It will be intriguing to see the reaction of Graham Potter following a weekend that looks certain to have major repercussions for West Ham United.
Not only did the Hammersā surrender to Brighton feel like a pivotal moment for the club, but Potterās media meltdown afterwards must surely prompt immediate change.
A week earlier, after the 1-1 draw with bottom club Southampton, many had expected Niclas Fullkrugās critical post-match rant to force Potter into changes. After all, Fullkrug had openly called out his teammates for failing to follow instructions, effectively blaming them for Southamptonās late equaliser.
However, there was little change beyond Fullkrug himself being droppedāa decision that now looks rather foolish, especially as Potter has since publicly questioned the squadās mentality.
As the players return to training, Rush Green will not be a pleasant place to be. There will need to be harsh words and consequences. Players must be dropped. Potter now has very little to lose: West Ham are safe from relegation but seemingly unable to climb the table either.
Potter carries a reputation as a ānice man,ā but the squad needs strong leadership now. If he continues to display the same downbeat, Postecoglou-style victim mentality we witnessed in his car-crash press conference after the Brighton defeat, the Irons wonāt win another game this season.
Now is the time for decisiveness, strong actions, and real focus on man management rather than overthinking tactics.
Potter must somehow lift the atmosphere at what will be a very downbeat training groundābut before that, heāll need to lift himself.
Finding his ruthless streak may be the hardest trick of all.
Kretinsky is worth Ā£13 B and tripp smith is also a billionaire. Yet there seemingly happy to allow Sullivan and Brady to run the club into the ground. Potter won’t be here next season. the poverty dwarf is throwing yet another manager under the bus and some supporters are falling for it . While I’ve got serious doubts about potter . I’ve got no doubts whatsoever that Sullivan is the worst owner in football. even worse than Terry brown and that takes some doing .
Ok this is what he should have done bring in Ollie instead of Emerson if he wanted pace ā¦ and substitute fullkurg with guillerhme
It’s poor decision making by Potter that is infuriating me. Playing Ward-Prowse every game has been disastrous, he truly stops us playing. Subbing on Coufal for Emerson in an attempt to defend was naive, indeed the whole idea of defending first half has failed regularly, bringing on players to defend a lead has failed regularly, just what the hell they practise in training is baffling. He has dabbled with Scarles and Guilherme but not been decisive, they all look confused and defeated out there. Get a grip Potter and get bold in your decisions.
I believe Graham Potter brought on Coufal in an attempt to lift the team spirit and strengthen the sense of unity within the squad. This is often underestimated. It was exactly this kind of approach that he used during his time at Ćstersund, which took them all the way to the Europa League knockout stage and even a win against Arsenal at the Emirates. Ćstersund actually had a real chance of beating Arsenalāwith a team of amateurs. The power of team spirit and solidarity is undervalued in an increasingly commercialized sport, where people are always looking for a quick fix.
Graham Potter was understandably a bit frustrated at the press conference after the match against Brighton. I can sympathize with that. Ayari scored his first-ever Premier League goal with a powerful shot into the top corner. Heās been a serial goal-misser all season. According to available statistics, the likelihood of that shot ending up in the top corner was about 0.6%. Then, when Baleba scored a second top-corner goal late in the match, the probability of both events happening in the same game dropped to just 0.097%.
So I have little sympathy for those who criticize Graham Potter for being disheartened by such an extraordinary sporting turn of events.
Interesting so who would you drop ?
More to the point who would you put in their place. Looking at the subs bench it’s not very exciting.
Potter like a brick
I am at a stage now where I don’t want any success under this owner, not even begrudgingly. The cynical removal of a DOF was the last straw so he could bring his dodgy crooked agents back. As much as I love and support West Ham – there comes a point when you have to just let go because of the rank greed, duplicity and stupidity. I want Sullivan and Brady to fail big time. I want them out of our club. I want them to lose all their money and be humiliated. Once they have gone then we jet spray the whole place and fumigate and start all over again from scratch, if that is in a lower division then so be it. The club will always be bigger than us.
Gonzo please get your facts right. Fulkrug can only play half a game due to fitness issues. This has been well documented even on this site. Does it matter which half of he game he plays. Stop laying blame at Potter’s door when it isn’t! This again is a player he did not chose.
The whole club is a mess.
From poor boardroom decisions to poor game management.
The enjoyment has been sucked out of the fans, no smiling faces or chanting anymore from fans walking through Stratford station on game day, we know we are in for a tough day.
Changing managers hasnāt worked for us, but getting rid of Potter will set us back further, who else would work with our owners (and is free)?
I am not looking forward to Spurs on Sunday but will turn up and hope for miraclesā¦
For being a true fan and going to watch the game on Sunday you have both my admiration and my sympathy! I am glad that I will be watching it on TV from the comfort of home in my land Downunder. I wish you and the team the best of luck. COYI.
I think we are in big trouble. We’ve looked like losers under all of Moyes, Lopetegui and Potter. It’s been a long while now since we’ve not looked like losers.
We cannot weather the continual poor decision making, it has the club on its knees now. The table does not lie, we are where we merit being.