reunion with former head coach Gary O’Neil will soon be on the agenda for Bournemouth after the 40-year-old took on the Wolverhampton Wanderers vacancy, succeeding Julen Lopetegui after guiding the Cherries to Premier League safety in 2022-23.
However, O’Neil’s impressive feats only earned him a sacking from the cut-throat Bill Foley, who has since witnessed his side pit their wits against a wide range of continental opponents during Iraola’s first pre-season, where Bournemouth posted a satisfactory set of results.
Alongside defeats to Maccabi Tel Aviv and Atalanta BC, Bournemouth marched to a trio of victories over Hibernian, Southampton and Ligue 1 side Lorient, getting the better of the latter 2-0 last weekend courtesy of goals from David Brooks and Kieffer Moore.
Few Bournemouth fans will need reminding as to how the start of their 2022-23 season panned out under Scott Parker, who had lost his job by the end of August, although he did lead the Cherries to an opening-day success against Aston Villa before the capitulation began.
Iraola will be handed a baptism of fire too, as the Cherries will meet Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Brentford, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion between now and the end of September, and four of their final five Premier League home matches last term ended in defeat.
Speaking of defeats, West Ham’s final pre-season affair at the home of Bayer Leverkusen had a few more alarm bells ringing around the London Stadium, as the Irons’ summer preparations began with a memorable tour Down Under before descending into a nightmare.
Opening their exhibition period with three consecutive wins over Boreham Wood, Perth Glory and Tottenham Hotspur – scoring 13 goals along the way – David Moyes’s Europa Conference League winners were held to a 2-2 draw by Dagenham & Redbridge before being put to the sword by Rennes and Bayer Leverkusen.
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Following a 3-1 loss to Ligue 1 powerhouses Rennes in their penultimate pre-season affair, Moyes’s side were hit for four against Leverkusen courtesy of Robert Andrich, Jonas Hofmann, Victor Boniface and Thilo Kehrer’s own goal, and talk of a potential relegation scrap is already circulating.
Continued uncertainty over Moyes’s future and failure to bring in a single new player since the start of July is also threatening to derail West Ham’s season plans further, and while the
Irons’ continental feats last term were admirable, their Premier League away form took a turn for the worse, as they lost their final four top-flight games on the road last season.
However, West Ham’s most recent Premier League away success was a 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth towards the end of April, prior to which Moyes’s side had also claimed a 2-0 win at the London Stadium in October, extending their victorious streak over their South Coast counterparts to three matches.
