The year is racing away with us and with that the football comes at us thick and fast, as the Eagles enter crucial period of fixtures.
TEB – Are you happy with the summer transfer business by Bournemouth? Were there any areas not strengthened that should have been?
TB – Bournemouth did really well in recruiting players last summer signing the likes of Huijsen, Kepa and Araujo, but our best signing was our club record deal for Evanilson who joined from FC Porto. When we signed him we didn’t know what to expect because he was coming in for one of our all-time top goal scorers Dominic Solanke who left for Tottenham.
Overall Bournemouth had a very good window during the summer. The only positions we missed was a LB to challenge Milos Kerkez and an attacking midfielder due to players like Christie and Scott being preferred more defensively and Billing not really catching the eye of Andoni Iraola.
TEB – It’s been a very strong start to the season for Bournemouth. What are your thoughts on results so far?
TB – The results are going very well with the Iraola style of play. We are sitting in 5th and potentially challenging for Europe for the first time in our history.
TEB – This is likely to be a silly question but, are you happy with Andoni Iraola in charge and is he still the man to take the club forward?
TB – People thought Bournemouth were crazy to sack Gary O’Neil after avoiding relegation, but you can see the ambition of the club to push on and not be in a relegation battle. That’s one of the reasons we brought in Iraola, to challenge for more and be a difficult team to play against. He is definitely taking the club forward.
TEB – Your opinions of the much debated VAR?
TB – Without VAR, Bournemouth would be higher up in the table so far this season as a lot of our goals have been ruled out against teams like Nottingham Forest, West Ham, Leicester and Newcastle.
TEB – What can Palace expect to face in terms of style of play from Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium?
TB – Bournemouth will let Palace have more of the ball and look to break on the counter. We’ll also try to put more pressure on Palace to give away set pieces where we’re strong at scoring from.
TEB – It’s been a couple of years since the new ownership at Bournemouth took over, would you say they are responsible for the upturn in form since then?
TB – The new owners are definitely one of the reasons Bournemouth are doing so well. They have allowed the club to sign more expensive players, built a new training ground and have put plans in place for a new stadium, so you can tell what the ideas are and as of right now, it’s all going very well.
TEB – If you could sign one current player from Palace, who would it be?
TB – The boring answer would be Ebere Eze so instead of him, I’d like to see Ismaïla Sarr in red and black. He’s somebody lots of Bournemouth fans know about from his days in the championship with Watford.
TEB – Favourite away day in the Premier League?
TB – My favourite is probably Southampton. It’s the closest to us and there’s a small rivalry between the two clubs.
TEB – Predictions for the game including final score?
TB – I think it we be a difficult game for both teams. As Bournemouth are at home and trying to push for Europe, I’m predicting a 2-0 home win.
