Most Teams Struggle After Selling Their Best Players. Not Bournemouth

Losing 3 of your 4 starting defenders and your goalkeeper successful nan aforesaid summertime would nonstop astir mid-table clubs spiralling. For Bournemouth, it’s someway go nan launchpad for 1 of nan astir awesome starts successful nan Premier League. They beryllium 3rd aft 8 games – not bad for a broadside that sold Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, Milos Kerkez to Liverpool and Illia Zabarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain successful deals worthy a mixed £150m, while Kepa Arrizabalaga’s indebtedness from Chelsea came to an end.

The mastermind down nan success, Andoni Iraola, moving pinch nan Premier League’s 16th lowest costs bill, has produced thing short of a occurrence astatine Bournemouth. It is easy to hide that there were mobility marks complete his arrival successful nan summertime of 2023. Nine games without a triumph had Bournemouth fans glancing nervously astatine nan table, and nan doubts peaked erstwhile Gary O’Neil, nan man he had replaced, returned to nan Vitality pinch Wolves and left pinch a 2-1 win. “Nice to spot immoderate friends faces,” O’Neil joked successful nan property room afterwards.

But, aft losing to his predecessor, Iraola started to build thing impressive. He has delivered club-record points totals successful each of his 2 seasons successful complaint (48 successful 2023-24 and 56 past season). And, contempt losing nan backbone of his broadside successful nan summer, Bournemouth are connected people to raise that barroom erstwhile again this season.

Andoni Iraola has proven a shrewd assignment for Bournemouth complete nan past 2 years. Photograph: Robin Jones/The Guardian

In truth, not overmuch has changed since their summertime departures. Iraola has stuck pinch nan 4-2-3-1 formation, precocious strength and high-pressing strategies that yielded specified awesome results past season. Bournemouth stay nan champion out-of-possession squad successful nan league. Last play they classed first for PPDA (passes allowed per protect action), goals from precocious turnovers (10), and shot recoveries per 90 minutes (47.92). This season, they erstwhile again rank apical successful PPDA and shot recoveries per 90 (44.9), and they person nan 2nd astir precocious turnovers (62).

Their occurrence is successful portion owed to nan measurement their caller signings person settled truthful seamlessly; left-back Adrien Truffert, centre-back Bafodé Diakité and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic look arsenic if they person been playing nether Iraola for years. Their recruitment was clever; simply put, they signed like-for-like replacements.

Truffert, for illustration Kerkez, is an athletic, dynamic, and imaginative full-back – successful nan Premier League he ranks 19th for progressive passes, 20th for progressive carries and 26th for region covered – each stats that Kerkez classed likewise successful past season. Diakité, for illustration Huijsen and Zabarnyi, is equipped to woody pinch opposing teams attempting to play retired of Bournemouth’s property pinch a agelong ball. He classed 5th successful Ligue 1 past play for percent of aerial duels won (72.6%) and is fantabulous astatine anticipating and stepping retired to situation forwards coming heavy to person nan ball, a cardinal trait successful Iraola’s fierce protect system. Marcos Senesi, signed a fewer years agone from Feyenoord, has besides settled into nan centre-back spot nicely too. Players cognize their roles and Iraola’s tactical vision, which minimises disruption from nan caller signings.

Not overmuch has changed successful nan measurement Bournemouth onslaught either; they stay 1 of nan champion sides successful nan convention erstwhile it comes to transitions. Their attacking style is built connected relentless tempo, verticality and precision. They discarded small clip successful possession, averaging only 8.53 seconds per series (the sixth fastest successful nan league) and 3.26 passes per move (fifth lowest), and person nan astir goals from nonstop attacks (four). These numbers are not radically different from past season, erstwhile they had nan 2nd lowest mean passes per series and moved nan shot upfield astatine nan 2nd fastest rate.

Antoine Semenyo has scored six convention goals for Bournemouth this season. Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

Iraola’s broadside person adapted quickly to nan changes successful unit and built connected nan groundwork laid successful erstwhile seasons. The biggest quality from past play has been individual form. Few players successful nan Premier League are performing arsenic good arsenic Antoine Semenyo, who has either scored aliases group up 9 of their 14 goals this season. Only Erling Haaland has scored much goals than Semenyo successful nan league.

He is Iraola’s dream. He is nan subordinate Bournemouth look to first erstwhile they regain possession arsenic they usage his rapid, intelligent runs to torment defences. His expertise to hit defenders one-on-one (fifth-most successful take-ons) and clasp disconnected challenges (56 duels won) make him a changeless threat successful transition, while his two-footed finishing (three goals pinch each ft this season) makes him intolerable to predict. Beyond goals, he ranks among nan league’s champion for goal-creating and shot-creating actions, reflecting really captious he has go arsenic some a finisher and creator successful Iraola’s high-tempo system.

Bournemouth mightiness person mislaid 3 quarters of their defence and a goalkeeper, but they haven’t missed a beat. When astir expected Iraola to beryllium forced into a rebuild, shrewd recruitment, intelligibly defined roles, tactical clarity and individual excellence person alternatively allowed Bournemouth to evolve, remaining 1 of nan Premier League’s astir relentless pressing and astir vulnerable transitioning sides.

This is an article by WhoScored