Howe suffers yet another sour day as Cherries boss
A SIXTH defeat of 2017 left Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe bracing his side for a relegation battle and contemplating the unthinkable prospect of following Claudio Ranieri into the ranks of the unemployed.
While few outside observers expect Howe’s position to be questioned following the wonders he has worked at Dean Court, the Cherries boss admitted Leicester’s treatment of Ranieri this week means that no Premier League manager feels safe.
And goals from Craig Dawson and Gareth McAuley for in-form West Brom did little to help.
Defeat, despite taking the lead through Josh King’s early penalty, left Howe’s men without a win in eight games in all competitions since the turn of the year and just five points clear of the bottom three.
‘I’ve always said and maintained that I have to prove I’m good enough to be in the job by getting results,’ he said. ‘If you’re not getting results then it becomes difficult. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done or what you’ve achieved historically. I very much fall into that bracket.
‘Naturally that concerns me, of course it does, and I’ve said for a long time I feel we’re in a relegation battle until we get the points that say we’re safe.
‘I’ve got no problem facing that head-on. We need points and we need points quickly.
‘There is only one way for us to get out of this run of form and that is to work harder, smarter, but not to change and throw everything away that we built and everything that’s good about us really.
‘But certainly we have to improve. The goals we are giving away at the moment are too high and we’re giving ourselves too much to do to win. But I believe in the players and I believe that will change.’
Referee Mark Clattenburg took centre stage in his first assignment since announcing his decision to leave the Premier League for Saudi Arabia in the summer.
King converted a penalty in the fifth minute, with West Brom furious that Allan Nyom was penalised for pulling down Ryan Fraser, although boss Tony Pulis later admitted that Clattenburg had been correct. The official got most of his big calls right, denying West Brom a first-half penalty when Tyrone Mings appeared to foul Salomon Rondon, with replays later showing that the defender had taken a piece of the ball.
Pulis was, though, unhappy that Steve Cook escaped punishment for barging Rondon as the striker chased a poorly-hit backpass.
It mattered not, as the teams’ respective goalkeepers proved the difference in the game.
West Brom’s Ben Foster made a fine first-half save to deny Adam Smith and two excellent stops late on to thwart Lys Mousset and Mings. Bournemouth’s Artur Boruc, meanwhile, flapped horribly at a Chris Brunt corner to allow McAuley to poke home on 21 minutes in his 500th club appearance in England, 11 minutes after Dawson’s shot had looped over the keeper via a deflection off Charlie Daniels.
Dawson ended his afternoon dazed, bruised but victorious after a clash of heads with Mings early in the first half that appeared to render him briefly unconscious.
‘He’s got absolutely slaughtered in the dressing room after the game,’ joked Pulis, whose side’s home form leaves them harbouring hopes of a Europe League place. ‘It’s a little bump on the side of his head! He’s got hammered by the players.
‘We’re pleased, we knew it was going to be a tough game. The big thing in the Premier League is you can’t take anything for granted.
‘Just look and see what has happened to Claudio. Never take anything for granted in this league, it’s the toughest league in the world.’