Potter's time at the Club | Supposed Exposé

[stubbo-admin]

This is doing the rounds and was posted by some guy that liked Potter on KUMB.  No idea the veracity, and a bit of a dry read, but is at least a little revealing.
----------------------------

This is going around some of the forums and WhatsApp groups today (KUMB etc). No source, but apparently comes from the Brady camp as opposed to Sullivan side.Make of it what you will, but it would explain some things.

---

Finally received some behind-the-scenes insight about my dawg Potters spell at the club during a long-awaited Skype call yesterday.

Not from himself mind you (I'd imagine The Graham may be slightly afraid of me), but from someone who knows a member of his staff really well and who have heard plenty - if not all - while meeting old friends during the Christmas holidays.Fascinating stuff. I'm going to be a bit vague here in terms of naming some names... for reasons.

There are people in the boardroom who feel that paying 90-100% of revenue in staff & player wages isn't sustainable. He/she/they were not pleased with appointing Julen Lopetegui, who had departed Wolverhampton due to a lack of investment.

Promising the manager a different story at West Ham made aforementioned board people unhappy as they felt that the investment opportunity from the Rice sale in 2023 should have been invested in facilities, academy and diversified assets (a.k.a. signing multiple young players rather than Kilman, Fullkrug etc).

However, other people in the West Ham boardroom have no long-term interest in the club and they care more about the immediate operational stability and that investing in ready-made players would "make sure" West Ham were able to reach European football (and the money that comes with it) every or nearly every year.

When it was clear Lopetegui would not bring West Ham to Europe, there was what you could call a change of majority opinion in the boardroom.

The new majority wanted Graham Potter due to his track record of performing with very limited funds and developing young players into highly valued assets in his previous clubs.Potter was told that he would oversee a process where West Ham cut 30% of player/staff wages to be finalised by the summer of 2026 and that results would not be the primary importance, everything apart from relegation would be acceptable.

A core part of this plan was to get rid of older players benefitting from the unsustainable wage structure and replace them with youngers players with lower demands and who could be resold in the future.Potter was also warned that the job would not be easy and that there were people strongly opposed to the concept as well as his appointment.

He was not to speak about the details of the process publicly, and that it would be benefical if he could appease to the opposed people through publicly displaying the attitude that West Ham is a "big club" rather than a "development club".

The parts above is what Graham Potter was told before getting the job. Below is what happened later...

The spring was a rocky road with some people in the club hierachy refusing to communicate with Potter and his staff. Especially one very central figure at West Ham, with limited interest in the mid- to long-term future of he club, was strongly opposed to all of these ideas and the appointment of a "process manager".

This central figure spoke with Potter no more than three times during his spell at the club.

In the summer, Potter was told that - as part of the wage restructuring - no one comes unless no one leaves. He was told he had a "zero budget", £0 to spend on wages and £0 to spend on transfers but that a percentage of every sale would be available in the war chest.

Potter was both annoyed and confused to hear this. "My job title says 'head coach', I'm here to coach and develop the players. My job is to work with people, not money."

He also said that he had already told the recruitment staff what kind of players he wanted and the positions where he felt he could need new players.This was not appreciated and a mutual feeling started to grow that this would not work out since there was no coherence from the upper hierachy.

The issues in different boardroom views that Potter had been told about were larger than expected.In terms of recruitment, Potter mainly had one wish and that was to make sure leaders in the dressing room were replaced by other experienced leading players, preferably British.

He was pleased with KWP and Wilson joining, two hard-working players who would be appreciated in any group. However, the former is very quiet and the latter someone who has decided he wants to be leader - not a natural.Regarding leadership in the dressing room, the initial plan was to ask Bowen if he wanted to step aside as captain to make sure he could focus on what he does best - scoring goals.

They had conversations and Bowen didn't mind the solution.However, as no vocal leader was brought in, Potter felt there was no real option. Other candidates like Kilman, Ward-Prowse, Wan-Bissaka, Walker-Peters and Wilson are ALL in the category "lead by example" rather than "lead with your voice". Just like Bowen. So instead of causing headlines with a swap that wouldn't matter, Bowen kept the armband.

Others like Areola and Soucek were considered but Potter had been told that these were likely to be sold.

At the end of the transfer window, very little had worked out as anyone wanted, with key signings coming in way too late, and a lot of glaring holes left in the squad. At this point, which was after the 3-0 loss to Sunderland, Graham Potter told the squad that they were in for a season long relegation battle and that were would be very difficult times, but that if they worked hard and developed together, they would make it in the end.

