Rafa not surprised Cherries are flying high in the league
RAFA Benitez has warned his players that they must respect AFC Bournemouth this weekend – but insists the Cherries richly deserve to be in the Premier League’s top six.
The south coast side have put their TV money where their mouth is and invested heavily in the last couple of seasons after splashing out £20m on Nathan Ake then smashing their own transfer record by paying £25m for Jefferson Lerma.
Newcastle, in comparison, paid just £23m on permanent transfers in the summer window and opted for loan players in the January trading period.
Benitez feels that it is no surprise Eddie Howe’s side are enjoying a dream season so far in the top-flight.
He told the Chronicle: “I think they spent about £50m in the summer.
“They have paid good money for players and they have done that in the last couple of years. It means they have a squad.
“They will say we need this, this and that. They will sign three players for big money and then spend big money on another three.
“Some fans say why don’t you spend money, sometimes you can’t.
“You need to cover some positions and go to the market in which you can manage.
“In their case, they spent a lot of money on Nathan Ake or Jefferson Lerma, they are what they needed so they made the effort and it was good for them.” Bournemouth have Callum Wilson in fine form with seven goals this season with the striker – once courted by Newcastle – now in the England squad.
Benitez sees Bournemouth as one of the established sides in the Premier League at the moment and knows his side will have to be at the top of their game just to have a sniff of three points. Benitez said: “If you play against the top sides you’d have to do really well to get three points but even then they can be playing not so well and still win.
“If you play against the teams in the middle of the table and they aren’t doing well you maybe can get a result. Bournemouth are also in that bracket now.
“You have to play well yourselves but sometimes you need a bit of luck. If you play badly it’s hard to get results.
“But when you play against the teams at the bottom you’ll get more chances.”
Despite Bournemouth’s lofty position, the Cherries have still experienced three defeats this season – most alarmingly away to Burnley when they were hammered 4-0 at Turf Moor.
However, they showed exactly what they could do when demolishing Watford at Vicarage Road in a stunning away performance.
Benitez has reviewed that performance on DVD this week to see them at their very best.
Benitez said: “I watched their game against Watford and they were dangerous on the counter attack and from their set-pieces.
“I think they are a team who know each other really well.
“They have some good movements which work well for them. At the same time they play good football.
“They are confident and they are able to try things because they are not under pressure. It means that they will try even more.
“When you don’t have confidence you make mistakes. But when things are going well it’s so different.”