AFC Bournemouth enter the 2023/24 season after a 15th place finish last season and under the new management of Andoni Iraola. Iraola has never managed in England and will bring a wealth of uncertainty and doubts about his managerial ability at this level from onlookers this season.
Losing Jefferson Lerma as well as squad players such as Jack Stacey and Jordan Zemura, will no doubt be a worry for the Bournemouth supporters. However, so far incomings will have put these doubts to rest with a mixture of youth and experience joining the Cherries' line-up this season.
Pre-season has shown a mixture of results for Iraola's side. From 5 games, Bournemouth recorded three wins and 2 losses. The wins were convincing against Hibernian and Lorient, but worryingly a very tight game played out at St Mary's against relegated Southampton; which ended in a 3-2 win for Bournemouth.
How they did last season
After gaining automatic promotion from the Championship, Bournemouth came into the Premier League with the vast majority of fans predicting the Cherries to finish rock-bottom. Scott Parker was in charge and his side began the season as many expected.
Despite a 2-0 opening-day win over Aston Villa, reality soon set in. Following this came a 4-0 loss to Manchester City (A), 3-0 loss to Arsenal (H) and the infamous 9-0 away loss to Liverpool; which saw Scott Parker leave the club. His replacement, the managerially inexperienced Gary O'Neil.
O'Neil had many doubters, but results did pick up as he led the side. In his first six games O'Neil went unbeaten, recording 2 wins and 4 draws. However, from 19th October all the way to 14th January, Bournemouth went on a dismal run; only winning a singular game in the league. Their next win wouldn't come until the 18th February, when a lone Marcus Tavernier strike saw them take all three points at Molineux.
The Cherries were in a huge relegation scrap for the majority of the year, but their run towards the end of the season is what kept them safe. In the 15 games after the Wolves victory, Bournemouth recorded six crucial wins; with huge upsets such as the 1-0 win (H) against Liverpool or the incredible 2-3 win at Tottenham (A).
As the season came to a close, Bournemouth found themselves sat 15th in the table and clear of the drop. Many attributed this achievement to the heroics and managerial expertise of Gary O'Neil which led to shock from many as to what would happen next.
· Outgoings
Gary O'Neil: The most shocking outgoing out of Bournemouth this summer was not actually a player, but manager Gary O'Neil having his contract terminated. After securing survival last season, many onlookers saw this as an incredibly harsh decision.
Jefferson Lerma: The player that the Cherries will miss most this season will be their tough-tackling Colombian midfielder, who joined Crystal Palace on a free transfer this summer. Lerma was a staple of the team last season providing crucial tackles and popping up with 5 goals.
Jordan Zemura: A key asset in the Championship triumph, Zemura fell out of favour only starting 17 games in the Premier League last season. The left-back has left the club to join Udinese in the Serie A on a free transfer.
Jack Stacey: Stacey was seen more as a back-up at full-back only registering three starts last season and playing a total of 10 times. He has joined Championship Norwich on a free and has been impressing for the Canaries in pre-season.
Mark Travers: After the announcement of a new goalkeeper arriving on loan, Travers was allowed the freedom to join Stoke City on loan for the season.
Will Dennis: At 23 and now fourth-choice goalkeeper, academy product Will Dennis has joined Kilmarnock on loan for the season in the SPL.
Ben Pearson: After joining on a free in January 2021, Pearson leaves Bournemouth for £1.8m to join Mark Travers at Stoke City. Pearson only made 55 appearances for the Cherries.
Siriki Dembele: Dembele arrived at the Vitality Stadium in January 2022 but would only score 2 goals for the side. He moves to Birmingham City for £2.1m, where he already has scored on his debut against Swansea City.
Christian Saydee: Academy product Saydee has been loaned out 4 times during his time at Bournemouth. This time the 21 year-old completes a permanent move to Portsmouth for £361k.
·New signings
Hamed Traore: Traore joined the Cherries on loan last season but only made 7 appearances due to injury. Bournemouth made the loan deal permanent with a fee of £22m, and the midfielder has already impressed during pre-season.
Justin Kluivert: The son of world class Dutch marksman, Partick, Justin Kluivert joins Bournemouth for £8.2m from Roma. The Dutchman brings Champions League and Europa League experience to the South Coast and still has room to grow at 24 years old.
Romain Faivre: Faivre joins from Lyon for a fee of £13m. The 25 year-old has impressed in Ligue 1 and will join co-owned club Lorient on loan for the season. He played there on loan last season and scored 5 goals in 17 appearances.
Milos Kerkez: Arguably Bournemouth's most exciting signing, the Hungarian wonderkid joins from AZ Alkmaar for £15m. Kerkez is just 19 years-old and has impressed in pre-season, showing passion and desire to win. He looks to be a very, very good addition to the Bournemouth squad.
Ionut Andrei Radu: Radu joins Bournemouth from Inter Milan and allowed Mark Travers to move on loan. A good back-up to Neto, Radu was on loan with Auxerre last season; where he kept 5 clean sheets in 17 appearances.
Rumours: AFC Bournemouth are still linked with Bristol City's talented midfielder Alex Scott and have had a number of bids rejected.
It will be interesting to see who else Bournemouth can bring in to their squad before the window closes.
· The Manager
Arguably the most controversial part of Bournemouth's summer was replacing Gary O'Neil, who did so well to keep them up last season. His replacement, Adoni Iraola.
Iraola was a club legend for Athletico Bilbao, playing 406 times for the Spanish club. Now he has retired, he has taken the step forward into management. Before joining Bournemouth, Iraola last managed Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
Success at Vallecano
When Iraola arrived at Rayo Vallecano (August 2020), the team were in the second division. Iraola managed to achieve promotion that season via the play-offs and extended his contract until 2022. In the club's promotion season Iraola led them to a famous Copa Del Rey run, where they lost to Real Betis in the Semi-Finals. A truly incredible achievement to make it that far as a promoted club.
Tactical Style
Adoni Iraola favours a high-pressing, positional tactic; where he wants his players to take charge and dominate specific zones, look for width and find a free man in space. He is also a fan of high-pressing attacking full backs - a position which Milos Kerkez excells in.
· Strongest starting 11
Formation: 4-2-3-1 (4-4-2 out of possession)
GK: Neto LB: Kerkez CB: Zabarnyi CB: Senesi RB: Anthony CM: Christie CM: Cook LW: Kluivert CAM: Hamed Traore RW: Ouatarra ST: Solanke
· Three talking points ahead of the new season
The New Manager
Many fans saw it as harsh to replace Gary O'Neil after his success in guiding Bournemouth to unlikely survival last season. He is unproven in the Premier League, but has shown he has got what it takes with his incredible job at Rayo Vallecano.
How will they cope without Lerma?
Jefferson Lerma was absolutely key in Bournemouth's success last season, being an anchor in defensive midfield, spraying passes across the front line and even popping up with a few important goals. As it stands, the Cherries are yet to find a suitable replacement.
Is relegation in the question this season?
Many tipped Bournemouth to finish bottom last season.
The real question is are these new signings enough to ensure survival and finish ahead of the newly promoted sides?
· Expected Finish: 14-20th
Bournemouth finished 15th place last season. The Cherries finished on 39 points and the second worst goal difference in the league last season.
This year it's a year of uncertainty, with an unproven manager, it could really go either way. However I believe the squad is good enough to ensure survival over the likes of Sheffield United, Luton and Burnley - as well as finishing above other teams such as Wolves and Everton.