Source: Bournemouth_Echo
Cherries: Joe call-up left Eddie short
CHERRIES boss Eddie Howe insists lower-league clubs should continue to fight our corner over international call-ups.[LNB] Howe was speaking after he was forced to do without the services of midfielder Joe Partington for Cherries Carling Cup tie at Millwall on Tuesday.[LNB] And had Josh McQuoid been fully fit, Cherries already-threadbare resources would have been further weakened by the absence of the young striker.[LNB] Partington lined up for Wales in their 4-1 victory over Hungary in a UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifier in Wrexham on Wednesday.[LNB] And although he was subsequently withdrawn with the blessing of the IFA McQuoid was due to turn out in a friendly for Northern Ireland under-21s in Portugal.[LNB] Howe was responding after several high-profile managers had questioned the wisdom of arranging internationals so close to the start of the new season.[LNB] He said: We need every player we can get at the moment. Joe would have been very much in our thoughts to start against Millwall, but, unfortunately, we missed him.[LNB] I know there has been a lot of controversy about the internationals taking place just a week into the season and, from our point of view, it certainly made things very difficult.[LNB] We were more fortunate with Josh because he had been out injured for a period of time. The IFA were very good with us so we managed to keep him.[LNB] It was different with Joe. He did all of pre-season and was fully fit so they wanted him. It is never an ideal situation when youve got such a small squad and you cant bring in any bodies.[LNB] Click the link above to watch our preview video with Neil Moss and Shwan Jalal.[LNB]
