Too soon for Cameron Carter-Vickers to play against Millwall?

Bournemouth basically have a new signing in Cameron Carter-Vickers. He hasn't played since he was signed on loan in the summer and I suppose he hasn't been a great signing in that respect, but Bournemouth surely knew when they signed him how long it was likely to take to get him match fit. Now he has played his first game, can he recover quickly?

A full complement of defenders will soon be available to Jason Tindall
The Cherries still have Chris Mepham out of defence, even if Adam Smith and Jack Stacey are back in contention now. It will be good to see if Jason Tindall decides to test Cameron Carter-Vickers in the Championship with Steve Cook. Of course, the two players did not play together against Oldham, but Jack Simpson was the player next to Cameron and I see these two defenders battling for that role next to Steve Cook, along with Lloyd Kelly for the moment.

Advertisement Ebook version of The Disrupted season £9.99
Whether a 90 minute game against Oldham is enough for Tindall to feel confident about Cameron is what we now wait to see. The next game against Millwall on Tuesday might seem a bit early to throw Cameron in for another start, if he has any reaction from playing a full game this last weekend.

Advertisement Eddie Had a Dream -now just 9.99!

It has really been Steve Cook and who else when it comes to the central defenders. I think Lloyd Kelly has done well enough at centre-back and Jack Simpson is still learning the game at the higher level and gradually improving. It could mean that eventually we see Lloyd Kelly shifted back to his left-back role to compete against Diego Rico, that would also save Adam Smith from having to play on the left side.

Advertisement The Disrupted Season (2019-20) completes the story of Eddie Howe's reign at AFC Bournemouth - it's available now for £11.49 as a paperback - visit Amazon to order

It is hard to see what Bournemouth's strangest backline is. Eventually, it could well be Adam Smith, S Cook, Carter-Vickers and Kelly in a back four. I feel Jack Stacey is more productive going forward than Adam Smith, while I also like the calmness of Chris Mepham when he is on his game. The main thing is there is competition at last at the back, and with Bournemouth doing pretty well for clean sheets in recent games, the addition of Cameron to the squad should hopefully make a difference in the second half of the season.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes -  King brace helps Bournemouth ease past Oldham in FA Cup 4-1