How Bournemouth's Reliance on Championship Stalwarts Has Made Relegation Inevitable

When Bournemouth achieved promotion to the Premier League in 2015, the following transfer window did little to fill Cherries fans with optimism for the following season.

Eddie Howe added very few players with Premier League experience to his squad, instead opting to sign a host of Championship players and sticking with the spine of the team which saw them promoted.

To the surprise of many, the unconventional approach worked wonders - with the Cherries maintaining their top-flight status and even recording a ninth-place finish in 2017.

However, five years on from their successful 2015 campaign, Howe has failed to evolve his side and life back in the second tier is beginning to look an inevitability.

While Bournemouth’s numerous pieces of poor transfer dealings have rightly been singled out as one of the reason’s they find themselves languishing three points adrift of safety, criticism must also be levelled at those players who have been with the club since their maiden Premier League campaign.

The Bournemouth squad of 2020 contains no fewer than nine players who were plying their trade at the Vitality for their last Championship campaign.

NINE.

When compared to Watford, who were promoted alongside Bournemouth in 2015 - though the Vicarage Road revolving door should rarely be used as a yardstick for how to run a club – only Troy Deeney, Craig Cathcart and Heurelho Gomes remain from the side that made the step up five years ago, and captain Deeney is the only regular starter of the trio.

With big-money signings such as Dominic Solanke and Jordon Ibe failing to make an impression on the south coast, the burden of fighting off relegation lies with the club’s stalwarts. Unfortunately, their performances this season have been those of a crop of players who have become far too comfortable with Premier League life.

Ryan Fraser’s refusal to extend his deal at the Vitality – which would have made him available for the remainder of the season as the club attempts to avoid the drop – as he looks for a mega-money deal elsewhere, typifies the attitude of a squad that seems to believe they are entitled to life in the top division, yet now look destined to finish in the bottom three.

Bournemouth’s performances over the past few years have rightly been lauded, with a number of their squad earning international recognition for their displays.

Subsequent new deals have been offered, with Callum Wilson and Steve Cook both rumoured to be near the top of the Cherries’ payroll, despite the big-money signings the club have made.

As is often the case, Bournemouth’s success seems to have brought about their downfall in a way. A club which once skirted under the radar for most teams has now been brought well and truly into the public eye.

Manchester United’s pursuit of Josh King – a player who arrived at the club in 2015 – has clearly turned the head of the Norway international, and he's mustered a measly five goals this season - having notched 12 least season and 16 in 2016/17.

Bournemouth’s recent displays against Manchester United and Tottenham may have only gleaned one point, but the performances were those of a side that had suddenly realised they were set for life back in the Championship, with Howe’s men showing fight and urgency.

Unfortunately, it all seems too little to late. No side is entitled to life in the Premier League, and Howe’s men are about to realise that.