Tyler Adams Has Timely Message for Bournemouth Fans: Trust the Process

There is a temptation in football to judge change almost immediately - a new manager arrives, the results don't instantly improve and suddenly questions begin to emerge. Has the appointment worked? Has the style changed enough? Should something else be done?

For Bournemouth fans, given the current lowly position in the Premier League table, these questions are inevitably entering some fans’ heads - but in a recent Youtube interview, Tyler Adams has recalled the early days under Andoni Iraola at the Vitality Stadium, offering himself - and the watching supporters - a timely reminder that often, the biggest changes take time to properly take hold.

Speaking to Roger Bennett on the Men in Blazers podcast, Adams looked back on Iraola's arrival in the summer of 2023 and the difficult period that followed.

"It’s a process, and you really have to stick to the process", Adams explained.

The American midfielder remembers how Iraola was determined to implement his own philosophy, even when the results weren't immediately forthcoming.

"I think every manager has their philosophy and knows when it’s time to change", Adams said. "The thing that I love about Andoni is he’s adamant that this is the way that he wants to play, and it will work. It was just a matter of time".

That Bournemouth side famously endured a ten-game wait for their first Premier League victory under Iraola. Yet the habits were being created behind the scenes.

Adams explained that the squad spent time in training "creating the habits, creating the process of what we want the games to look like" before eventually seeing their fortunes change: "And as everyone knows, once it all clicked, it clicked".

That history makes the opening weeks of Marco Rose's reign particularly interesting. The German has taken Bournemouth to just three points from their opening five Premier League games, a record which clearly does not look spectacular on paper. But the performances have frequently suggested there is more to come.

Bournemouth have led in four of those five league matches and ultimately failed to hold onto those advantages. However, at the other end of the spectrum, Rose's side have already produced an impressive European victory, beating Real Sociedad 2-1 in the club's first-ever European fixture.

Rose himself accepts that the league table is not currently where he wants it to be.

"Am I happy with the start I’ve made? We have three points after five games", he said. "That’s a fact".

But his assessment of the bigger picture was considerably more positive.

"I’m quite happy with the club, with the support of the club, the way we work. The club provides a professional environment, and I feel the trust of everyone. Everyone tries to support me and the coaching staff".

Reading between the lines, it seems that Rose isn't pretending that three points from five games would be acceptable if repeated throughout an entire season. He knows results ultimately matter. Indeed, he was blunt in acknowledging that "you don’t get points out of good performances".

But there is also an understanding that a new manager is trying to establish new ideas, new habits and new standards - and Rose believes the performances demonstrate that the foundations are there.

"We had in every game the chance to win the game", he explained. "But you don’t get points out of good performances. You need to be ready in particular in special situations in both boxes".

That final point perhaps explains much of Bournemouth's frustrating start, as the Cherries have not generally looked incapable of competing. Instead, the margins have repeatedly gone against them in the decisive moments.

And that is where Adams' experience becomes relevant, because when Iraola arrived, Bournemouth weren't simply swapping one manager for another. They were being asked to adopt a completely different way of playing. Adams remembers the intensity required and how the players had to become fitter and more durable before the system could truly function.

Iraola's reign ended with the Cherries qualifying for Europe for the first time in the club's history, having developed a distinctive identity and established a squad capable of competing at a higher level.

Rose now has the considerably less glamorous job of trying to build his own version of that success, but Adams' central message remains relevant: transformation rarely happens overnight.

Football supporters quite understandably want results. Rose will be judged on results eventually, because every manager is, but five league games into a new era may be a little early to decide what the finished product is supposed to look like.

Perhaps, for now, Bournemouth need to do exactly what Adams believes Iraola's players eventually learned to do… trust the process.