Bournemouth ended their 2018/19 campaign with a mediocre mid placed finish of 14th place. The Cherries scored on 56 occasions, the highest outside of the top 6. Defensively they weren’t as great conceding the third highest in the league with 70 scored against them. Goalkeeping was an issue with Eddie Howe switching between Boruc and Begovic before ending the season with Irish youngster Travers.
Bournemouth have done a bit of business in this window to try propell them up the league with 3 incomers so far. 2 defenders have come in to try to fix their leaky defence as 6ft 3 Lloyd Kelly (£4.5m) a left back from Bristol City and Jack Stacey (£4.5m) a right back from Luton Town come in. These positions needed cover due to injuries from Daniels and Francis, a lack of depth and the permanent sale of Tyrone Mings to Aston Villa. Phillip Billing (£5.0m) has been bought from relegated Huddersfield but his 63 points total from last season doesn’t make him an appealing option.
Pre Season Form
4 games played has seen 2 wins, a draw and a loss for Eddie Howe’s men. Their first game back was a game against Wimbledon which saw Callum Wilson bag a 24 minute brace and Fraser get on the score sheet. Brooks got himself an assist but could’ve easily had more.
Next up was a loss to Girona. A second half red card for Simpson saw the Cherries finish the game with 10 men. Girona scored 2 late goals but Ryan Fraser equalised briefly from a Jordan Ibe assist. Wilson had a quiet 45 minutes with a couple of chances created.
Bournemouth’s third friendly was away to West Brom which ended in a scoreless draw. Wilson and King were paired up top for the first time. Fraser and Smith both created chances but neither were converted. In the second half, Fraser had a free kick which was inches away from a Wilson tap in. West Brom had a number of clear chances to score but failed to convert. King got a much needed 75 minutes while Wilson and Fraser completed their first game.
Bournemouth’s 4th game was away to Brentford the following and Howe fielded a rotated side. Ibe, Solanke and Surridge all got on the score sheet. Ibe was involved in all goals as he created plenty of chances and was rewarded with 2 assists.
Travers and Ramsdale started 2 games a piece. Bournemouth have 2 friendlies left against Lazio and Lyon.
Star Man – Callum Wilson (£8.0m)
Bournemouth’s most expensive asset is the pick of the bunch after completing his best season in FPL. A price increase and his teammate King being £1.5m cheaper doesn’t make his inclusion clear cut but if you’ve got the money, he’s Bournemouth’s best asset.
Wilson flourished last season with the forward scoring 14 goals and 12 assists over 29 starts. He managed 161 touches in the box, the 3rd most big chances for a forward with 28 and a chance every 39 minutes. Wilson’s creativity and assists go under the radar and the striker has some great creative stats which makes him such a great option. He created the joint most big chances for a forward with 13 and created a chance every 84 minutes.
26 goal involvements just pipped Ryan Fraser’s 23 and that was in over 600 minutes less. Rotation is rarely a concern for Wilson apart from the usual fixture congestion. Solanke looks to be getting more involved in the side and this may affect King’s minutes rather than Wilsons. King currently seems to have penalties to his name after converting 5 / 6 last season compared to just 1 / 2 for Callum.
Wilson averaged 5.98 points per 90 minutes compared to teammates King 4.28, Fraser 5.15 and Brooks 4.89. This shows when he’s on the pitch, he’s the man to own.
Hidden Gem – Adam Smith (£4.5m)
Bournemouth’s attacking right back is only 2% owned and comes in at a budget friendly price for a 4th defender spot. Bournemouth’s opening fixtures make clean sheets a possibility for a defence that hasn’t been tight in the past. With a new left back there’s hope that Howe has somewhat tightened up the defence. Smith loves to get forward on the right and has created plenty of chances over preseason. New signing Jack Stacey will give him some competition which should improve his game but he still remains the number one. An injury hit season saw him register just one goal and an assist but expect that to increase with consistent game time. The majority of Bournemouth assets aren’t going under the radar, so there wasn’t a clear cut option that stood out.
Gamble Pick – Jordan Ibe (£5.0m)
A cheap gamble that hasn’t got much to lose is the ex Liverpool midfielder. Brooks looks set to miss the start of the season with an injury that looks to set to see him sidelined for 2-3 months. Ibe looks the man to replace him on the right hand side of the pitch. Ibe has never set the FPL world alight with his best campaign saw him scoring twice and assisting 6 times. His price and potential of being nailed is a main factor and he’s looked lively during pre-season. He’s could be an enabler to help fund other pricer assets or a 5th mid if you’ve got £0.5m to spare for the first few months of the season.
Predicted line-up
Bournemouth’s side looks fairly set apart from one main area, goalkeeper. They’ve 3 main options with youngster Travers impressing at the end of last season but I expect they’ll start with a more experienced number 1.
Boruc
Smith – Mepham – Ake – Kelly
Brooks/Ibe – Lerma – Billing – Fraser
King
Wilson
Written by FPL Junior (@FPL_Junior)