Graham Potter

[stubbo]

https://www.whufc.com/news/graham-potte ... head-coach

​​​​​​In the past he's favoured a 3-4-3 formation...hard to see how we can do that currently with only 3 senior CBs, one of whom is injured. He's also played wingers (Solly March as an example) in the wing back roles.

Typically when a 3-4-3 gets announced on a match day the manager is immediately described as being too negative, too cautious etc. I guess it depends on the composition of the 4.

He's given young players chances...hopefully that continues at West Ham.

Welcome Graham.

 

[Keep dreaming]

Once orford came on . I thought we moved the ball quicker. Even the commentators picked up on it . But it's not ideal to put a youngster on  in that situation. While the teams playing so poorly. We've too many old players I'm just hoping kretinsky tripp smith and Vanessa gold see the problem and sideline the dwarf once and for all .

Ideal in the sense that its a real kick in the bollocks to the old boys cunts. If there were a manager to fix this old shithouse squad, it's Potter. Let's give him time

[Pshyco scored all 4]

Once orford came on . I thought we moved the ball quicker. Even the commentators picked up on it . But it's not ideal to put a youngster on  in that situation. While the teams playing so poorly. We've too many old players I'm just hoping kretinsky tripp smith and Vanessa gold see the problem and sideline the dwarf once and for all .

[El Scorchio]

Like goose I don’t expect much more this season. By the beginning of last September I had decided that we would finish as a team above and safe from the relegation group.

Now we have a new manager I have set my personal target for him and it might prove to be difficult for Potter to achieve. I want Potter to coach our defence to concede an average of less than two goals per game. 

He’ll need some defenders worthy of the name to accomplish that. Hopefully Todibo is back soon. Kilman AWB  and him should be solid enough as a three. We are paper thin at wing back though on both flanks. 

[,]

Like goose I don’t expect much more this season. By the beginning of last September I had decided that we would finish as a team above and safe from the relegation group.

Now we have a new manager I have set my personal target for him and it might prove to be difficult for Potter to achieve. I want Potter to coach our defence to concede an average of less than two goals per game. 

[Hello Mrs. Jones]

Fuck me Sir Alf you know your football. I didn't understand most of it but I'm sure youre right.
Potter OUT
Sir Alf IN

[Fauxstralian]

As regards the comment on Orford below
Thought he was neat in his passing as is always the case none of our players move to make an angle for someone to make a progressive pass
Our passing is pretty appalling & we flounder under any sort of pressing.
Utterly pedestrian yesterday 

[goose]

I have incredibly low expectations for the rest of the season. I don’t see us making any significant changes this January.

Potter has got time to work with the current squad and give some youth a go. Please no more Cresswell or Coufal or Guido.

[Maverick180180]

Yeah I’m not criticising him coming on 
was actually excited to see what he could do 

just think if he’s going to make it he’s gonna need some good coaching behind him or sent out on loan in order to get his confidence up when it comes to playing against men rather than boys 

[Mad Ferret]

Speaking of the youth, it’s gonna be interesting to see how Potter coaches Orford
cant say I’ve ever seen him play until yesterday but I know he’s highly rated
but he was like a deer in the headlights, played the ball sideways and backwards to the nearest player every time he had the ball
while its totally understandable that he’s a young kid making his debut and doesn’t want to do anything wrong so hes gonna play things simple, he ain’t gonna make it if he can’t get rid of the fear factor 
you can see it’s not an issue for Scarles, he gets stuck in, looks to play the ball forward if it’s on and not afraid to get the ball into the box, those are the youngsters that make it 
I’d say it’s now on Potter to get Orford in the right mind set 

I disagree, I thought he wanted the ball even with opposition players around him but our players seemed reluctant to do it. He is very similar to Lanzini in that he offers an out even when surrounded, the players just need to trust him.

Stop pretending you watched the game.

[twoleftfeet]

Speaking of the youth, it’s gonna be interesting to see how Potter coaches Orford
cant say I’ve ever seen him play until yesterday but I know he’s highly rated
but he was like a deer in the headlights, played the ball sideways and backwards to the nearest player every time he had the ball
while its totally understandable that he’s a young kid making his debut and doesn’t want to do anything wrong so hes gonna play things simple, he ain’t gonna make it if he can’t get rid of the fear factor 
you can see it’s not an issue for Scarles, he gets stuck in, looks to play the ball forward if it’s on and not afraid to get the ball into the box, those are the youngsters that make it 
I’d say it’s now on Potter to get Orford in the right mind set 

I disagree, I thought he wanted the ball even with opposition players around him but our players seemed reluctant to do it. He is very similar to Lanzini in that he offers an out even when surrounded, the players just need to trust him.

