Graham Potter ‘takes needless gamble’ as West Ham XI confirmed v Bournemouth
Graham Potter will know a response is needed from his West Ham United side against Bournemouth on Saturday.
West Ham fell to a disappointing 1-0 loss against Wolves last time out as their underwhelming form under Potter continued.
The Hammers have now won just two of their past nine league matches and are going nowhere fast in the Premier League, with a lowly final position predicted.
The visit of Bournemouth to the London Stadium on 5 April presented Potter with a chance to change things around, which he ultimately failed to do in terms if his starting line-up.
Four changes for West Ham v Bournemouth
While four changes were made on the back of the loss to Wolves, Potter opted against starting Niclas Fullkrug in attack.
That is despite Evan Ferguson also being named among the substitutes, with Potter instead going with the returning Mohamed Kudus – way off his usual levels this term – in attack.
| Fixture | Scoreline |
| West Ham v Leicester | W 2-0 |
| West Ham v Newcastle | L 1-0 |
| Everton v West Ham | D 1-1 |
| Wolves v West Ham | L 1-0 |
Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez and Jean-Clair Todibo were the other three players to come into the side, meaning an attack of Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta.
Many have been crying out for Fullkrug to finally be unleashed now fit, but Potter is going without a recognised striker in a gamble that may backfire.
West Ham need to get back to winning ways
In Potter‘s defence, he took over at a time when West Ham ultimately had little to play for in the Premier League.
Had the bottom three teams been slightly better, a relegation battle may well have been on the cards.
As it is, though, there is a 14-point buffer on the dropzone and it is now just a case of jostling for position in the lower bottom-half.
That is not to say Potter can afford to take his eyes off the ball between now and the end of the campaign, with momentum desperately needed at the London Stadium.
Fingers crossed this decision to go without a striker pays off and help kickstart a positive run of form.