Former Rayo Vallecano manager Andoni Iraola made the move to the Premier League in the summer of 2023 with a burgeoning reputation as a tactician but little to indicate the revolution he would lead on the south coast. Bournemouth had just finished 15th in the first season of their second ever spell in the top division. Gary O’Neil was shoved aside to bring in the Spaniard, a bold decision not unlike the one that brought Mauricio Pochettino to England just down the M27 a decade ago.
Sacking a young English manager and hiring a fashionable name from abroad attracted the usual criticism but, a season and a half in, Bournemouth’s willingness to take their shot has the distinct whiff of a strategic masterstroke. Bournemouth have never been better - and they should be even higher in the table The Cherries are in uncharted waters. Iraola guided them to 12th last season, the highest league finish in their history.
Halfway through 2024-25, they’re looking down at 12th from 7th and seeing Aston Villa , Tottenham Hotspur , Manchester United and Everton among the teams beneath them. But Bournemouth’s analysts won’t have done much more than scratch the surface of the team’s underlying performance data before locating a curious inconsistency that suggests they could be doing even better. Iraola’s transition-based game relies on pace out wide and energy in midfield, and it’s yielding goals aplenty for Bournemouth this season.
They’ve scored 29 times in their first 19 Premi.
