Cherries boss Howe: We needed to be braver

9:57am Sunday 24th February 2013 in Latest Sport Photograph of the Author By Ian Wadley

MANAGER Eddie Howe admitted Cherries’ match-winning performers had failed to fire as Sheffield United moved into pole position in the promotion race.

Howe said he felt Cherries had lacked their usual attacking spark after watching the Blades claim a 1-0 victory at Dean Court yesterday.

Danny Wilson’s men climbed to the League One summit – and Cherries dropped to sixth – following the result in a game which never lived up to its big billing.

Barry Robson rattled the crossbar for the resilient visitors in the third minute before Lewis Grabban and Harry Arter came close during a fast and furious opening.

But after Jamie Murphy had capitalised on a Marcos Painter slip to put the Blades in front, the Bramall Lane outfit successfully thwarted Cherries’ attacking threats without any major scares.

Howe, who suffered a home league defeat for the first time since returning to the club in October, said: “I thought we were the better team, we had a lot of possession and full credit to Sheffield United for how they defended.

“I have said a million times before, teams will do that to us and give us full respect.

“We huffed and puffed and kept the ball really well but we never hurt them enough and never asked enough questions.

“Our big flair players, our match winners, didn’t perform. We need our flair players and match winners to dig us out of a hole sometimes.

“It was a poor goal we conceded. I think whenever you do that against a team with Sheffield United’s experience and their game management, which was very good, it is always going to be a tall order to get back into it.

“I think we needed to be a little bit braver in terms of one-v-ones and attacking people.

“Our strikers needed to get involved in the game more but you have to give credit to the opposition. That would have been part of their game-plan – to nullify our threats.

“In terms of effort and commitment from the players, it was very good. In terms of quality, I felt we were missing our usual spark.”

Blades boss Wilson said: “We had to have the physicality, we had to defend properly but what pleased me more than anything was how we thought out our game-plan.

“Between the ears, there was some intelligent passing and intelligent pressing all the way through. They didn’t get through us virtually all afternoon.

“Yes, we had to defend and, yes, they had some possession. But it was all around the halfway line and they didn’t seem to be able to get through the lines that we produced, which was great.

“The players were clever enough to understand what would cause Bournemouth problems, both in and out of possession. The team played terrifically well.”

Comments(34)

Kinsonite says...
10:19am Sun 24 Feb 13

We definately need a more physical presence both in midfield (too lightweight) & upfront.

Pitman for me isn't cutting or sharp enough and you need that cutting edge when playing other to teams (i.e. Doncaster in a few weeks).

Coventry will also note this for Tuesday, however I hope EH will mix things up a bit. I would put RH & SM in central mid to give a bit of bite.

However it's upfront which for me is the major issue, there isn't too many options. We are a goalscorer / target man too light.

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Afcbpete says...
10:19am Sun 24 Feb 13

Fair appraisal from Eddie, who is not using the appalling ref as an excuse. But I say again, the officials made it doubly hard for our players. We were certainly out muscled....

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East Stand Steve says...
10:34am Sun 24 Feb 13

United came with a game plan, executed it and won. AFCB failed to execute theirs and lost. So that means, Eddie, that we weren't the better team.
Three poor performances in a row (even Pompey almost stopped us playing) and the manager's post match comments are hardly grounds for optimism. We don't need him to tell us the side did not play well enough. We need him to tell us what he's going to do about it. Plan B today seemed to be put on a bunch of midgets and see if the high ball would take the defence by surprise. And don't get me started on Painter!

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AFCB_Lanky says...
10:47am Sun 24 Feb 13

I see that two games in a row Painter has been taken off at HT. How long have we got him for? For me i think we'd be better off playing MR at LB and RF on the right side of midfield. Also agree that we seem to be a target man short, we don't seem to have much of a physical presence when we have corners or free-kicks out wide, only Danny Seabourne who is taller than 6ft2.

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AFCB_Lanky says...
10:47am Sun 24 Feb 13

I see that two games in a row Painter has been taken off at HT. How long have we got him for? For me i think we'd be better off playing MR at LB and RF on the right side of midfield. Also agree that we seem to be a target man short, we don't seem to have much of a physical presence when we have corners or free-kicks out wide, only Danny Seabourne who is taller than 6ft2.

