Written by kirsikka
AFC Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola pulled a small surprise with the starting line-up, preferring to keep things unchanged rather than bringing in Christie or Kluivert from the start. Yes, there are match sharpness issues, but it also seemed a clear nod to the tactic he sometimes uses of wanting to finish the game with a stronger XI.
Man of the Match against Spurs?
Senesi
Senesi
Vote
Truffert
Truffert
Vote
Evanilson
Evanilson
Vote
Brooks
Brooks
Vote
Semenyo
Semenyo
Vote
Adams
Adams
Vote
Someone else
Someone else
Vote
There are times when these are a tough write. Tuesday was painful as I felt like I was on a massive rant, knew I was hugely influenced by immediate post-match frustration and anger that would subside to something more reasonable if I left it. However, in the moment, it’s like the dark side in Star Wars… flowing through me and spitting itself out onto the page.
Which must make today Return of the Jedi, my body wracked with adrenaline as the force was with us. Trying to make something coherent out of the jumble of my thoughts is mission impossible. Yikes, wrong franchise. Whatever. Just have some patience if I go all over the place on this one…
If Lee Bradbury was the Spurs manager today, he’d have said that they looked different class for the first 30 seconds. Because, until a half-hearted late flurry, that was their only moment in the match.
Before I get into the weeds, let’s put context on this. Spurs have started the season like a steam train. They brushed aside Pep’s Man City, sit on maximum points and have looked superb up until now.
Their manager has a record before today against AFCB of something like played 56, won 55, drawn 1. Ok, maybe a slight exaggeration, but I’m not going to look it up now. Let’s settle for him probably being our least favourite opposition manager to play against when it comes to results.
Today, we were on their patch and they wanted to continue their early season form, with a crowd right behind the team and their new messiah in charge. Newsflash, Spurs fans, he’s not the messiah. He’s a very naughty boy. You’ve got yourselves yet another Brian without the personality.
Back to the game and with that 30 seconds out the way, AFCB took control. Not of all the possession but of all the attacking play. It paid off immediately.
We broke down the left with Semenyo out wide. Instead of crossing, he played an intelligent pass on the deck to Scott who was on the edge of the area, still wide-ish, and he gave it back to Senesi. Then came an absolute peach of a picked pass through to the run of Evanilson, who picked it up in the area and shot. It took a huge deflection and went past the keeper into the net.
After last week’s deflected goal from Tavs, you’ve got to wonder if they’re practising these in training…
Let’s have a word about Senesi. He’s often maligned for his pace and compared unfairly to Huijsen. We know the window won’t shut without more competition coming into the club for his position. Yet, we have an excellent record with him in the side.
Today was his magnum opus. I know I haven’t seen him play better. He stepped into midfield, he intercepted, he gave the Spurs forwards nothing, he played balls over the top that were accurate and dangerous but he also played them on the ground, picking out our advanced players to their feet.
On a bad day, his critics will want to refer to him as Slownesi but today he blew that away with a ball playing centre back performance of the highest calibre. One worthy of, from now on, us calling him SeMessi.
There was a litany of brilliant AFCB performances out there, but he was, hands down, the best player on the pitch. Superb.
More action? Where do I start… this will go on forever if I try to cover all the chances. Let me be clear when I say at half time Spurs had an xG of 0.00000. Meanwhile, AFCB could and should have been two or three ahead.
There was a cross from Brooks that was straight from the schoolyard book of showing off. Whipped in with the outside of his boot to a channel neither defender nor keeper could reach. For fans of gaming, he basically headshotted Semenyo’s run with the ball. Unfortunately, Antoine couldn’t keep it down and the header went over when it should have ripped the back of the net.
We also saw plenty of examples of the usual two-tier reffing you get in these games. After Macallister escaped without a yellow against us in the Liverpool match despite three or four occasions when he should have gone into the book, today Palhinha outright assaulted Scott after a brilliant piece of skill saw AS going past him. Somehow the ref was happy with only a free kick. Genuinely one of the clearest yellow cards you will ever see. Still, there was worse to come from the officials later.
Brooks tried a cute free kick that nearly caught out the Spurs keeper, who was wandering out expecting a cross, but he just scrambled over in time to push it around the post. When players do that and score, it feels like it should be called a Mankad goal…
After 23 minutes of relentless AFCB pressure and chances, disaster struck. Smith stretched to challenge for the ball near the halfway line and immediately clutched at his hamstring and had to go off.
I’ll take a brief moment to channel some more dark side from Tuesday night and curse the absolute idiocy of Araujo once again. We needed him, but where was he? Sitting on his sofa picking Klingons out of his butt. It makes the negotiations with AC Milan over Jiminez a little more urgent. Hill came on to deputise, a centre back who is a makeshift right back, at best.
I thought this would be the momentum changer. An obvious weakness to try and exploit whilst we reset. Nothing of the sort. Hill slotted into the role like a correctly put piece in one of those kids shape sorter toys.
There isn’t much in the way of negative from today. Araujo is probably the biggest, and he was suspended. About the only other criticism is Petrovic’s distribution. At times, there’s no other word for it than awful. Every game we’ve seen him put at least one ball straight into touch. Today it happened multiple times.
