Harry Arter ready to make his International mark

Arter has been in great form for Bournemouth this season

Amongst some of the names getting a call up to Martin O’Neill’s side for the first time there was a first ever call up to an Irish squad for 25-year-old Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter, who has been rewarded for his fantastic league form that has helped his side to occupy the top spot in the Championship. An international call-up is a big step for the London born player, who qualifies to play for the Republic of Ireland through his Grandmother, a step up he both deserves and is ready for.

It hasn't been an easy ride for Arter to get to this point, after starting his career at Charlton an ankle injury saw his career there cut short and then opted to rebuild his career starting at non league Woking, a move that ultimately paid off. In 2010 Eddie Howe decided to take a risk and bring the then 20-year-old to his League one Bournemouth side, a move that has been worth the risk for Howe and Bournemouth with Arter now a mainstay in the Cherries midfield as they look to gain promotion to the Premier League.

This season Arter has been fantastic, in his 40 appearances in all competitions Arter has scored 8 and assisted 3 goals from his central midfield role. He is the definition of a box to box midfielder known for his good defensive play but also most recently he has hit the headlines for two cracking finishes in his past two games. He comes into the International squad in a great vein of form after a man of the match performance against promotion rivals Middlesbrough, a game in which he scored one of the aforementioned crackers as Eddie Howe’s side recorded a 3-0 win.

Martin O’Neill has a real dilemma on his hands when considering whether or not to throw Arter straight into the team in such a big game against Poland. It is unlikely that O’Neill would take the gamble and give him his debut in such a vital game but in the long term Arter could well be a long term solution to the Republic of Ireland’s midfield mediocracy. In the qualifying campaign so far the only central midfield player who has registered goal was Wes Hoolahan who was playing in a more attacking role when he scored a goal. Arter has proven in the Championship this season that he can get a goal and could be exactly what this Irish set-up needs.

Another feature of the Republic of Ireland’s current midfield options is they are very defensively minded, James McCarthy, Glen Whelan, Jeff Hendrick and David Meyler are all very much holding midfield players and although Gibson and Quinn do offer something going forward they are yet to register a goal and have not been overly impressive in their games so far this campaign. James McCarthy when fit is the best midfielder in the Irish squad and with his tendency to stay deep, Harry Arter, being the box to box midfielder he is, could well be the perfect partner for the Everton man.

A big problem for the Republic of Ireland in the campaign so far has been retaining the ball, Darron Gibson is the midfield player with the most passes completed for the Republic with 95. Compare that with group rivals Germany, their top midfielder Toni Kroos has completed 410 passes and compared to this weekends opponents Poland, Grzegorz Krychowiak has completed 224 passes both dwarfing Darron Gibson’s figure. The absence of top midfielder James McCarthy due to injury may reflect the poor passing stats but they are still very worrying. Harry Arter happens to be Bournemouth’s top passer with the highest amount of completed passes for his side in the Championship this season. Arter really seems to be the answer to all the Republic of Ireland’s midfield shortcomings.

The chances of Arter getting the nod on Sunday are short but the Bournemouth man can have a big impact for the Republic in the the rest of the qualifying campaign and beyond that.

Stats from:
http://www.squawka.com/teams/bournemouth/stats#performance-score#football-league-championship#season-2014/2015#127#all-matches#1-39#by-match
and
http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/qualifiers/season=2016/statistics/round=2000446/players/kind=distribution/index.html#order=2desc

Race to Premier League tight as ever

The race for the Premier League title may not be as pulsating as you would hope with Chelsea looking a certainty for the title at this early stage but the race to join the elite in the Premier League is as unpredictable and exciting as ever. Eight teams are currently in with a shout of either getting automatic promotion or snatching a play off place, 10 points separates 1st and 8th with just 8 games to go.

Table as it stands

1.Watford 72

2.Middlesbrough 72

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3.Bournemouth 70

4.Norwich 67

5.Derby 67

6. Brentford 65

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7.Ipswich 64

8.Wolves 62

Battle for automatic places

The automatic promotion places are naturally the most sought after, if at all possible teams want to avoid the daunting task of the play-offs and gain a somewhat easy route to the Premier League. The two places are currently occupied by Watford and Middlesbrough, both level on points, separated by just one goal. Two points further back is Bournemouth, Eddie Howe’s side have been the pace setters in the Championship for the majority of the season but a draw at Cardiff has seen them fall out of the top two.

Three points further back are Norwich and Derby, despite being so close it is fair to assume that the automatic places are going to be fought out between the current top three with the others main priority being to stay in the top six.

Watford currently set the pace after a 2-0 win away to Wigan, two goals from Troy Deeney were enough to see off a struggling Wigan and put them in pole position to maybe win the Championship. Manager Slavisa Jokanovic will be hopeful that this can be Watford’s year after so many years of flirting with promotion. A Patrick Bamford inspired Middlesbrough saw off Derby on Tuesday night as they leapfrogged Bournemouth into second, Chelsea loanee Bamford has now scored 3 in his last two games and could be a key figure in Aitor Karanka’s team’s push to get back to the Premier League for the first time since 2009.

Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth could only draw 1-1 away to Cardiff seeing them drop out of the top two that they have occupied for such long periods this season. Bournemouth have been the most consistent team in the Championship up until recently having occupied the top spot on five occasions, more than any other side. Matt Ritchie, who just got a Scotland call-up, and Callum Wilson have been two pivotal figures in what has been a remarkable season thus far for The Cherries. Games against Middlesbrough and Ipswich in the coming weeks could define their season as they bid to secure a place in England’s top flight.

The play off battle

The battle to secure a place in the top six is beginning to hot up in the Championship with just five points separating 4th placed Norwich and 8th place Wolves. The aforementioned top three look to have nailed down the first play-off place but that still leaves three places up for grabs and five teams fighting for them.

4th place Norwich drew their second game in a row at Huddersfield, denting their hopes of gaining an automatic promotion place. A run of six wins in a row had propelled them into contention but that now looks a real tough task after their two draws. Alex Neil’s side still look well placed to hold onto their play-off spot however and possibly go straight back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Level on points with them is Steve Mclaren’s out of form Derby side whose loss at home to Middlesbrough made it just two wins in ten. Without top-scorer Chris Martin they have struggled and with a trip to Wolves next Derby could begin to fall down the table very quickly unless they can re-find their early season form.

Brentford occupy the fourth and final play-off place and themselves will be hopeful they can fight off both Ipswich and Wolves to hold onto that place. Mark Warburton’s side overcame Blackburn Tuesday night to hold onto their 6th spot. Ipswich are hot on the heels of Brentford just one point behind. McCarthy’s side have been struggling as of late but a 1-0 win over Bolton was their first in five and keeps them in touch with the play-off places. Wolves have snuck up as somewhat dark horses in the race for promotion and are now in touching distance of Brentford in 6th. Jackett’s side have lost just one in the last seven and host Derby on Friday in a huge game.

With eight games to go in the the Championship there is plenty of time for things to change and there is sure to be some twists in the tale, but without a doubt it will be a pulsating finish to a brilliant season.

photo credit: ABC Bournemouth v Blackburn Rovers via photopin (license)
photo credit: 140405 Watford v Burnley-83 via photopin (license)