With a win ratio of something under 25%, every West Ham fan is only too clear about the performance of their club under Graham Potter: The manager is at the bottom of West Ham’s managerial rankings having a worse record even than his predecessor Julen Lopetegui.
Indeed, from looking at his Chelsea history, somewhat alarmingly, Graham Potter’s mirror-image Premier League statistics would have got him the chop by now at Stamford Bridge. As Blues’ fan site thechelseachronicle.com reminded me this morning:
“The Englishman was in charge of just 22 Premier League games, although didn’t impress and won just seven matches before he was sacked.”
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His current stats at West Ham are five wins in 20. I’ll just let that sink in.
Now I’ll make my own position clear, I was one of the pro-Potter claret and blue cabal back when the manager was employed back in January. But the signs are not good, with his intransigence over picking long past-it favourites such as James Ward-Prowse on reputation rather than on the evidence of his own eyes. Combined with Potter’s maddening ultra cautious set up, (just two up front) the result is every bit as bad as David Moyes’ ‘parking the bus’ Hammers dour-ball football for a season and a half .
Surely the obviously intelligent and educated English coach can see that his set up and selection is not working and is doomed to grind inexorably to his demise some time between now and December? He arrived with a fanfare and promised youth would have its chance. Belatedly, against Chelsea Potter has another opportunity to keep true to his words. He can select the trio of Potts, Earthy and Marshall and bring them on from the bench at the very least: Fans likely demand that Potts should start instead of Rodriguez or (preferably) Ward-Prowse after last weekends debacle.
Articles like teamtalk’s ‘Graham Potter sack: Axe chances swell..”are suddenly on the rise. A clear red-flag warning.
It isn’t too late yet for Potter, who will have to be deep in the mire for a while longer yet before Sullivan acts.
What kept him in place a while longer at Chelsea was their better Champions League performance which offset the club’s dreadful league form. At West Ham of course he has no such distractions.
The numbers do not lie and without wins and points between now and the international break there’s a bleak winter ahead for the club and its supporters.