With a weakness like that, you need to make up for it in other ways and I’ll say, in his favour, I can’t recall a more dominant keeper on crosses in our goal. Small sample so far, but he came and took pretty much everything in the final few minutes when Spurs pumped balls in.
I guess that’s the trade off.
Someone asked on here why we dislike Thomas Frank. Watch the match back and see that classless prick on the touchline when his team are losing and you have your answer. The histrionics from him at the officials when the ref is being kind to his team – refusing to give out multiple deserved and clear cut yellows – were preposterous. Meanwhile, his not even preschool level behaviour of open mouthed chewing at all times repulses me.
I don’t dislike him in the way I dislike a Dyche team because his teams don’t play prehistoric football but I desperately want him to fail because he gets on my nerves something chronic.
Prehistoric times… now there’s something to think about. Did you know, it’s a fact that most caveman paintings were done in red and black? That is no coincidence.
Around 50,000 years ago, a Neanderthal shaman looked into the future and was terrified by what he saw. His glimpse of the ferocious savagery of the AI AFCB press left him fearful of angering these God-like creatures.
That’s why those colours were chosen. In tribute to beings so fierce and unrelenting, even Paleolithic man took a step back and went “Blimey, let’s not get on the wrong side of that lot”.
I’ve a suspicion today was the match that shaman saw. We blitzed them, never letting Spurs have a moment of peace until, maybe, the final ten minutes when we finally eased off a touch. Understandably.
Those Spurs players must think its Halloween because they’ve been chased off the pitch by the bogeymen today.
I know I’m going wildly off on tangents and the word count can go out the window because let me declare right here and right now, even allowing that I’m not up to half time, that was the best performance from an AFCB team I think I’ve ever seen. Ignore the final score. We went to the ground of one of the Sky Six who were flying and we battered them for almost the full 90 minutes.
It was a performance built on the solid foundations of Senesi and Diakite with Tyler Adams in front of them all over the place. In fact, I’m half expecting Spurs to put in an appeal about the result because they think we were fielding three of Tyler Adams. That’s how much he was everywhere, in the right place at the right time again and again. Harrying and nipping in at pace to steal the ball.
Some of you may not have seen the full 90 yet. Go out there and find it somewhere because when the dejected Spurs players trudged off the pitch at half time to a chorus of boos – yes, we’d managed to turn all that prematch optimism into booing in 45 minutes – this was the map of the attacking threat from the two sides. A Vitals match report with added images. What a time to be alive…
Spurs-1.jpg
I’ll be honest, I grabbed it because I thought there was no way we’d be that good in the rest of the match. We should have been out of sight and it was a travesty that we were only a single goal ahead.
We all knew Frank would reset Spurs in the break and they’d come out fighting. Or so we thought, at least. The truth is, I’ve seen more heart in a vegetarian restaurant.
Into the second and on it carried, all AFCB chances. Senesi played a ball over the top to Tavs who headed it on for Semenyo. He blasted in a shot that took a superb save from the keeper to keep out.
Then chaos. Pandemonium. Mayhem. A long throw was fired into the Spurs area and a Spurs player absolutely booted Senesi just as he was volleying the ball. It was an insane challenge that could only mean a penalty but because the loose ball fell to an AFCB player, the ref carried on to see if we’d score.
Evanilson was in on the keeper but he shot was blocked whereupon it bounced out to Brooks and his shot smacked off the bar.
The ball broke loose out of the area and as Spurs surged forward, Semenyo took out the man on the ball. Already booked, the crowd was baying for the second yellow. I wasn’t worried, though, since I knew VAR would call things back and award the penalty.
Only…
I don’t know what to tell you. Somehow, VAR looked at that footage of the player hoofing Senesi in the leg and leaving him in a heap on the floor and was alright with it. Meanwhile, the ref let Semenyo off with a warning.
What just happened? How was that not a penalty? And, in a world where penalties don’t exist, how did Semenyo not get the second yellow?
Absolutely baffling officiating on every level.
The game carried on and it was the same story time and again. We were cutting through them, causing problem after problem. Whether winning it high, in the middle of the pitch or the defensive third every time we got a foot on the ball up went the rallying cry of “Charge!” and the horde of red and black steamed forward, ready to attack.
The Spurs keeper was like Gandalf and The 500 rolled into one, as save after save denied the Cherries. A Brooks shot stopped. An Adams attempt deflected. A Tavs effort into the side netting. It wouldn’t go in, no matter what we did.
One aside, all afternoon we played in triangles as if we were starting a fan club for the shittest orchestra instrument. We used them all over the park whenever we got the ball, bamboozling Spurs like they were three-year-olds in a geometry class.
There was a niche stat for fans of those things. The early Smith injury and subsequent subs through the match saw four different men wear the armband at some point for AFCB this afternoon: Smith, Brooks, Tavs and finally… err, not sure but Tavs went off so someone.
For those of you who enjoyed that earlier screenshot, you’re in luck because here’s another to show how utterly dominant we were. Crazy.
