After a ‘video blackout’ in the latter stages of Lopetegui’s reign at Rush Green, the West Ham media machine is back with its video clips of training.
Hopefully this is now not just a one-off to show head coach Graham Potter’s involvement: Under Lopetegui, Pablo Sanz the assistant coach was the voice most heard yelling in previous videos usually with J’Lo nowhere to be seen.
There was one striking, immediate difference evident from watching this video, even without over analysing, player watching or frantically searching for tactical gems!
The level of noise during training has rocketed.
The players are enjoying themselves: Mohammed Kudus is bantering again. Smiles are back on faces and the ‘Potter bounce’ is clearly noticeable. You’d have to be a regular watcher of these ‘you tube’ clips to remember how tense, terse and silent the last recordings were, back in November, with just a handful of players actually shown and everyone looking as if their very future in the first team depended on not screwing up. Take a look yourself, here, from about 5 minutes onward it is clear that a new broom has swept clean at the training ground.
Indeed I think it was Nigel Reo-Coker who remarked even back in the summer camp in Florida that the team was quiet, there were no leaders or characters: It seems even without Skipper Bowen or Michail Antonio there’s no such problem now.
Hopefully we’ll see this carry forward onto the pitch tonight. Too early for big tactical switches after one session, but the confidence levels look on the increase as subtle team-building has evidently already enhanced the squad mentality.
Really looking forward to the change that’s coming at last we have a manager that knows what he’s doing and that spells good times ahead it will take time to get the plan totally rolled out but at least it’s the beginning of something good and who knows we may just shock Aston Villa tonight COYI
I hope the team play well tonight. I can take a defeat if there is a show of improvement. It’s been a bad watch all season apart from the Newcastle game. Alot yo look forward to Potter will be a big improvement and player’s will play for him
I’m not over optimistic about tonight, Potter has just walked through the door !
However, I think things will improve greatly over the next few weeks once he’s had a chance to work with the players.
Hoping for some decent additions in this window – if a couple of loans, fine, and some dead wood removed from midfield !
Now wouldn’t it be nice if all that happiness was part of a performance, in a competitive game,🤞it all works out for manager, fans and our club, so we can turn a corner and get going
You’re reading a lot into this Martin but I hope you’re right.
I believe that player discontent with Lopetegui was greater rather than lesser, and I believe that there were severe communication issues with both of those things lifting naturally with the arrival of Potter.
There could well be a considerable new manager bounce as I believe that the players are appreciably better than they have been performing. Plus Potter will change an obvious thing or two despite there only being one training session.
Villa away is a tough gig though at the best of times so I’m not getting carried away with expectations, although I won’t be watching from behind the sofa as I have been in recent times.
I’m guessing, but Potter has probably took notes as soon as he was approached for the job. I think he probably picked up quickly on our failings… such as not being able to defend! Hopefully this is the turning point and we start having some good results.