West Ham produced an uninspiring display in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at the London Stadium last night.
It was a far cry from what was anticipated, with Kalvin Phillips making his debut and the return to action for both Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez – but the display did certianly not match the hype and importance of the fixture.
West Ham looked lacklustre in the first half, having conceded in the opening minutes due to a mistake from both Zouma and Phillips – which subdued the atmosphere from the off and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Our Hammers struggled to make any real impact on the game, with the only real outlet appearing to be Kudus as the midfield in particular struggled to adapt to their new roles, especially Ward-Prowse who was utilised on the left wing.
Half time came with the home support rightfully frustrated with what was on display, leaving David Moyes with plenty of work to do, with West Ham desperately looking for inspiration.
A shift in formation did see an improvement, but it still wasn’t anywhere near the levels expected as we struggled to threaten the visitors – although luck came into play when a wayward pass saw Kudus take advantage and was then fouled for a penalty.
Ward-Prowse fired it home – after a lengthy VAR review, to breathe life into the game, but West Ham failed to build on the momentum and saw the game out which was arguably a good point after a pretty drab performance.
Our Podcast co-host and club insider ExWHUEmployee cut a frustrated figure after the game, highlighting that that the side were really lacking any creativity.
“I thought it was another poor and uninspiring performance at home,” said Ex. “We didn’t have any creative fluidity and created minimal chances.
“The feel of the game was very flat and this transpired to the crowd. Night games under the lights don’t seem to have the same feel they once did as a West Ham fan at the moment.”