West Ham board deliver verdict on Graham Potter so far and make biggest issue clear. Graham Potter’s West Ham reign has already sparked much debate – and now the club’s owners have delivered their verdict three months in.
West Ham’s loss at Liverpool brought up three months in charge for Graham Potter. It has been a dreadful season for the Hammers on all fronts.
After making the huge decision to part company with David Moyes, the owners went against fan wishes by hiring Julen Lopetegui.
Hammers fans were won over, though, when the club went out and backed the Spaniard and then technical director Tim Steidten with £155m worth of new signings.
The appointment did not just underwhelm fans, though, but players too.Potter still struggling for West Ham lift-off. West Ham won just six of their 20 Premier League games under Lopetegui and seven of 22 matches in total.
He became the club’s shortest-serving permanent manager ever, lasting only 192 days before being sacked with West Ham 13th in the table and out of the League Cup. The Hammers immediately replaced him with Potter, who had been out of football for 20 months following his Chelsea sacking.
An encouraging performance away at Aston Villa in the FA Cup just 48 hours after his appointment gave fans hope, even if West Ham did exit the competition at the first hurdle.
Since then the Hammers have failed to really get lift off under Potter. In fact West Ham have dropped from 13th to 17th in the table, thankful that the bottom three are so far adrift with six games to go.
The Irons have won just three of Potter’s first 13 matches at the helm, losing seven.
Some West Ham fans have nicknamed Potter ‘Graham Lopetegui’ – suggesting they don’t feel he is significantly different.
Before that, many supporters had dubbed Lopetegui a ‘Spanish Moyes’.
But while the pair struggle, Moyes has led a hugely impressive revival at Everton since taking over 24 hours after Potter was appointed at West Ham.
The Hammers’ defeat at Liverpool was harsh in the end after a much improved second half performance.
It has been a recurring problem at West Ham for some time that the team cannot seem to play consistently well for 90 minutes.
The Hammers put in another Jekyll and Hyde performance at Liverpool with two or three players standing out. West Ham board deliver verdict on Potter so far. Some, including Potter himself, feel there were plenty of positives to take from the second half of the defeat.
However, many fans point to the fall down the table and lack of convincing displays as evidence Potter may not be the right choice long term.
Most supporters will be reserve judgement until next season.
But what do the ones who call the shots in the corridors of power at the London Stadium think so far? Now West Ham’s board has delivered their verdict on Potter so far and made the biggest issue clear.
The top spokesman for the club’s owners has spoken to Hammers News about their feelings on Potter and the team following the 2-1 defeat at Anfield. They believe West Ham are now a small margin from turning things around under Potter.
And they accept they will only be able to solve the manager’s biggest issue in this summer’s transfer window – by signing a striker.
Niclas Fullkrug was not risked from the start at Liverpool, much to the disappointment of Hammers fans.
It was because the German is still feeling discomfort having spent the majority of the season out injured. Fullkrug has looked good when he has played and makes a big difference for West Ham.
Hammers hierarchy make Potter’s most striking issue clear. Now the owners believe West Ham are a fit, firing and reliable centre-forward away from turning frustrating performances and results under Potter into wins.
“We really need a centre-forward this summer,” the top spokesman for West Ham’s owners exclusively told Hammers News.
“Fullkrug can’t start games at the moment as he’s still feeling something.
“He hit the woodwork again today.
“We need to improve a bit, then we’ll start to win. They are small margins.”
The only way is up for West Ham from here. Quite literally this season.
With six games to go the Hammers are in a fight to avoid being the worst team in the Premier League outside the bottom three.
The highest the Hammers can hope to finish is 13th – but that jump in league places is worth nearly £11m in merit payments. That could help go towards the much-needed centre-forward this summer.
