[West Ham United suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Chelsea](https://www.whufc.com/news/match-report-chelsea-too-strong-london-stadium) at the London Stadium, which left manager Graham Potter in the hot seat.
With only two wins from his first ten home Premier League matches and eight goals conceded in the opening two games, the 50-year-old’s reign already looks perilously fragile.
The numbers paint a bleak picture. The West Ham manager has secured only two wins from his first ten Premier League home matches, with nine points collected.
Potter is also the first Hammers manager in Premier League history to fail to get into double figures for points in his first 10 home games.
He has now conceded eight goals in the opening two games of the new season. Improvement must come quickly, starting with five key areas.
The Hammers conceded three times from set-pieces against Chelsea, looking nervous every time a dead ball came into the box, and it isn’t a one-off.
It was the same ordeal versus Sunderland. West Ham need to be better at handling these situations and fine-tune their set-up aggressively.
Organisation, communication, and aggression need sharpening fast if West Ham are to avoid further embarrassment.
New signing [Mads Hermansen](https://westhamblog.co.uk/posts/west-ham-set-to-make-a-move-for-leicester-keeper-mads-hermansen/) has endured a torrid start following his £20 million move. He was at fault for goals in both league games, flapping at deliveries and failing to command his area.
Some of Hermansen’s decision-making on set-pieces was genuinely diabolical, and he must improve soon or risk getting dropped.
The alternative, Alphonse Areola, inspires little more confidence. With no new signing in place, Potter must demand sharper decision-making and stronger authority from his current options.
Potter’s indecision over the system is hurting the team. The switch from 3-4-2-1 to 4-3-3 briefly improved matters before West Ham’s defensive frailty forced him to revert.
Until Potter defines a settled structure, the players will continue to look uncertain and hesitant. He needs to find a shape that works and stick to it.
Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez cut through West Ham’s midfield with alarming ease. The Hammers looked sluggish in the centre of the park.
The lack of intensity and compactness left the defence exposed and the attack isolated. Potter must instil better pressing triggers and close gaps to avoid being overrun again.
Jean-Clair Todibo and Max Kilman joined to solve the club’s defensive woes, but the pair have only contributed to the problem.
They have been dreadful at the back, and it continued versus Chelsea.
Todibo failed to win a single duel, while Kilman managed just one in five. Unless those numbers improve, West Ham will remain vulnerable.
The West Ham hierarchy has not given Potter enough options, but he might have to drop one of the two and pair the other with Nayef Aguerd, who looked miles better than the duo.
Potter’s problems are there, but the board is equally culpable.
West Ham entered the new campaign without properly addressing midfield and attacking depth. Asking any manager to succeed with a thin, unbalanced squad borders on negligence.
The board needs to wise up and give the manager some fresh legs, especially in midfield and attack.
Sacking Potter after two games would be premature, but he must arrest the decline swiftly.
The EFL Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers offers a chance to reset, although only new signings and a stronger mentality will shift the bigger picture.