To think, seven weeks ago Gary O’Neil was managing his son Carter-Jae’s Under-9s team to defeat. Now he’s unbeaten in six Premier League games as a rookie caretaker coach.
O’Neil was not a serious candidate when the Bournemouth vacancy first became available upon Scott Parker’s sacking in late August. He was a stopgap; a ‘he’ll do for now’ appointment.
Yet Bournemouth have grown into a different team since that 9-0 defeat by Liverpool. They’ll be disappointed with this draw, given they led twice and were pegged back twice, but they can say they sit in the top-half of the Premier League table.