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merley girl says...
10:52am Sun 24 Feb 13

I agree mostly with the previous comments already made. We were not strong enough in midfield and needed players who could "muscle" their way forward. Our passing was far too slow and was just going backwards and sideways without any real penetration. We need to mix up our style of play more. Sheffield came with a game plan and walked all over us.
Pitman frustrates me and his "pretend" act of being fouled was awful - hope Eddie sorts this out quickly before he gets a bad reputation.
The passing in midfield was at times horrendous and agree with Kinsonite to put RH and SM in on Tuesday and if things are still not working bring on Fletch to give us more options up front - I'm sure that will cause a few comments!!!! As always UPTC

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bigfatsteve says...
10:56am Sun 24 Feb 13

My biggest disappointment yesterday was after making the substitutions and playing Tubbsy and McQuoid up front. We still insisted in crossing high balls into their penalty area, making life for their six foot plus defenders easy. The ball needs to be put in low to feet unless you have target man. Eddie's right when he said the spark wasn't there, players like Marc Pugh are usually a joy to watch, let's hope he gets back to his normal self on Tuesday night. At the moment a trip to Wembley is looking like a dream!

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ASM says...
11:09am Sun 24 Feb 13

AFCB_Lanky wrote:
I see that two games in a row Painter has been taken off at HT. How long have we got him for? For me i think we'd be better off playing MR at LB and RF on the right side of midfield. Also agree that we seem to be a target man short, we don't seem to have much of a physical presence when we have corners or free-kicks out wide, only Danny Seabourne who is taller than 6ft2.
completely agree - spot on

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Ashleyafcb says...
11:28am Sun 24 Feb 13

good headline Bournemouth had the painters in !!! he is awful on every level id rather see frank demouge or derek holmes at left back !!! we never beat the big bullies from the grim side of the country and this is why we wont go up !! we cant grind out a result against a big team that like a hoof we turn in to statues not once did we make a run yesterday !!! was poor on every single level change it up make runs swap the sides of wingers !!!!!! i wanna see fraser

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devon fan says...
11:49am Sun 24 Feb 13

there is no doubt the players have the ability, but have they got the heart and desire to go and take the prize on offer, the match against Coventry will provide us witha few answers, players rightly recieve the plaudits when they do well, they must accept any critisicicm when they do not, the one burning question I have how does a team with as much attacking flair as this team have fail to score at least 1 goal per match

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Court Side says...
11:49am Sun 24 Feb 13

I think we made a mistake in getting Eddie back,Paul Groves would've sucked the life out of Sheff Utd and got us a comfortable 0-0 draw.Agreed?Or maybe i'm wrong?Just maybe Eddie Howe is the right man for the job and does know what he's doing regards Zubar,Demouge and other players he doesn't fancy?Maybe a player like Painter,with a good pedigree,was a good choice to come in but with hindsight hasn't covered himself in glory in his 2 games so far so perhaps stick with Matt Ritchie there for the time being.Maybe a manager of Eddie's quality does know what he's doing having only lost 3 games in 23 and will find a solution to this momentary lack of form and confidence,afterall,
we are 6th and 2 points of the top,a bit better than 4th from bottom when he first came in.So i think i'm going to keep my faith in him and his choices like bringing Brett back,that unproven striker whose rattled in 9 goals so far on his return,and the fact he picked up one of the best players in the division in Matt Ritchie for a song from one of our promotion rivals and ignore the ill informed,knee jerk reactionaries who think we are now going to get relegated because we've lost our last 2 games.Absolute fair weathers!

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robman says...
12:03pm Sun 24 Feb 13

if it isn't broke don't fix it. Ritchie was doing fine at left back. Howe has changed the whole shape of the team to accommodate the worst player ever to wear a Bournemouth shirt. If Painter is anywhere near the squad either in the team or on the bench on Tuesday then that will convince me that Howe has lost all reasoning when it comes to players ability.
Did anyone at the club do any research on him at all.

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Square Old Codger says...
12:06pm Sun 24 Feb 13

I didn't make the game yesterday, set out to go, then realized just how cold it was and since I had been unwell during the week, turned back and listened to it on Solent. I had expected Sheffield to win and sadly the game went as I had expected. We havent been the same side since Elphick and Daniels were injured and it's asking a lot of players coming in who haven't been playing competitive football, however talented, to step into a side. What is it 1 shot on target against PNE and 2 against Sheffield. I believe that we will make the lottery of the play offs , but it's not a disaster if we don't go up this Season, next will do! Eddie and Jason, will have by then sorted the squad out and we will be stronger.

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Blade4life says...
12:23pm Sun 24 Feb 13

Its easy to think that you lost to a team of hoofers but the Blades usual method is to work hard and out pass teams .Danny Wilson resorted to plan B which surprised us all, it may have been ugly but it was effective as all week he was saying attack attack .So don't be too hard on your team you were simply out smarted and out played on the day.

