JWP: We need to talk about his seriously poor contribution to the team

[camel-with-3-humps]

It's too easy to say 'He's Shit'. 

He played decent football once, but recent performances are woeful. 

- What is going on with his game - confidence, age, league getting faster? 

- Why does he keep getting picked? What is he MEAN"T to do in midfield? 

- Does he have a future here at all under a new manager? 

Please help me understand what is going on here. 

[Mad Dog]

He did really well in first 6 months then his form
fell off a cliff when moyes used him as a cdm.  But that was a few yeara ago and now pace has gone from slow to non existant

[Fauxstralian]

Beckham apart from his crossing, free kicks & long range passing was up and down the wing all day 
JWP is just a midfield training cone most of the time 
Would also agree that like many he isn’t helped by Potters team selection & structure 
At a bare minimum you can’t have two plodders like him and Soucek on the pitch at the same time 
We are constantly run off & bypassed which doesn’t help our defenders
Who need all the help going

[southbankbornnbred]

He seems like a half-decent fella, so I've nothing against him personally. But he hasn't been a good, or even decent, player for several seasons now.

As everybody has pointed out, he is too slow and wants too many touches in increasingly fast and athletic premier league midfields. More than that, the last few managers he has had seem to have coached any positive intent out of the guy. His first pass is regularly sideways and often backwards. He is now painfully and instinctively negative and rarely looks to pass forward as his first option.

Potter, with his (deeply flawed) "safety first" approach of eight men behind the ball (until recently five at the back, keeper, and two deep-lying midfielders) does not help him - because too often the only pass JWP has on is sideways or backwards. Under Potter's PissBall, the spare man or passing outlet is often behind any midfield player. So we just go backwards slowly, but often with the ball. Momentum and intent are crushed.

Genuine question: when was the last time you saw him receive the ball, one touch, and then play a killer pass through an opposition midfield or defence? I can't recall it, and it's because his instinct is now not to look for it. That's either poot coaching, poor tactics or a lack of confidence in your ability.

I think he's a busted flush at the highest level. And I think he knows it, so his confidence is shot. Hence, he hasn't even scored a free-kick for us yet - when he was, genuinely, a very fine dead-ball merchant years ago. And it's not just his free-kicks that are spent. His corner taking is abysmal, too often just hung up in the wind, floating to general areas of the opponent's box. I rarely, if ever, see him whip the ball into real danger zones at head height - so that our bigger defenders and forwards can attack it.

He's shot. He looks like a Rangers player of the future. Or back down to the Championship. Which is a shame, because he had something a few years ago.

[nychammer]

I agree, he's the biggest passenger in the eleven. That he seems to be Potter's Pet makes it even more alarming going forward, as he's no doubt the first name on the team sheet

he's like a poor man's Beckham. Beckham wasn't pacey but he had the ability to make almost every free kick and corner count and his long range passing ability was among the best in the league. if you're bought in for those qualities and cant deliver you are indeed a passenger

[Takashi Miike]

I agree, he's the biggest passenger in the eleven. That he seems to be Potter's Pet makes it even more alarming going forward, as he's no doubt the first name on the team sheet

[North Bank]

Can't blame JWP, look towards the clown that picks him 

[honky cat]

I imagine he is a good character, trains hard.

​​​​​​I think the question is who he, soucek and the likes of Rodriguez and Irving are keeping out of the team?  I think the answer is players we don't have and should have gone out and bought for the past two or three seasons. Maybe magassa and fernandes will step up but they came in far too late.

[Fauxstralian]

Yes, he scored from a corner at Wolves but hasn’t scored from a free kick for us
I can’t even recall one being close 

[nychammer]

if we take players that weren't nailed on first team at southampton then we'll become southampton. No way JWP should be starting.

I heard (cant recall where) that loaning him out last season went down badly in the dressing room as he's popular with the other players, but that's no excuse to play him over a young hungry prospect like Potts.

[Pub Bigot]

The positives, he’s hardworking and has leadership qualities within the squad. An honest pro. 

Negatives: He’s slow, unambitious, and doesn’t have the physical capabilities to keep up with the current game. 

He’s a Championship player. 

[chim chim cha boo]

JWP getting picked as a first 11 player is probably the single biggest reason I have lost my faith in Potter.

Now that I hate his non contribution so much I tend to watch him more closely than is strictly healthy but he typifies that certain English player who has always played since he was a little kid, is miles too comfortable, knows how to pal it up with who he has to and is more interested in playing golf and not getting injured. 

It doesn't help that whenever I am unfortunate enough to watch us away on TV when we get a free kick commentators STILL call him the master of the dead ball, despite me not ever remembering him scoring from one in what must be 3 seasons? I seem to remember a corner on a really windy day flying into the back of the net and him being really vague after the match whether he meant it or not.

