Preview: Derby County v AFC Bournemouth

Derby County v AFC Bournemouth: Preview Q & A with AFCB blog Cherry Chimes
Posted on September 29, 2014 by lazerock   

A cursory look at the league table might suggest that Derby, on the crest of a wave after back-to-back away wins and the comeback against Cardiff, go into the game against AFC Bournemouth as hot favourites.  However, it would be a big mistake to underestimate tomorrow night’s opponents.

The Cherries can play – they are one of the few teams in the Championship with a realistic chance of “out-footballing” Derby (really, Dougie Freedman?)  They retain possession well and have the potential to be incisive in attack, with the full backs bombing forward to give extra width, much as Derby’s do.

The fact that Derby were apparently interested in signing two of their players implies that they aren’t a bad outfit and the pacy, athletic Callum Wilson, their new £3m striker, is a real threat to any defence at this level.

They beat Wigan convincingly on Saturday, while their recent televised game at Watford was a hugely entertaining draw.  And when they went to Carrow Road, Wilson cancelled out a goal from the man he was bought to replace, Lewis Grabban, with AFCB going on to secure a creditable 1-1 draw against Norwich City.

However, on the other hand, they have developed a terrible habit of throwing away leads – failing to close out home games against Forest (1-2), Rotherham (1-1) and Leeds (1-3) despite scoring first.  They also showed an alarmingly soft underbelly in conceding three goals at Blackburn in ten first-half minutes.

In summary, AFCB’s record kind of suggests to me that they are a slightly less good version of us.  Of course this is a game we can win, but without doubt, they are to be respected and we will have to be at our best to do it.

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Derby County Blog: After a somewhat dicky run of form, the win against Wigan must have come as something of a relief.  Can you put a finger on why AFCB didn’t win for six games?

Cherry Chimes: You’re right, AFCB have been on an indifferent run, but it depends how you looked at it before the Wigan game – one league defeat in the last five or no league wins in six.  The team has been scoring goals, but was simply not hanging on to leads and unable to score more than a single goal per match.

If you count the points away at Norwich and Watford as good points, I would not say the away performances have been poor, although we probably haven’t got as many points as we might have on the road.  It is the home form that has been disappointing – losing to Leeds and Forest having been ahead and drawing with Rotherham after conceding a last minute goal has really dented our league position.  So yes, it was good to get a home win against Wigan and for once, we scored more than one goal!

DCB: One interesting factor going into this game is that both clubs have reportedly cast covetous eyes at each other’s players – Simon Francis and Matt Ritchie in Derby’s case and Johnny Russell in AFCB’s.  Perhaps this is down to a similarity in footballing style and philosophy shared by the two managers?

CC: A very good point.  I felt that Derby were the best side to come to Dean Court last season, as they passed the ball continuously and to out-pass an AFCB side on our ground is pretty rare.  I believe there are similarities, but last season Derby had a sharper goal-scoring edge and your back four was not leaking goals at all.  AFCB still had a bit to learn about the Championship and the team has much more knowledge about how to play their incisive passing football under Eddie Howe now in this league.

Both McClaren and Howe like to see their players being brave on the ball and it is good to see that the footballing sides are able to get results in the Championship.

DCB: Tell me about your new star striker, Callum Wilson – he’s bagged five goals already, so is it a case of ‘Lewis who?’

CC: Ha, Lewis Grabban was very good for AFCB, but we have to move on and you would be hard pressed to find a better young striker than Callum Wilson to come into the team. There are quick strikers and then there are electric ones like Callum.

He is still new to the Championship, but has all the qualities to play at a higher level in the years to come.   You can’t give him a yard’s head start - he latches onto through balls in a flash and he backs himself to score when facing a one-on-one situation.  He is a bit more direct than Lewis and I think he is the type of striker who is more likely to score two or three goals in a game when he does score, rather than the odd solitary strike.  In other words, if defenders find they can’t handle him, he’s going to ruin their day by scoring more than once.

DCB: AFCB have adapted very well to life in the Championship.  Do you think that promotion to the Premier League is a realistic aim in the next few seasons?

CC: The club is very clear about its ambitions and aims.  It may have one of the smallest supporter bases in the Championship, but we are already on course to make a challenge in the top half of the league.  However, I don’t believe that this will be the year, unless we are in a good position come January and we bring in another striker.

Stabilising in the Championship would be no bad thing for a club that has taken 20-odd years to get back to this level.  Further down the line, I can see the club getting to the Premier League, as long as they keep Howe and our owner Maxim Demin continues to fund the club and improve on the quality players that are already here.

DCB: Care to predict Howe’s starting XI for this game?

CC: Howe does not usually make too many changes when things are working well, so the away line-up is likely to be 4-5-1, with Wilson leading the line.  Yann Kermorgant is probably favourite to drop to the bench, allowing us five in midfield.

Artur Boruc has come into the side on loan from Southampton and will be in goal.  Right back will be Francis, with Steve Cook and Tommy Elphick as centre backs and I expect one change could be Charlie Daniels coming in at left back for Ian Harte, as Ian is unlikely to play two games in three days.

Midfield will probably be Ritchie, Andrew Surman, Eunan O’Kane, Harry Arter and Marc Pugh.  Junior Stanislas played at the weekend, so it is likely that Pugh will come in to the team on the left to keep things fresh.  There is a possibility that Dan Gosling could come in for Arter, but I think Harry will keep his place, despite being on four yellow cards already!

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