Graham Potter’s monumental task at West Ham was laid bare last night as the Hammers suffered a defeat to Aston Villa. During the newly appointed mangers initial interviews, he twice referred to having to ‘look under the bonnet’ of the club.
Ordinarily, one would do this BEFORE buying a car but poor old Potter has just discovered his shiny new Hammers 4×4 is in need of more than just a new timing chain . . . we need a new engine.
The early stages of the game offered glimpses of promise, with West Hamâs new boss aiming to instil a playing style that is both front-footed and defensively sound. Some of the initial combinations involving Lucas PaquetĂĄ, Niclas FĂźllkrug, Mohammed Kudus, and Crysencio Summerville were impressive, hinting at potential building blocks for the teamâs future.
However, Potter may already have concerns about key players. FĂźllkrug, unfortunately living up to his “injury-prone” reputation, is proving unreliable. Meanwhile, PaquetĂĄ jumped between being a creator and scorer to a theatrical prima donna, indicating why Potter might find it challenging to depend on him. Kudus displayed moments of selfishness that, while concerning, seem fixable; the Ghanaian international may benefit from Potterâs coaching to release the ball more quickly.
The reality for West Hamâs new manager likely dawned just before after the final whistle. Despite a summer spree that brought nine new signings, the squad remains in desperate need of reinvigoration and an overhaul.
There were bright spots, such as the bold deployment of Summerville at right wing-back and the impressive performance of young Ollie Scarles. These signs suggest that Potter has fresh ideas, but the aging squad he inherited needs significant rejuvenation. Realistically, five of the current starting XI will need replacing for West Ham to progress under Potterâs leadership
Gonzo
Potter hasn’t yet had a chance to check the oil level.
Just a few replacement parts are needed. Not a complete restoration.
Just taking the point about 9 summer signings and still requiring more.
Of course!
Everyone noticed West Ham lost about 12 players during the same period.
I haven’t spoken to a single West Ham or football watcher, who said, “Yeah, West Ham have got plenty up front”
Good news that KrisztiĂĄn Hegyi is coming back home from his Motherwell loan stint.
We need to grow our own and KrisztiĂĄn can be fed into the first team squad to be of timely use when the need arises.
Potter hardly had difficulty seeing the West Ham gig coming up. He’d already turned down Leicester, Leicester, and Leicester again, Everton, Ajax and Southampton that we know of. He will have watched our games and taken very careful note of all and sundry. I doubt that too much came as out of the blue news to him.
I now look forward to the Manager’s comments both before and after games as Potter is very intelligent
This season he first needs to stabilize the defence and rebuilding will be a slow process – think Eddie Howe when he first went to Newcastle
As has been said above I am sure that Potter has a good idea of the players already and after one training session has shown that he can be innovative
I hope that the fans will give him time as he has already shown that he has a plan unlike his ill-fated predecessor
COYI
I will now at least listen to the Head Coaches pre/post-match interviews, based on the fact I can understand what the heck he’s on about.
Listening to Lopetegui, I came away more confused than before.
Kudus needs a friendly arm around his shoulder as his confidence is shot to pieces and he looks a shadow of last seasons player.Mavrapanos gives me nightmares.much prefer Aguerd back and Ward Prowse too.he would be better off warming our subs bench rather than Forests.
100% agree. Be great to see Freddie Potts recalled immediately too and bringing in players like Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury- Hall to rebuild our very slow midfield.
Just saw Divin Mubama score on his debut for Man City in the FA cup tie tonight and Shearer raving about his movement and intelligent runs. He scored 58 goals in 90 games in our Academy and such a shame we werenât able to keep him at the club after spending 9 years here. Boy could we do with some decent strikers right now! Insane to see a City bench which included over 500 International caps compared to our bench against Villa. His first team chances must be limited there with so many top internationals including Haaland.
I am sure that Graham would have completed a lot of due diligence before making his decision to join the club, especially during his 20 month break from management. He mentioned a lot of conversations with agents and owners of other clubs before accepting the role, and it was clear from his limited time with the players he has done a huge amount of work in advance. The decision to switch Summerville to the right and partner Kudus worked very well, and before his unfortunate injury what a difference this made to our attack. His record and trust in young players will at last give our Academy players like Scarles pathways to the first team and I love that 4 Academy players have already been promoted to first team training.
Interesting to see his focus on data analysis at Brighton and previous clubs, and this is an area we need to invest in quickly to provide him with all the information needed to be successful.
We need to move on Coufal,Emerson, Alvarez, Rodrigues,Ings. Paqueta need to stop showboating and concentrate on digging in when needed, Kudos need some coaching as does Kilman and Mavropanos. Would bring back Ward-Prowse as he adds another dimension. If only we could get a fit Fullkrug but thatâs unlikely with his injury proneness so he has to be sold. Long and short GP needs to build his squad and to do that we need to buy and to do that we need to cut the deadwood.
Potter’s coaching should, as you say, be a great help to some of the defenders. He was after all a left back. Also Kudus needs help, as you say Gonzo, to release his full potential, also as a provider. Summerville just needs to be unleashed. What a signing! Such a shame about Fullkrug: those flicks in the air are potential game changers. The main concerns remain midfield, and finding a striker. Paqueta had some great moments last night but his dying swan stuff and unreliability are infuriating. I think the entire midfield needs replacing. The whole lot of them. Interesting that he didn’t use Soler. Perhaps the Spanish contingent is heading out again, like the guy who brought them in. But very pleased with the early impact of Potter, and looking forward to more.
Spot on Gonzo, Iâm sure Graham had some idea of this before he joined, but maybe itâs a bigger rebuild than he imagined ! When we had our best team inc Bowen the bench was weak, now itâs a virtual waste of space. Reminds me of when I first started going to football regularly in the 70âs, you had a reserve team. They were players all past their best or not good enough and would never worry the first team except in emergency ! We look like that at the moment. When you look at a team like Fulham, they have a really strong bench and a lot would come straight into our first team – another struggle for us on Tuesday, I reckon.
In your profile you mention the Bury game – remember that well, we won 2-1 at Gigg Lane in first leg – Paul Hilton, now thereâs a name đ
Emerson/Alvarez/Kudus…. will bring in the money…Pacman is a wait and see the outcome of his trial!….Ings is deadweight no money there Mav is back up only Killman needs some serious coaching…..Antonio will not return….Fullkrug no money for him till the summer…Aguered should be offered to clubs in Jan at a cheaper deal to get him off the books..Soucek and Coufal love there passion but times up for them same as the two Gk’s…. so it is one helluva rebuild he is looking at