Disgruntlement Leads To Another Managerial Change

On May 6 2024, it was confirmed that after much speculation about his future and consultation with fan groups, it was decided that West Ham United would bring to an end then manager David Moyes’ second spell in charge of the club.

The Scotsman brought three successive seasons of European football to the club and during that time, they won the UEFA Europa Conference League. However, most supporters were somehow bemused with his style and wanted to see their club head in a new direction but little did they know that the removal of Moyes for a second time would bring such a reverse in the club’s fortunes.

Just over a month later, it was confirmed that Julen Lopetegui would take over the Hammers’ hotseat. There was an air of excitement around the stadium before the opening game of the 2024/25 season against Aston Villa but the team’s form got worse and worse under the Spaniard and they were continually on the end of heavy defeats.

It was those same fans who were calling for another change and Lopetegui would himself be shown the exit door, so in came Graham Potter, who after being dismissed by Chelsea in April 2023 was out to prove a point to his former employers and rebuild his reputation. Today however, he and his staff have left the club after an eight-month stint.

The fans were all for this “new dawn” in 2024 when Lopetegui took over the reins but both he, together with then Technical Director Tim Steidten, had spent a significant amount of money on what has to be said were distinctly average players with only a few exceptions!!!

A strange coincidence meant that Potter’s first game in charge was against the same opponents as Lopetegui’s -a third-round Emirates FA Cup tie against Aston Villa with the only change being that it was at Villa Park, rather than in front of the home faithful.

You couldn’t blame the new man at the helm, given that he only had just over a day to prepare. Despite grabbing an early advantage in the match, a second-half comeback saw the hosts progress and to make matters worse for the former Swansea City and Chelsea Head-Coach, he lost two of his players Niclas Füllkrug and Crysencio Summerville to injury.

After being dumped out of the FA Cup, four days later, it was time to see if Potter could deliver the “new manager bounce” and bring West Ham’s first win since a 2-0 success at Newcastle United on 25 October. Well, let me tell you, it was a vastly improved performance to anything that Lopetegui produced, as they beat Fulham 3-2 in a London derby.

The question fans would have been asking themselves at that time was would that result be a sign of things to come. The answer sadly was no, as he only delivered another four more victories in what was ultimately a disappointing campaign. Having said that though, two of those triumphs came on the road at both Arsenal and Manchester United!!!

Money was still tight going into the summer however but, unlike the previous year, a more measured approach was taken to allow the boss to assess his current squad and identify players that he would like to bring in.

By the time the window closed on September 1, eight new recruits had arrived.

The club had been given an extremely hard start to the new campaign by the Premier League. The first six games included an opening day trip to newly-promoted Sunderland, as well as home encounters against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. The list also contained meetings with sides that have shown major improvement in recent years and are on the rise in the shape of Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.

West Ham’s only win this season to date came at The City Ground on August 31. I’m not taking anything away from the team’s performance on the day but you have to wonder whether the internal politics that surrounded the East Midlands outfit at the time had an effect on the players.

Going into September, it was hoped that the win over the Tricky Trees would provide a foundation for matters to improve but unfortunately, they didn’t. Defeats in the latest two home games have now seen an end to Potter’s time in charge, meaning the hierarchy are set to appoint their third Head-Coach in sixteen months.

Since leaving Upton Park in May 2016, there has been continued unrest with the way the club is being run by David Sullivan and Karren Brady and in recent times, West Ham’s hierarchy have paid the price for letting the supporters affect their thinking because had they not jumped to the quick decision of letting Moyes go, they might not have had to make all these changes.

In my opinion, the club should have stuck with Potter so that he could try and turn things around but in defence of the co-owners, they do travel to the majority of the teams’ games so they have had a pretty good idea of what has been going on.

After the defeat to Oliver Glasner’s Eagles last weekend, questions were immediately raised over whether Potter would remain in the role and it was claimed this week that senior figures were “undecided” as to where to go next.

They let him take training as well as conduct his media duties ahead of Monday’s game against Moyes and his new look Everton side.

This decision had shades of when Everton faced a third-round FA Cup tie at home to Sky Bet League One outfit Peterborough United when then Head-Coach Sean Dyche faced the media but didn’t take charge of the game, as he was dismissed on the morning of the encounter.

Potter had a good record when coming up against Moyes and had he become the first man to take three points from The Hill Dickinson Stadium then, he may have been given the chance to help the club to yet another success over Arsenal at The Emirates Stadium just five days later.

News of the managerial change will appear here soon.