Spurs-2.jpg
Finally, we reached the last ten minutes and started to tire, even with subs on the pitch. Spurs pushed us back into our defensive third and took control but, crucially, couldn’t create anything of note.
There was a Hollywood attempt at a volley which drifted wide, and that’s the thing. The only way they were going to score today was with something outrageous and undeserved. Meanwhile, Petrovic came into his own, snaffling up every single cross they put in.
As an AFCB fan, this final period was like a special form of torture. We’d done everything right and yet it could be stolen from us at the last. I would have been desolate if a performance like that from us was rewarded with anything less than three points.
Nail biting doesn’t begin to describe it, even if the threat on our goal didn’t seem high. I was well past the quick and making inroads into my metacarpals when the final whistle went.
Oh, there was still time for one more bizarro moment from the ref. Making Hill leave the pitch for a Spurs attacking free kick when he didn’t receive any treatment from the physio. What the hell was that about? Luckily it didn’t come to anything.
Phew. What a performance. Let me say that again. What a performance. We took them to the hecking cleanings on every single measure except goals scored. No need to get too stuck on that though because it was a glorious day, a glorious showing and a glorious result.
Selected Player Watch
—– Senesi —–
I don’t care if we sign Alexiares and Anicetus before the window shuts, nobody should get to start ahead of Senesi in our next game after that showing. He was immense, both defensively and in creating for us going forward.
—– Brooks —–
The guy has started the season like a £40m winger. It’s like the Brooks of his first season, only with more physicality and nous. Palace reportedly bid £4m plus incentives for them. We should send them a GCSE maths book and tell them to come back when they’ve worked out where to put a decimal point. Meanwhile, FranPinto, don’t let Brooks off the team coach until he’s signed a new deal. He was fantastic.
—– Diakite —–
Finally looked the part today. Solid as granite.
—– Adams —–
Already said it above but he was a monster. All over them like a contagious rash that they all caught. And there aint no cream that can get rid of Tyler Adams on a day like today.
—– Scott —–
Much maligned by me so far this season but today he was majestic. All over the pitch, close ball control, fast skills and a vital part of the press. That’s the Alex Scott we’ve all been desperate to see! In 60ish minutes he’s changed the narrative that has been building around him. I’m very excited about his potential again when I was starting to feel fearful.
—– Hill —–
Hard to be thrust into a match like that and be asked to play out of position but he was excellent. I imagine he doesn’t want the role of supersub so may not sign a new deal. However, I’d be delighted if he did because, forget the Liverpool cameo, this was him in his preseason form. Well done!
AI and Tactics Watch
Harold Macmillan once claimed “You’ve never had it so good”. I put it to you, fellow AFCB fans, that we haven’t. I can’t think of a better performance from an AFCB team, ever. Especially when you consider the level we’re playing at and that we were playing away from home to an in form side who are one of the big hitters.
Wow.
And that comes back to AI and what he has instilled in this team. I don’t know much about Adli but I’ve a suspicion Leverkusen fans will be surprised to see him flying across the width of the pitch and putting in perfectly time sliding tackles at the halfway line. That’s the mentality Iraola insists upon and has put into this team. Nothing is a lost cause. No ball can’t be retrieved. And no opposition player should be allowed to breathe for a moment.
Thomas Frank got obliterated tactically out there. Levy had a decision in the summer on which of these two to pursue and he must be wondering what possessed him right now.
We know we’ll face days when it doesn’t work but I implore you, as an AFCB fan, to revel in times like this. What’s the point in being miserable and always predicting doom when the sun is shining on us like never before?
I can’t recall the last time I rewatched a 90 minute match in full. Yet, I know what I’m doing when the kids go to bed tonight. It was incredible. Fabulous. Everything that Tuesday wasn’t.
The players will have wanted to show that was an aberration and they couldn’t have been more comprehensive in doing so. To a man, they were fantastic.
We go into the international break with six points on the board after three matches and with two of our toughest away trips of the season out of the way. It’s a brilliant start to the season.
I haven’t talked much about the tactics in this section because I covered that mostly above already. Triangles, press, high balls, balls on the deck and an aggression that bullied Spurs into submission.
The wait for the next match is going to feel like it lasts for a decade, but at least I can rewatch this one time and again until then.
Those of you who travelled, I hope you have the party of parties tonight. You and the team deserve it.
We truly never have had it so good.
Your say…
Audenshaw Cherry wrote…
An Iraola masterclass. For 75 minutes we were magnificent!!! Although we should have scored at least four, if not more.
The defence was superb, when called upon, with Truffert starring again. What a buy he is!
Midfield ran the game and Scott had one of his better games but once again Adams was a monster!
Semenyo tormented their defence and got a silly yellow which could have cost us later when, once again, Richarlison fell over and it looked to all the world that he would get a second yellow. Lucky boy!
Eva scored a great goal and pressed well until he ran out of fizz in the second half.
Brooks had a great game with a lot of deft flicks. I just wish he was a bit quicker.
Special mention to Hill, who filled in at right back again, and had a really, really good cameo.
I have said this before and will almost certainly say it again. We play much better football away from home. – To join the conversation, please click here.