Somehow this manager-player meeting was reported to the boardroom, leading to a central West Ham figure confronting Potter and demanding that Potter gathered the players to tell them that West Ham is a big club and that losing a game is never acceptable.

Potter felt that this would cause too much pressure and blatantly refused. "Tell them yourself".

At this point Potter knew he was going to be sacked but still felt he "had the responsibility to help the group of players and a professional dignity and thus kept working as if he didn't know". Potter still had people protecting him in the boardroom, but was told that unless they started to win a lot, there would be people finding ways to create extra pressure and ridicule around him and that they were eventually going to have to "react to that".

[eusebiovic]

Estimated fortune 

Daniel Kretinsky 11 Billion Pounds 
David Sullivan 1.1 Billion Pounds 

If the London Stadium is sold on the cheap at some point I think it's apparent who they would rather negotiate with.

[Massive Attack]

What a bizarre reason to sack a West Ham Manager for possibly not qualifying for Europe only 20 League games in, especially in their 1st season in charge at a new Club. Even more so when the Brief was also to completely change the playing style. I didn't know we changed our name that summer to Real Hamadrid all of a sudden.. 

Still, that all worked out well in the end didn't it Sullivan and Brady, you pair of delusional thick as fucking pigshit bastards who couldn't organise a Fuck Fest sponsored by Ann Summers. 
 

[southbankbornnbred]

On those incoming SCR rules, btw, it’s going to further widen the gap between the haves and have nots in the Premier League.

The likes of Newcastle, Man Utd, Chelsea etc will build huge stadiums - alongside lots of new retail, housing, hotels and casinos etc. and they’ll be able to push all revenues from those outlets (annual housing rents etc) into the football club as “football revenue”.

You couldn’t do that under PSR. But capital spending is not tightly controlled under the incoming SCR - providing you can cover your debts etc.

So, watch Man Utd, Newcastle etc build “football cities” resembling Madrid’s new stadium/retail area. Somebody will hit £1bn in annual revenues soon.

We’ll be in the Championship!

Meanwhile Brady will organise a car boot sale in the stadium concourse, other clubs will look on with absolute envy.

Ag ag ag! Those pigeon shit-stained half-and-half scarves in her garage won’t sell themselves, Cough!

[southbankbornnbred]

Seeing Kretinsky made his fortune from Hovering Up distressed assets. I would hope. He is biding his time?

Possibly. He’s known as a very shrewd investor. I don’t know him from Adam, but a journo friend of mine has interviewed him a few times and says he’s a quietly determined fella who “gets things right, rather than first”.

[Sir Alf]

Comfirms what pretty much of all of us on WHO thought. There is no long term plan. The reduction of operating costs ( wages via old has beens) recognising the need to switch to becoming a “development club” with ulyoung players and selling some at a huge profit is the best way to compete. But was there a proper detailed plan or strategy for that from Kretinsky, Golds etc.   Nonetheless it makes sense but Sullivan, as expected, undermines it all to keep control, buy experience and show he is a “big shot” running a “big club”. Pretentitious, little man’s narcissism has backfired spectacularly. 

[Far Cough UKunt]

On those incoming SCR rules, btw, it’s going to further widen the gap between the haves and have nots in the Premier League.

The likes of Newcastle, Man Utd, Chelsea etc will build huge stadiums - alongside lots of new retail, housing, hotels and casinos etc. and they’ll be able to push all revenues from those outlets (annual housing rents etc) into the football club as “football revenue”.

You couldn’t do that under PSR. But capital spending is not tightly controlled under the incoming SCR - providing you can cover your debts etc.

So, watch Man Utd, Newcastle etc build “football cities” resembling Madrid’s new stadium/retail area. Somebody will hit £1bn in annual revenues soon.

We’ll be in the Championship!

Meanwhile Brady will organise a car boot sale in the stadium concourse, other clubs will look on with absolute envy.

[RBshorty]

Seeing Kretinsky made his fortune from Hovering Up distressed assets. I would hope. He is biding his time?

[southbankbornnbred]

On those incoming SCR rules, btw, it’s going to further widen the gap between the haves and have nots in the Premier League.

The likes of Newcastle, Man Utd, Chelsea etc will build huge stadiums - alongside lots of new retail, housing, hotels and casinos etc. and they’ll be able to push all revenues from those outlets (annual housing rents etc) into the football club as “football revenue”.

