West Ham’s poor start to the season with three straight defeats on the spin was considered to be a failing of both personnel and systems. The midfield trio could not stem opposition attacks, the defence couldn’t head the ball and Graham Potter’s own five – three – two system which had failed last season , continued to do so as West Ham were taken to the cleaners by Chelsea and Sunderland in the Premier League and Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
Which made the sudden shift made by Potter into a 4-3-3 shape even more surprising when revealed an hour ahead of the Nottingham Forest fixture. Brave or desperate, we’ll not know but probably equal portions of both – West Ham’s manager suddenly redeployed his squad into a less criticised, more conventional layout, dropped a couple of players and brought in new signing Mateus Fernandes. And the results spoke for themselves.
West Ham put three goals past Forest
Potter’s tactical metamorphosis
Quite possibly his tactics evolved owing to the recovery from injury of live wire Crysencio Summerville – around whose introduction the whole game pivoted – but the wider football fraternity has been quick to recognise the West Ham metamorphosis.
Being awarded the prestigious League Managers Association (LMA) Performance of the Week award may not in itself be front page headline news but following a disastrous opening trio of matches with 11 goals conceded, it is a pretty remarkable achievement.
From the whufc.com website:
“Potter switched to a 4-3-3 formation, gave a debut to new signing Mateus Fernandes and saw two of the substitutes he introduced, Crysencio Summerville and Callum Wilson, both play a integral roles in the Londoners’ strong finish to the game.
The Head Coach and his staff – Billy Reid, Bruno, Narcis Pelach, Casper Ankergren and Linus Kandolin – were presented with the Everest Performance of the Week award trophy at Rush Green training ground on Friday”
One can only hope that the West Ham Manager reflects on the award from the LMA panel, comprising of former Hammers Les Ferdinand MBE and Stuart Pearce MBE, former managerial greats Sir Alex Ferguson CBE, Barry Fry, Mick McCarthy and Martin O’Neill OBE amongst others: Surely now, having been presented with the award, Graham Potter will continue to be more adventurous and aggressive in his selections, having tasted the fruits of success from taking the game to an opponent instead of setting his side up to defend for their lives for 90 minutes and somehow nick a goal.
Something I read about Potter before he joined us is that he is known for his tactical flexibility and frequently adapting systems to suit his squad, opponent, and in-game situations. Unlike many managers who stick rigidly to a preferred formation, Potter has built his reputation on being highly adaptable. So no surprise to me that he switched formations after the opening games.
Bring in NUNO
Well said Martin! Let’s hope it was the start of a new beginning. A big test is coming this weekend and I just hope our fans will really get behind the team and we show Mo Kudus we can beat his Spurs!