Bournemouth proved to me and themselves that there is more to footballing philosophy and I hope that the majority of people that have seen this will be more inclined to focus on how attacking Bournemouth were, rather than criticise West Ham who were bad defensively. Charlie Daniels and Max Gradel combined to give Carl Jenkinson nightmares, eventually forcing his sending off, while Simon Francis made a big impression impact storming forward from right-back.
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Callum Wilson proved the doubters wrong today, not only grabbing his first Premier League goal but his first three.
Song’s performances dipped with the team’s as their pre-Christmas run faded in early 2015 – a dip which ultimately led to Bilic replacing Sam Allardyce as boss in the summer. In the aftermath, both sides will be analysing the positives and negatives that can be taken away from the game – Bournemouth probably more enthusiastically having recorded the three points.
Wilson scored Bournemouth’s opener with an 11th-minute volley as the Cherries became the 65th team to score in the top flight.
The problem is the lack of cutting edge up front for the 20-time champions, who only edged their first two league games 1-0.
That proved to be a temporary reprieve for Slaven Bilic’s men, however, as they gifted their opponents another goal just short of the half-hour mark.
The visitors dominated the first half at Upton Park and looked to be cruising to a historic three points when striker Wilson netted twice inside 30 minutes.
The last competitive meeting between the two sides came in a League Cup third round tie in October 1999, with West Ham running out 2-0 victors thanks to goals from Marc Keller and Frank Lampard. His final goal came from the penalty spot and ultimately secured the win.
Angelo Ogbonna did not stand out as an obvious hindrance at the back, but was substituted in the 35th minute in favor of Tomkins, who could do very little to stop a persistent Bournemouth side. “It was an outstanding goal and Riyad Mahrez is a very good player“, said Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, who succeeded the sacked Nigel Pearson in July. Bournemouth’s manager Eddie Howe was in the Cherries starting line-up for that game.
Darren Randolph in action for Birmingham against Blackpool last season.
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With a clutch of Premier League sides sniffing around Austin’s rear end at the moment, Sullivan has announced that West Ham are officially pulling out of the race to sign the QPR striker after catching word on the grapevine that his knees are shot.
