The way in which new West Ham manager Graham Potter has taken charge in less than three weeks is nothing short of incredible.
He has single-handedly overseen a switch in emphasis from a continental-style director of football model to an omnipotent managerial figurehead.
I can’t claim to know whether Potter’s title is head coach or manager, but it’s clear he is answerable to nobody.
Having seen off former DOF Tim Steidten, Potter supplanted him with his pal Kyle Macaulayābut tellingly, as head of recruitment rather than the man in charge of all football operations.
There was a calm confidence in the way West Hamās new boss told reporters yesterday that he would decide when players come in. That is a seismic shift from the summer when David Sullivan, Julen Lopetegui, Will Salthouse, and Steidten all contributed to the recruitment of nine signings.
The shift is even more incredible when one considers that the last contract offered to former boss David Moyes was as a head coach with limited influence on transfers.
In less than a year, the Hammers have gone from a dilution of power to a single voice. It’s hard to think of any other club in the country where Potter could have gone in and wielded more power than he currently has at West Ham.
There is a strange irony that West Ham’s new manager has immediately gained the transfer autonomy that was denied Moyesie and even Tim Steidten.
Itās all change at the London Stadium . . . Maybe Potter will start running that too!
All we need now are some transfers , not power struggles, I wonder?
the guy signing the checks is still sullivan
It doesn’t matter who is called what, DoF, manager, head coach, head honcho.
Sullivan will never give up control on the final say.. not in a million years.
Until he sells, we will be run like a circus
Spot on! Greedy little bas… d is only interested in what dough is coming in. Paying Brady Ā£2.5 million a year, waste. Need new owners, fast!
Because GP is remaining tight lipped no one really knows who we are looking at or if offers have actually been made. Iām guessing a few transfers that were being discussed (like Silva, Brobbery etc) have been put on ice since Kyle joined so he can recommend his own picks that also come with his own due diligence. It will be interesting to see who comes in and Iām sure we will be able to tell if hey are GP signings, or if indeed Sulli has got involved. Iām hopeful that GP and his mate Kyle will be left to pick their data driven targets and get value for mone, as well as them fitting in well with the rest of the squad. Time will tell, but as you know, C&H has its own links to Sulli so hopefully they get the memo as well and all goes well. COYI !!
I do see Sully ever giving up purchase power. I do believe that Pot has got more power than any previous manager in that only his choice will be chased at this time but who knows in the future. Hopefully Pot will transform us for the remainder of this season and make the future look good. COYH
Probably does have more than a bit of power right now as clear that the previous regime was a disaster compared to the competence Potter has shown so far. I’m sure the Directors are currently relieved to have him, whether that continues in the long run will of course depend on results. Feel a bit bad for the other Tim but can’t blame them for backing the new man.
We are entering the realms of fairy tales here.
Iām not quite getting this. A few weeks ago when Potter started we were told he is totally on board with the manager working alongside a DOF as he did at Brighton. Now you are saying he (Potter) has turned that all on its head and he is now the supreme individual in charge at West Ham. All I can see is that he may have asked to have Ferguson as he has worked with him before. It is a risky one with his horrendous injury record. I can not see any manager looking at our squad with no strikers not much pace in MF and only 3 CBs and still the oldest squad in the premier league saying yeah we are good enough have a good finish with what we have.
Sullivan is the one in charge of virtually everything apart from team selection but watch this space
It feels to me as though Potter is being set up to take the blame for Sullivan making a mess of the transfer window.
With Sullivan in charge… Not a chance.
Has Steidten actually left? Was there any āthanks Timā announcement?
Officially no, unofficially I think yes. He won’t be short of job offers from clubs with better prospects than ours are is measure of it.
Sorry, but this is just objectively false.
We have never operated a DOF model, whatever Steidenās job title. If we had, heād have had full control over our signings last summer, including the manager, who seemingly wasnāt his choice. We certainly wouldnāt have had three different people (or four if you include Salthouse) choosing players for us. The DOF is meant to be in control of all footballing matters at the club; whilst weāve had people of influence at different times – Sam, Moyes, Tim – Sullivan never has, and never will relinquish that amount of power.
Potter, ironically, is far more suited to a DOF model than Moyes or Lop, both of whom were old school managers who wanted control over signings. Potter is happy to get on with coaching and leave the recruitment to people he trusts, as he did at Brighton. Macaulay is one of those people, which is why he was so keen to get him in. But the ones negotiating the financials are still Sullivan/Brady (a major issue in itself; Tim being bad at his job, whether you think thatās the case or not, does not make those two any better), and 15 years of history suggests itās highly unlikely Sullivan will simply sit make and leave the recruitment decisions to Macaulay. If we donāt sign one player pushed him/Salthouse this summer, I will be astounded.
Steidten was never a DOF, his title was Technical Director, so read into that what ever you want. The whole set up was sold to the fans as a European football model, probably in the hope they would think Sulli was giving up some of the reigns and letting others make the footballing decisions. But in reality it was just smoke and mirrors as I keep hearing so often on here – Tim was basically a glorified talent spotter who tried to make his own power plays here and there, while falling out with managers or head coaches, but still ended up having to get permission to do a deal from Sulli.
Good points KT. I think the key point in this apparent shift of approach is that Brady was a huge supporter of Graham being appointed. She would hardly want to bring him in on his terms without written assurances that he would have transfer budgets, autonomy on which coaching staff he can bring in and transfer targets. He would not have accepted the offer if he thought there was any risks of interference by Sullivan and Brady which would completely undermine him and his plans. His time at Chelsea and dealings with Chairman was not wasted.
He is a very experienced manager who is completely at ease with the media and I really sense that the radio silence and lack of leaks on deals is a positive first step.
Really impressed with Graham bringing in Kyle Macaulay as Head of Recruitment. At Brighton he signed Moses Caicedo for around Ā£4 million and cost Chelsea Ā£115 million. He also masterminded deals to sign Marc Cucarella and Leandro Trossard.
Ending all the constant power struggles at the club is long overdue, and at last we are starting to see really positive progress now Potter is in charge.
Hi gonzo, I simply canāt believe this is true, especially when you consider we are looking at the same old players as we always do. Only when the preferred agents are jettisoned and sulli moves right away will I start to believe we are seeing a transformation from the club. But we all know sulli will meddle and ultimately heās in charge of transfers so the new manager and his team can identify whoever they want, if mr salthouse says nah you can do better, odds in sulli caves
Not sure I agree with that Dean, as the same old players you say we are looking at are only players that are being speculated on by C&H as they always do along with a lot of other websites. In reality, because GP is remaining tight lipped (like he should) no one really knows who we are looking at or if offers have actually been made. I’m guessing a few transfers that were being discussed (like Silva, Brobbery etc) have been put on ice since Kyle joined so he can recommend his own picks that also come with his own due diligence. It will be interesting to see who comes in and I’m sure we will be able to tell if hey are GP signings, or if indeed Sulli has got involved. I’m hopeful that GP and his mate Kyle will be left to pick their data driven targets and get value for mone, as well as them fitting in well with the rest of the squad. Time will tell, but as you know, C&H has its own links to Sulli so hopefully they get the memo as well and all goes well. COYI !!