BOSS Scott Parker expressed his disappointment with Cherries’ first-half display against Arsenal, insisting: “Our general demeanour was pretty poor.” Cherries found themselves 2-0 behind inside 11 minutes at Vitality Stadium, with Gunners’ captain Martin Odegaard bagging a brace. William Saliba added a third early in the second half as the red-hot Gunners cruised to a 3-0 victory, to move top of the embryonic Premier League table. Asked if this was another harsh reality of the quality in the Premier League, following on from the 4-0 loss at Manchester City last weekend,
Scott Parker said: “It probably is in that sense. The quality of what we faced today was probably clear for all you guys to see. I was bitterly disappointed with the first half really. I thought we showed a real lack of humility about us. And the game can look like that in terms of the levels of what we’re up against. The game can look the sheer quality of what we’re up against, individually, that’s going to be the case and that’s clear. But I just thought in terms of our general endeavour, our body language, our humility to accept certain situations, I thought we were just easily disappointed. And while we could never get a foothold in the game, and never cause or pose Arsenal any sort of problem, our general demeanour was pretty poor really and I was disappointed immensely with that, to be honest.”
Asked how concerning the players’ body language during the first half was,
Scott Parker added: “A little bit concerning. I’m disappointed with that really. I’m disappointed in terms of our reactions at times and our reactions to the brilliance of what we were up against. I stepped into this game today having a clear understanding and a clear picture in my head of what this game may look like at times and what it may look like is the sheer quality of what we were up against at times may be very dominant. That’s just plainly humility from my behalf. That’s not me being negative and saying okay, because you’re up against huge quality and the quality they possess, can you win it? Of course we can win the game. Of course we can be competitive, I just felt at times today that wasn’t the case and we were easily disappointed. Whether that was a spell which they have, whether that is individual bits of brilliance they had, we just slowly wilted a little bit and didn’t show a real understanding of that and that’s what disappointed me.”
Discussing the similarities between this and the loss to Man City last week,
Scott Parker said: “There was definitely a difference today, I felt. I thought there was a big difference today. We’ve played Man City, arguably one of the best teams in Europe. We’ve played Arsenal today, huge quality and will be right up there as well. So there’s no shame in losing, for sure. Last week was exactly that, but certainly today in the first half, I felt it wasn’t a team I wanted to see in that sense really. I was disappointed. Second half, improvement. Okay, we changed it tactically and went to a back four, but ultimately the big difference was an understanding of how a game, when you’re Bournemouth, playing against Arsenal, is going to look at times and an acceptance of the brilliance that’s on the pitch and at times the quality of that can’t disappoint you. Like I said, the first half I felt that was the case.”
Scott Parker hailed the efforts of Cherries’ development squad on Wednesday evening, after they recorded a 3-0 win away at Brighton in the Premier League Cup. Goals from Josh Popoola, Daniel Adu-Adjei and Christian Saydee ensured Shaun Cooper’s young charges came away from Sussex with a shock win over their Category One opponents. Cherries development squad, which largely features under-21 players, do not currently feature in the Premier League 2 or the Professional Development League due to the fact they are a Category Three academy. When asked for his thoughts on the youngsters’ exploits,
Scott Parker enthused: “Incredible. (Against a) Category One academy, unbelievable win, really. I always say what an amazing job the guys do in the academy. Coops (Shaun Cooper), Tommy (Elphick), all the guys in and around it while developing the young boys and probably at times difficult circumstances in terms of where we are as a category three club and that, but for sure an incredible result. They did amazing.”
Parker then went on to stress although promotion to the Premier League made it harder for youngsters to break into the first team picture, he was still keen to give youth a chance when the opportunity arises.
Scott Parker added: “The quality of the level of what you’re going into every week is much higher. I always say, whether you’re 16, 17, 18,19, you give debuts first and foremost to players you feel have the ability and are good enough at that moment to have an impact. Harvey Elliott I remember when I was at Fulham was an example of that. A young player we gave a debut to and kicked on the ability first and foremost. And I witnessed that daily. So, I think it’s more difficult for sure in this division, but like always, the talent is there and they can make the step up. And for me, I’m a real advocate of pushing them in.”
