Bournemouth

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The issue around the footballing calendar and the demands being placed on players right now is a difficult one.

First, we need to take into consideration the really high demands on the body that go on all-year round with few breaks, especially for international footballers and those in teams competing on multiple fronts.

I know the men's and the women's games are different, but we got exposed to these issues when we went from amateur to professional. There was a lot of loading, a lot of games and the result of that was a higher risk of injury and we have seen a lot of anterior cruciate ligament injuries now in the women's game.

From the fans' side, their point is often that players get paid a lot of money but I think that is irrelevant. That is just the industry players are in and, if you take out the money, they are still human beings.

The governing bodies need to look at who they consult with about changes in the calendar such as World Cups being held in winter and summers where there is just a couple of weeks off before going straight back into it. The changes and fixtures that are put in are there to generate more money, which makes it difficult. As a business, it is about money.

We talk about mental health a lot and you wonder, where is the time to switch off and have that time away from playing? To have that family time which is a deep human need? At some point mentally, if not physically, it will take its toll.

None of us want to see players striking, but players need to be listened to. What do they need to do to make change happen?

Fara Williams was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

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Bournemouth (26) have had more shots from outside the box than any other side in the Premier League this season. Liverpool’s only goal conceded so far this term has come from distance, while 39% of the overall shots they’ve faced have come from outside the box (11/28).

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

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The two sides of football have been exemplified by Bournemouth’s last two games.

After the euphoria of, frankly, burgling a 3-2 win at Goodison Park where they had been second best to Everton and trailed 2-0 going into the 87th minute, came Saturday evening’s late heartbreak against Chelsea.

Andoni Iraola’s side had more than held their own against the billion-pound Blues, a team with Champions League aspirations. But they failed to take their chances, including that missed penalty, and were beaten 1-0 by a late sucker punch.

Nevertheless, optimism remains reasonably high among the supporters, who feel that Iraola’s men have deserved more than the five points accrued from their first four league games. Indeed, on Tuesday evening, referees’ chief Howard Webb confirmed the VAR officials should not have disallowed Dango Ouattara’s “winning goal” against Newcastle.

For those who pay heed to the metric of “expected goals”, Bournemouth’s xG is the fourth highest in the league after Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City, which points to the number of chances that are being created, in stark contrast to a couple of seasons ago where the Cherries struggled to muster even a shot on target in some games under Gary O'Neil.

Fans trust Iraola’s philosophy – and Iraola himself is publicly backing record signing Evanilson after the striker fluffed that spot-kick against Chelsea. He had scored four out of the five penalties he took for Porto last season, so was a recognised penalty taker.

Having played all of 205 Premier League minutes, it would be very premature to spotlight his lack of goals as the Brazilian adjusts to a new country, new league, new team and new manager.

After all, five years ago, Bournemouth spent a lot of money on a young striker who took fully 18 months and 39 Premier League appearances (granted, mostly from the bench) to register his first top-flight goal for the Cherries.

And it didn’t turn out too badly for Dominic Solanke.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

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Bournemouth owner Bill Foley is looking to purchase a club in Portugal to add to his Black Knight multi-club group, amid talks with Lisbon club Casa Pia.

Negotiations with the Lisbon club remain at an early stage as alternatives are considered.

The Portuguese top-flight outfit also have interest from other US-based investors.

But they are attractive as Portugal and particularly Lisbon is a hotbed of domestic talent, with the league becoming an important first step for South American talent when coming to Europe.

Foley, 79, is the lead investor in Black Knight Sports and Entertainment consortium, which begun building a City Football Group-like model - pioneered by Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi-based owners - to be competitive within football.

The group first bought National Hockey League franchise Vegas Golden Knights before moving into football with Bournemouth in 2022.

They have since purchased a minority stakes in French Ligue 1 club Lorient and Scottish Premiership side Hibernian, while also owning Auckland FC in New Zealand.

In an interview with BBC Sport in the US this summer, Foley said of his plans: “I believe it is realistic because we are putting a great team together, with a lot of younger players.

“We are trying to be careful with how we do this. We have a multi-club strategy so we promote players from Club A to Club B to Club C to Club D. We now have four clubs, and we are about to acquire a controlling interest in another club. It is all designed to give the players a path to the Premier League.

