Cherries: Thomas could get another chance

7:00am Friday 18th January 2013 in Latest Sport

CHERRIES striker Wes Thomas could be set to keep his place after Eddie Howe revealed injury concerns over leading goalscorer Lewis Grabban.

Boss Howe admitted he had been impressed by Thomas after handing the frontman his first Cherries start since August against Wigan.

Grabban was yesterday set to have a scan on the knee problem he sustained in Tuesday’s FA Cup clash.

And with doubts over the marksman’s fitness ahead of the League One trip to Walsall tomorrow (3pm), Thomas could get another chance to shine.

Thomas was deployed in a lone striking role as Cherries suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Premier League outfit Wigan in the third round replay.

The frontman, who is back at Dean Court following a loan spell at Blackpool, is understood to be attracting the attention of Championship clubs.

Burnley, Birmingham City, Huddersfield, Derby and Watford have all been linked with potential moves for the ex-Crawley Town man, although Cherries are not believed to have received any bids.

Speaking after watching Thomas against Wigan, Cherries manager Howe said: “I thought Wes did really well. It was a very difficult task and he got through an incredible amount of work up there.

“He showed good ability and held up the ball for us, so I thought he could be pleased with his performance.”

Howe confirmed that Cherries also have injury doubts over winger Josh McQuoid and midfielder Eunan O’Kane. O’Kane sustained a bruised foot against Wigan and McQuoid is nursing a tight calf.

Saddlers: (from) McLoughlin, Purkiss, Butler, Downing, Taylor, Mantom, A Chambers, Paterson, Baxendale, Brandy, Grigg, Hemmings, J Chambers, Bowerman, Benning, Featherstone, Holden, Grof.

Cherries: (from) Jalal, Francis, Cook, Elphick, Daniels, McQuoid, Hughes, Arter, O’Kane, Grabban, Thomas, Fogden, Pugh, Pitman, Tubbs, McDermott, Partington, Fletcher, Demouge, James.

Comments(14)

Frankiesbackfromhollywood says...
7:57am Fri 18 Jan 13

I think the weather will have a big say in this! Wes if you do get another chance please show some interest in playing, some of us were not that impressed with what we have seen since Saturday, let's hope this turns things around for you as you made it pretty clear not long ago that you never wanted to play for us again!!

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boyerboy says...
8:13am Fri 18 Jan 13

Frankiesbackfromholl
ywood wrote:
I think the weather will have a big say in this! Wes if you do get another chance please show some interest in playing, some of us were not that impressed with what we have seen since Saturday, let's hope this turns things around for you as you made it pretty clear not long ago that you never wanted to play for us again!!
I am puzzled we pay a lot of dosh for Tubbs yet he is hardly ever on the pitch....I know "barn door" fills a different role BUT Tubbsy desrves a chance -doesn`t he ?

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Luffbracherry says...
8:24am Fri 18 Jan 13

I like Wes but not sure if has the quality we need. Commentating on the Wigan game, David Pleat described Wes having a good first touch but his subsequent pass or second ball was wanting

Pleat also observed our lack of target man and someone to upset the defenders in the box - several supporters have also made a similar point this week

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Wilkie says...
8:44am Fri 18 Jan 13

Perhaps with a bit of a run in the side, he will develop an empathy with the rest of the side. To be fair, even Eunan looked a little lost when he started against Colchester, not having the trust and understanding with his teammates and now look at him. With Wes, when receiving the ball on Tuesday, all of a sudden he looked interested and certainly showed his ability to hold the ball, turn and run with it. What was missing and was frustraing to me was that he never seemed to want the ball. Let's give him a chance and see if after a couple of games he can develop that desire and trust.

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Couchy125 says...
9:36am Fri 18 Jan 13

Luffbracherry wrote:
I like Wes but not sure if has the quality we need. Commentating on the Wigan game, David Pleat described Wes having a good first touch but his subsequent pass or second ball was wanting

Pleat also observed our lack of target man and someone to upset the defenders in the box - several supporters have also made a similar point this week
Target man. Totally agree. We need a young Steve fletcher up top.

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cherrychris75 says...
9:45am Fri 18 Jan 13

I cant believe i'm questioning Eddie on this but I dont see the fascination in Thomas. Thomas = not interested and doesnt score. Tubbs = desperate to play for us and scores when he gets the chance. As for target man, Eddie likes Stockley so maybe he could be that option??

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redster says...
9:47am Fri 18 Jan 13

Not sure what the state of the pitch is at Walsall,a postponement might suit us,in order to recover our injuries.best of luck to Mark at Exeter such a shame his injuries blighted his career with us.
I shall never forget at DC hearing some away fans chanting that he was a cheap Robbie Savage.Cruel but amusing!

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afcb-mark says...
9:54am Fri 18 Jan 13

Eddie Howe = a clever manager. Maybe, just maybe he is keen to play Wes in the hope he will get a couple of spectacular goals and one of the clubs interested in him will come forward with an offer.

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adyb1967 says...
10:08am Fri 18 Jan 13

Thomas 1 goal in his last 25 AFCB games and no desire to play for AFCB.... Tubbs 4 goals in just 6 starts and desperate to play for club he supported as a boy. Come on EH what is this all about??

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kenbaileysteeth says...
12:31pm Fri 18 Jan 13

Wes thomas no spirit no pace and no desire play for Bournemouth. Poor goal scoring record and couldnt hit a barn door with a banjo. Wes thinks that league one is beneath him . Lets hope someone snaps him up before we get left with him. Matt Tubbs needs to be given a fair chance to prove himself as he is keen to do well at Bournemouth. After the money spent he needs to be given a chance to play or otherwise he should be moved along.It is sad to see a striker of his quality sat on the bench week in week out.

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Court Side says...
4:17pm Fri 18 Jan 13

adyb1967 wrote:
Thomas 1 goal in his last 25 AFCB games and no desire to play for AFCB.... Tubbs 4 goals in just 6 starts and desperate to play for club he supported as a boy. Come on EH what is this all about??
Yes,Yes!I quite agree!EH out!!!!

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West moors 1 says...
8:34pm Fri 18 Jan 13

What do people see in Thomas, he's got no first or second touch and his effort is average. He scored a couple of lucky goals at Pompey and a good goal for Blackpool, so what. Week in week out he's average at best, poke him on and play Tubbs!

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Alumchiner says...
11:09pm Fri 18 Jan 13

cherrychris75 wrote:
I cant believe i'm questioning Eddie on this but I dont see the fascination in Thomas. Thomas = not interested and doesnt score. Tubbs = desperate to play for us and scores when he gets the chance. As for target man, Eddie likes Stockley so maybe he could be that option??
Totally agree, Tubbs is AFCB through and through and a proven goalscorer..Thomas could hardly be bothered to run into decent positons on tuesday...a bit slow and lazy compared to Tubbs and thats why Tubbs is a fans favorite ?

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lionheart says...
9:16am Sat 19 Jan 13

Couchy125 wrote:
Luffbracherry wrote:
I like Wes but not sure if has the quality we need. Commentating on the Wigan game, David Pleat described Wes having a good first touch but his subsequent pass or second ball was wanting

Pleat also observed our lack of target man and someone to upset the defenders in the box - several supporters have also made a similar point this week
Target man. Totally agree. We need a young Steve fletcher up top.
Sam Vokes

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