Erling Haaland
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Cherries Welsh Center Back Chris Mepham discusses battle with Man City superstar Erling Haaland #MCFC #AFCB

August 16, 2022
CHRIS Mepham felt Cherries kept superstar striker Erling Haaland "fairly quiet", but admitted Manchester City were "in cruise control" on Saturday. All eyes were on the Norwegian frontman, as he made his home debut for City, following his £51million switch from Borussia Dortmund. But he made just eight touches during the contest, before being substituted on 74 minutes as City eased to a 4-0 victory over Scott Parker's men, with Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden among the scorers. Of those eight touches, two were passes, one of which an assist for Gundogan's opener. No player has started a game for Man City under Pep Guardiola and completed fewer than two passes. Asked if keeping out the 22-year-old, who netted twice on the opening day against West Ham United, can be viewed as a minor victory for him as a centre-back, Mepham told the Daily Echo: "Yeah, I think so. "He’s kind of like an all-round striker. Very physical, quick, direct. "So he’s got a lot of attributes and I think ultimately we kind of kept him fairly quiet. "But, of course, you keep someone like him quiet and then you’ve got the likes of (Kevin) De Bruyne, (Phil) Foden, (Bernardo) Silva coming on, (Jack) Grealish, that can create those moments of quality and you saw that with De Bruyne (on Saturday). "He’s got real quality in those sort of areas and he can hurt you. We would’ve liked to keep most of their players quiet, but it’s obviously a big ask." Reflecting on the game as a whole, which saw Cherries fall behind on 17 minutes, before going 3-0 down by half-time, Mepham added: "I think in an ideal world, you’d hold on to a draw for a bit longer. The longer it stays 0-0, I feel like they need to come out. "But as soon as they got the first goal, I think they were pretty much in cruise control. They scored a couple of goals after that, which is obviously very disappointing. "You know going into the game they’ve got players of huge quality, all throughout their team. "So you know they’re going to create chances. Unfortunately a few of those chances turned into goals. "I think they showed their quality and then obviously 3-0 down at half-time, it’s obviously a big ask to get anything from the game." Discussing the side's performance in the second half, keeping the game competitive with goalkeeper Mark Travers only beaten again by a late Jefferson Lerma own goal, Mepham said: "At half-time 3-0 down, you can either crumble and go into your shell, or you can embrace it and try to enjoy the challenge of playing against these world-class players. "I think in the second half we very much did that. We tried to limit them to few chances and I thought we dug in deep. "It’s not an easy one, but I thought we gave a good account of ourselves." Cherries will look to get back on track when they welcome Arsenal to Vitality Stadium on Saturday (5.30pm).
Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Scott Parker ‘pleased’ with second-half performance at Man City and describes Guardiola as underestimated #MCFC #AFCB

August 15, 2022
SCOTT Parker declared himself "pleased" with the way Cherries battled in the second half at the Etihad, insisting: "Man City away is not a game that will define our season." Cherries fell to a resounding 4-0 loss at the home of the champions, trailing 3-0 at half-time to goals from Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden. But Parker's charges dug in after the restart, only conceding again with 11 minutes to play, when Joao Cancelo's cross flew in off the heel of Jefferson Lerma. Reflecting on the loss, Parker said: "This is not our league, Man City away is not a game that will define our season. "This is a game we need to analyse, of course, and we’ll do that, work out where we can improve and get a little bit better. But we dust ourselves down and we go again now." Discussing the side's fight and character at 3-0 down, Parker added: "I was very pleased with that. Three-nil at half-time, you guys are watching the game as well and there have been many teams here where you see the patterns of what happens in those games - 3-0, four, five, six, you’re playing against a team that can expose you at any moment and open that up. "What that normally comes down to is probably quality, but a team losing heart and losing the will a little bit and before you know it, it becomes trickier. "So I was pleased that the second half was what it was. Not pleased with the result, of course not, but at the same time, I understood what (Saturday) may look like." Cherries now have a week to prepare for the visit of Arsenal to Vitality Stadium. Mikel Arteta's Gunners have won both their opening Premier League fixtures so far, seeing off Crystal Palace and Leicester City.
Pep Guardiola
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories- Pep Guardiola compares AFC Bournemouth to Tottenham and confident that Haaland striker problem can be solved #MCFC