“If we can do that, we should be able to be competitive and not have to kill ourselves financially. We are not a sovereign wealth fund or private equity. We are just simple little guys from America who came over and bought a team."

Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves are interested in Cameroon defender Joel Matip, 33, who remains a free agent after leaving Liverpool during the summer (HITC), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Sam Davis
Fan writer

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Something that is becoming a common theme in modern day football matches is the constant conversation about the standard of officiating and how it affects games. This was exactly the case in Bournemouth's game against Chelsea on Saturday, with 14 yellow cards being handed out!

It felt like the decision making of Anthony Taylor had a negative effect on the game for the Cherries, who are a team that like to play free-flowing football, thriving when games are played at a high pace and tempo. However due to the soft nature of the fouls Taylor was giving - it certainly didn’t help our flow.

That being said, despite the poor choices by the referee on the pitch, we should have taken our chances, an "issue" which is potentially costing us points this season. Fortunately we're in a comfortable position for it not to be a problem.

I feel for Evanilson, with his penalty miss - you can clearly see he is a great player and just needs that first goal to kick start his career in red and black. It just seemed like it was "one of those days" for us, as on any other day, Bournemouth could have very easily taken home the three points.

It feels like referees (or the dreaded VAR) have stunted the points trajectory for Bournemouth this season, but aside from the woes with the officiating, the Cherries are showing some real character and Andoni Iraola is ensuring that we are progressing as a team.

The opening four games of the season have been fun to watch, so as long as the referees and video officials manage to contain their constant interference as the campaign progresses, we sense it could well turn out to be a very successful and memorable one for AFC Bournemouth.

Find more from Sam Davis at Back of the Net, external

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Bournemouth and Chelsea.

Here are some of your comments:

Bournemouth fans:

Charl: A very good performance from the whole team. Bournemouth played with confidence from back to front. Evanilson needs time, as did Solanke - but don’t tell us he played well when he was dreadful. Our subs were disappointing, especially Scott - I expect a lot more from him. Keep Travers in and build the team with him in goal. Unlucky Cherries.

Malcolm: Good performance. Thought we were decent for most of game but could/should have done better on the finishing. Kluivert should have taken the pen. Tired a bit at the end, which is when Chelsea struck.

Fin: Thought we played well, Evanilson looked good other than the penalty miss, which is promising. We were unfortunate to concede so late. After such a good start to the season I think fans can’t complain and, with this squad, we should be in for a good season.

Chelsea fans:

Pete: The first half was dreadful - same old, same old. The second was a bit better; Sancho added some spark, was direct and showed good skills. I thought Vega was decent. The defence doesn't inspire confidence. Against more heavyweight opposition I can't see us keeping any clean sheets.

Matthew: Chelsea were outplayed for most of the game. Poor control of the ball, poor focusing, generally poor passing. Sanchez made no mistakes, which is a first and won us the game. Brief moments of cohesion between the Chelsea players. Bournemouth were a tough team to play. Constant pressing and didn't allow us to settle. They were unlucky to lose.

Nick: A lucky win but credit to Sanchez, who played his best game for Chelsea, and to Sancho and Nkunku for turning the game around. But 14 bookings in a game where there were no bad tackles? I was too scared to shout at the screen in case the ref booked me for dissent.

Gary Linker brings you highlights and analysis from Saturday's eight Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest

• Aston Villa 3-2 Everton

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Andoni Iraola spoke to BBC Match of the Day after Bournemouth's defeat against Chelsea: "I'm really disappointed with the result. I'm very proud of the performance and we had more chances than them. They had more of the ball in a situation where it wasn't dangerous. Their keeper played very well."

"Against this kind of opposition, if you don't take your chances and you miss a penalty, you feel like they will punish you and they did in the end. We can't ask much more of our players. We have to keep in the same way and try to make these final attempts better.

On Evanilson: "I will not value his performance because he has scored. He has had a lot of chances. He created the penalty and he has been very good. He wants to score for sure but I will not focus on this. I am very happy with his performance.

"It's football. We played at home against Newcastle and Cheslea with two very good games and we have one point. We played very well, had more chances, pushed them and you have to punish them and we didn't.

