O'Neil close to pulling off Bournemouth's mission impossible
There has barely been a time this season where Bournemouth were not odds-on favourites to go down - until now.
Promoted as Championship runners-up last term, the Cherries were always going to be up against it in their bid to avoid an immediate return to the second tier. When they changed their manager within weeks of the big kick off, their chances of demotion only seemed to increase.
Gary O’Neil initially replaced Scott Parker on an interim basis as Bill Foley waited to complete his takeover of the club. Previously part of Parker’s coaching staff, O’Neil oversaw an immediate upturn in form as Bournemouth went six matches without defeat to climb as high as eighth in the Premier League table.
Results soon deteriorated but Foley was nevertheless sufficiently impressed to hand O’Neil an 18-month deal during the break for World Cup 2022. And although Bournemouth endured a poor return to domestic action, collecting two points from the 21 available from Boxing Day to mid-February, O’Neil retained the backing of the board.
Their faith has been entirely justified. Bournemouth have won four of their last six games to rise to 14th. In doing so they have opened up a six-point gap over the bottom three.
Whereas the likes of Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Southampton are experiencing a sinking feeling, Bournemouth are on an upward trajectory. In terms of points, they are now as close to Brentford in ninth as last-placed Southampton.
A 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday was one of Bournemouth’s most impressive results of the season to date.
Granted, Spurs are no great shakes right now. But the Cherries showed no shortage of attacking quality and mental resolve in north London. They could have been left deflated by Arnaut Danjuma’s late equaliser, but Bournemouth kept their cool and notched a dramatic winner deep into stoppage time.
O’Neil looks to have used Bournemouth’s status as relegation favourites to his team’s advantage. The Cherries have been galvanised by the fact they have been widely written off. Only Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Tottenham have collected more points after conceding the first goal this season, evidencing the spirit within the Bournemouth camp.
The concern for much of the campaign was that the south coast side’s porous defence would eventually catch up with them. Even after their recent improvements, Bournemouth (59) have conceded more goals than any other team in the division. They are also giving up the most shots per game (16.8) in the top flight.
Yet Bournemouth have continually posed a threat at the other end of the field. They rank joint-13th for goals scored - a modest overall placing but superior to many of their relegation rivals, as well as Chelsea. O’Neil’s side have scored in eight of their last 10 matches, despite facing Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham in that time.
As well as the manager, the recruitment team at the Vitality Stadium have done a good job. Summer signings Neto, Marcus Tavernier, Marcos Senesio and Joe Rothwell have all had important roles to play in Bournemouth’s fight for survival. A January addition, Dango Ouattara, scored the winner against Tottenham. Another, Matias Vina, had an excellent game in what was his first start since a loan move from Roma in the winter window.
Players who were with the club in the Championship have stepped up too. Dominic Solanke was WhoScored’s top-rated player at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, scoring an 8.55. Philip Billing has been integral as a goalscoring midfielder, while Jefferson Lerma, Lloyd Kelly and Chris Mepham have all made vital contributions.
Relatively speaking, Bournemouth have a decent set of fixtures for the run-in. They face three relegation rivals before the end of the month in West Ham, Southampton and Leeds. Six points from those matches would probably be enough to get the Cherries over the line with a month to spare.
"I don’t look at the gap. It could change to three very quickly," O’Neil said after the win at Spurs. "It could easily be back to level pegging by the time we have finished against West Ham next week.
"I’m never too concerned with the table. Of course I look and know what’s going on, but it’s just a big three points for us."
You would not expect a manager to say anything different. Deep down, though, O’Neil must be quietly confident of pulling off what many thought was mission impossible.
