Jack Stacey reunites with familiar foes but unable to get better of Hatters

Jack Stacey joined Bournemouth from Luton Town in the summer of 2019 after spending two seasons at the Hatters.

After 95 appearances at Luton, he initially struggled to find regular game time once joining the Cherries, making just 20 first team appearances as the club were narrowly relegated from the Premier League.

However, when fit this season, he has been afforded more opportunities although he did spend a lengthy spell on the sidelines following the November win over Reading, an injury which meant he was only able to return in last weekend’s 4-1 FA Cup win over Oldham Athletic.

The 24-year-old has found regular opportunities prior to his move to the Hatters hard to come by after coming through the ranks at Reading before loan spells in the EFL and National League at the likes of Barnet and Exeter City which just underline how important it is for a player to earn their corn before being thrust into the first team.

He moved to the Premier League in the same summer as fellow full back James Justin who completed his switch to Leicester City and is flourishing under the leadership of Brendan Rodgers and will provide inspiration to Stacey of being able to achieve something similar on the South Coast.

His dream of playing in the Premier League may have only lasted a couple of seasons but he will be doing everything he can to ensure Jason Tindall’s men are back there next season, although results will need to improve quickly for the club to be able to make an instant return to the big time.

The Bracknell-born defender has featured 16 times for the club in all competitions so far this season and has been a useful long-term addition and one which is like a number of other players who have benefitted from Bournemouth’s relegation – albeit the player wouldn’t have wanted this situation to arise for his opportunity to come.

Stacey was part of the Bournemouth squad who suffered their fourth time this season against his former side Luton Town this evening as the Cherries missed the opportunity to move back into the top.

In the programme for the fixture against the Hatters, Tindall praised Stacey and was pleased to have him back involved.

“It was a great opportunity for players who haven’t had as many minutes as they’d like for various reasons to show what they can do and we were also able to welcome back a couple of players from injury against Oldham

“I thought Jack Stacey delivered an excellent performance against Oldham Athletic last weekend, you could see his quality and how well he gets forward for us from that position.

“He capped his performance off with a really nice assist, so I’m really pleased with how he played and he came off feeling good.”

Stacey, who started at right wing-back this afternoon, was a constant threat down the right flank and was a constant outlet for his side and was a real danger for the home side throughout and will be a key players for the Cherries to keep fit if they are to sustain their promotion push moving forward.

His energy and quality on the ball is something which Tindall likes and is why he continues to select him when he has him at his disposal and will be pleased that he has been able to complete three games in a week after being out for a number of weeks with an injury.

Bournemouth have largely played a back five this season which puts the emphasis on the wing backs to get forward, particularly in games like today when two central strikers were selected and then with the sending off of Jefferson Lerma, it brought the influential David Brooks even further back to central midfield which gives Stacey and Adam Smith a real licence on the other side to get forward.

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