If weāre being very kind, the jury is still out on West Ham manager Graham Potter.
There is a belief among some that the Hammers boss ā unlike Wolvesā VĆtor Pereira, for example ā needs a squad overhaul and simply canāt get a tune out of his inherited group. It’s a hope that when Potter eventually assembles his team, West Ham will be much improved.
At the moment, though, that feels like a stretch. The club has sunk to worrying depths in the Premier League, and even in the best-case scenario, Potter appears to be a coach who can only thrive under very specific conditions.
Right now, his appointment looks more risky than revolutionary ā based on hope rather than evidence. And itās a gamble West Ham can ill afford to get wrong.
Back-to-back poor managerial appointments can lead to a period of steep decline, and thereās no denying the previous regime under Julen Lopetegui was a disaster.
Lopetegui was poor but West Ham are safe because of his points tally
West Ham are poor at identifying managersĀ
And this isnāt hindsight speaking ā leading up to his unveiling, it was difficult to find anyone outside the Irons boardroom who believed Lopetegui was the right fit to succeed David Moyes.
To their credit, the club moved swiftly to correct THEIR error, but Potterās appointment is equally, if not more, concerning. There may be hope that he can be better than Lopetegui ā but based on current form, heās been worse.
There is an idea that Potter is a victim and nobody could do more with this group of useless players. Unfortunately that theory doesnāt hold up when you consider that the previous manager did exactly that.
West Ham are staring down the barrel of a double whammy: two disastrous managerial appointments in a row ā the kind of back-to-back errors of judgement that are incredibly difficult to recover from.
The general consensus is that Lopetegui was chosen by chairman David Sullivan on advice, while Potter was selected by chief executive Karren Brady ā reportedly a family friend. Itās the kind of scattergun decision-making not mirrored by any successful top club ā and with good reason.
There are currently no concerning noises coming from the club regarding Potterās future, and West Ham appear to be backing their man. But it feels more like sheer hope than genuine belief that heās the one to turn things around at the London Stadium.
disagree entirely that he is worse. to say that Loppy was better solely because of the points gathered is simplistic in the extreme. i think we can all agree that the football was dire and mostly chatic. most of our wins were fortunate to say the least. our win at St. James Park was probably our best performance at that point and even then the Toons should have been 5-0 up by half time. i’m not convinced by Potter yet, either, but for me this season was dead from the get-go. i think next season may be better but i’m gonna say 2 or 3 seasons before we can think about a challenge for Europe again. i’d love it to be sooner but i’ve been a WH devotee for too long and i know what we are
Many other managers have taken over from previous managers squads and done considerably better than potter has .
So question is how bad is our squad ?
Other point , and this is important . Sullivan has NEVER hired a manager who wasnāt unemployed , aka free to sign.
It is this limiting penny wise attitude that account for most of whs problems on the pitch over the years.
In my opinion we have not looked for the right kind of manager to produce the modern more progressive football being played now. We have gone with the old boys whose style of play is dated and dull looking now. I would like to see a young up coming manager appointed. Potter really done nothing at Brighton, it was the non playing staff that made them.
Not looked? Or wonāt pay?
Itās a bit difficult to get the best fit when you limited only to whoever is currently unemployed.
” the kind of scattergun decision-making “. Did they forget to ask you, Gonzo? They tried their best taking advice from those they know and trust.
One of those advisors might have told them what a successful top club would do. Following that advice, they gave away the Declan Rice money and more to the dreams of others. We were supposed to become Spain II under the head-hunted Lopetegui regime. With marvelous new players – money no object – we had it all. Maybe we should have spent the Ā£1.2 Billion as Chelsea did. No excuses – these guys were pursuing their own nest-feathering and our owners fell into the trap of trusting those who know better.
Someone told them that Avram Grant knew what he was doing. He did. Money for nothing. Nice work if you can get it. Then Daves and Karren took their own advice and we bounced back. There are always more people who could have got it right than there are those that have to make the final decisions.
I would rather Dave and Karren doing the thinking than outsourcing the opportunities.
COYI
Gonzo you seem to be saying a) that Potter’s appointment was as big a blunder as Lopetegui’s appointment and b) that we cannot survive two bad managerial appointments
So pray do tell us whether you see any ray of hope for us or should we abandon the Hammers and find another team to support?
