Eddie Howe looks a beaten man, his best player deserted him, hundreds of millions have been wasted on transfers and it's Manchester United next... it's all gone wrong for Bournemouth as they hurtle towards relegation

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When it comes to Bournemouth's relegation sundae, a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle -  a team tipped for the drop themselves at the start of the season – was the cherry on top.

While they are still well within reach of safety, primarily due to the shambolic results achieved by everyone towards the bottom of the Premier League, they look done and dusted going into the last six games.

Sportsmail has taken a look at how Bournemouth have ended up in this predicament and why they might start next season in the Championship... 

Bournemouth look as though they are heading towards relegation from the Premier League

After the loss to Newcastle on Wednesday night, Bournemouth look to be in serious danger

Eddie Howe has lost his magic

It is easy to forget that within the last year, Howe was being touted for bigger jobs. That has now completely fallen by the wayside.

Instead, questions are being asked about his management style and how Bournemouth have been performing. To be frank, they are stuck in a horrible rut and he has not been able to drag them out of it.

Against Newcastle on Wednesday night, it felt as though their style had been found out. Steve Bruce got his players to press from the front. They won the ball back high up the pitch and killed the Cherries. At one stage in the first half, a team who have generally had incredibly low possession figures were dominating the passing.

Howe increasingly looks like a beaten man on the sidelines. That magic touch that took them from the fourth tier to the first seems to be missing. 

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe increasingly looks like a beaten man on the sidelines

Their best player upped and left when they needed him most

Ryan Fraser hardly went under the radar last season. Players with 14 assists – only Eden Hazard provided more – do not go unnoticed. It was no surprise when the likes of Arsenal and Spurs started circling.

Yet with his contract expiring, Fraser spent most of this season as a shadow of his former self. He provided just four assists, creating a total of five big chances. Wherever his feet were, his mind clearly was no longer in Bournemouth.

The coronavirus pause was always going to throw up complications and Fraser was a big one for Howe. His most productive player decided he would not extend his contract on a short-term basis. Now out the door, he did not play again when the season restarted.

Fraser will almost certainly get a big move on the back of his decision. He will be injury-free. This summer, teams have little to spend and a Bosman of his quality appeals. Yet that does not help Bournemouth. His exit left them in the lurch. 

Ryan Fraser decided he would not sign a short-term contract extension with Bournemouth

He was allowed to leave the club without playing a single game following the restart

Hundreds of millions have been frittered away in the transfer market

Dominic Solanke, a striker, was signed for £19million by Bournemouth last January. He has scored no goals. Jordon Ibe cost them a club record £15m in 2016. He made 78 appearances, and was released at the end of his deal this summer.

Lloyd Kelly cost £13m from Bristol City last summer. He has made just one appearance in the Premier League – the defeat against Wolves last month – although he has been injured.

Going through some of Bournemouth's more expensive deals over the last few years, there is little value. There have been a series of recruitment mistakes, with huge sums splashed out on certain players.

They are often perceived as plucky, yet have made 13 eight-figure purchases since they were promoted to the top flight, according to TransferMarkt. That is hundreds of millions of pounds spent on players.

There have been successes. Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale cost half a million and is now worth significantly more, while the likes of Nathan Ake, David Brooks, Callum Wilson, Lewis Cook and Josh King have developed considerably under Howe and would be worth eight figures in the transfer market.

Along with that, they've signed the likes of Junior Stanislas, Dan Gosling and Charlie Daniels for free and turned them into established Premier League players. 

But certain expensive recruitment problems could be a huge nail in the coffin.

There have been a series of expensive mistakes in the transfer market – like Jordon Ibe

Dominic Solanke (left) was also an expensive signing but is yet to score in the Premier League

They've lost every game – and scored just once – since the restart

It is not often that a 94th-minute consolation is notable, but Dan Gosling's against Newcastle was. Why? Well, it was Bournemouth's first goal since the Premier League came back.

That's three games, and it is not as though Bournemouth had a particularly tough calendar on their hands – facing Crystal Palace, Wolves and then Bruce's side.

Unsurprisingly, they've lost all three. The rest of the relegation battlers have not done much better, although West Ham's late win against Chelsea would have sent shivers down Bournemouth spines.

They are still in a position to turn it around, but it has to happen sooner rather than later. Their last win was on February 1. They need to get that feeling back. 

Bournemouth are yet to win a game and have scored just once since the season restarted

David Brooks' absence was a serious problem 

If recruitment has been an issue, there has been one situation in which Bournemouth got it bang on. They snapped up Brooks for £11.5m in summer 2018, a player who had played just 30 times for Sheffield United prior to his move.

He immediately impressed and by the end of last season had seven goals in 30 Premier League games.

Yet this season he suffered an ankle injury in pre-season, which was only meant to rule him out for a few months. Instead, he ended up having a series of surgeries and was out until mid-March.

He has now returned to the side but Howe has missed him. Bournemouth have scored just 30 all season so losing Brooks was a tremendous blow.

David Brooks picked up an injury during pre-season and has only just returned to action