You couldn’t do that under PSR. But capital spending is not tightly controlled under the incoming SCR - providing you can cover your debts etc.

So, watch Man Utd, Newcastle etc build “football cities” resembling Madrid’s new stadium/retail area. Somebody will hit £1bn in annual revenues soon.

We’ll be in the Championship!

[southbankbornnbred]

Scorch - yeah, I'm a bit confused about Kretinsky's longer-term plan. Maybe he doesn't want to be the owner and always intended to make a quick buck? Or maybe he wants to be the owner but, having bought Royal Mail for a huge sum, his assets are not especially liquid right now? Can't tell. He keeps his cards close to his chest - which is a good business strategy, but doesn't tell fans much.

On the point about the club needing to move away from 90% of revenues on wages/transfers etc - we HAVE to do this from next season anyway.

From the 2026/2027 season, the Premier League's PSR rules will be replaced by Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) and some other in-year financial health checks. In short, it means that the key financial requirement will be to keep your spending on player/football staff (including agent fees) spending at or below 85% of your club's revenues every year. Anybody who breaches that regularly will be docked points etc (you'll get away with one or two breaches, but not more).

It differs from PSR because that was a three-year cycle over which you could only incur losses of £105m across the period.

BUT the good thing about the SCR rules is that you can now invest as much as you like on your stadium, training facilities and other assets - providing you can service the costs. This will be hugely beneficial to Newcastle (with their mega-wealthy owners) and Man Utd (ditto). But, in theory, it also means that we could modify the stadium at our cost (if agreed by the owners) or we could make an offer to buy the London Stadium, blow the fucker up, and build a purpose-built football stadium. If we could afford to service the debt/loans.

[Council Scum]

• Squad leadership issue: Potter wanted experienced (ideally British) leaders; some arrivals were liked but not seen as vocal leaders. Bowen stayed captain largely because no clear vocal alternative arrived.

 

I always feel the importance of this "(ideally British)" is downplayed for number of reasons. It's obviously less important when it comes to winning the league, but for a struggling team it becomes a lot more important. The foreign players are much less likely to care and the fans in turn sense that and don't get behind the team's struggle. Having someone like Noble in the dressing room would really help at the moment. Yes it's a generalisation as we have an experienced British player in Bowen and he's not what we need. But as principle for building your squad it's an important one.

Noble is a board puppet, he can fuck off 

[El Scorchio]

Well we can probably deduce who is who in this scenario. 

Sullivan the agitator who wanted to sign old players to get into Europe and had it in for Potter. Sounds like he was actively trying to sabotage the bloke and probably behind that meme. How embarrassing. 

Kretinsky the one wanting to move sustainably and forward thinking. 

however, this does lead to the question of why Kretinsky doesn’t just buy the golds shares unless he can’t afford it?
 

[RBshorty]

SHOCKER.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


PRIMED FOR THE DROP.


COYI.

[wils]

• Squad leadership issue: Potter wanted experienced (ideally British) leaders; some arrivals were liked but not seen as vocal leaders. Bowen stayed captain largely because no clear vocal alternative arrived.

 

 

I always feel the importance of this "(ideally British)" is downplayed for number of reasons. It's obviously less important when it comes to winning the league, but for a struggling team it becomes a lot more important. The foreign players are much less likely to care and the fans in turn sense that and don't get behind the team's struggle. Having someone like Noble in the dressing room would really help at the moment. Yes it's a generalisation as we have an experienced British player in Bowen and he's not what we need. But as principle for building your squad it's an important one.

[southbankbornnbred]

I'm guessing, of course. But presumably it was Kretinsky who wanted to ease down the wages/revenues ratio and invest in infrastructure?

I don't imagine that Ms Ozempic takes that approach - and we know who the alleged short-termist was.

It's all familiarly depressing. A leadership that cannot learn lessons.

[Westham67]

Noble was a Moyes man, so he may be the "Central figure"

[southbankbornnbred]

Interesting - and certainly not a surprise to hear it.

Of course, it's a very one-sided view of things. No attempt at accountability for the shitshow that was Potter's (and his backroom staff's) tactics, in-game management and inability to prepare his team for matches.

Irrespective of any other factors, he failed quickly because he did not win enough matches, he showed no bravery tactically and his signings were poor (however they came about). And, I'm sure, he also failed because - like every manager before him - he walked into a shitshow at board level. Most fans know that shit is ongoing and it has been for several decades (Terry Brown, the bonkers Icelandics and 15 years of Sullivan).

