The system utilised by Graham Potter is an unforgiving one, and some West Ham United players simply won’t be able to cope.
West Ham appointed Graham Potter as the club’s new head coach 18 days ago, and he has already made a huge impact at the London Stadium.
The Hammers looked sensational during the second-half of our 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday, despite the fact that Potter was forced into naming a weakened starting XI.
West Ham have one of the thinnest squads in the Premier League right now, and Potter is clearly very keen to change all of that.
A loan deal for Andre Silva is in the pipeline, whilst Ezechiel Banzuzi is a key target for the Hammers head coach too.
However, it’s not all about transfers – Potter will be desperate to improve the players he currently has at his disposal as well.
That will be easier said than done as we have far too many players who are simply not good enough to be playing for us in my opinion.
Potter wants three new signings before the window slams shut remember, according to The Sun (print edition January 23rd, page 46).
That may well mean that some players are moved on too, because they are unable to live with Potter’s demands and tactical instructions.
8 West Ham players who don’t have a future under Graham Potter
The Hammers head coach will have some difficult decisions to make at the end of the season, maybe even over the course of the next week.
Some players at West Ham right now just don’t have what it takes to succeed in a Potter system.
Here are eight Hammers who don’t have a future under the 49-year-old, in my opinion…
Alphonse Areola and Lukasz Fabianski
West Ham need to sign two goalkeepers in the summer. Neither Areola or Fabianski are comfortable with the ball at their feet, and the former looked panicked whenever he was in possession against Villa. Two big upgrades required here over the next couple of windows.
Vladimir Coufal
The 32-year-old improved during the second-half against Aston Villa but the point remains the same – he is not good enough to play at the very highest level. Coufal has no pace whatsoever and is beaten far too easily on the outside nowadays. It looked like he was running through treacle when Jacob Ramsey scored Villa’s opener.
Aaron Cresswell
The 35-year-old is done at the very highest level. He doesn’t have the pace or the physicality needed to be a useful asset on the pitch for West Ham anymore. During the first-half against Aston Villa it was frightening how many times he stepped up and was easily beaten in behind by Leon Bailey.
Carlos Soler
I actually like Soler as a player, but I think he’s a bad fit for the Hammers and Potter’s system specifically. He needs to dictate the tempo of the game from the middle of the park but has been jettisoned out on the left when he has played recently. I just can’t see us signing him permanently in the summer.
Danny Ings
Ings will leave at the end of this season when his contract expires, I’m convinced of that. He has been a disastrous signing from start to finish for the Hammers, and it says a lot that he still can’t secure a start under Potter, with all of our other centre-forwards currently out injured.
Luis Guilherme
The draw with Villa was the ultimate slap in the face for the teenager. He was left on the bench by Potter, whilst four other players were brought on ahead of him. He needs a loan away from the club this month at the very least.
Andy Irving
The Scot just isn’t Premier League standard is he…it really is as simple as that. He’s a solid player but nothing more. I’m still not quite sure why West Ham signed Andy Irving and I fully expect him to leave the club in the summer, if not during the final week of the January window.
Graham Potter has to get the squad rebuild at West Ham right
David Moyes failed with an attempt at a rebuild in 2022, and Julen Lopetegui suffered the same fate two years later.
The reason for that in my mind is clear – both managers targeted so-called ‘proven’ players rather than young starlets with bundles of potential and the hunger to prove a point.
I’m sure that Potter, along with recruitment guru Kyle Macaulay, will nail down the correct philosophy and recruitment strategy.
Hopefully the Hammers will start signing players with huge ceilings BEFORE they become stars, you know, like Brighton and Brentford seem to do all the time.
West Ham have so many players who simply aren’t good enough in my opinion, and they will find that out the hard way with Graham Potter at the helm.
Big change lies ahead for West Ham over the next few transfer windows, that’s for sure.
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