Graham Potter has some very awkward questions to answer following West Ham’s humiliating capitulation to newly promoted Sunderland.
Make no mistake, while Potter oversaw a tactical disaster-class, the Hammers board must also take a large share of the blame.
Why? Because at the end of last season, a well-placed source told Claret & Hugh that signing a top-class centre forward and a quick midfielder were absolute transfer priorities. Yet here we are, with very little fixed and lessons clearly unlearned.
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There has been far too much arrogance at the very top of the club—an assumption that while everyone else employs directors of football and transfer experts, we don’t need one. A cockiness that we can hire managers cheaply, sell our best players, and still stay ahead of the competition.
As I wrote yesterday, club bosses have been so fixated on their own failure to improve West Ham’s midfield that they’ve overlooked the fact even newly promoted teams are recruiting better than us.
Potter will rightly face criticism today. He was out-thought, his team out-fought, and his substitutions not only failed to improve matters but actually made us worse.
Is that all we’ve got? Wilson was a desperate throw of the dice by Potter
Potter let down by lack of support
But let’s be clear—he hasn’t been supported properly either. David Sullivan and Karren Brady are just as culpable, having left Potter to select players for todays game the club are actively trying to sell. With two weeks left of the transfer window, we’re no closer to signing footballers who genuinely improve the first team. And while I’ve nothing against Callum Wilson personally, was there anything more depressing than seeing him thrown on in desperation, while Luís Guilherme couldn’t even make the bench?
The board must act immediately. Having recently taken out multiple lines of credit, claims that there is no money now sound hollow and unconvincing. We’re constantly told it’s hard to find players better than the ones we already have—but every other club seems to be signing plenty of them.
Today’s 3-0 loss to Sunderland was more than a bad result. It was a wake-up call and a relegation warning. If those currently at the top of the club can’t deliver the signings we need, then perhaps it’s time to let somebody else take over who can.