Bournemouth v West Brom: Championship season opener – live!

19 min A long throw from Townsend leads to a game of head tennis in the Bournemouth area. Eventually Kipre volleys over, and that’s the end of that.

16 min Bartley gets an extended telling-off after flattening Emiliano while jumping for a bouncing ball.

14 min “Hello Rob,” says Kári Tulinius. “I’m absolutely not ready for the new season yet. The Olympics are still going on, for crying out loud. I watched the final of the women’s football just today. There should be at least three or four weeks of meaningless friendlies and transfer speculation before a new season st… Oh no, I’m turning into a cranky old man at just forty.”

Don’t worry, life’s a riot once you hit 45.

The goal was made by Jaidon Anthony, who picked up a loose ball on the left of the edge of the area, poked it forward and slid a low cross into the middle. O’Shea was blocked by Solanke, which allowed the ball to run on to Emiliano, and he sidefooted low past Button with his left foot.

Emiliano Marcondes scores on his debut!

10 minn Robinson is fouled 30 yards from goal by … someone I don’t recognise. Mowatt flips the free-kick towards Grant, who heads straight at Travers on the stretch. It wasn’t an easy chance – there was no pace on the ball and it was slightly in front of him.

9 min “Club football’s back, I’m officially on holiday as of 5pm this afternoon, the sun is shining in West Wales, Mrs Dony has managed to get hold of tickets for Hamilton in two weeks, and I have the Lego Friends Apartment to be getting on with,” says Matt Dony, offering a breezy high-five to confused bystanders. “Life is good, Rob. Life is good. Looking forward to a dominant Solanke hat-trick, steamrollering his way through the West Brom defence. Might even pour myself a cheeky Penderyn…”

8 min Diangana beats a couple of players on the right and finds Grant on the edge of the D. He dithers and is dispossessed.

7 min“Hey Rob,” says J.R. “We’re all very excited here in Illinois to see the Throstles kick off their Championship campaign! (By “we” and “all” I mean basically just me. And maybe the one other West Brom fan I know but I haven’t spoken to him in well over a year.)

“On the one hand I’m no longer able to see every Baggies game like I can when they’re in the Premier League. They only show a few each month here. On the other hand I don’t have to watch the games from behind the sofa any longer. It’s a very different feeling to expect to win. But of course the biggest positive: no VAR!!! Yes! Now I can just complain about the referee on the field. (The recipient of eviscerating criticism today, it should be noted, will be Darren Bond.)”

I think/hope/pray VAR will be a lot better this season, as it was during the Euros.

6 min There’s a lovely pace to the game. Solanke plays a one-two with Billing on the edge of the area and drives a low cross that is cleared.

4 min We haven’t seen a replay of that penalty appeal, so I assume there was nothing in it.

3 min Billings is late on Bartley, who goes over and then angrily declines the offer of a hand from Billings.

2 min It’s been an ultra-aggressive start from West Brom, who have already won the ball in the final third on a couple of occasions.

1 min West Brom’s high press brings an early reward, with Diangana picking up the loose ball and winning a corner. It’s driven deep to Bartley, whose volley bounces up and hits the arm of a Bournemouth defender. West Brom appeal unsuccessfully for a penalty. I’d like to see that again.

1 min Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Bournemouth get the EFL season under way, kicking from right to left.

There’s a lovely low hum around the Vitality Stadium, with a crowd of around 11,000 expected. Is this normal?

“Hey Rob, the new fitba season, at last!” says Simon McMahon, whose season technically started a month ago. “Been a poor summer for sport, what with just the Euros, Wimbledon, the Open golf, Olympics, and cricket (not including the Hundred) to keep us going. Good old Championship though, eh? Like Jimmy Anderson, it always delivers.”

True that, though I doubt even Jimmy will still be delivering at the age of 129.

And here’s Scott Parker

“We’re looking forward to tonight. It’s a tough start, but I’m sure they’re staying the same about as us. This league is relentless and brings up tough games every week. Arnaut Danjuma’s future is still to be decided – the only reason he’s not in the squad tonight is because of an injury.”

Valerien Ismael’s pre-match thoughts

“We want to be a complete team – in possession, out of possession, on set pieces. We have the quality to stay at that level and now we need games. The most important thing is to show our determination from the first minute. We want to start the season well.

“We saw in the pre-season games that Alex [Mowatt] is very important. He is the link between the staff and the team; how knows our pholosophy perfectly and he has adapted to his new role here. We’re delighted to have him.”

Probable formations

Bournemouth (4-3-3) Travers; Smith, Mepham, Kelly, Zemura; Emiliano, Kilkenny, Billing; Brooks, Solanke, Anthony.
Substitutes: Stanislas, Taylor, Ibsen Rossi, Saydee, Moriah-Welsh, Dennis, Camp.

West Brom (3-4-3) Button; O’Shea, Bartley, Kipre; Furlong, Livermore, Mowatt, Townsend; Diangana, Robinson, Grant.
Substitutes: Johnstone; Ajayi, Zohore, Phillips, Tulloch, Ingram.

Yep, West Brom have only six subs.

Transfer business

As ever there have been a lot of ins, lot of outs, lot of what-have-yous. Bournemouth have signed Brentford’s Emiliano Marcondes, who created the goal that beat them in last season’s play-offs, and the Leeds defender Leif Davis has joined on loan. Those doing one include Diego Rico, Asmir Begovic, Sam Surridge and – how the hell did it come to this – Jack Wilshere.

West Brom have lost an entire team of players. The most notable departure is the brilliant Matheus Pereira, who agitated for a move and has joined his boyhood club Al-Hilal Riyadh. Their main signings are Adam Reach and Alex Mowatt, who was Barnsley captain and is well versed in Ismaelball, while Brighton’s Matt Clarke has arrived on a season-long loan.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Bournemouth v West Bromwich Albion from the Vitality Stadium. Or, to put it another way, THE CHAMPIONSHIP IS BACK. And Bournemouth are the intrepid voyagers of 2021-22. They got the English season under way last Saturday, when they beat MK Dons 5-0 in the Carabao Cup, and now they host West Brom in the opening game of the EFL.

The fixture computer done good. This is a cracking start to the season, between two of the favourites for promotion. Both have new managers, Scott Parker at Bournemouth and Valerin Ismael at West Brom, and tonight should be an interesting clash of styles.

While Parker’s Fulham played neat, patient football, Ismael’s Barnsley were fast and aggressive. Reports of West Brom’s pre-season games suggest he is cutting his cloth slightly differently at the Hawthorns, with a less direct style of play, but they will be just as fierce without the ball. In. Your. Face.

Kick off 7.45pm.