Expectations were low to start with but West Ham’s performance against a hastily assembled, newly promoted Sunderland side was abysmal. There is little hope for improvement unless drastic changes are made in the remainder of the transfer window.
Well, that went well, didn’t it? If any cautious optimism had existed that things might not be as bad as they seemed before kick-off, the thought didn’t survive beyond the half-time team talk. Set your expectations low, they say, and you won’t be disappointed. How wrong can they be. A tame opening day defeat against a team of hastily assembled strangers, tipped by many to be relegation fodder, is about as bad as it gets.
The single moment of passion and energy from the Hammers all afternoon was the reported fracas in the visitor’s dressing room once the game had finished. According to exclusive un-named _Under The Hammer’s_ sources, the commotion kicked off when players ransacked the building in search of their lost dignity and self-respect.
Suspicion for the incident immediately fell on Niclas Fullkrug who has previous for such post-match outbursts. This will be confirmed when he is benched and replaced by Callum Wilson for the Chelsea game on Friday. I sense that Graham Potter is hot on compliant harmony rather than dissent in his squads, even though well-managed conflict can often be the pathway to improved unity and performance.
An opening day defeat for West Ham would not ordinarily ring alarm bells. But it took the tally to just five wins from 19 Premier League games since Potter was appointed first team coach last January. Long gone are the honeymoon days when he was seen as the breath of fresh air replacing the incoherent Lopetegui. As the gloss has slowly worn off, all we hear in press conferences are words we understand but which mean nothing when strung together into a sentence. There is no conviction that a better tomorrow is just around the corner.
Almost all supporters will understand that the problems at West Ham extend way beyond and above the latest in the long line of struggling coaches. The Board love to bleat about the restrictions that PSR places on them while remaining oblivious to their part in the appalling and shortsighted mismanagement of the club’s managerial appointments and transfer business over the past decade or so. West Ham have been a club run on egos and expedience as a substitute for sound business strategy.
Aside from the boardroom malaise, I struggle to understand why Potter has earned such a respected reputation for tactical acumen by the world of football punditry. His record at Brighton was OK enough, but it wasn’t until he left that they really pushed on. After six months in the job, a top flexible coach should be making best use of the resources at his disposal. Not attempting to shoehorn unsuitable players into the only way he knows how to play.
Saturday’s selection surprise was hearing that Mads Hermansen had been handed the goalkeeper gloves despite having next to no opportunity to train with his new colleagues. It led to a debut the Dane will be very keen to forget. Potter having had a fall out with Alphonse Areola perhaps!
Whoever was selected in midfield was always sure to disappoint. It would be a stretch for anyone to assemble a functioning threesome from those available. Including Freddie Potts would at least have resembled a progressive move – and been popular with the fans – but it was not to be. Instead, we were treated to the sluggish back and forth of JWP and Guido Rodriguez together with the wasteful exhibitionism of Lucas Paqueta.
The usual slow and cautious start from West Ham was maybe understandable on this occasion in light of the expected early onslaught from newly promoted Sunderland. Hermansen was called into early action to deny the hosts a goal following a trademark ball watching demonstration by Max Kilman. Yet the Hammers gradually gained the first half initiative with long spells of safe, controlled possession punctuated by occasional impressive interplays such as the move that almost brought a debut goal for El Hadji Malick Diouf. However, possession doesn’t win games and West Ham’s build up play was generally too slow and ponderous to create sustained or serious threats. Watching other Premier League games at the weekend made me wonder why none of the other coaches can see the crab like beauty of the backwards and sideways pass?
If West Ham had been winning on points at the break, that all changed in the second half. Either someone had laced the half-time tea with Valium or else the gaffer’s motivational team talk had managed to send everybody to sleep. The inability to serve up two consecutive halves of acceptable performances has been a feature of games for some time now. Why is this? Poor preparation, inflexible tactics or an absence of leadership in the dugout and on the pitch. Or do not enough players care enough?
Whatever the reason, West Ham offered nothing as an attacking force in the second period. Sunderland sensed the visitors’ weaknesses and opted for a more direct approach which ultimately presented them with the rare phenomenon of two headed goals from open play. You might think this would be an extremely unlikely outcome against a team playing three central defenders. But none of our three are the type to put their bodies on the line or to dominate and bully an opponent. I fear this will be exposed on aregualr basis during the season if left unresolved.
Having gone a goal down the response was to bring on Tomas Soucek and Callum Wilson in place of JWP and Rodriguez – combined age of 61 replaced by a combined age of 63. It showed how poor the bench quality was for creative, young or attacking options. This was apparently Plan B – a hope for best formation – where any pretence at shape and organisation had been carelessly abandoned.
If there can be any positive from Saturday’s debacle, it is that no-one can realistically pretend not to know how bad the current team are. A club that has been treading water in the rising tide of Premier League quality. The hope is that even the West Ham board realise that money must be spent in the next two weeks if topflight status is to be preserved for another year. COYI!
🦀🦀🦀🦀 The official crab rating index for West Ham’s performance against Sunderland is 4 out of 5 crabs.