But, let's face it, a good chairman and a progressive board would not have appointed Potter after he got found out so quickly at Chelsea. He had one good year at Brighton. The rest of his Premier League record was 15, 16th, 17th, a few months with Chelsea and then a repeat with West Ham. He doesn't have much in his locker. He was brought in to stabilise Sweden and they got dry humped by Switzerland, giving away 4 goals in the process. He's just not a "good" manager.

[Takashi Miike]

that relegation comment smells of team sullivan spin, putting the full blame on to the coaches/manager. even though I couldn't fucking stand potter, I don't believe even he would come out with such shit after one game. the midget fucker never stops scheming

[Manuel]

Can't be arsed to read it all but saw something on YT about it. My initial thoughts were I suspect all this behind the scenes shenanigan's goes on at most clubs, particularly PL clubs.

They get paid fortunes, but being a PL manager is a tough gig, pretty much 24 x 7. I remember Wenger saying that he never even had one holiday while he was at Arsenal. Yes, his wife did leave him!

[Russ of the BML]

More evidence of why we are in the position we are in. 

[wils]

TLDR?

 

 

 

ChatGPT is your friend here:


It claims West Ham’s board is split between a long-term “cut costs + develop assets” faction and a short-term “spend to chase Europe” faction. Potter was allegedly hired to run a wage-reduction rebuild (not to prioritise results), then undermined internally (including being given effectively no budget), leading to poor recruitment/leadership gaps, internal leaks, and a “pressure campaign” that made his sacking feel inevitable.Key points in plain English

• Boardroom split: One side thinks the wage bill (90–100% of revenue) is unsustainable; another side prioritises immediate stability and European qualification revenue.
• Rice money disagreement: The “sustainable” side allegedly wanted the 2023 windfall used more on facilities/academy/younger assets, not older/ready-made signings.
• Lopetegui fallout: When Europe looked unlikely under Lopetegui, the balance of opinion allegedly shifted.
• Why Potter: Potter was reportedly chosen because he can work with limited funds and develop young players into sellable assets.
• Mandate: Potter was allegedly told a ~30% wage reduction was the goal by summer 2026, and that results weren’t priority as long as the club avoided relegation.
• Internal resistance: Some senior figures allegedly refused to engage with Potter; one “central figure” barely spoke to him.
• “Zero budget” summer: Potter was reportedly told no incomings unless outgoings, with £0 transfer/wage budget, only a portion of sales available—creating incoherence and frustration.
• Squad leadership issue: Potter wanted experienced (ideally British) leaders; some arrivals were liked but not seen as vocal leaders. Bowen stayed captain largely because no clear vocal alternative arrived.
• Season tone conflict: After a bad loss (Sunderland 3–0), Potter allegedly told the squad to expect a relegation battle; this was leaked upward, and he was demanded to deliver a “big club, losing not acceptable” message. He refused.
• Endgame: From there, he believed he’d be sacked; allies in the boardroom could only protect him if results suddenly turned around, while opponents would intensify external/internal pressure.

[goose]

I wouldn’t call it an expose, more like confirmation of what everyone knows already.

its a shit show and has been for years.

[THUNDERCLINT]

TLDR?

Basically it explains why the Kappa deal fell though and that you're a cսnt.

[THUNDERCLINT]

Telling the players to expect a season long relegation battle after ONE game and cock piss is meant to be  master of sports psychology?

Stupid cսnt. No wonder morale is on the floor.

Overall though sounds like there's a clear split in the boardroom. I 'd guess Brady, Cretin and the Golds against the Sullicunt.
 

[Mad Ferret]

TLDR?

[stubbo-admin]

This is doing the rounds and was posted by some guy that liked Potter on KUMB.  No idea the veracity, and a bit of a dry read, but is at least a little revealing.
----------------------------This is going around some of the forums and WhatsApp groups today (KUMB etc). No source, but apparently comes from the Brady camp as opposed to Sullivan side.Make of it what you will, but it would explain some things.

