Winless In Nine - The Shocking Form of AFC Bournemouth That Is Going Under The Radar

No One Is Talking About It

Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth side are having a dismal time currently in the Premier League, but no one is really talking about it. They are winless in nine games, sitting 15th in the league and nine points off the drop. It's very lucky the sides sat at the bottom of the table are just that little bit worse than Bournemouth. But Iraola should see the warning signs that are showing as an indicator to buck his ideas up.

Last Summer's Departures

Whilst last summer Bournemouth made a ton of profit, it is their lack of quality that is hindering them. They currently sit 15th in the table, and their last win was over two months ago against Nottingham Forest. It's never easy to put a finger on what is going on to make teams capitulate, but Bournemouth's defence is a real indicator. They have conceded three or more goals in seven games already this season, and one of those came yesterday in their embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Brentford.

Last season Illia Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez were immense for Bournemouth. They helped guide them to a ninth place finish, admittedly higher than anyone expected. It's also clear to see they all got their deserved moves to bigger clubs for a combined €150 million. But with the sales of your best players come the consequences, and especially if you don't replace them with the same quality.

Marcos Senesi and summer signing Bafodé Diakite have been an okay centre-back pairing, but far off what they had before. Also, no offence to him of course, but 34-year-old Adam Smith starting at right-back for Bournemouth really says it all about their poor defensive stability. Iraola must dip into the market in the new year to stand any chance of keeping some more clean sheets.

In their last eight matches, they have had the worst defence in the league conceding 18 goals. If you aren't able to keep the ball out of your net, winning is a tall order. New signings are going to struggle in the Premier League, which is arguably the best league in the world. Bournemouth saw the money signs, and now we are seeing the repercussions.

Iraola gonna get Bournemouth relegated and people will argue he should be Chelsea manager cos they were second in September https://t.co/0pYIZVGgwW

— Criss_Crosssss (@Criss_Crossv2) December 27, 2025

Only good at home

Bournemouth's away form has quite frankly been terrible. Whether it is the tactical setup put out by Iraola or the players lack of confidence, they have only won once away from home and that came against Spurs at the back end of August. Iraola's pressing and high defensive lines have been easily bypassed in these away fixtures. What might have worked last year, isn't working now and the league has figured him out. Especially, as mentioned before, the quality has dropped in Bournemouth's defensive line and perhaps the leadership and quality just aren't there

In their credit, The Cherries have made The Vitality Stadium a fortress and once again prove why smaller stadiums are the best (totally unbiased QPR fan here). They have earned 73% of all their points this season at home and it might be the only thing keeping them from those daring relegation places. Both their upcoming games are at home but they face a tough task with two North London sides in Arsenal and Spurs next.

No Semenyo Might Be A Problem

The transfer saga of Antoine Semenyo has somewhat overshadowed their awful form and you can imagine how tough life could be for The Cherries if their star man does depart. It is looking very likely after Semenyo outed Manchester City as his desired destination. No one would blame him either, after Bournemouth's recent form and the prospect of playing in the Champions League instead of a relegation scrap.

His £65 million release clause becomes active on the 1st January, so The Cherries are going to have to survive without him. He is the cornerstone of their team and their reliance on him is what will shoot them in the foot come the end of the season. Luckily for them though, the release clause will not be active for the entirety of the transfer window, protecting Bournemouth from a late sale. However, the release clause will drop in price by the end of the season.

At the end of the day, Semenyo leaving is out of their control and they will have to hope that the Ghanaian forward sees out the rest of the season. From what it seems, he hasn't let the recent speculation affect him adding another goal yesterday against Brentford to his tally (8) this season. If he leaves, Bournemouth could be in serious trouble.

A club-record year for Semenyo 🥇🍒

The Ghanaian produced the 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 by a Bournemouth player, beating Dominic Solanke's 20 in 2023 🚀🇬🇭 pic.twitter.com/xhEvXEWs4D

— LiveScore (@livescore) December 28, 2025