August 15, 2022
PEP Guardiola compared Cherries' offensive tactics as "similar" to Champions League side Tottenham Hotspur, after dispatching of Scott Parker's men 4-0 at Etihad Stadium. Jefferson Lerma's own goal rounded off a comfortable afternoon for the Premier League champions, who led 3-0 at half-time courtesy of strikes from Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden. Cherries were on the back foot for the majority of the contest, with goalkeeper Ederson worked only once, saving Ben Pearson's 20-yard effort. Discussing his side's victory, City boss Guardiola said: "The team did a really good performance against a team that is incredibly well structured defensively. "But just not defensively, offensively as well, because they have good patterns for the build-up, to attract you, to drag you in the short passes, and afterwards they link perfectly with their strikers mainly, but sometimes with the wingers and after they keep the ball, make a switch of play. "Quite similar movements like Tottenham try to do. And defensively they defend so, so deep and so narrow, you have to go outside." He added: "Then in the second half when they don't want to attack, they don't want to press, it's more just being patient." Cherries boss Scott Parker spent two years as a player at Spurs, before returning for a spell coaching their under-18s, before moving to Fulham in 2018.
Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories – Scott Parker admits the quality of Manchester City was too good for Bournemouth to handle #AFCB #MCFC

August 14, 2022
BOSS Scott Parker had no complaints after seeing his side well beaten at Etihad Stadium, admitting Manchester City were "just too good" against his side. Cherries fell to a 4-0 loss at the home of the champions, with first-half strikes from Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden added to by a late Jefferson Lerma own goal. The defeat extends Cherries' losing run against Manchester City to 12 matches. Reflecting on the defeat, Parker told the Daily Echo: "The game was the game today. I think we all understand and many managers have probably sat here after a game playing against Man City and the quality that they possess. "The levels were different today. We’ve played against a world class team that can execute in any given moment. "I said before the game, we’re probably going to need to have 11 men with 10 out of 10 performances. We’re going to have to ride our luck. We’re going to have to take the very few chances that we’re going to get, along with every other team that comes here. "They limit your chances and you’re going to have to be clinical. "We didn’t manage to do that. And then obviously their quality shone through really. "The first 20 minutes, after the goal goes in and then two quick goals that go in, at that point obviously you could be on the end of one. "But I was pleased with the team in terms of the way they stuck with it. Showed good endeavour, good personality, were still brave and had courage, so I was pleased with that." Discussing the moments of magic for the opening two goals from from Erling Haaland, to set Gundogan away, and De Bruyne's finish, Parker added: "That’s exactly it. At times today, the levels and the quality was there for everyone to see. "That’s what happens when you’re playing against a world class team and world class players really. "We had our tiny little moments and then they punish you with individual brilliance and where they are as a team." He continued: "I thought to a man my players gave everything they could give today, left everything out there, the difference was the qualities and levels were just too good."
Lloyd Kelly
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories – AFC Bournemouth skipper Lloyd Kelly admits they came up against the best team in the world #AFCB #MCFC

August 14, 2022
CHERRIES skipper Lloyd Kelly says Cherries will have to take heavy defeat with a “pinch of salt”, believing that his side are more than capable of bouncing back from a 4-0 loss away at Manchester City. Kelly played the full 90 minutes at the Etihad as the reigning champions raced into a 3-0 lead before the break courtesy of goals from Ilkay Gundogan, Kevin De Bruyne, and Phil Foden. Half-time fears of the floodgates opening further were quelled as Cherries mostly kept City at bay in the second half, but Jefferson Lerma was unfortunate to turn home a City cross for the fourth. In the first half Cherries started deep and rarely ventured out of their own half, but after conceding the opener, they opened up and started to come forward with more regularity. That lead to De Bruyne and Foden scoring via counter attacks, effectively finishing the game before the interval. When asked if the mentality changed between the first and the second goals, Kelly told the Daily Echo: “No, I don't think so. “I think obviously we came into this game with the mentality of we're going to be coming up against one of the best teams in the world at the moment and we're going to have to adapt our play in game. “I think obviously later on in the game I think we managed to be a little bit more brave on the ball, and of course that's when the counter attacks came. “Of course, when you come up against the quality like City possess, they're going to cause you problems and they're going to take their chances when they come.” Despite conceding four goals and barely laying a glove on the defending champs, the 23-year-old shared that playing sides of the ilk of Manchester City was the reason Cherries battled so hard to win promotion last term. “I said to the boys before this game this is what we worked so hard for last season to be in this league, and come up against these types of teams and it's part and parcel of being in the Premier League. “I think everyone in the changing room of course, no one wants to come out a game losing 4-0, but at the same time as I mentioned at the start it's we've come up against one of the best teams in the world at the moment and I think you’ve just got to take it with a pinch of salt and move on to the next game.”
Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories – AFC Bournemouth’s manager Scott Parker admits he did not fear Manchester City #MCFC #AFCB

