After an almost two-week long international break to mull over their 3-0 loss at Southampton, Norwich will return to action at Carrow Road on Saturday against Bournemouth. Both newly promoted teams will class this as an early season ‘six-pointer’ in the relegation scrap. To find a little more out about the Cherries, I caught up with Jonny Gilder of ReadBournemouth to get his take on the game.
What were your first thoughts when you saw that Norwich had been promoted to the Premier League?
I was genuinely pleased for Norwich when they won promotion through the play-offs. As one of the teams who challenged Bournemouth throughout the season, I thought it was deserved. With the team that Norwich ended last season with, it was clear that they should be in the Premier League.
What do you make of Norwich’s first 4 matches?
It’s been an intriguing start to the season for Norwich and one similar to that of Bournemouth’s with one win, a draw and two losses. One thing that has been clear from the early matches it that they are a fluid, attacking outfit but they will have to be far stronger against Bournemouth than they were against Southampton in their last match.
What are your thoughts on Norwich’s dealings in the transfer window?
I personally think that Norwich’s transfer window was relatively poor, bringing in Dorrans and Mulumbu were smart transfers but didn’t actually improve the team. I also feel the same about Robbie Brady, someone they paid a lot of money for but so far has been played, in my opinion, out of position at left back. Deadline day saw Norwich panic, as they signed two players on loan. The first was Mbokani from Dynamo Kyiv, a striker who is unproven in the Premier League and the second was Matt Jarvis from West Ham, who has consistently under-performed since he was signed for £10 million.
What should Norwich be wary of against Bournemouth?
Callum Wilson. It’s as simple as that, he’s our star man and can change the game in an instance. We will also seek to keep hold of the ball and play stylish, attacking football. Alex Neil should know all about Bournemouth having played against them last year in the Championship but both teams are very different now. New boy Glenn Murray may also feature and Norwich should be wary of him because he is also capable of scoring at any moment.
What factor do you think will decide this game?
It’s tricky to say, especially looking at the first four games of both sides. I think it will come down to who sets up best defensively because both sides can attack very well. If one side gets their defensive tactics wrong, they will be punished.
And finally, what do you think the outcome of the match on Saturday will be?
There is a real possibility that this could be a ‘goal fest’ between two attacking sides and for that reason my prediction for the match will be 3-2 to the Cherries.