His whole game seems to consist of running into a bit of space, asking for the ball, getting it and playing it two yards sideways. Then he has a little sprint which I am starting to think he does to get his opta stats up and repeat.

In defence, as we clearly saw yesterday he's nothing more than a rolling bollard. I could probably count the amount of tackles he's put in on both hands. Running back to the centre circle after picking the ball from the back of our net you can almost see him thinking 'well that was a bit disappointing. I'll have to bring that up on Monday at the team meeting'.

I haven't even mentioned his lack of pace, inability to pick a positive pass or his body positioning. We should now come to expect that with JWP AND Tom (who adds a lot more to us but is another midfielder lacking pace) and I have come to expect ANY workman-like oppo being able to get at least 3 goals, barring the odd fluke result for us which it FEELS like is about 1 in 20 games.

Like I say, picking JWP and putting him in the starting 11 is fucking myopic on the part of 'judge me next season after I have a couple of new players and a preseason behind me' and his little pals have to go.

[Fauxstralian]

Not talented enough to get away with his lack of pace & movement 
Renowned for his free kicks so in true West Ham style he hasn’t come close to scoring one

I could see Soucek as an occasional late sub when looking for a goal
JWP could maybe have a role collecting plates in the training ground canteen

[Sir Alf]

The League has got faster for sure. People may not remember but JWP had periods where he could only make the bench at Southampton even in his prime.  

He is physically too small allied to being too slow and passive to compete in the Prem Lge.  He is what 30/31? And getting slower. He cannot carry the ball, but plays a simple pass albeit rarely if ever forward. He had the set piece skills and ability to create from set pieces and crosses etc to compensate but they have dried up now.  

It is baffling that Potter picks him every time to start. Almost favouritism, subjective assessment from Potter? Why because of JWPs reputation? JWP is perhaps a “really nice bloke”, goes along with everything Potter says, fully committed to doing what Potter wants tactically or the fact that JWP was once an England player and so he picks him on past reputation or looks at his work rate? He does work hard, running etc just like Soucek but like me, if I played in my 60s, it would be totally ineffective.  And I have noticed in many games opposition players just running by him , him losing most if not every 50:50 or second ball. 

Its a mystery. To a lesser extent Soucek’s selection is baffling but he does score the odd goal and contribute defensively in the air as he did yesterday even. But he also should no longer be first choice starter unless we revert back to a low block, low possession game.   

JWP and to a less extent Soucek and Guido will be the “crosses” on which Potter will die. Its not the only issue but the biggest one.  A GK that is not fit for purpose, 4 CBs, one a £40 million worth that also never gets dropped, just because he cost £40 million? No minutes for Potts who was better than JWP and Soucek in pre season. Minimal minutes for the Scottish Iniesta despite looking no worse if not better than JWP and Guido and Soucek.  

It beggars belief.  Every fan or regular watcher of West Ham can see the issues expect thr highly paid manager and his team.  

 

[Eerie Decent]

For a player to have his physique and his lack of pace, you need to have something truly exceptional to your game to be a Premier League starter. He was at one time the best set piece taker in the league, and if he was wrapping in 25 yard free kicks every 5-10 games and causing havoc at corners, you could half suffer the fact he does fuck all, and I mean fuck all, else.

At the moment, he is just a body on the pitch. According to the two virgins who do the Youtube analysis who everyone on here take as gospel, their expert opinion is that he is excellent off the ball tactically, or something like that. I mean, fucking hell.

The only bonus from yesterday was we don't have to see Soucek for a few games. But one thing you can absolutely guarantee is we'll see JWP meandering his way through 90 minutes.

[Far Cough UKunt]

His golf swing is pretty good though.

[Maverick180180]

The worst player I’ve ever seen at West Ham to get a consistent run in the side, and I’m not exaggerating, the only worse players I’ve seen than him were just squad players 
awful at everything 
good at nothing 

Kovac was another 

Funny you should say that 
he’s the player that reminds me of him the most 

[violator]

The worst player I’ve ever seen at West Ham to get a consistent run in the side, and I’m not exaggerating, the only worse players I’ve seen than him were just squad players 
awful at everything 
good at nothing 

Kovac was another 

[Maverick180180]

The worst player I’ve ever seen at West Ham to get a consistent run in the side, and I’m not exaggerating, the only worse players I’ve seen than him were just squad players 
awful at everything 
good at nothing 

[Central Park Man]

I still think he has a lot to offer.

[the coming of gary]

Not really that old ;

Younger than Fullkrug, Wilson, Rodriguez

Only two years older than Bowen, Paqueta, Kilman
.