August 13, 2022
SCOTT Parker is well aware of the challenge his Cherries side face when they visit Manchester City this afternoon – but it is a challenge he relishes, rather than fears. Both Cherries and Parker are yet to taste victory – or avoid defeat – at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, with the Citizens currently enjoying an 11-game winning streak over the South Coast club. READ MORE: Since Cherries’ last played in the Premier League, City have reached a Champions League final, and this summer, they strengthened further with the addition of generational talent Erling Haaland. When asked how to stop the Norwegian, Parker replied: “It'll be difficult, of course. “He is a world class centre forward. We've seen it from afar, probably in Germany, and then we've seen it in the first game against West Ham. “And the power and the pace that he possesses and the quality that he brings in terms of giving Manchester City a little bit more of a different dynamic. “And yes, it's a big challenge ahead for us in terms of individually, defenders, in terms of the team, in terms of trying to stop that, but we'll give it our best shot at trying do that really, it's a good challenge to go and face.” Parker then went on to talk about City as a whole, stating: “I don’t fear it. I realise it's difficult. “I realise it's a big challenge. I don't fear it one bit. I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to going there, for us, trying to assert ourselves in a way we can. “I know that's going to look maybe different to how it can be in other games just through their far superiority on most games of football. “Arguably the best coached team in world football. “And the manager they have, probably a genius in that sense. “Every aspect of the game is really nailed down and then added to that is excellent execution and quality and technical ability of the players as well. “So, yeah, you're right up against it. Any team is when they go there. “I keep saying it's a big challenge, but it's one we embrace. It's one which we looking forward to taking it on and see what we can get out of it.” READ NEXT:
Nathan Ake
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories – Nathan Ake admits he expected a day to come when he meets Bournemouth again #AFCB #MCFC

August 13, 2022
DEFENDER Nathan Ake insisted he always knew he would face Cherries once again and added: “It was good to see them go up.” Ake played 121 times for the Dorset club in total, having signed from Chelsea for £20million in 2017 following a successful loan spell. The former Feyenoord youngster joined Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in August 2020 for £41million, following Cherries’ relegation from the top flight. He has gone on to win two Premier League titles and a League Cup with City. Speaking about facing Cherries for the first time tomorrow since his move, the Netherlands international said: “It will be good to see them again. There has been lots of change since I was there to be fair, the manager is different and a lot of the stuff is different. “It will be different, but it will be good to see some familiar faces. “I follow them when I can and also it was good to see them go up. I knew this day would come that I would face them again. I am looking forward to it. “Some of them I still keep in contact with. Dominic Solanke is there and he was at my wedding, so it will be good to see him as well. I will see him after the game.” Scott Parker’s side began their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa last time out, while Ake helped City overcome West Ham 2-0. He added: “They will be tough opposition to play against, even when we play at home, but we are ready to go.”
Scott Parker Fulham
Posted in2022-2023-Season Daily News

#PLStories – Pep Guardiola declares respect for Scott Parker and his style of play #MCFC #AFCB

August 13, 2022
LEGENDARY manager Pep Guardiola detailed his respect for visiting boss Scott Parker and insisted Cherries “don’t have anything to lose” at Manchester City. Parker’s side, who picked up a victory at home against Aston Villa last week, are rated as huge 40-1 underdogs against defending champions City at Etihad Stadium tomorrow (3pm). But Guardiola described the test as “tricky” and admits he is a fan of the work of head coach Parker. “I saw their game (against Villa). I have a lot of respect for Scott Parker, the job he did at Fulham and of course last season at Bournemouth,” said the former Barcelona boss. “And this season, the way they play. The patterns are so clear, so clever. We spoke today in training and we're ready." Asked how difficult it was to face a promoted team at this stage of the season, Guardiola replied: “It's so tricky.  "New-promoted teams. The first games are so difficult, they don't feel pressure because they are in an incredible mood from the previous season. “They don't have anything to lose, they give everything after the good karma, what happened being promoted, that makes it complicated. “After a few months all the teams have problems with injuries, good moments bad moments, the mood in the locker room. “In the first games, everyone pushes to do better. That’s why it’s always tricky.”