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There were 14 yellow cards shown in Chelsea's victory against Bournemouth (six for Bournemouth, eight for Chelsea), the most ever issued in a single Premier League game.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter, at the Vitality Stadium

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Bournemouth striker Evanilson missed a penalty in the defeat to Chelsea at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday night.

There was little reaction from the 24-year-old Brazilian, signed from Porto for a club-record £40million this summer, but the 36th-minute spot kick felt like a pressure moment that got the better of him.

It has to be said that Evanilson worked hard and that effort helped win the penalty in the first place when capitalising on a Wesley Fofana error.

But in cruel fashion for the Cherries, substitute Christopher Nkunku's sharp 86th-minute finished earned the west Londoners a smash-and-grab victory.

However, we have seen this many times before across the Premier League, and now four games into his start on the South Coast, he is still without a goal.

That penalty miss will only served to amp up the scrutiny on the Cherries, as Evanilson was substituted in the 68th minute, especially after a match that they deserved to win, having outplayed the well-funded visitors.

His deputy Enes Unal will also be knocking on Andoni Iraola's door as a capable deputy with Premier League experience.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

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What did you make of Chelsea’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Read the match report and follow reaction

There are eight Premier League games on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you all the action and reaction throughout the day.

All time are BST

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BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:

• Liverpool v Nottingham Forest

• Aston Villa v Everton

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week four, he takes on Femi Koleoso and Ife Ogunjobi from jazz band Ezra Collective, the 2023 Mercury Music Prize winners.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Bournemouth are still unbeaten this season, even if their win at Everton was fortunate - they had a good five minutes, but that was it... which is a bit like the way my career went.

I really don't know what to expect from Chelsea though, or if Cole Palmer is going to be fit enough to play. Because of that, I am going to sit on the fence and go for a draw.

Koleoso's prediction: 2-1

I am going with Bournemouth here - this is a tough fixture.

Ogunjobi prediction: 1-2

We are are leaky defensively but I still think we will win.

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is optimistic Evanilson will continue to progress further, despite being yet to open his account for the club.

The Cherries signed the Brazil striker from Porto last month for a club record fee which could rise to £40.2m.

"He has been very good. I think he played very well against Newcastle and West Ham, probably not against Everton," Iraola said.

"But he has played about 120 Premier League minutes. We all want him to score straight away, but I'm happy with the performances he has had."

Iraola is pleased with what the 24-year-old has brought to the team and believes he has taken advantage of more time to practise during the international break.

"It's been very good for him because we could spend more time with him individually, analysing things that we will ask from him, to understand better collectively what we will try to do," Iraola added.

"It's also been a very good time for him personally - to settle in, to find his house and the school for his daughter. He's probably more relaxed now.

"I'm not focusing on whether he is going to score or not. I want him to help us and that's what we'll ask him [against Chelsea on Saturday]."

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Chelsea (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Tyler Adams and Dango Ouattara will not be available for the game: "Tyler is still recovering from his surgery - I think he is doing well. Dango has come back injured from the national team - it is unlucky for us and unlucky for him." Iraola confirmed that Ouattara "twisted his ankle".

• However, David Brooks and Enes Unal could be in contention after recovering from their injuries. Brooks has "trained properly for two weeks" now and Enes "has a chance to be involved" after training with the squad this week.

• On-loan Kepa Arrizabalaga will be ineligible to play against his parent club, so Mark Travers will start in goal and Iraola is "confident" he will "do well".

• On preparing to face Chelsea with so many first-team players away on international duty: "It is a strange one. You have almost two weeks to prepare, but you are really training with nine or 10 players and then everyone comes back and you have one or two days to do everything you were preparing. I suppose it is the same for every team."

• Iraola said there are "some similarities" between Enzo Maresca's new-look Chelsea and the Blues side he faced last season: "They have most of the same players, but it is going to be a difficult game for us. Tactically, in these first three games, they have used three different structures because they have lots of players and alternatives."

• He revealed that he "loves" a late kick-off: "I think the big games are at night. It is probably easier for me because in Spain kick-offs at 8pm on a Saturday are quite normal. I like it and I remember liking it when I was a player."