[El Scorchio]

Maverick180180

Speaking of the youth, it’s gonna be interesting to see how Potter coaches Orford
cant say I’ve ever seen him play until yesterday but I know he’s highly rated
but he was like a deer in the headlights, played the ball sideways and backwards to the nearest player every time he had the ball
while its totally understandable that he’s a young kid making his debut and doesn’t want to do anything wrong so hes gonna play things simple, he ain’t gonna make it if he can’t get rid of the fear factor 
you can see it’s not an issue for Scarles, he gets stuck in, looks to play the ball forward if it’s on and not afraid to get the ball into the box, those are the youngsters that make it 
I’d say it’s now on Potter to get Orford in the right mind set 

 

 

That was a horrible situation to come on in, to be fair to him. Can’t judge him on yesterday. A move borne out of necessity. There just wasn’t anyone else to bring on, and they had to safeguard against Alvarez getting sent off which he was probably pretty close to given how card happy the ref was for 11 of the 22 players on the pitch. 

[Billy Blagg]

Excellent summation Sir Alf. I think had he kept the lineup we had in the first half we probably could have got a draw but the fans would have been on his back. Around me all I can hear is 'Get it forward' but it's patently obvious we have no way of getting it forward as no one is available for the pass. The ball that Eze put in to set Mateta free is something we don't have. Odd how many seasons we looked at Eze at QPR but decided not to do anything. We were probably happy to pay £50m for someone though...

[Maverick180180]

Speaking of the youth, it’s gonna be interesting to see how Potter coaches Orford
cant say I’ve ever seen him play until yesterday but I know he’s highly rated
but he was like a deer in the headlights, played the ball sideways and backwards to the nearest player every time he had the ball
while its totally understandable that he’s a young kid making his debut and doesn’t want to do anything wrong so hes gonna play things simple, he ain’t gonna make it if he can’t get rid of the fear factor 
you can see it’s not an issue for Scarles, he gets stuck in, looks to play the ball forward if it’s on and not afraid to get the ball into the box, those are the youngsters that make it 
I’d say it’s now on Potter to get Orford in the right mind set 

[nychammer]

We have to give him time. The next couple of games promise nothing but heavy demoralizing defeats. Given little hope of anything with our injury problems and general under par squad we have to hope he uses this time to learn about what he has at his disposal and what we need. We DO still have to secure safety and despite being 10 clear of the bottom 3 we do have to have half an eye on the relegation battle, but I think we have done enough and the rest of this season should be used in preparation for the next. It’s back to the drawing board we go. 

[Mad Ferret]

Potter needs to realise that he’d get a lot more credit from the fans if he stuck in youth team players rather than wasters such as Cresswell and Guido.

We’re gonna lose anyway so just give the youngsters a chance.

[El Scorchio]

Fair points Maverick but I suspect Cresswell came in so he could play a back 3 with 2 advanced wing backs to match up with Palace.  He switched Kudus central as we had hoped but tactically went with a “double pivot” of Alvatez and Rodruiguez to limit space for Sarr and Eze and Mateta who like to run onto balls into the channels.  It restricted Palace first half to one clear on target effort from Mateta but completely nullified us in an attacking sense. We couldnt get the ball or break out when we did and Kudus and Paqueta were starved of service.

He got that wrong but then changed things by bringing Soler on and ditching the double pivot. That just saw us concede almost immediately. Unfortunately the high press that got Fulham to make 2 mistakes for 2 goals failed when Soler, Emerson, Alvarez and one other attempted it against Palace, they broke they and in 3 passes to Mateta a goal was scored. Potter said that Soler was feeling a tight hamstring from Tues which was why he didnt start.  

Potter had 2 problems. Conceding “boat loads” of goals and with 3 first choice forwards out, no real recognised outlet.  He tried to start by not conceding but got the balance wrong, tried to adjust it and we conceded. The sending off just killed the game.

