Graham Potter has come in for a fair amount of criticism since taking over West Ham and will start the new season under pressure from the off – but he needs his own players in.
It has been an inauspicious start to life at West Ham for Graham Potter.
The Hammers were brilliant in the first game under their new boss back in January – a harsh 2-1 away defeat to Villa in the FA Cup.
Performances in wins at Arsenal and Man United have been the only other real highlights.
But just five wins from 19 games in charge has alarm bells ringing ahead of a new Premier League season many predict will be the most fiercely competitive for years.
The statistics haven’t made good reading for Potter. Since he took over, the Hammers are among the worst teams in terms of attacking figures such as shots and goals.
Potter has acknowledged that and claims he had to work to fix a leaky defence before focusing on the attack.
Jury out until Potter has his own players at West Ham
The 50-year-old admits West Ham are not playing anything like how he wants the team to look going forward.
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That’s a relief – because on the evidence of what has been served up so far, he won’t be around long if there are not drastic improvements.
After being given a period of grace by Hammers fans, expectations will be raised from the off next season.
Supporters have made it clear it is unfair to judge Potter until he has his own players and team in place after a summer rebuild.
Tony Cottee says Potter will have ‘no more excuses’ at West Ham next season and suggests the club will need to start well in the first six games.
But there is a very large elephant in the room at West Ham right now.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
The summer transfer window is still very much in its infancy with the first mini window “closing” ahead of “re-opening” in six days.
Concern and anger is already prevalent among the fanbase, though, over transfers and ambition.
After promising an “exciting and interesting” summer window, West Ham have made it clear no signings can be made until players are sold.
West Ham have dropped a £100m bombshell and update on transfer funds after the mini window closed.
The hope was Potter will be able to get some business done relatively early so he can work with new signings in pre-season.
The last thing Hammers fans want to hear next term is excuses about not having got the team together properly to gel before the season started.
Potter can transform West Ham with players who don’t treat the ball like a grenade
After 18 horrendous months which have seen just 15 wins from 57 Premier League matches, that kind of narrative simply won’t wash with Hammers fans next term.
But it does raise the question, can Potter really be judged next season if he doesn’t get the money to make this team his?
How much improvement and change can fans expect if the manager cannot get his targets in the door?
Video shows what Potter can do at West Ham when he has players who don’t treat the ball like a grenade.
One of the biggest issues at West Ham is the midfield.
Slow, immobile, ageing, ponderous, lacking in guile and craft it is among the most incoherent and unathletic collection of midfielders West Ham have assembled during the Premier League era.
Taking Lucas Paqueta – who will either be sold or banned this summer – out of the equation, the Hammers team the hapless Avram Grant took down in 2011 arguably had superior midfield options.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Mark Noble, Scott Parker, Jack Collison, Valon Behrami, Radoslav Kovac, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Gary O’Neil, Keiron Dyer, Luis Boa Morte, Pablo Barrera and Junior Stanislas were part of that squad.
Tomas Soucek is West Ham’s most reliable player behind Jarrod Bowen and many fans are rightly angry at the prospect of him being sold.
But the rest are so limited and average it is scary.
Compare the likes of Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse to the dynamic, young midfields at clubs like Wolves and you will get an idea of why Potter has struggled to get things going at West Ham.
Even Soucek is limited in terms of what he can offer on the ball.
It’s why Potter wants to rip up the middle of the park and bring in the likes of Ardon Jashari, Raphael Onyedika, Morten Frendup, Mario Stroeykens and others.
The prospect of actually getting those players looks bleak at the moment with no sales close and several Prem rivals doing early business.
Can Potter really be judged if he doesn’t get his West Ham targets?
But this video from Potter’s time at Chelsea shows what is possible if the manager does get his own players in place at the London Stadium.
Play starting from the back and being worked through the pitch at speed.
One and two-touch passing, players wanting to get on the ball.
A Chelsea side in transition yet still completely controlling the game away against Liverpool at Anfield.
It’s a world away from the slow, plodding, ponderous fare served up so far with players who are not comfortable in that system.
It doesn’t make them bad players, it just makes them ill-fitting for what Potter wants and needs to do to turn West Ham around.
One video clip isn’t going to suddenly convince fans Potter is definitely the answer.
But he certainly can’t be expected to transform the team and the club’s fortunes if he doesn’t get the backing to bring in players capable of fitting his system.
This summer rebuild will likely dictate Potter’s future at West Ham.
When the window re-opens, the Hammers have two and a half months to at least give him half a chance.