Whilst it is true that we are struggling and lacking in penetration, it would be wrong to judge Potter as worse than Lopetegui. The team are more together and defensively we are better. Decent performances at Liverpool and Chelsea without any points, no defeats since Palace by more than one goal, and 7 points dropped by late goals by Everton, Liverpool, Southampton and Bournemouth. Without an obvious alternative, he deserves a summer window to address,in particular the lack of dynamism in midfield and address the paucity of creativity against the low block defences at LS.
Itās a bit of bad luck and inheritance of a team not chosen by Potter . There is also some strange decisions I.e being too defensive with subs and not attacking enough as a team . I am hoping potter learns quickly . Time will tell but there is one consistent person involved in the final decisions Mr Sullivan any thoughts there ?
Losing Antonio was the biggest issue. Potter will come good 100%. Terrible article.
He has another 5 dead rubbers to get it right.
I agree with the other posters here. I was mad at the final whistle on Saturday after that tepid performance but a few days on from that, I realize that Potter does need time. Lopetegui may have gotten better results but it was HIS squad, the one that he was instrumental in assembling.
I do think there will be a large clear-out and with youth and pace coming into the team next season, I think we will kick on at least some.
Dear oh dear Gonzo. Give the guy a chance.
I am based in Nottingham and I have always kept a close eye on Forest. I remember Brian Clough coming to Forest in 1977 after his calamities at Leeds and Brighton. None of us had any optimism – he was just a big mouth. He came into Forest mid season and even his genius couldn’t give Forest an immediate boost. They finished his first season in the Old 2nd Division around the relegation places. The next summer after he had a major rehaul of the squad and a clear out they soared up the table and in the blink of an eye were League and European Champions. Now I am not (for one moment) saying that Graham Potter is a Brian Clough far from it. Yet he does have some pedigree and some football acumen. It means you can’t judge his management skills just yet. Like an oil tanker some football clubs do take time to turn around and move in the opposite direction.
Nuno at Forest last season just about kept them up on 32 points and this season they are fighting for Champions League places. We have a talented squad, with some also-ran’s much like every other squad, that will be graced with some youngsters coming back from loans such as Potts, Marshall and Earthy who may or may not add quality and we have some players like Guillherme and Summerville who should get more game time next season (one would hope). Add some additions and we’ve got a squad capable of fighting for Europe, which these days seems to be top 7 or 8.
Although i’m not the greatest fan of Potter’s style of play i think he is a very capable manager who will turn our fortunes around next season. For most established Premier League teams where they finish in the table one season is not a reflection of where they will finish the next (unless you’re Palace!).
I feel sorry for those fans who have paid to see us week after week this season, it’s been a season to forget. But let’s not write off the manager and next season’s team before this one has finished. The fans’ support has a huge influence on how the team perform and when the chips are down that’s when the team need us most. So less negativity, C&H, and a little more trust. All things need time to grow
Potters useless get rid get noble in the dressing room someone who can inspire the team to have pride and belief in themselves?
When he took over, he had no choice but to make the system fit the players he had, which is highly unlikely to be the system he wants to play and is best at coaching.
When the Summer arrives, and a tranche of those players leave (with our thanks, but a gentle nudge out the door), then he can rebuild with players who fit the system.
Then we can judge him.
Sure, we all think we can see the obvious issues, and would get more out of them. I’m actually pretty sure that some of us could, having had to witness their ‘talents’ for a lot longer than GP, but life goes on. We just need to thank Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester for keeping us up, take comfort from the fact that Spurs have had an equally poor season, and look forward to the summer.
Why is it not his preferred playing style, it seems to be the way he set up at Brighton and Chelsea. Where he had the worse stats for attacking he has just continued this trait.
People slaughtered the last guy (whose tenure was chaotic) but why is this guy getting away with it. If he canāt get better performances out of the same group of players we had before then he is worse. He had a transfer window to make some changes and did a typical Moyes trick. Get a player from your previous club. He hasnāt given that player much of a chance and the player himself seems uninterested.
He hasnāt given another 5 dead rubbers to show us what he can do. If we seem the same dross he has produced so far then get rid of him