Graham Potter Sacked As West Ham United Struggles Continue | OneFootball

When Graham Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui in January as manager at West Ham United, he was tasked with turning an inconsistent side into something more stable. However, five games into the new Premier League campaign, the Hammers are already floundering, and Potter has paid the ultimate price.

West Ham sit second bottom of the table with just three points on the board and a goal difference of minus eight. Frustration around the London Stadium was growing louder, speculation around Potter’s future was impossible to ignore, and he was sacked on Saturday morning.

Defeat to Crystal Palace at home in their last Premier League fixture was the moment many fans felt the tide had turned. The boos that rang out at full-time were laced with anger, and Potter’s decision to substitute Mateus Fernandes late on sparked chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing.” That sense of disconnect between manager and supporters has only deepened in recent weeks.

Jamie Carragher didn’t hold back when assessing Potter’s position on the latest instalment of The Overlap.

“It’s not early [to sack him] because Graham Potter [has struggled] his whole time there, since he came in. I think most people were probably thinking he could lose his job on the back of Crystal Palace at home,” he said.

“The next two games are away, at Everton and Arsenal. Two tough games. And then the international break. I would be very surprised if Graham Potter is the manager after the next few games.”

It is safe to say that the comments from Carragher, who is a FUT Hero on FC 26 (check FC 26 Server Status), reflected the broader mood. West Ham’s defensive issues are glaring. They’ve been undone by crosses, set-pieces and lapses in concentration with their 5–1 thrashing by Chelsea, in particular, highlighting just how fragile they look at the back. Potter was far from the biggest problem at West Ham, but his tactical tinkering didn’t help. His experiments with back-five systems have left wide gaps, and his rotation choices have baffled fans. There was no clear identity, and supporters struggled to see signs of improvement.

Behind the scenes, West Ham had been reportedly weighing up their options for some time. Nuno Espírito Santo — recently dismissed by Nottingham Forest despite taking the club to Europa League qualification – has been linked, and is the most likely to take over following Potter’s sacking.

The October international break looked like the natural window to make a change, giving a new manager time to work with the squad before a slightly kinder run of fixtures, but the West Ham board decided to make the decision sooner.

It would be harsh to pin all of West Ham’s struggles solely on Potter. Recruitment has been patchy, and injuries have disrupted plans. But in football, managers live and die by results, and with just six wins during his time at the club, Potter didn’t have them.

The atmosphere had become toxic, the pressure intense, and Carragher’s prediction that the international break could mark the end of his time in east London turned out to be wrong only in so much as the decision to sack Potter came much sooner.