Familiar failings leave West Ham going backwards as tension rises | OneFootball

Graham Potter under mounting pressure as fans prepare to protest

West Ham are no strangers to starting the season slowly.

The 3-0 loss to Spurs made it seven home league games in a row without a win for West Ham, dating back to February.

West Ham issued a statement on Wednesday in response to the vote of no confidence, in which they sought to “reassure” fans while acknowledging that results and performances over the past two seasons had not been good enough.

Despite this, protests ahead of home games against Crystal Palace on Saturday and Brentford next month are expected to gather pace, with fans calling for David Sullivan and Karren Brady to step down, while Potter pleads for unity.

West Ham owner David Sullivan at the Tottenham game last weekend

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The head coach, who said during his pre-match press conference on Thursday that everyone at West Ham was on the same page in response to the club’s statement, is under growing pressure after a dismal start to the season in which his side have lost three of the first four games, conceding a league-high 11 goals - eight of which came against London rivals - but he still has some sympathy among supporters.

Potter, who has lost 13 of his 24 games in charge since arriving in January, has not been helped by the club’s inconsistent recruitment.

West Ham made four signings in the last four days of the window, with El Hadji Malick Diouf and Kyle Walker-Peters the only arrivals to benefit from a full pre-season. Too much of West Ham’s business came late, and it’s worrying it took until the final days of the window to address the club’s glaring midfield issue.

Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa will add energy and creativity in the centre of the park, while Crysencio Summerville’s return to fitness is a major boost. Such optimism, however, is set against the backdrop of a season that is threatening to unravel.

Potter is trying to piece together his project as the tension rises and, while defiant, he has shown signs of his patience wearing thin.

That agitation can also be found in his squad, with Jarrod Bown letting his emotions get the better of him and confronting a fan after the Carabao Cup defeat to Wolves.

Graham Potter’s West Ham face Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Saturday, when protests are planned aganst David Sullivan and Karren Brady

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Bowen and Potter care deeply about improving the club’s fortunes, and the pair were at the heart of the impassioned smash-and-grab victory away to Nottingham Forest.

However, the malaise that has hung over the club for some time is hard to ignore and just as difficult to counteract.

Since Potter’s appointment, West Ham have the worst Premier League record of any team outside of those who have been promoted and relegated.

They are short of quality across the pitch, with Potter unable to rely on new goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, who has struggled to assert himself on crosses, while having to pick between two ageing and injury-prone forwards in Niclas Fullkrug and Callum Wilson.

The most glaring concern for West Ham is that they are repeating the same mistakes. Against Tottenham, their frailties from corners were exposed again - they have let in six goals from corners already this season - with Pape Matar Sarr nodding in unmarked at the back post, while Cristian Romero was unlucky to see his first-half header ruled out by VAR. Lucas Bergvall also got on the scoresheet with a header, and no team has conceded more headed goals than West Ham’s five this season.

West Ham do not tend to make knee-jerk reactions. Potter’s predecessor, Julen Lopetegui, was given until January to turn things around.

Results, though, need to change and quickly, with the club dropping into the relegation zone and little to suggest a change of fortunes is around the corner.