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coxes pippin says...
12:29pm Sun 24 Feb 13

monday,s training session should consist off one thing SHOOTING,its so basic,no-one takes a chance,most goals in this league are scored by lucky deflections or rebounds after a shot etc.but you cant capitalise on this if you dont have any shots!!!,

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raybren says...
12:41pm Sun 24 Feb 13

When Eddie and Jason came back we
expected a bit of consolidation.
Of course it has gone way beyond that,
building great expectations.
Would it not be a good idea to "calm
down" and leave them to see if they can
complete the "miracle".
Of course we have all got opinions but
that's all they are,leave it to the experts.

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lockandload says...
12:46pm Sun 24 Feb 13

We need a Charlie Austin up front but thats just a dream but we need to get someone similar fast or our season is over

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Local fan says...
12:49pm Sun 24 Feb 13

Not our day, Sheffield defended well and both the referee and linesman missed a definite penalty from handball for us in the second half. Sheffield hit the woodwork twice so you could say they were unlucky not to score more. We were the better team to watch but what matters are results and Sheffield went away with a win rather than the draw they were planning. Eddie's comments are right, we need to do better on Tuesday. UTCIAD!

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jakeysredd says...
12:50pm Sun 24 Feb 13

merley girl wrote:
I agree mostly with the previous comments already made. We were not strong enough in midfield and needed players who could "muscle" their way forward. Our passing was far too slow and was just going backwards and sideways without any real penetration. We need to mix up our style of play more. Sheffield came with a game plan and walked all over us.
Pitman frustrates me and his "pretend" act of being fouled was awful - hope Eddie sorts this out quickly before he gets a bad reputation.
The passing in midfield was at times horrendous and agree with Kinsonite to put RH and SM in on Tuesday and if things are still not working bring on Fletch to give us more options up front - I'm sure that will cause a few comments!!!! As always UPTC
Found it strange yesterday, we needed a big man up front at the end of the game and Fletch wasnt on the bench, been there all season, we cant beat the ten behind the ball teams, never have, we are so predictable at times, need the 3 points against Coventry now, Confidence will fall otherwise, Still in with a chance as its a tight league,

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jakeysredd says...
12:57pm Sun 24 Feb 13

robman wrote:
if it isn't broke don't fix it. Ritchie was doing fine at left back. Howe has changed the whole shape of the team to accommodate the worst player ever to wear a Bournemouth shirt. If Painter is anywhere near the squad either in the team or on the bench on Tuesday then that will convince me that Howe has lost all reasoning when it comes to players ability.
Did anyone at the club do any research on him at all.
Have to agree, almost as bad as Callum Hart when he was left back, When I looked up painters record hes only played 3 games this season, madness taking him on at this tough time of the season with most pitches heavy and grass barren bogs, Ritchie was doing fine job , Think Eddie had a brain-fa*t with that one,

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jakeysredd says...
1:07pm Sun 24 Feb 13

Blade4life wrote:
Its easy to think that you lost to a team of hoofers but the Blades usual method is to work hard and out pass teams .Danny Wilson resorted to plan B which surprised us all, it may have been ugly but it was effective as all week he was saying attack attack .So don't be too hard on your team you were simply out smarted and out played on the day.
Thought you had a game plan that was spot on, but that is easy against us, we had pompey a couple of weeks ago and they nearly blagged a draw from it, we always struggle against the big strong sides, Not being blinkered on this but the ref was terrible yesterday, but we did'nt do enough to get through your organised defence, We were a bit unfortunate having a couple of our best defenders out, but thats football, We need a big man up front like you have in that Kitson, what a pain he must be to play against,

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Oakdale12 says...
2:02pm Sun 24 Feb 13

Tranmere lost 4 in a roll , just look at the table. We are going up ,play offs or auto, we are going up.

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Frankiesbackfromhollywood says...
2:04pm Sun 24 Feb 13

Work hard and the results will come again, we have dropped off our better form by a few percent and it shows, only way to turn this around is hard work, do that and we will get the results we deserve!! 12 games we can win, our aim is to win as many of them as we can, don't settle for anything less!

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nsrowq says...
2:27pm Sun 24 Feb 13

Court Side wrote:
I think we made a mistake in getting Eddie back,Paul Groves would've sucked the life out of Sheff Utd and got us a comfortable 0-0 draw.Agreed?Or maybe i'm wrong?Just maybe Eddie Howe is the right man for the job and does know what he's doing regards Zubar,Demouge and other players he doesn't fancy?Maybe a player like Painter,with a good pedigree,was a good choice to come in but with hindsight hasn't covered himself in glory in his 2 games so far so perhaps stick with Matt Ritchie there for the time being.Maybe a manager of Eddie's quality does know what he's doing having only lost 3 games in 23 and will find a solution to this momentary lack of form and confidence,afterall,

we are 6th and 2 points of the top,a bit better than 4th from bottom when he first came in.So i think i'm going to keep my faith in him and his choices like bringing Brett back,that unproven striker whose rattled in 9 goals so far on his return,and the fact he picked up one of the best players in the division in Matt Ritchie for a song from one of our promotion rivals and ignore the ill informed,knee jerk reactionaries who think we are now going to get relegated because we've lost our last 2 games.Absolute fair weathers!
spot on.

