AFC Bournemouth welcomed back Scott Parker to Dean Court on Saturday, with his Burnley side, like AFCB, winless in seven Premier League games. Unlike the Cherries, Burnley had lost all of those games, with Parker under severe pressure going into this one. But what followed was, from a Bournemouth perspective, painfully predictable. Here are five things we learned from another very disappointing afternoon:

1. All is not well

You can look at the last three games as three unbeaten, with some credible draws against Chelsea and Manchester United, but those draws don’t feel so positive after that Burnley result. As previously stated, that is now eight without a win in the Premier League. If the team had won with that performance yesterday, it would have felt far more like relief than anything. It was the same problems as always against a low block, but we can delve into that in a later point. Overall, the feeling around the club feels as low as it has done in a long time. Antoine Semenyo will leave in January. Marcos Senesi will leave for free in the summer. Andoni Iraola might well join them. A season that promised so much has changed so quickly. I said after the Everton game that I hoped that was our low point for the season – but even though we claimed a point, this, for me, felt lower. No win since October with Brentford (who we never beat), Chelsea away and Arsenal to come in the next three. When will the joy come back?

2. Painfully predictable

I have mentioned ‘painfully predictable’ already, but it has to be mentioned again. For the first 10 minutes, we moved the ball quite quickly, and although no clear cut chances were created, it felt like a step in the right direction given our struggles against low blocks. Make no mistake about it, Burnley’s intention was to sit back, defend, and hope to nick something on the counter or from a set piece. They never looked threatening on the counter really, but they got their equaliser from a corner that was oh so avoidable. Armando Borja scored his first Premier League goal since 2022, another early Christmas present handed out by Bournemouth. But away from that, it was the same problems as always against defensive sides. Not quick enough on the ball, not enough movement off it, not enough risks taken, not clinical enough when chances are made. It’s almost boring writing this down, as it feels like I have to write it down every time we play against these sides. Why do teams even bother trying to beat us? They can almost guarantee a result by just sitting back and letting us have the ball. 16 shots, only one on target (the goal), is nowhere near good enough. That the goal came from a Burnley mistake is even more telling. Draws at home to West Ham and Burnley are just not good enough, unfortunately.

3. No Semenyo, no party

It was an outstanding finish by Antoine Semenyo after Josh Laurent’s slip, the eighth of the season for the Ghanian. From a Bournemouth point of view, thank goodness Ghana did not qualify for AFCON, as a team without Semenyo is frankly not one that I want to watch. But that is the reality we face, with that potentiality being Semenyo’s last game at Dean Court (in a Bournemouth shirt). Should a club trigger his January release clause early on, you would hope that succession plan is made extremely quickly. And that succession plan better be good. Replacing Semenyo will be extremely difficult, given his unique attributes, but the club have had enough time to sound out quality replacements. The team have unfortunately become too reliant on Semenyo. This was not the case last season, with goals shared nicely around the team. Justin Kluivert has scored just one goal this season, and put in another very disappointing performance yesterday. The excuse of not having had a pre-season can only run for so long. Lewis Cook also missed pre-season, but in his first start back in his natural position was a definite candidate for man of the match. Kluivert looks a shadow of his former self, and unfortunately the man in front of him, Evanilson, hasn’t been finding the back of the net either. That is not all his fault, with no chances created for him yesterday, but we certainly need more of an output from the Brazilian. David Brooks has yet to score this campaign after a very promising start, and missed two ‘big chances’ yesterday. There were chances outside of that which were more than presentable, too. Six shots, zero on target for Brooks in his 74 minute outing. Junior Kroupi is the only man who has threatened to pick up that goal scoring baton, but rarely finds himself in the starting lineup. I would love to see how Kroupi and Evanilson get on with a start together – it doesn’t even matter which one of them starts up front or in the ’10’. Kroupi certainly deserves more of a chance from the off.

4. Set pieces.

AFCB have now conceded the fifth most goals in the division this season, and after a strong start, set pieces are becoming a real issue. They were once again the undoing of the side yet again yesterday, and it was so, so simple. A short corner was worked to Marcus Edwards, who had to make very little effort to whip the ball in on his strongly favoured left foot. Broja found himself unmarked in the penalty area, with no one attempting to contest the ball around him, giving him the easy task of glancing the ball in. The height of Illia Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen is dearly missed. We have now conceded the most set pieces in the league – 12. It goes without saying that goals from set pieces are extremely avoidable and they are now truly costing the side. Tommy Elphick deals with defensive set pieces, and he needs to sure things up ASAP.

5. Lewis Cook and Ryan Christie

With Tyler Adams now out for 2-3 months due to an MCL tear, having Lewis Cook back from suspension is massive. In his first start of the season in his natural position, he was excellent. He completed 91% of his passes, five of which were into the final third as he looked to drive the team forward, and made 15 defensive contributions (interceptions, tackles, recoveries and clearances). He also won 3/5 ground duels and 3/6 aerial duels in a complete performance at the heart of our midfield. Ryan Christie made his return to the squad having been absent since our draw with West Ham, and whilst he wasn’t at his complete best (understandably), having him back in and around it will be huge for the festive period. Might reuniting Cook and Christie in midfield help us get back to winning ways? I certainly wouldn’t be against it.

I sure hope the next time I write one of these it will be more positive. Hopefully a good Christmas break for the boys does them the world of good and we return to winning ways next week.