West Ham boss Graham Potter has explained why he left out Niclas Fullkrug and Lucas Paqueta at Man United – and it doesn’t bode well at all for the future.
Julen Lopetegui picked some bizarre West Ham starting line-ups during his short-lived tenure.
But Graham Potter trumped him with the bizarre Hammers starting XI he selected for the game at Manchester United.
Man United have been almost as bad as West Ham this season with most teams going at the Old Trafford outfit given their frailties.
Most expected Potter to name an unchanged line-up for Man United.
Especially after the Hammers boss insisted he was happy with what he saw from his side in the draw with a much-changed Spurs last weekend.
That was in stark contrast to how most West Ham supporters felt.
The jury is very much out on Potter at West Ham after just four wins in 17 games.
Potter explains why he left out Fullkrug and Paqueta
Goals have been a major issue for Potter at all his clubs and it’s been no different in east London.
When the Hammers teamsheet came out for Man United, Potter had made three changes.
Fullkrug, Lucas Paqueta and Emerson came out of the team to make way for Vladimir Coufal, James Ward-Prowse and Guido Rodriguez.
One look at social media made it perfectly clear how the Hammers faithful felt about the team.
Especially as the trio were all named on the bench, suggesting it was a tactical call and not injury or illness related.
Most were furious at seeing Fullkrug on the bench given the goalscoring issues.
Supporters assumed Paqueta was left out due to his emotional meltdown in the Tottenham game.
Fans were left scratching their heads at the team. Not least because the feeling was half of them won’t be at the club next season.
But for all the fan fury West Ham actually produced a decent performance to beat Man United 2-0 – albeit against a much-changed Man United side with more than one eye on that Europa League final against Spurs in 10 days.
The Hammers led 1-0 at half-time through Tomas Soucek’s goal – courtesy of a Mohammed Kudus assist.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – once again excellent against his old club – then assisted Jarrod Bowen to make it 2-0 in the second half.
West Ham rode their luck somewhat after getting two goals ahead.
But there would be no pathetic collapse as has been the case too many times this season.
Potter explanation doesn’t bode well for Fullkrug
The travelling Hammers support let Potter know how they felt about Fullkrug being benched.
They repeatedly chanted about their big German and told Potter “He says what he wants” with a few expletives thrown in for good measure.
There were also chants of support for Brazilian magnifico Paqueta, who remained an unused sub.
Fans have been wondering the reasons behind the big decisions from the manager.
Well they need wonder no more.
Because West Ham boss Potter has explained why he left out Fullkrug and Paqueta and it doesn’t bode well at all.
Fullkrug has made it clear several times this season he did not come to West Ham to be a substitute.
Potter says he prefers Fullkrug impact from bench
In fact the Germany starter said just that after being named on the bench by Lopetegui in the first game of the campaign.
Fullkrug has been a rare highlight for the Irons since his return from a second lengthy injury lay-off.
Fans were hoping he could now cement himself as the club’s target man to build around.
But Potter has confirmed he left Fullkrug out for tactical reasons.
While his tactics were clearly justified by the victory, if that is the manager’s approach to using Fullkrug for a meaningless game away from home against one of the worst Man United teams ever, then it suggests his future as a starter looks bleak.
Especially as Potter says he prefers Fullkrug’s impact as a sub.
With regards Paqueta, Potter said he has had a ‘huge week off the pitch’ with a nod to the resumption of his spot-fixing trial. But revealed he has also been suffering with a cold virus.
“Niclas had a huge impact for us off the bench (in previous games),” Potter told Sky Sports.
“We felt we needed an extra midfield player today, tactically. So we can use (Fullkrug) in that regard (as a sub).
“Lucas has had a huge week off the pitch, little bit under the weather for a cold so we felt it was better for him to help us at the back end as well. Two really good subs.”
While it may not bode well for Fullkrug’s hopes of being a starter under Potter, that is now two impressive away wins at Arsenal and Man United under the new manager.
So perhaps supporters need to simply trust the process and see what next season brings.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
