Whether Graham Potter will stick with the more attacking formation he deployed against ‘Forest when the Hammers take on Tottenham at the weekend is far from certain. West Ham’s manager must be in something of a dilemma, because he’s proved himself to be cautious in the extreme and it would be very like his last-season frustrating performances to switch back to a 5-3-2 deployment.
Despite all the evidence showing him that the team played better in the less defensive set up at Nottingham. Adventurous, Potter is not. Which means his ‘teachers pet’ James Ward Prowse will more than likely continue to be the first name on the team sheet, despite evidence that the midfielder is in need of taking out of the West Ham starting eleven.
Givemesport.com‘s latest piece today confirms what most Hammers fans would concur with: ” Get Rid: £115,000-a-Week West Ham Star Shouldn’t be Starting After Summer Window”
Remember, latest recruit defensive midfielder Soungoutou Magassa is waiting in the wings for his debut. The article pulls no punches:”West Ham United head coach Graham Potter needs to ditch James Ward-Prowse from the starting line-up and bring summer acquisition Soungoutou Magassa straight into his preferred side if he wants to enjoy a memorable first full season in the London Stadium dugout instead of contending with a relegation battle.”
Ward-Prowse hasn’t scored a direct free kick in years. It is a myth, now, at 30, that his set piece skill is an asset. His lack of running and inability to pick a pass forwards is handicapping Potter’s West Ham:
“A central midfield pairing of Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek simply does not work as it allows opponents to get on the front foot and constantly cause problems for the backline and, with a fixture against Tottenham on the horizon this weekend, Potter needs to bring Magassa in from the off.”
Time to celebrate the odd Hammers’ success in the summer transfer window and move on from last season: Magassa, Soucek (or Potts, preferably- but Potter couldn’t be that adventurous..) and Fernandes in a new-look midfield, please.
Yep, forest the team we beat didn’t even want him, the guy can’t hit the back of a barn door.
Apart from being professional and trying his best I haven’t seen JWP do anything valuable in the team.
At his best we carried him for free kicks and corners and which we now never score from.
It’s baffling why Potter plays him in every game.
Worse still in combination with Rodriguez or Soucek. All slow not creative or defensive players.
The transfer window was a failure in that we didn’t completely replace these 3, leaving Soucek as a might score sub.
He can’t afford to have favourites or obsessions with certain players.
Must give it all and go with the system which brought him a win.
If that means dropping certain players so be it.
Reverting to a defensive system, if it results in a loss, consequences could be hes failed.
He would be a brave man to do that must come out all guns blazing.
At least he will be able to say, ‘Gave it a go’.
Magassa was signed as a center back. He said so himself in the intro video from West Ham
“Can play” not ‘will play’ I think. Early career was CB before switching.
I completely agree Martin, Magassa and Fernandes to start with Potts ahead of JWP in the event of a sub.
Even though it’s a no-brainer to play the same system as was successful against Forest , this is Potter who is more the no brain scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz rather than the wizard . He has no grasp of modern tactics and is still stuck in yesteryear with his archaic tactics that earned Brighton two bottom six finishes and two mid table finishes with Brighton and Chelsea .
Agreed, worryingly
Surely that should be Magassa – Fernandes – Paqueta as the MF with Summerville – Wilson – Bowen in front of them?
Fingers crossed that he doesn’t give opposition an immediate lift by starting with JWP in a back 5.
We also looked better defensively under the formation deployed against Forest, so I would expect nothing to change this week