Are Eddie Howe's methods at Bournemouth becoming stale - or is it just a blip?
Eddie Howe suffered a new nadir in the Premier League after losing to bottom club Norwich City and he knows how “big” Bournemouth’s next game is against Brighton on Tuesday evening.
Out-of-form striker Callum Wilson said Bournemouth’s players are all “fighting for the manager” Howe - but Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Carrow Road showed that is not enough.
A pertinent question is whether Howe’s methods are becoming stale or if this is just a blip, influenced by injuries, that can be remedied quickly.
What was clear against Norwich was that Bournemouth lacked belief and made errors at critical, high-pressure moments.
Captain Steve Cook made the most eye-catching misjudgement, dramatically handling a shot and being sent off, leading to the penalty that Teemu Pukki scored from.
Looking ahead to Cook’s suspension, Howe admitted: “Losing anyone from the squad we have at the moment is a big blow for us. Especially one as experienced as Steve and someone that has the leadership qualities he has.”
Defensively, keeping Nathan Ake beyond January would help - but Bournemouth continue to have alarming problems at the other end too.
Wilson has been looking a different player to the one called up to the England squad earlier this season. When he mis-kicked and fell over on the edge of the six-yard box, instead of equalising, that showed.
Bournemouth have two goals in nine league games now and, with injured Josh King being missed, Wilson is also looking isolated.
At Carrow Road, in the early stages, he had his first effort on target since October - and the fact Howe saw that as a positive showed how badly the player is struggling.
“I think if you’re coming away from a game with no shots - you mentioned the statistic there - that’s a more worrying sign,” said the Bournemouth manager.
Wilson was involved in the incident that led to the Premier League’s first use of the referee’s pitchside monitor to give a red card - as Norwich defender Ben Godfrey was eventually dismissed for a lunge on the striker.
Wilson felt his ankle throbbing and believed the challenge was high and “naughty” and a red card offence straight away - and felt that this was a case of the video assistant referee working, although he thought it should have been overturned in the office anyway.
Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul had to be held back, as he showed his annoyance over the incident, and later said: “We are sick of people outside the stadium in a little room getting involved.”
Bournemouth could not equalise though, meaning Norwich earned a win that was vital to stop them being cut adrift.
Todd Cantwell yet again attracted attention for an impressive showing, supported by an encouraging debut from Ondrej Duda in the No 10 role.
After a four-month wait, manager Daniel Farke could go to the Carrow Road faithful at the end of the game and celebrate a win, rousing the crowd in trademark fashion.
Top-flight minnows Norwich need to target several more of these home wins to stay up - while Howe is badly in need of one on Tuesday evening.
