Potter is the favourite to become the next Premier League manager to lose his job
West Ham started their second home London derby of the season pretty well… which made the tragicomic collapse all the more disappointing.
Lucas Paqueta should have scored the opening goal against Tottenham, but dragged his shot wide. El-Hadji Malick Diouf was causing anxiety in the Spurs penalty area with his devilish deliveries from the left. The fit-again Crysencio Summerville was a livewire.
Out of possession, the Hammers looked fairly well organised too, with summer signing Mateus Fernandes joining Paqueta (deployed as a false nine) in a front two to lead the high press. The first half was pretty even; the second was anything but as Spurs scored three unanswered goals to saunter to victory.
Two things in particular will greatly concern Graham Potter.
Set pieces
The first is West Ham’s complete inability to deal with set pieces. Pape Matar Sarr had the freedom of the east end to nod Spurs in front from a corner, after Cristian Romero had been unfortunate to have an earlier effort ruled out.
Spurs midfielder Joao Palhinha admitted that they targeted their opponents from such situations.
“It was one of the areas we tried to explore because we knew we were stronger in that moment of the game,” the 30-year-old told The Athletic.
“We started to put more focus on set pieces and we did well.”
The Hammers have conceded six times from set plays already this season, which is three times more than any other Premier League side. Relegated Southampton and Wolves had the worst record last term, with 20 apiece, a total that West Ham are on course to match by early December.
Without wishing to pummel a man while he’s down, it’s hard to think of a summer signing who has endured as tough a start with their new club as Mads Hermansen, the £20m buy from Leicester City.
Spurs understandably had little interest in taking corners short due to how much the Dane was struggling to deal with their wicked in-swingers under his crossbard.
There was a point in the second half when Pedro Porro sprinted towards the corner flag to make himself an option, but he was ignored by Mohammed Kudus, who whipped it into the mixer instead.
Potter’s post-match defence of West Ham’s handling of dead balls may have prompted alarm bells to start ringing in supporters’ heads.
“We defended nine or 10 set pieces really well before their goal,” he insisted.
“I can understand once you’ve conceded a goal from a set piece, you’ll ask the question. But I actually thought we defended them well.”
It was a claret-tinted viewpoint; West Ham looked like conceding every time Spurs flung the ball into their area.
Opponents are attempting to trouble them with crosses from open play too. Only Burnley and Crystal Palace have faced more after the opening four gameweeks.
Brittle confidence
Another glaring issue is that West Ham are conceding goals in clusters.
Spurs scored all three goals in a 17-minute blitz. Sunderland netted three in half an hour on the opening day. Chelsea managed three in 19 first-half minutes and two more in four second-half minutes. Wolves converted chances in the 82nd and 84th minutes to win from 2-1 down in the Carabao Cup.
When West Ham let in a goal, they immediately become more fragile and susceptible to conceding another one, and another one after that. Heads drop far too easily and opponents are sensing that vulnerability.
It’s becoming habitual and it is a tricky thing to shake off. The root cause is a lack of confidence, which is peculiar as West Ham have played well at points at the start of the season, albeit in short bursts. They started brilliantly against Chelsea but crumbled once the Blues took the lead.
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Pressure is mounting on Potter. The former Brighton and Chelsea boss was given some leeway initially after inheriting an out-of-form team from Julen Lopetegui. Having had a full pre-season with his squad, that grace period has expired.
He needs to turn things around quickly, starting this weekend. West Ham have lost their two city derbies at the London Stadium by an aggregate score of 8-1 this season, and welcome Crystal Palace to the east end on Saturday.
The Eagles have scored 17 set-play goals since the start of last season, a tally that only Arsenal (with 20) and Nottingham Forest (18) can better. Things aren’t getting any easier for a team that has slipped into the relegation zone.
Potter has to find a solution to West Ham’s set-piece susceptibility and reinforce his players’ brittle confidence urgently. His job depends on it.