---

Finally received some behind-the-scenes insight about my dawg Potters spell at the club during a long-awaited Skype call yesterday. Not from himself mind you (I'd imagine The Graham may be slightly afraid of me), but from someone who knows a member of his staff really well and who have heard plenty - if not all - while meeting old friends during the Christmas holidays.Fascinating stuff. I'm going to be a bit vague here in terms of naming some names... for reasons.There are people in the boardroom who feel that paying 90-100% of revenue in staff & player wages isn't sustainable. He/she/they were not pleased with appointing Julen Lopetegui, who had departed Wolverhampton due to a lack of investment. Promising the manager a different story at West Ham made aforementioned board people unhappy as they felt that the investment opportunity from the Rice sale in 2023 should have been invested in facilities, academy and diversified assets (a.k.a. signing multiple young players rather than Kilman, Fullkrug etc).However, other people in the West Ham boardroom have no long-term interest in the club and they care more about the immediate operational stability and that investing in ready-made players would "make sure" West Ham were able to reach European football (and the money that comes with it) every or nearly every year.When it was clear Lopetegui would not bring West Ham to Europe, there was what you could call a change of majority opinion in the boardroom. The new majority wanted Graham Potter due to his track record of performing with very limited funds and developing young players into highly valued assets in his previous clubs.Potter was told that he would oversee a process where West Ham cut 30% of player/staff wages to be finalised by the summer of 2026 and that results would not be the primary importance, everything apart from relegation would be acceptable. A core part of this plan was to get rid of older players benefitting from the unsustainable wage structure and replace them with youngers players with lower demands and who could be resold in the future.Potter was also warned that the job would not be easy and that there were people strongly opposed to the concept as well as his appointment. He was not to speak about the details of the process publicly, and that it would be benefical if he could appease to the opposed people through publicly displaying the attitude that West Ham is a "big club" rather than a "development club".The parts above is what Graham Potter was told before getting the job. Below is what happened later...The spring was a rocky road with some people in the club hierachy refusing to communicate with Potter and his staff. Especially one very central figure at West Ham, with limited interest in the mid- to long-term future of he club, was strongly opposed to all of these ideas and the appointment of a "process manager". This central figure spoke with Potter no more than three times during his spell at the club.In the summer, Potter was told that - as part of the wage restructuring - no one comes unless no one leaves. He was told he had a "zero budget", £0 to spend on wages and £0 to spend on transfers but that a percentage of every sale would be available in the war chest. Potter was both annoyed and confused to hear this. "My job title says 'head coach', I'm here to coach and develop the players. My job is to work with people, not money." He also said that he had already told the recruitment staff what kind of players he wanted and the positions where he felt he could need new players.This was not appreciated and a mutual feeling started to grow that this would not work out since there was no coherence from the upper hierachy. The issues in different boardroom views that Potter had been told about were larger than expected.In terms of recruitment, Potter mainly had one wish and that was to make sure leaders in the dressing room were replaced by other experienced leading players, preferably British. He was pleased with KWP and Wilson joining, two hard-working players who would be appreciated in any group. However, the former is very quiet and the latter someone who has decided he wants to be leader - not a natural.Regarding leadership in the dressing room, the initial plan was to ask Bowen if he wanted to step aside as captain to make sure he could focus on what he does best - scoring goals. They had conversations and Bowen didn't mind the solution.However, as no vocal leader was brought in, Potter felt there was no real option. Other candidates like Kilman, Ward-Prowse, Wan-Bissaka, Walker-Peters and Wilson are ALL in the category "lead by example" rather than "lead with your voice". Just like Bowen. So instead of causing headlines with a swap that wouldn't matter, Bowen kept the armband. Others like Areola and Soucek were considered but Potter had been told that these were likely to be sold.At the end of the transfer window, very little had worked out as anyone wanted, with key signings coming in way too late, and a lot of glaring holes left in the squad. At this point, which was after the 3-0 loss to Sunderland, Graham Potter told the squad that they were in for a season long relegation battle and that were would be very difficult times, but that if they worked hard and developed together, they would make it in the end. Somehow this manager-player meeting was reported to the boardroom, leading to a central West Ham figure confronting Potter and demanding that Potter gathered the players to tell them that West Ham is a big club and that losing a game is never acceptable. Potter felt that this would cause too much pressure and blatantly refused. "Tell them yourself".At this point Potter knew he was going to be sacked but still felt he "had the responsibility to help the group of players and a professional dignity and thus kept working as if he didn't know". Potter still had people protecting him in the boardroom, but was told that unless they started to win a lot, there would be people finding ways to create extra pressure and ridicule around him and that they were eventually going to have to "react to that".

I can't read that.

Paragraphs please.

Already done....you got there before I'd finished