TRYING to pinpoint any one moment that triggered Cherries’ current downturn in fortunes is a hazardous business.

Nevertheless, Eddie Howe, his players, the club’s supporters – and a few cod psychologists – have all had a go at putting their finger on what exactly prompted Howe’s team to embark on a run that has seen them ship 31 goals in 12 games – and win once in eight matches.

The manager has identified Arsenal’s dramatic Vitality Stadium fightback in early January and Nathan Ake’s subsequent return to Chelsea as episodes that jammed a spoke in Cherries’ formerly smoothly turning wheel.

Other judges trace the onset of Cherries’ problems back to an entirely changed team being dumped out of the FA Cup by Millwall.

That was a bruising sequence of events, no doubt.

But try this theory for size: Adam Smith’s booking in the 74th minute of a match with Sunderland on November 5 was the pivotal incident in Cherries’ season, so far.

Smith upended Victor Anichebe in the box. Jermain Defoe slammed home the penalty to consign his former club to a 2-1 defeat.

That result isn’t especially relevant here, however.

Cherries pummelled the Premier League’s bottom club, without being able to convert a catalogue of scoring opportunities.

It happens.

During the preceding weeks Howe’s side had been operating with enough conviction and brio to inspire talk of a top-ten finish.

Back to Smith, then. The right-back’s caution against Sunderland was his fifth of the campaign and consequently ruled him out of the trip to Stoke.

Nathan Ake came into the side, performed imperiously and scored the game’s only goal.

In short, the Dutchman rendered himself undroppable.

Smith, Simon Francis, Steve Cook and Charlie Daniels, Cherries’ familiar, steadfast back-four, had been parted.

Until that dependable ensemble was separated, with the campaign 11 games old, Cherries were shipping an average of 1.45 goals per match.

That rate has risen to a startling 2.38 across 13 subsequent top-flight fixtures.

Common wisdom had it, following Cherries’ promotion from the Championship, that Howe would need to reconstruct his defence for his side to avoid being feasted on by the Premier League’s big beasts.

Collectively, this quartet have cocked a snook at that suggestion – and then some.

There is a parallel to be found, here, with the former cyclist Graeme Obree – or, more pertinently, his bike, which he affectionately christened Old Faithful.

The Scot assembled it himself, using a combination of unconventional components – washing machine bearings and scrap metal, among them.

He rode Old Faithful – one powerful, efficient machine, welded together from a collection of budget price, individual elements – to the coveted world hour record in 1993.

Obree’s success dumbfounded his competitors.

Howe has adopted a similarly out of the ordinary approach to challenging the established order.

“They’ve not come into the league and tried to bore everybody to death by hanging on for results,” Harry Redknapp told this paper.”They have taken it to other teams, and they have beaten good teams – big teams.”

Howe plays a courageous, complex brand of football, which requires players to have an instinctive understanding of what is expected from them at every turn.

Smith, Francis, Cook and Daniels have developed an intuitive relationship, responding as one to the plethora of subtle changes that occur during any given 90 minutes of Premier League combat.

When Smith returned from suspension at Arsenal it was as a winger – with Brad Smith deputising at left-back for the stricken Daniels.

Cherries lost 3-1 in north London. They have conceded at least three goals in seven of their 11 league matches since.

“You lose your important players and it’s difficult, it changes everything – and they are very important players,” added Redknapp .

For further confirmation of this foursome’s importance to their team you need only revisit last season.

They came together for the 1-0 victory at Chelsea in December 2015.

It would be another 18 matches before an injury to Smith broke up this formidable alliance.

In that period, Cherries conceded 1.33 goals per match – discount heavy losses to Tottenham and Manchester City and that number falls to 1.06.

Howe’s side accumulated 28 of their 42-point season’s haul in those 18 games.

Across the remaining 20 fixtures, Cherries won three times. They let in 2.15 goals a match.

When he was searching for reasons that would explain the recent 6-3 defeat at Everton, the Cherries boss pointed to the absence from his team on Merseyside of both Smith and Daniels.

Statistics suggest he has a case.

Howe must be longing to reunite his fantastic four – the manager’s very own Old Faithful.