Amongst the anger and recrimination from last nights defeat against Leeds, most fans have sought answers as to why the formation was unconventional and why the midfield trio of Pots, Magus and Fernandes were left on the bench when the sides’ resilience improved five fold upon their introduction.
The midfield double pivot of Soucek and Irving didn’t work against Brentford and it failed again last night, sending West Ham’s performance back to the dark days under Potters predecessor Julen Lopetegui.
Speaking last night live on talkSPORT, former striker Carlton Cole attempted to shine a light on Nuno’s thinking. ~Explsining why, in his opinion, Nuno was keeping Potts away from the starting eleven, Cole stated:
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“Andy Irving will try for you. I like his spirit and, from where he’s come from, he has done really well. But, yeah, I would love to see Freddie Potts, one of our own who we have worked on. And I think he [Potts] deserves more game time.”
Freddie Potts is no stranger to a relegation battle
And then, crucially, Cole reminded millions listening that Freddie Potts is actually no stranger to relegation-scraps and could actually be an asset to Espírito Santo just now, rather than being held back and being wrapped up in cotton wool:
“When he was at Portsmouth, he was fighting relegation there. So he does have the know-how, and he was one of their better players. I know it’s a step up, the Premier League is a different animal, but he’s got it in him!”
Graham Potter also admitted to trying to shelter Freddie Potts from the stress of an underperforming side: Nuno appears to have compounded that mistake and clearly must change the line up.
Certainly from the last half hour, Potts, Fernandes and Magassa proved thousands of fans right. They do, indeed, have the legs, pace, fitness and skill to run West Ham’s midfield. They just need their head coach to work it out before the Hammers ship sinks like a stone.