DAVID MOYES did not even get an official welcome back in front of the fans.
No fanfare, no fuss, not even a mention on the stadium PA to mark the return of the manager who led West Ham to safety two years ago.
Skipper Mark Noble held his nerve from the spot to bag his secondCredit: PA:Press Association
But for once West Ham could let their football do the talking with the biggest win of the season to herald yet another new era at this most volatile of clubs.
Two goals for iconic captain Mark Noble, one from Felipe Anderson and a spectacular volley from Sebastien Haller marked a stark turnaround in results and style as Moyes kicked off his second spell in charge with a hugely uplifting performance.
The bright and bubbly nature of the victory also left those supporters set firm against the reappointment of their former boss lost for words as it all went West Ham’s way.
Even VAR was on their side.
Ref Graham Scott’s decision to send off Aaron Cresswell for a crunching tackle on Ryan Fraser was overturned and Bournemouth got a flat no from the video checkers on a penalty shout in the first half.
Noble scored his second goal from the spot after the nerds at Video HQ watched him crumple to the ground under pressure from Harry Wilson on 34 minutes.
When Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke finally seized the moment and headed towards goal with ten minutes to go, the ball hit the post and rebounded out.
All Moyes had to do was simply step out onto the vast expanse of pitchside at the London Stadium dressed in a club anorak and watch the perfect first day at work unfold in front of him.
Four changes from Saturday’s limp home defeat to Leicester gave the team a different look but much more notable was the change of pace, with way more zip and vigour.
The sight of enigmatic Brazilian Felipe Anderson pushed up almost alongside Haller in a more forward role, added to the attack-minded nature of West Ham’s assault on injury-ravaged Bournemouth, who provided the perfect opposition for a coach looking to get off on the right foot.
Felipe Anderson returned to form with a goal as West Ham breezed past BournemouthCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Sebastien Haller scored a spectacular goal in the routCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Anderson was rewarded for his vastly-improved showing with a classy solo goal in the second half – his first of the season. That made it 4-0 and convinced even the most cynical Hammers fans that victory was assured.
Such has been the discontent over West Ham’s freefall down the league table from the giddy heights of the top six this season, that there was talk of an anti-board protest ten minutes into the game with a mass walkout.
Instead it looked as if Bournemouth’s players had left the building long before then. In fact the struggling Cherries failed to turn up in every sense with the away end half empty too.
With more than half a dozen first teamers crocked they did well to keep it at four and they are now in the bottom three after a nightmare run of eight defeats in the past ten games.
Some of those injuries are long term too so boss Eddie Howe faces a tough time ahead.
Last week, West Ham would have been ideal for a confidence-boosting away win. They were rudderless and clueless – much like Bournemouth yesterday.
David Moyes got off to a flier on his West Ham returnCredit: AFP or licensors
But Howe’s team at least has a half decent excuse for it.
The performances under Manuel Pellegrini in the lead up to his dismissal were only made to look so much worse given the tails-up display under the lights last night.
The question is not how has Moyes got West Ham playing so vibrantly again in just three days since taking over? But instead how could a successful coach Pellegrini have allowed things to become so slapdash and lacklustre?
Moyes won’t let the players get carried away with themselves after a first home win since September 22. This old-school Scot doesn’t do indulgence.
But he will use it as a platform to start rebuilding the confidence and self-belief in a team that became frightened of its own shadow in recent weeks.
Even West Ham’s first goal had a touch of good luck about it that suggested this would be their day.
After a neat combination between Anderson and the industrious Robert Snodgrass down in the corner of the Bournemouth box, Noble closed in on a neat cut back.
The Hammers skipper put his foot through the ball with a low shot and watched it deflect off Lewis Cook and in for the goal that set the tone for the evening and maybe for the next few months.
Haller made it two when Snodgrass picked him out in the middle of the box and the Frenchman smashed the ball in with a volleyed bicycle kick from 15 yards out.
Noble tucked away the third from the penalty spot and with 34 minutes left, Anderson collected a long ball on the left, then outsprinted Simon Francis before rolling the ball under keeper Aaaron Ramsdale.
Watching Anderson win a running race is probably the most remarkable part of it all.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
