West Ham boss Graham Potter needs time to create his own team—and he’s going to get it.
Most would agree that many of the players the Hammers manager has inherited are unsuited to playing his preferred possession-based football.
That said, Potter’s line-up against Nottingham Forest yesterday was overly cautious, and that was reflected in the way West Ham struggled to break down a stubborn away defence.
Potter’s flurry of second-half substitutes hinted at a plan designed to keep the game tight before winning it with more attacking changes.
Unfortunately, it seemed the die had already been cast by the cautious approach, and until Jarrod Bowen scored his stunner to make it 2-1, the Hammers didn’t look like they had a clue how to break down the opposition.
With players like Paquetá, Guilherme, and Füllkrug on the bench, it’s not entirely accurate to suggest the West Ham manager had no better technical players to start the game with. It felt like an overly reserved approach to the final home fixture of the season—when fans could have done with a bit of entertainment.
Potter has spoken about building trust with West Ham’s home support, but two wins in his nine home games at the London Stadium leaves a lot to be desired.
Ultimately, the manager chose to play a strikerless system in a home game that carried no real pressure.
Potter won’t be the first—or the last—manager to play defensively at home, but it’s generally tolerated only if the tactic yields victories. After a full summer transfer window, he’ll need to serve up something very different next season. Because if he doesn’t, he’ll be out of excuses.
We was save with more than 5 games to go and he didn’t play more attacking football
So what’s going to change next season nothing!!
Never understood the initial clamour for Potter. He did okay at Brighton but they improved a lot after he left and he only lasted five minutes at Chelsea before he was found out.
Nottingham Forest are competing for Champions League spots in the best league in the world. The Nottingham Forest players were playing for those positions. For West Ham, the match meant nothing more than pride. Yet, West Ham outplayed Nottingham Forest towards the end of the match. The question then is whether this is bad enough to justify leaving the stadium before the final whistle. Personally, I don’t think so.
Been attending since the 60s , through thick & thin . Now in my 70s & think yesterday was the first time I’ve not stayed behind at end of the game to applaud the team. It’s been a long hard grind this season & so much seems wrong within the club & attending this season has been hard going , especially the differing ko times & days. Remember when Saturday 3pm was set in stone ? I still think we should support our manager but been difficult this season . COYI
I was hoping the contract release on Potters contract was true so HE wouldn’t be there next season The man hasn’t got a scooby we will go from cup winners to relegation with him at the helm Brady has a lot to answer for
Our board can’t continue. SULLIVAN AND BRADY OUT
I think Potter IS the ‘hand brake’ not JWP!!
‘sea anchor’ more like
Sorry, got to agree with Jimmy, on this.
Irrespective of players at his disposal he is a one trick pony.
I see trouble ahead……..
From where I was sitting we seemed to spark into life after the subs were made
And out of a job hopefully!!! Can’t see the man doing anything different next season, he hasn’t got anything about him to suggest he might, he’s a loser!!!