Scott Parker has been in charge of Bournemouth for a full season now following his relegation from the Premier League as Fulham manager. Parker has guided the Cherries to promotion at the first time of asking. The former West Ham midfielder now has two EFL Championship promotions under his belt and is becoming one of the best up-and-coming managers around. Parker has amassed a 54% win ratio as Bournemouth boss and he will be hoping he can continue this great form next season.
This tactical analysis will look at how Scott Parker guided AFC Bournemouth to promotion to Englands top-flight division. Within this analysis, the tactics and decisions made by the manager will be explained and understood.
In possession
In possession, Parker sets his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation utilising a double pivot. For the majority of the season, this paring has been Lewis Cook and Jefferson Lerma.
This partnership has a great understanding of each other and knows the other game. When in possession, Cook drops deeper and offers himself as an option for the defenders. Cook is very comfortable on the ball and excels at progressing the play forwards. By dropping deep, not only does he give his teammates an option to pass to, but he also allows for Bournemouth to set up in a much more open and expansive way.
Lerma pushes forward and finds pockets of space between the lines where he can try and receive the ball. By doing this, it gives space for Cook to comfortably get on the ball. The Bournemouth fullbacks push wide but not too high when building up. Parker takes a more conservative approach with how far he likes his fullbacks to go in the early stages of build-up. This aids him if there is a quick turnover in possession, as his team are in place to recover.
Furthermore, when building up. The space vacated by Lerma is often utilised by former Liverpool defender, Nat Phillips. His tendency to carry the ball forwards into the midfield area creates good opportunities to play forwards. When stepping in, Phillips looks to play a killer ball into his striker. If successful then the Cherries are in a prime position to attack further as the killer ball will have bypassed the opposition midfield completely.
This season, Phillips makes 7.24 passes to the final third per 90 and 9.19 progressive passes per 90. Both statistics rank over 1.5 more than the league average for centre-backs, who have played over 1,000 minutes. Phillips plays a key role in ensuring that Bournemouth can build up and his ability on the ball is well utilised.
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