West Ham have sacked Graham Potter after a disastrous start to the Premier League season.
Potter took charge in January but won only six league games, with just two of them coming at the London Stadium.
He leaves with the club languishing in the relegation zone.
In a statement, West Ham said they “believe that a change is necessary in order to help improve the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible”.
“Results and performances over the course of the second half of last season and the start of the 2025-26 season have not matched expectations.”
What went wrong?
In the 15 years Karren Brady and David Sullivan have been at the helm, West Ham have seen 10 managers come and go, including David Moyes’ two stints. Contrast that to a previous record of 11 managers in 110 years.
Potter arrived midway through the winter transfer window and in his first – and only – summer West Ham spent £125m on new recruits. Yet they were stung badly by the sale of Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham for well below his release clause and new arrivals struggled to bed in.
Fan protests continue against Brady and Sullivan’s running of the club; that is partly borne of residual anger from the London Stadium move, partly a reflection of current form. Any momentum from the Conference League win in 2023 quickly disintegrated, Moyes moved on the following year before Julen Lopetegui’s eight-month stint which ended in January.
As his replacement, Potter took even fewer points per game (1.04, compared to 1.33 for Lopetegui) while goals per game also declined. The club’s striker recruitment bears some responsibility for that, especially with Michail Antonio missing much of last season following a car accident and Niclas Fullkrug continuing to struggle with injuries.
Defensively, however, Potter was unable to address glaring issues from set pieces and his team selections came under fire from supporters.
Next manager candidates
Nuno Espirito Santo, who is out of work after being sacked by Nottingham Forest, is the leading contender to take over. A return for Slaven Bilic has reportedly also been considered.
West Ham managers by win percentage
- Potter – 26
- Lopetegui – 30
- Moyes – 36
- Pellegrini – 35
- Bilic – 34
- Allardyce – 30
Former Everton and Burnley manager Sean Dyche has been linked too, as has ex-Bournemouth and Wolves coach Gary O’Neil.
West Ham are next in action against Everton on Monday night – where they will meet former boss Moyes.
What next for Potter?
Potter arrived in English football in 2018 with a burgeoning reputation from his time with Swedish club Ostersunds and remains highly respected for his training ground work.
Your next read
However, while his stock grew at Swansea City and Brighton, he lasted less than seven months at Chelsea in the early days of Todd Boehly’s new ownership regime.
He was then out of the game for 21 months before taking the West Ham job.
from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/pFLfJi0
Post a Comment