Alan Shearer believes Sven Botman and Dan Burn “didn’t look anywhere near fit” in our 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
It was Botman’s first start in three months and it showed, as he was bullied by Chris Wood and looked well below his brilliant best alongside Fabian Schar.
As for Burn, it was his third start in 10 days after a spell out with a back injury. He got nowhere near Anthony Elanga and was taken off before the hour mark, with many fans questioning why he started ahead of Tino Livramento.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Rest Is Football Podcast, Shearer felt both looked “miles off” and “two yards short”, feeling Eddie Howe’s decision to start last season’s “trusted back four” backfired. Here’s what he had to say:
“Botman has come back and Dan Burn has come back and they didn’t look anywhere near fit. They looked two yards short of what they normally are.
“Eddie went back to his trusted back four, which has been really successful for him over the past 18 months or so. He went back to that but those two in particular didn’t look anywhere near fit.
“It’s difficult, unless you are inside the training ground you haven’t a clue what’s going on, but looking at them on the pitch they looked miles off.”
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