Blast from the past
In today’s preview, we travel back the short distance to 12th January 2016: Justin Bieber’s ‘Love Yourself’ topped the charts; Star Wars: The Force Awakens was in UK cinemas; David Bowie had died two days previously with Alan Rickman to pass away two days later; and West Ham United beat Bournemouth away from home for the first (and currently only) time ever.
Super Slav’s Hammers picked up a 3-1 win in front of 11,071 spectators for a Tuesday night encounter at the Vitality Stadium. Andy Carroll was forced off through injury after just 15 minutes, with Nikica Jelavic entering the fray in his stead. Within two minutes of the switch, the Irons were behind when Cherries midfielder Harry Arter, former Hammer Scott Parker’s brother-in-law, fired home from 25 yards to give his side their first goal in four league games. The hosts’ new signing, striker Benik Afobe, squandered two glorious chances to extend Bournemouth’s lead, heading over from six yards and being denied by Adrian after hesitating when clean through on goal.
West Ham were much improved after the break and the equaliser arrived with 23 minutes left to play, a sublime free-kick from Frenchman Dimitri Payet, making his first start in over two months after recovering from an ankle injury. Just seven minutes later, the visitors were in front – substitute Carl Jenkinson’s quick throw-in found Payet who squirmed between two defenders before cutting back for Enner Valencia to slam the ball home. The Ecuadorian (pictured above) claimed his second in the 84th minute, cracking a stunning free-kick over the wall and beating Artur Boruc at his near post to claim his first Hammers brace.
The victory equalled a club-record eighth match unbeaten in the Premier League and took West Ham above Manchester United and into fifth, within a point of Tottenham in the final Champions League position. The Hammers would end the 2015/16 campaign in seventh place in the Premier League, while Bournemouth would finish 16th. Leicester won the Premier League, Manchester United won the FA Cup and Payet was named Hammer of the Year, with Michail Antonio runner-up.
Bournemouth: Artur Boruc, Adam Smith, Simon Francis, Steve Cook, Charlie Daniels, Dan Gosling, Andrew Surman, Harry Arter (Glenn Murray), Matt Ritchie (Juan Iturbe), Junior Stanislas, Benik Afobe (Lewis Grabban).
West Ham United: Adrian, James Tomkins (Carl Jenkinson), James Collins, Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell, Pedro Obiang, Mark Noble, Michail Antonio, Dimitri Payet (Alex Song), Enner Valencia, Andy Carroll (Nikica Jelavic).
Club Connections
A decent number of players have turned out for both West Ham United and Bournemouth. Ex-Bournemouth loanee Jack Wilshere is now at West Ham; Jermain Defoe (currently on loan at Rangers) and Hammers Academy product Junior Stanislas are currently on Bournemouth’s books while Carl Fletcher played for both clubs and is currently youth team manager with the Cherries. Ex-Bournemouth midfielder Paul Mitchell, who made one league appearance for the Hammers in 1994, is back with the Cherries as a correspondent for Opta Sports. Other players to have appeared for both clubs include:
Goalkeepers: David James, Stephen Henderson and Marek Stech.
Defenders: Everald La Ronde, Bill Kitchener, Rio Ferdinand, Reg Parker, Keith Miller, Keith Rowland, Elliott Ward, Bobby Howe and Horace Glover.
Midfielders: Trevor Hartley, Ian Bishop, Bobby Barnes, Tommy Southren, Jimmy Neighbour, Emmanuel Omoyinmi, Tony Scott, Anthony Edgar, Scott Mean, Matty Holmes, Dale Gordon, Jack Collison and Patsy Holland.
Strikers: Nicky Morgan, John Arnott, Mark Watson, Zavon Hines, Steve Jones and Ted MacDougall.
Former Hammers player John Bond went on to manage Bournemouth, while Harry Redknapp played for and managed both clubs. Jimmy Quinn played for both clubs and also managed the Cherries.
Today’s focus is on a Hammers youth product who represented the Cherries with distinction. Phil Brignull (pictured) was born in Stratford on 2nd October 1960 and was an England schoolboy international. At the age of 18, he made his sole appearance for the Hammers as an 80th-minute substitute for John McDowell in a 0-0 Second Division draw at Cardiff on 11th May 1979, the penultimate match of the 1978/79 season. At the time, those 600 seconds at Ninian Park gave him the shortest-ever West Ham first team career, a record he held for 15 years until Paul Marquis’ two-minute appearance at Manchester City in February 1994 replaced him.
