get anywhere near the top seven without a tighter back-line. I refuse to accept the common platitude that we concede so many because we’re an attacking side either. The main reason for it is stubbornness.

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AS IT HAPPENED: Burnley vs AFC Bournemouth

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Howe does he do it

Namely the stubborness of Eddie Howe. Now Howe is considered a minor deity in Bournemouth, and rightly so – but he’s certainly not been without fault this season.

He bizarrely dropped midfield wunderkid Lewis Cook at the start of the campaign for example, despite the fact that the now England international ended the previous season in great form.

His insistence on selecting the horribly out of form Harry Arter and solid but unspectacular Andrew Surman was ridiculous, and cost us several points early on.

Then there was his inability to see that defensive players such as Simon Francis and Charlie Daniels desperately needed to be replaced. Their lack of pace cost us badly on several occasions. This issue could have easily been solved with some canny recruitment.

Europe on the horizon?

So although we have comfortably survived another year in the top flight, there’s a slight sense of disappointment surrounding this campaign.

Primarily that, unlike Burnley, we couldn’t take advantage of a poor field of sides outside the top six this year. I fear that the field of teams we’ll face next season will be much tougher too.

With that in mind Howe will need to invest in the squad if we’re to tread water, let alone make progress in terms of league position in the next campaign. A big summer is ahead. I can only watch on with my fingers firmly crossed.

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