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West moors 1 says...
2:31pm Sun 24 Feb 13

EH hasn't used the ref's poor performance as an excuse but he did have a few choice words with him straight after the whistle, you could see it from his body language. We have to shoot more, it's no good practicing them before kick off it we are not going to have a go during the game! Give Tubbs a try, Pitman doesn't seem bothered enough because he knows his position is secured. Tuesday game is now like a cup final, it's a near packed house so give us something to cheer, attack, attack, attack! Up the cherries!!

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denisjames says...
3:25pm Sun 24 Feb 13

This was a carbon copy of the same game last year. Scored early and shut up shop time wasting from then on. That said the onus is on us to try something different but we failed. Two banks of four close together needs someone running from deep or getting round the back of them but all we did was to pass the ball sideways with no pace. Oh for a midfielder that can hit a long pass with accuracy.

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Couchy125 says...
5:00pm Sun 24 Feb 13

How about stop slagging off players management and get over there on Tuesday night and get behind the boys. I can see a wembley trip coming up soon. From where we were a few months ago. I say bring it on.

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susi.m says...
5:03pm Sun 24 Feb 13

East Stand Steve wrote:
United came with a game plan, executed it and won. AFCB failed to execute theirs and lost. So that means, Eddie, that we weren't the better team.
Three poor performances in a row (even Pompey almost stopped us playing) and the manager's post match comments are hardly grounds for optimism. We don't need him to tell us the side did not play well enough. We need him to tell us what he's going to do about it. Plan B today seemed to be put on a bunch of midgets and see if the high ball would take the defence by surprise. And don't get me started on Painter!
If Eddie told us what he was going to do about it - wouldnt that near enough tell the next opposition our game plans

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harrythered says...
5:31pm Sun 24 Feb 13

robman wrote:
if it isn't broke don't fix it. Ritchie was doing fine at left back. Howe has changed the whole shape of the team to accommodate the worst player ever to wear a Bournemouth shirt. If Painter is anywhere near the squad either in the team or on the bench on Tuesday then that will convince me that Howe has lost all reasoning when it comes to players ability.
Did anyone at the club do any research on him at all.
Are you some kind of an idiot. Worst player EVER to wear an AFCB shirt!!!!!!! you obviously haven't been a supporter very long. For your info Painter was a regular in Brightons promotion winning side and also in a Swansea promotion side. He would also know the playing style of Cook and Elphick who were both team mates. Finally to suggest EH signed him without seeing him play is quite frankly plain stupid.
Give the guy a chance he's played 90 minutes and you feel suitably qualified to judge him as the worst ever................
.

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eaststandman says...
6:35am Mon 25 Feb 13

I'm gonna be more of a 'devils advocate' and say we were a better team before even ritchie arrived !

On saturday, from where i was sat, it looked like Sheffield Utd v AFC Hobbits.

We're far too weak and hoofy to worry these 'bully type' teams.

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SUFFERINGBJ says...
9:37am Mon 25 Feb 13

They new exactly what they had to do, and they played their game.MEN AGAINST BOYS,if thats how you get promotion, good luck to them.
We need a physical presence in midfield and upfront.Eddie has done a great job, but we are not good enough to go up and stay up, that is not being negative,its fact!!
I heard EH saying our pitch is bad,and effected our performance.........
we have to be able to adapt our play,and mix it up a bit, it seems we just get to a point when its not working, with no idea of what to do next.

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Nickolai says...
11:32am Mon 25 Feb 13

Worst player ?

How about Brent Goulet ?

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coops1965 says...
11:49am Mon 25 Feb 13

Nickolai wrote:
Worst player ?

How about Brent Goulet ?
Oh come on, Chuckles Erribain or whatever his name was, or even George Lawrence, you are obviously quite new at this some of you, but good call on old Brett Goulash !

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SUFFERINGBJ says...
12:30pm Mon 25 Feb 13

A Fletcher type player is definatley what we need as an option, sometimes
all that passing is great but it needs someone on the end of thoses crosses taller than 5ft! especially when the defence are 6ft!

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