Bournemouth have surpassed expectations this season after a tragic opening month to the season. After sacking Scott Parker within a month of the seasons opener, Gary ONeil took the reigns and has since made Bournemouth a difficult team to play against.
Although Bournemouth are not mathematically safe from relegation yet, only a series of unlikely events would cause them to fall into the drop zone. Leeds United, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Everton would all have to beat multiple teams, who currently occupy European places, as well as any other remaining games this season in order to overtake Bournemouths tally of 39 points, who would also have to lose every remaining fixture.
With the likes of Man City and Newcastle United still to play the relegation favourites, it is likely that Bournemouth will retain their Premier League status.
One of the key reasons why Bournemouth have been able to stay away from the drop zone in recent weeks has been their ability to be efficient from set plays. With fewer corners won than 16 other Premier League sides, Bournemouth are an underrated dead-ball side due to the limited opportunities theyve had to showcase their methods. The Cherries have scored 9 set play goals this season in the league, with those goals earning Bournemouth 9 points. They currently sit 9 points adrift of the drop zone, so it is fair to say set plays have been the difference between relegation and safety.
Gary ONeil must be given credit as his ability to make Bournemouth more solid at the back and dangerous in attack meant that they have been able to amass points through different means, not only through set plays.
In this??tactical analysis, we will look into the tactics used by Bournemouth, with an in-depth analysis of how they have been able to use different routines to create high-quality chances in their variations of corners. This set-piece analysis will look at the reasons behind the different routines used and how their All or Nothing routines separate the south coast club from the rest of the league.
Use of screens
Bournemouths most efficient use of corners has come through their use of screens to create space. Although the riskiest method, which has really separated Bournemouth from many teams, is their intent in directing the corner to one target player, whilst every other player in the box has a clear role to either create space for the target player or to attack a second ball. Only one player attacks the target area, which makes these types of corners do-or-die situations. The starting positions of a routine are shown below with the players highlighted in black acting as screens, the player in blue as a decoy runner whilst the target player is in green.
The designated players who set up a screen deliberately start separated before all joining up to protect the target area shown in black. The aim in these corners is to keep your cards close to your chest, so if the attackers all set up the screen before the corner is delivered, it would be clear where the target area is and so a defender could zonally protect the area.
The player in blue starts in the target area before making a decoy run away from the target area to drag any defenders away from it. This opens up the space for the target player to attack the target area. His starting position is deliberately behind the defenders back shoulder, as it gives him instant separation, with the marker having to back up in order to see both the ball and the player.
