Graham Potter’s Frankenstein creation : From reckless want-away to relentless monster. From reckless want-away to relentless monster
Arsenal’s testing, probing but ultimately blunt-edged attack proved the Hammers’ defensive organisation has finally evolved from Lopetegui’s haphazard chaos-ball. Graham Potter has instilled a new level of discipline amongst his players which kept the alarm bells from ringing even as West Ham were defending single goal lead away from home.
In truth, without a recognised striker they lacked penetration but the Hammers stuck to their allotted tasks brilliantly.
Summed up by Mohammed Kudus, speaking to whufc.com, who was pleased with his side’s own rearguard action:
“The job in defence was really tough. We played a very tough team, and we knew they were going to attack a lot, so we had to make sure the eleven players were focused on the task at hand, and everyone was excellent in doing their own duties.“”
“It was a very much-needed three points and a very big boost in confidence. Kudus in Monster mode- get the elephant stool ready tomorrow!
Described by the Hammers web site as applying his ‘relentless attacking pressure’ which caused Lewis-Skelley to cave under pressure”, Mohammed Kudus has been transformed from playing in “reckless want-away” fashion under Lopetegui to “relentless monster mode” just six weeks after Potter’s installation. Gonzo’s article referred to hims ‘beast 2.0’ but the ‘monster’ monicker seems to fit better after the way he terrorised Arsenal on Saturday.
If Kudus and Bowen are set free from their defensive duties, as we expect, they can cause havoc against a side with just one win in eleven games. Leicester, whilst they have Jamie Vardey, will pose a threat running in behind the Hammers’ defence but shouldn’t call for Kudus and Bowen to cover the defensive work that they undertook at the Emirates.
Which leaves the Foxes’ defence with a very big problem. The people at Opta believe West Ham’s chance of victory is 60% against 18% for a Leicester win:
A newly confident Mohammed Kudus is something Hammers fans will love watching but Leicester will fear. Started, perhaps, with Evan Ferguson’s attacking threat and a three-up front configuration for West Ham at home will hopefully build on the momentum from the arsenal game.