Lets see what we do at Villa. If Scarles starts and we go to a back 4 it might help although Alvarez or the U21 rookie will have to play as a CB? Who then plays centre defensive mid.  Got to hope Summerville is back.

in summary, would not selecting Cresswell and Rodruiguez have led to a better result? No one knows. Maybe but maybe not.  I think the wider point is its tough to be too hard on Potter with such limited options. Its not like we had experience and quality on the bench.  

Missing your best forwards 4 if you include Antonio, and inheriting a one paced central midfield and centre back partnership in the absence of Todibo, is a huge millstone to be carrying.  At this early stage ( 3 games ) Im not going to conclude anything. Its what happens next that is more interesting. Will Potter double down on the defence first approach to stpp conceding the goals? Best form of defence is attack was almost impossible yesterday but with Bowen and Summerville returning, thats the time to get a better idea of Potter. He will have proper alternative options.

imho of course


 

Totally agree. The bloke has almost nothing to work with at the moment and thanks to mavropanos we now have only one available centre back for the next game. Any manager would struggle trying to put out a good functioning side from what we have at the moment (and no that doesn’t extend to the guy who just left- he had nothing like the injury crisis in an attacking sense we do at the moment) 

Theres no way he wanted to put Cresswell in as a CB or play AWB as a wing back, or leave Soler out. That’s obvious. It’s just circumstance. What he needs is some support from the board and some new players in ASAP, even on loan. 

[twoleftfeet]

Could Potter do a Van Nistelrooy and go on a long losing run after winning his first Premier League game in charge?

Villa and Chelsea away next and I'll be amazed if we get anything from either game.

Appointing a new manager with a 29% career Premier League win percentage is hardly inspiring stuff.

[Come On You Irons]

Could Potter do a Van Nistelrooy and go on a long losing run after winning his first Premier League game in charge?

Villa and Chelsea away next and I'll be amazed if we get anything from either game.

Appointing a new manager with a 29% career Premier League win percentage is hardly inspiring stuff.

[Maverick180180]

I don’t think Emerson or AWB have enough end product to play successfully as wing backs, and in doing so were bringing players that just shouldn’t be playing into the team 
I just wanna see us keeping things simple with players, playing in their correct positions 
I don’t particularly rate Ings but right now he’s the only recognised striker we have, would rather he played there so Kudus can go back to the wing 
also we’ve got to try Guilherme on the wing, nobody seems to rate him but we’ve got absolutely no pace in this team, even if he’s crap just get him to use his pace and keep things simple 
the likes of Cresswell, Rodriguez and Coufal (I know he hasn’t started him yet) should just flat out never be playing for us against premier league opposition, you’re automatically giving the other team a helping hand 

[Sir Alf]

Fair points Maverick but I suspect Cresswell came in so he could play a back 3 with 2 advanced wing backs to match up with Palace.  He switched Kudus central as we had hoped but tactically went with a “double pivot” of Alvatez and Rodruiguez to limit space for Sarr and Eze and Mateta who like to run onto balls into the channels.  It restricted Palace first half to one clear on target effort from Mateta but completely nullified us in an attacking sense. We couldnt get the ball or break out when we did and Kudus and Paqueta were starved of service.

He got that wrong but then changed things by bringing Soler on and ditching the double pivot. That just saw us concede almost immediately. Unfortunately the high press that got Fulham to make 2 mistakes for 2 goals failed when Soler, Emerson, Alvarez and one other attempted it against Palace, they broke they and in 3 passes to Mateta a goal was scored. Potter said that Soler was feeling a tight hamstring from Tues which was why he didnt start.  

Potter had 2 problems. Conceding “boat loads” of goals and with 3 first choice forwards out, no real recognised outlet.  He tried to start by not conceding but got the balance wrong, tried to adjust it and we conceded. The sending off just killed the game.

Lets see what we do at Villa. If Scarles starts and we go to a back 4 it might help although Alvarez or the U21 rookie will have to play as a CB? Who then plays centre defensive mid.  Got to hope Summerville is back.

in summary, would not selecting Cresswell and Rodruiguez have led to a better result? No one knows. Maybe but maybe not.  I think the wider point is its tough to be too hard on Potter with such limited options. Its not like we had experience and quality on the bench.  