• On having the opportunity to work with new signing Evanilson during the international break: "For me and him, it has been very good. We have been able to spend more time with him individually, analysing things that we will ask from him on the pitch. I think he understands better, collectively, what we are trying to do."

• Iraola said Adam Smith is "very important" to his project at the club, after he signed a contract extension until 2026: "He understands the game and realises that, once you get to a certain age, he has to earn the right to continue playing in the Premier League. He has really done it and he deserves it."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Bournemouth defender Adam Smith has spoken of his delight to sign a one-year contract extension and of the "amazing impact" Andoni Iraola has had at the club.

Speaking to the club's official website, external, Smith said: “I’m absolutely delighted to stay here for another season.

“I feel absolutely amazing to be honest and the journey continues.”

The 33-year-old joined the club permanently in 2014 from Tottenham and has gone on to make over 350 appearances for the Cherries.

Last season he helped Bournemouth achieve their highest ever points total in the top division, and he praised Iraola for what he has done in his time at the club.

“I think it was what I needed when the gaffer came in, something different," said Smith.

“A different style of play, I think the age I’m at, it really suits the way I play at the moment. The front-foot pressing.

“Since he has come in, he has been amazing and hopefully we can have an even better season.

“I think it’s probably one of the best squads I’ve played in over these years. So much talent, all still very young with a lot of improvement. It’s very exciting times.”

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We asked you to tell us one thing that is going under the radar at Bournemouth at the moment. It's simple, what is something nobody is talking about but really should be?

Here are some of your comments:

David: The stadium, or lack of, seems to be on the back burner at the moment.

Jack: Lewis Cook. He quietly went about his business under Gary O'Neil and has flourished under Iraola. Cook might not rank highly for goals (his one against Everton a collector's item) and assists but his work rate, tackling, running and range of passing is excellent. With a lack of central midfield options, it's time Cook got an England call up!

Robbie: We should talk about Bournemouth's squad depth and the ability of Iraola to utilise this to the max. As demonstrated against Everton, there are plenty of game-changers on the bench and the manager is tactically adept enough to make the most of them.

Stew: Why won't everyone admit that Andoni Iraola will not be coaching Bournemouth next year? He will be managing one of the top five clubs in Europe because at least three of the top five will be sacked as their managers are not good enough.

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport senior journalist

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Buried in Tuesday’s announcement from the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents (KMI) review panel that Declan Rice’s red card for Arsenal against Brighton was justified, was the news that most at Bournemouth had suspected – that in the previous week, their disallowed goal against Newcastle should have been allowed to stand.

In that 1-1 draw on 25 August, Dango Ouattara’s stoppage-time header was given as a goal by on-field referee David Coote with no protests from the Newcastle defenders, but video assistant referee (VAR) Tim Robinson decided it was a "factual handball" and chalked it off, without even allowing Coote to visit the replay screen to make up his own mind.

But as reported by ESPN, external, the five-strong KMI panel unanimously agreed that VAR had made a mistake and the goal should have stood. Those five votes were among only nine out of 420 votes (on 84 incidents reviewed across the first three rounds of fixtures) where the panellists felt VAR was in error.

Someone who will be hoping for better fortunes from the officials when he returns to action will be local boxer and lifelong Bournemouth fan Chris Billam-Smith, who will be putting his WBO world cruiserweight title on the line in a unification bout against WBA champion Gilberto Ramirez in November.

Billam-Smith has a strong following among Cherries supporters – and will be at Vitality Stadium this Thursday evening for a special BBC Radio 5 Live show, where he will discuss his career with presenter Steve Bunce and take questions from the audience in a special recording of the 5 Live Boxing podcast.

Tickets for the show are still available – and are free – and can be booked via the BBC Shows and Tours website.

It has been a positive start to the season for Bournemouth with one (memorable) win at Everton and two draws from their opening three games.

There have been some plaudits for the way Andoni Iraola has got the Cherries playing, but what is the one thing - good or bad - that nobody is talking about?

Tell us over here, external - and we'll feature replies on Thursday

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Bournemouth and Chelsea have scored four second-half goals in the Premier League this season, which is a joint league-high.

The Cherries' goals have all come after the 86th minutes, while all four of the Blues' came in their only away game so far - a 6-2 victory at Wolves.