OPINION
Jason Cundy claimed West Ham would be a step up for Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe if he was selected to succeed Manuel Pellegrini in the Hammers’ hot seat.
While Pellegrini hasn’t left the building at the London Stadium, and that situation may not change anytime soon, Cundy and Andy Goldstein opted to discuss who could replace the Hammers boss.
Cundy was convinced Howe would be the ideal candidate to arrive at West Ham as he will get the best from the Hammers’ current squad.
“Let’s say Pellegrini lose to Tottenham at the weekend and goes, he’s (Howe) got the sort of DNA of the manager they should want, when you consider they have players such as Yarmolenko, Anderson, Lanzini,” said Cundy on talkSPORT (16:25, Tuesday, November 19th).
Andy Goldstein wasn’t sure why Howe would be tempted to even consider West Ham as he interrupted Cundy to point out the 41-year-old was doing “great things” at Bournemouth as they’re currently 9th in the league.
This didn’t put off Cundy tipping Howe for West Ham as he explained why the London club had what it takes to lure the manager away from the Cherries.
“But he’s never going to be doing any better than that at Bournemouth, he’s not,” continued the pundit.
“Because their squad (Hammers) is of the sort of standard that can be knocking around those European places, I genuinely believe it.
“Without question (when Goldstein directly asked is it a step up).”
Cundy’s claim will surely put the cat among the pigeons as it’s debatable whether the Hammers are a noticeable step up for Howe for a few reasons.
Firstly, the Cherries are currently comfortable above the Hammers in the league table.
Also while the London club finished four positions higher than the Cherries last season, they only had seven points more which doesn’t suggest they’re miles apart.
It’s worth noting that in the 2017/18 season, Bournemouth actually finished one place higher than the Hammers with two more points.
Also, Cundy surely is going out on a limb to suggest Howe cannot do any better than he currently is at Bournemouth as the club are making strides slowly but surely.
If you look at Bournemouth’s top-10 record signings, nine of the signings have been made in the last three seasons, which shows how the club is growing by spending more and more money on recruiting the best players. (Source: Transfermarkt)
The Cherries have also previously revealed plans for a new stadium, which will help the club grow, and have also revealed plans for a new training ground which obviously will help improve the current players on the books. (Source: BBC Sport)
So how Cundy can say with any real confidence that the Hammers are a step above Bournemouth is baffling, as both are clearly striving to take that next step at the same time.
