David Moyes used to have a yardstick by which he judged players before considering signing them: Labelled the ‘Moyes MOT’, it was a judgement of a player’s ability to become part of a team, whether they had the mindset he wanted, rather than just their skill or ability.
It was about ‘attitude’. Many players failed the test and went on to have stellar careers elsewhere; adding an extra hurdle to his recruitment often got Moyesie criticise for ‘dithering’ when he simply didn’t believe a player would be good for his dressing room.
Moyes had his own test of character
How often West Ham have dived into the transfer marked and brought in players who’ve subsequently caused ructions in the dressing room – recently the club have suffered a spate of divisive ‘want-aways’ from Jean Clair Todobo to Mohammed Kudus and Niclas Fullkrug: Splashing cash big time doesn’t buy loyalty.
Which makes the almost indecent haste with which the Hammers flogged off one of their most loyal players ever to wear the shirt even more of a sad reflection of the ‘here today gone tomorrow’ instant-results oriented spectacle that football has become.
Freddie Potts just last year made his PL debut – with a man of the match award to boot – and yet he’s now another piece of West Ham history, gone for £10 million. His final message shows his true passion for the club which has just unceremoniously jettisoned him:
“For the past 16 years, West Ham has been all I’ve ever known. It’s always been far more than just a Club, it’s become my home. As a lifelong West Ham fan, I grew up walking through Upton Park dreaming of one day wearing the shirt. To have gone on and played in the Premier League in front of over 62,000 of you is something I could only ever have dreamt of as a kid….
..To the fans, thank you. You’ve supported me through every high and every low. As one of you, I know exactly what this Club means. Your support has never gone unnoticed, and I hope I’ve been able to give you memories that mean even a fraction as much as the ones you’ve given me.
I may be moving on but one thing will never change, I will always be a West Ham fan before anything. At the end of the day, I’m just a kid who was lucky enough to live out his dream.
Thank you for everything.”
Humble, loyal, still a Hammer despite being flogged off unceremoniously. Shame. Of course, with twenty plus academy graduates every year ,you can’t keep ’em all. But you can’t buy loyalty like that, no matter how many millions you throw at the transfer market.
Good luck, Freddie Potts.
No need to thank us Freddie we should be thanking you mate
i totally agree Martin , i don’t know if there is a feasible and workable answer , Freddie’s obviously had 2 outstanding loan spells but the 2nd half of last season seemed to indicate that the current manager didn’t rate him highly enough to play him regularly , so there’s no point him going back out on loan as presumably he’d have to go to a club lower than the championship (or it would make our club seem rather silly) and there’s no point him just siting on the bench week in week out , as much as he loves the Hammers i’m sure that he also just wants to play 1st football (perhaps just not at another English club just yet – loyalty ? ?) , i wish the upmost best for him and hope he does superbly well and gets all the recognition he deserves x
There is a lot that comes with Academy players – they add so much to a team in addition to any footballing talent. Look how different Noble & Rice are as players, but their effect on the team, pulling them together, never giving up + talent.
I thought Potts never progressed last season and in fact maybe went into his shell, tied by a piece of string about 10 yards long, defend, sideways pass, defend, sideways pass,…. no venturing forwards. Would love to know the reasons why, but personally glad for him that he is out of the cauldron and maybe now, he will truly progress as a player and carry on being a great bloke. He seems 100% committed to improving his game. Hope to read about him in the future and see him back in the English leagues some time.
Problem is, our Academy players very rarely make the grade and a lot of current ones will still struggle in championship. Agreed though, would be great if we finally saw two or three make the step up. Problem in football today in general is that most players are just mercenaries, and applies to managers too – Glasner perfect example !
Proud to have a player/fan like Freddie at the club . Do we need 10million that desperately ? , he had been a success in the championship and we haven’t got enough players . Hope we do well this season but nunos tatics costs us results and I believe he will be gone by Xmas. Hope im wrong and have to eat humble pie.
£10m for Potts is a good price. It’s a good price now but we could look silly further down the line but I can completely understand why they have allowed him to go. He is one of many young good midfield players we have that can and will come through and if a club is willing to pay that for him. at this moment thats a good deal.
Loyalty ?
He just left the club.. is that loyalty ? 🙂