West Ham can defend and attack but not at the same time. They are paying the price for the errors made in the transfer market by their former technical director Tim Steidten. They have an ageing, unbalanced squad and it is not going to be easy for Kyle Macaulay, who has been in charge of recruitment since Steidten’s departure two months ago, to fix everything this summer.
Patience is required. Money has been wasted on players with no resale value, leaving the club in an awkward spot. Finances are tight and a spending spree is unlikely. West Ham, who deserve a kicking for their failure to build on three consecutive seasons in Europe under David Moyes, could be waiting a while before they are able to push for a top-six finish again.
The success of the Moyes era has faded. West Ham were right to part company with the Scot last summer but the succession plan was a disaster. Julen Lopetegui was the wrong choice as manager and the positive PR around Steidten was never matched by the German’s output. Dysfunction, though, is nothing new to the majority shareholder, David Sullivan. A familiar criticism is that his desire to succeed is often compromised by his taking advice from the wrong people.
This is what Graham Potter walked into when he replaced Lopetegui in January. Relegation has never seemed a realistic possibility, which is mainly down to the three promoted sides being out of their depth, but the season has still been a write-off. Memorable performances have been few and far between, the mood in the stands has drifted into apathy and it has been difficult for Potter to do much more than paper over the cracks.
The former Chelsea manager’s functional football is born of necessity. Potter has had to start from the back, devoting attention to tightening a defence that leaked goals for fun under Lopetegui, while accepting that greater pragmatism has come at the cost of attacking flair. West Ham, who have scored 12 goals and conceded 14 in Potter’s 12 games, have had to be dull. They are not designed to be dynamic. They are a slow team, particularly in central midfield, and are incapable of multitasking. They are vulnerable to pace if they open up and lack the speed to play on the counterattack when they opt for more solidity.
Such poor planning explains why it is unfair to say that Potter has made little impact despite winning only three games. If doubts exist over whether his steady approach is suited to a club as excitable as West Ham then analysis of his work must be placed in context. It is worth paying attention when Potter says he is using the final weeks of the campaign to work out which players will be part of his long-term plans (short answer: not many).
Planning is under way for next season. Yet the caution from inside West Ham, who are 16th before visiting Liverpool on Sunday, is that the summer budget will not be huge. Complying with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations is a big consideration. West Ham do not have many ways of raising funds through sales – Mohammed Kudus, whose form has nosedived, is the only player they could be sure of getting a big fee for this summer – and they are looking for affordable, creative and long-term solutions. Evan Ferguson, the on-loan Brighton striker, will not be joining on a permanent deal.
Potter needs a striker, better centre-backs and at least two midfielders. West Ham cannot dominate games with flowing football. There is no combination in midfield that works as an all-round package. West Ham started Saturday’s draw with Bournemouth with a stodgy trio of Edson Álvarez, Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse. The improvement came when Álvarez and Soucek were replaced by attacking players; the drawback was that West Ham then had to defend a 2-1 lead with a midfield of Carlos Soler, Lucas Paquetá and Ward-Prowse.
after newsletter promotion
It is why Potter has often sought stability by using a back three. This is a transition. West Ham conceded 20 goals in Lopetegui’s final eight games. Potter had to stop the humiliations and Opta’s numbers show a defensive improvement. West Ham have gone from allowing opponents 16.6 shots a game under Lopetegui to 14.1 under Potter. Those opportunities also seem to be taking place from less dangerous positions, given that expected goals against have dipped from 1.8 a game to 1.3.
Admittedly there has been a decline at the other end. West Ham have had 9.4 shots a game under Potter, as opposed to 14.6 under Lopetegui, and their xG has fallen. Then again, Potter has not had a settled attack. Niclas Füllkrug is back from a hamstring injury but Crysencio Summerville and Michail Antonio are long-term absentees.
It is a nuanced situation. Lopetegui was most mistaken in his muddled attempt to be expansive with a squad geared towards Moyes’s counterpunching approach. The Spaniard tried to change too much too soon. Potter is moving more cautiously.
