AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth will be hoping to make a positive start to the new year when they meet Premier League rivals West Ham at London Stadium tomorrow (5.30pm).
Ahead of the game, afcb.co.uk caught up with Hammers legend Alvin Martin to canvass his thoughts on the club’s fortunes during the first half of the season.
In his capacity as a summariser for talkSPORT, Martin was at the Amex Stadium to see the Cherries go down 2-0 against Brighton on Saturday.
He hit the headlines after his 33-year-old son David had kept a clean sheet on his Premier League debut during the Hammers’ 1-0 win at Chelsea at the end of November.
Martin senior looked on from the press box where he was joined by his emotional son following the final whistle, the two men both in tears as they embraced.
David also kept a clean sheet in West Ham’s 1-0 win at Southampton a fortnight later, one of only two victories in their past 13 Premier League games.
The Hammers’ recent form resulted in manager Manual Pellegrini parting company with the club following their 2-1 defeat by Leicester on Saturday.
He was replaced by David Moyes (pictured above) who will take charge for the first time against the Cherries, having previously managed the club between November 2017 and May 2018.
Alvin Martin made almost 600 appearances for West Ham between 1978 and 1996 and was voted the club’s player of the year in 1980, 1982 and 1983.
afcb.co.uk: What’s your assessment of the first half of the season for the Hammers?
AM: It’s been disappointing because we expected to be higher up the table.
We have been inconsistent. We are a team that can beat anybody on our day but then we can disappoint ourselves on any day as well.
afcb.co.uk: Who is the Hammers’ danger man?
AM: I wouldn’t like to play against Sebastien Haller (pictured below) or Michail Antonio.
Both of them have different attributes and both are more than capable of doing a lot of damage.
But you need players playing with confidence and they need the service from other players.
afcb.co.uk: We know the atmosphere at London Stadium can be difficult if they go behind – what’s that like for a player?
AM: The fans have been excellent this season but they need to see positive results and they need to see effort.
I think there’s a fallacy about West Ham being a pretty football team and all that. First and foremost, what the fans want to see is commitment.
I think that always follows on. If you’re committed, I think you play better and more creatively anyway.
afcb.co.uk: How do you see the game panning out?
AM: I think they are very well matched. Both teams want to be higher in the table than they are but when you are going through a bad spell maybe your final ball isn’t there and there was an element of that with what I saw from Bournemouth against Brighton.
But I watched West Ham against Chelsea and Southampton so I know the levels they can get to. If they get to those levels, they are more than good enough to win any game.
afcb.co.uk: Give us your thoughts on your son’s involvement recently?
AM: It was overwhelming because the chance came at Stamford Bridge, which is a lovely stadium, and the team won 1-0.
It was emotionally draining but pride was the overwhelming factor.
When you’ve had the association I’ve had with the club for more than 22 years and then your son’s out there playing, it’s a wonderful sight.
afcb.co.uk: Is it fair to say it looks like it’s going to be a tense second half of the season for both team?
AM: I think both teams should enter the second half of the season with confidence because they know they’ve got the players to be able to turn it round.
afcb.co.uk: What’s your score prediction?
AM: I don’t like giving score predictions.
But looking at it from West Ham’s point of view, first and foremost, I want to see them keep clean sheets.
If they do that, then there’s a good chance they are going to get goals with the players they’ve got.
I think it’ll be a low-scoring game so I’ll go for a 1-0 win to West Ham.
Match officials: Graham Scott (referee), Neil Davies (assistant), Mark Scholes (assistant), Tim Robinson (fourth official), Lee Mason (VAR), Nick Hopton (assistant VAR).
