LONDON STADIUM – Like all relationships built on the rebound, the widening cracks between Graham Potter and West Ham fans are starting to creak.
Full time – more jeers and though the ground was half empty, they were even more vociferous.
Potter arrived to a club at one of its lowest ebbs; since then, West Ham have beaten just one team at home – Leicester – and one away, Arsenal, as well as being knocked out of the FA Cup at the first time of asking.
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The wounds are too often entirely self-inflicted, and much of it comes from Potter’s uber-cautious reluctance to start on the front foot, even with the most attacking starting XI he had available to him.
For that, they should thank Saturday’s opponents, Leicester, and Ipswich Town, the three newly promoted teams who have meekly waved the white flag on their way back down to the Championship. The beach ball bobbing gently up and down the away end was a reminder of just how little this meant to either team.
He has largely been thrown under the bus by a recruitment policy that led to the premature departure of director of football Tim Steidten, with no replacement forthcoming.
Evan Ferguson’s loan has not worked out; Mohammed Kudus has not scored a club goal this side of Christmas; Niclas Fullkrug’s injuries have – predictably – wreaked havoc with his season and Michail Antonio’s absence following his car injury have left the attack desperately short of goals.
The danger is that Potter – whose side are averaging fewer goals per game than they were under Lopetegui – is never going to be given the tools he needs to succeed where his predecessors failed. Ever the diplomat, he is towing the party line, insisting they do not need a major overhaul. That is frankly not true.
Southampton’s interim boss Simon Rusk was right to call Potter, his former teammate from two decades ago at Boston, “an icon”. That is a sign of the respect he enjoys for his work overseas and at Brighton – but it is precisely why the last four months bring forth so much frustration. West Ham fans have shown patience – but it is little wonder it is starting to wear thin.
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