Brignull, a centre-half, moved to Fourth Division Bournemouth in August 1981. With his first-team opportunities having been extremely limited with the presence of Billy Bonds and Alvin Martin, he signed for the Cherries, then managed by his cousin, former Chelsea star David Webb. Bournemouth were promoted at the end of Brignull’s first season and consolidated their Third Division status in 1982/83 with a 14th-placed finish, Don Megson taking over as manager midway through the campaign. The Cherries struggled at the start of 1983/84 and former Hammer Harry Redknapp took over as manager in October 1983. Arguably Brignull’s most memorable moment as a Bournemouth player came in January 1984 when he was one of the cornerstones of Redknapp’s side which knocked holders Manchester United out of the FA Cup. He also played as Bournemouth won the inaugural Associate Members’ Cup (now the EFL Trophy) by beating Hull in the final.
Bournemouth finished 17th at the end of that season and 10th in 1984/85. Redknapp loaned Brignull to Wrexham for part of the 1985/86 season and the defender departed permanently for Cardiff that winter – he had made 129 league appearances for Bournemouth. He later made it a hat-trick of Welsh clubs by signing for Newport in 1987, before ending his career with a spell at Weymouth.
Phil, now 58, is the uncle of former Leicestershire cricketer David Brignull and still classes himself as a West Ham fan who “can’t stand Spurs”! Brignull now lives in Cheltenham and works in financial services, a career he began when injury cut short his playing career. He also held a voluntary post helping to manage Cardiff & Met Hockey Club – his son, Liam Brignull, played for Wales’ hockey team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and also played for the Great Britain Under-21 team.
Referee
The referee on Saturday will be Stuart Attwell. The Birmingham-based official will take charge of a West Ham game for only the ninth time – he has sent off a Hammers striker in two of his other eight games officiating the Irons. He refereed our 1-0 victory at Wigan in March 2009 and our 3-1 win at Blackpool in February 2011. The 36-year-old sent off the Latics’ Lee Cattermole for a shocking challenge on Scott Parker, while the Hammers’ Carlton Cole also received his marching orders during the aforementioned win at Wigan. Even Latics boss Steve Bruce criticised the decision to dismiss the Irons striker. Attwell also issued a first-half red card to Andy Carroll in our 1-1 draw at Burnley in October 2017.
Attwell also awarded an infamous ‘phantom’ goal for Reading in a Championship match against Watford in September 2008. He was the youngest-ever Premier League referee but was demoted from the Select Group in 2012. He refereed the Hammers in August 2018 in our 2-1 home defeat to Bournemouth, when he awarded the Irons a penalty which was converted by Marko Arnautovic, and in our 3-1 League Cup home defeat to Tottenham last October. Attwell awarded a dubious match-winning penalty to Manchester City at the Etihad in February. His most recent Hammers appointment was for our 3-0 home win over Southampton in May.
The VAR Official is Andrew Madley.
Possible line-ups
Bournemouth will be without the injured Adam Smith, Charlie Daniels, Dan Gosling, David Brooks and Junior Stanislas. Callum Wilson has scored six goals in his six league games against West Ham. Bournemouth’s 2-0 win over the Hammers in January’s corresponding fixture was only their fourth win in the 13 games they have played against West Ham in all competitions. However, all four of the Cherries’ wins against the Hammers have come in the Premier League, more than against any other side.
This weekend’s match will be only the sixth time Bournemouth and West Ham United have met on the south coast for a league fixture – the Hammers’ only win away to the Cherries, in 2016, is detailed above. Manuel Pellegrini continues to be without Winston Reid, Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio while Ryan Fredericks could be a doubt. The side scoring first has only won three of the eight Premier League meetings between Bournemouth and West Ham. With Manchester City not kicking off until 5.30pm, and Leicester and Arsenal playing on Sunday and Monday respectively, the Hammers could briefly move into second place with a win.
Possible Bournemouth XI: Ramsdale; Stacey, Steve Cook, Ake, Rico; Harry Wilson, Billing, Lerma, King; Solanke, Callum Wilson.
Possible West Ham United XI: Fabianski; Zabaleta, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Rice, Noble; Yarmolenko, Fornals, Anderson; Haller.
Enjoy the game – Up The Hammers!