Former Hammers and Cherries manager Harry Redknapp offers a uniquely informed view on both his former clubs to Evening Standard correspondent and lifelong West Ham United fan Ken Dyer...
West Ham United fans will have fond memories of Gary O’Neil, the man in charge of Bournemouth tonight, as they surely will of his predecessor, Scott Parker.
Gary spent two seasons at the Hammers between 2011-2013 and became a valuable member of Sam Allardyce’s midfield on the way to ultimate Play-Off final victory over Blackpool in May 2012 and a return to the Premier League.
As a journalist, I remember Gary as a helpful and interesting interviewee and – far more importantly – an intelligent and diligent performer in the engine room of Big Sam’s team.
Someone else who rates Gary highly is Harry Redknapp. Gary was a regular in the Portsmouth team managed by Harry and the two paired up again later, at Queens Park Rangers.
With Harry based just 15 minutes from the Vitality Stadium, he has been a regular at Bournemouth’s home games this season and likes what he has seen since Gary took over in a caretaker capacity following the departure of Scott Parker.
“I buy my ticket and watch the home games,” said Harry. “Gary’s done really well since he’s been in charge, while Scotty did great at the club last season. He got them up and it was a shame the way it went for him after that. I am sure he will bounce back.
“They’re playing very well at the moment. Up front, Dominic Solanke is a real handful. He’s getting better all the time and leads the line great.
“They have some decent players throughout the team. Jefferson Lerma in midfield is a strong boy and Adam Smith at right back has always been good.
“They have Ryan Fredericks, who used to beat West Ham, there now and he has just got back into the team while another ex-Hammer, Junior Stanislas, is also back again following injury.
“Let’s get it right. If they survive this year, it will be a big success.
“At the start of the season, everyone thought they were certainties to go back down while the opinion was that Nottingham Forest would definitely stay up because they had bought loads of players.
“It hasn’t worked out that way so far though. Bournemouth beat Forest away from home, though. They also emerged the winners over Leicester, while they’ve drawn against Newcastle, Brentford and Fulham in recent games.
“It’s a tough league this year and there could be as many as eight teams in the mix near the bottom. I do think though, that Bournemouth have a real good chance of staying up. They’ve proved they have nothing to fear.
“Most of the players have been at the club for some time. They didn’t spend much during the summer and their biggest signing was Marcus Tavernier, who cost around £12million from Middlesbrough.
“Gary has some good staff working with him as well, people such as Shaun Cooper and Tommy Elphick who work with the Under-21s.”
Harry has also been keeping up with results and performances at West Ham. “They started a bit slowly, but there were good reasons for that,” he said.
“David Moyes has got them playing much better now and their new signings seem to be settling in well.
“I must stay I really like Jarrod Bowen. He’s fantastic for West Ham, works his socks off, never stops. He looks typical of a lad who has come through the lower divisions and appreciates the opportunity he has been given.
“He reminds me of a player who was at Bournemouth years ago that some might remember. His name was Phil Boyer. He played for Norwich and Southampton as well.
“Phil was similar to Jarrod – never stopped running and working. I really like Jarrod, he’s top drawer.
“It’s good that British managers like David Moyes are doing so well and I would like another one, Gary, to be given the Bournemouth job permanently.
“Only a British manager, for example, would have signed Craig Dawson in my opinion. He wasn’t even in Watford’s team at the time, but David Moyes knew what Craig could do – and signed him.
“Since then he’s been great for West Ham, a top defender who also scores valuable goals. He was a great signing.
“I really hope David and West Ham do well again this year. It’s not easy being in Europe and playing Thursday and Sunday but they’ve got a good squad there now and as long as they have some luck with injuries, I think they’ll get stronger and stronger as the season goes on.”