Missing your best forwards 4 if you include Antonio, and inheriting a one paced central midfield and centre back partnership in the absence of Todibo, is a huge millstone to be carrying.  At this early stage ( 3 games ) Im not going to conclude anything. Its what happens next that is more interesting. Will Potter double down on the defence first approach to stpp conceding the goals? Best form of defence is attack was almost impossible yesterday but with Bowen and Summerville returning, thats the time to get a better idea of Potter. He will have proper alternative options.

imho of course

 

[Maverick180180]

Completely baffled by what he’s attempting to do,
in the game against Villa he selected the strongest line up he had available to him and despite the loss I could see some light at the end of the tunnel
but now in his next 2 home games he’s gone ultra defensive, we’ve had more injury troubles, but there was absolutely no need play 3 defensive midfielders or bring Cresswell back into the side, Scarles won man of the match against Villa and gets dropped 
Hopefully he realises now that Cresswell & Rodriguez should never be starting, but it continues to worry me that we keep hiring managers who can’t work out the bleeding obvious from the start 

[twoleftfeet]

I agree with that twoleftfeet,  however I belive he deserves more criticism 

He was the new broom, given a huge budget and he failed to address the deficiencies that any lay person could easily identify.

The reason we paid over the odds for Kilman (and as a result had to give him such a long contract to amortise the cost) was because Lopetegui had obviously made him central to his appointment (our resident chairman of the Lopetegui Fan Club won't have the intelligence to acknowledge this). Soler and Rodriguez aren't up to scratch, Cresswell shouldn't have been given another year, and as for the players that were forced upon him, AWB has proved to be arguably the best signing and he refused to integrate Summerville - the same Summerville who's injury though absence is now being bemoaned. Fullkrug he can have... yet I'm not sure how a man who was so principled that he walked out on Wolves on the eve of the season due to broken promises became so easily fucked over here?

 

 

I think we can all agree he was a terrible appointment, one done on the cheap by Sullivan.

His poor grasp of English always bothered me.

I’m glad he’s gone so let’s give Potter time to rebuild.

[Massive Attack]

Agree on Ashworth, bring him in and fuck Steidten off and I'd try and pair him with Mourinho, if he fancied it in the Summer. If we were to go for any former Chelsea manager, it's him who could handle our demands more. Potter isn't the answer to what we want long term. His CV at the top is poor, his Football philosophy is mainly boring and nondescript and he doesn't have a good track record in Cup competitions unless it's with a lower tier Swedish side once. Others are more than welcome to believe he's the answer based on very little evidence but I just think this will be further delay in improving things.



 

Why would anyone respect or take seriously your view on a manager at this level when you were, and continue to be, a fan of Lopetegui??

Oh its ok to talk about Lopetegui again just as long as others bring him up...

Fucking laughable. You seriously think he's some kind of mug clueless Manager don't you? Even though he regularly qualified Sevilla 3 years on the trot in the Champions League, as well as won the Europa League beating top Teams and managers, as well as being extremely successful at all Spain National levels whilst generally playing decent Football until he lost his job on the eve of a World Cup because Real Madrid, of all Teams triggered a release clause in his contract.

[Sir Alf]

I should perhaps say “many were hoping” Potter would quickly transform results and performances

[Sir Alf]

I think if we are honest, most were expecting Potter to very quickly transform our performances and results. The reality is he is a longer term builder who is going to need to start from close to “scratch” based on the squad he inherited. 

With a few fit strikers ( Fullkrug, Summerville) we saw a brief flash of improvement early on. Against Fulham we pressed well collectively a couple of times and had 3 chances and scored them all.  

Against Palace the lack of forwards and poor squad quality options ( devoid of pace and athleticism ) could not even see any flashes of hope. Hence some fans now concluding Potter is not the answer.

He may not be but personally, as with Lopetegui, I will wait at least until he has half a season. A preseason to get ideas across with 5 or so new players ideally but that assumes he can get thru the remaining half season before fan expectations become too much.

Lopetegui got to Xmas, with a preseason, with his choice of at least 3 players ( Kilman, Soler, Rodruiguez) and was unable to get any identity, solidity or coherent style of play and mediocre tp poor results. Nothing seem to improve.

Potter after 3 games? One 20-25 min spell at Villa and a couple of successful pressing moments against Fulham but with 4 first choice players and 3 of them forwards.  Imo far too early to be reaching conclusions