‘West Ham’s situation unravelling’ as Alan Shearer reacts to Graham Potter sack talk on MOTD
Graham Potter is coming under fire once again after West Ham were dismantled by Chelsea in a 5-1 defeat on Friday night.
The Hammers took an early lead through Lucas Paqueta’s stinging strike, but ultimately succumbed to a heavy defeat at the hands of the Blues, who had struck five goals before the hour mark at the London Stadium.
Potter’s time at West Ham has largely been frustrating, as he has struggled to pick up the pieces following Julen Lopetegui’s disastrous reign.
Positive moments have been few and far between for the former Chelsea and Brighton boss, and things could be about to come to a head after the defeat to his former employers.
Alan Shearer and Micah Richards deliver Graham Potter verdict
Potter is now facing a crucial week at West Ham, and he may need two positive results in order to save his job.
The East Londoners face a Tuesday night trip to Wolves in the Carabao Cup, before travelling to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League next Sunday.
The boss will know that a failure to win either of those two fixtures would see the pressure continue to build, and as such, it feels like a pivotal week for his future in charge.
Pressure has mounted on Potter once again after the Chelsea loss, and there are calls for him to lose his job from some quarters.
- West Ham have already shipped eight goals this season and scored just one
- Potter now has the second-lowest Premier League win percentage of any West Ham manager
- Potter is the first manager in Premier League history to fail to notch 10 points from his first 10 home games in a job
However, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards took a more sympathetic stance towards the 50-year-old during Match of the Day on 23 August.
“They (West Ham) had a brilliant manager there in David Moyes and chose not to keep him, and decided to go down different routes,” Shearer said.
“Looking from the outside, it looks like a difficult club to manage.”
Richards appeared to back up the suggestion of his fellow pundit by adding: “I think Potter is a very good manager. I think he’s a good coach and did ever so well at Brighton.
“West Ham have had success being defensive, but the fans want to be a bit more offensive. Right now he’s not got the balance right, and I think that’s what’s hurting the team at the moment.”
Presenter Kelly Cates then concluded the discussion by saying: “We’ll keep an eye on that situation that is unravelling at West Ham.”
- Read More: Chris Sutton names who’s really to blame for shocking West Ham start – it’s not Graham Potter
West Ham need a quick improvement
Potter has overseen a torrid start for West Ham this term, and it goes without saying that they need to show significant improvement as quickly as possible.
The Hammers are likely to be part of the group of sides who could easily be dragged into a relegation battle if they don’t get points on the board in the first half of the season.
| Home | Away |
| Tottenham (13 September) | Nottingham Forest (31 August) |
| Crystal Palace (20 September) | Everton (29 September) |
| Brentford (20 October) | Arsenal (4 October) |
| Newcastle (1 November) | Leeds (24 October) |
| Burnley (8 November) | Bournemouth (22 November) |
Leeds and Sunderland may have both slipped to defeat this weekend, but they have both shown enough to suggest that they will be able to take points off the mid-table teams this term.
West Ham have potentially crucial ‘six pointers’ against Everton, Brentford and Leeds coming up after the September international break, and they have the potential to be season-defining clashes.
However, if they continue in their current state, then it is incredibly challenging to see where the points will come from for Potter’s men.
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