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Two changes, striker experiment – Predicted West Ham XI to beat Fulham on Potter’s London Stadium bow

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Graham Potter West Ham manager

West Ham were much improved in Graham Potter‘s first game in charge against Aston Villa last week. 

Despite losing the game 2-1, it was a combination of injuries to key players and controversial refereeing decisions that contributed to the defeat, not the performance.

There is a great deal of optimism and excitement for what Potter might be able to achieve in east London as a result. Even if it may still be so early in his London Stadium reign, the early signs have certainly been encouraging.

With the cup exit behind us, all attention is now on how Potter can transform West Ham’s league form. The next two games, home London derbies against Fulham and Crystal Palace, are crucial.

Not just for climbing up the Premier League table but also for the fans to see that Potter was the right man to replace Julen Lopetegui last week.

At this early stage, it will still be more about the performances than the results. We know Potter is a project manager who needs time and he’s also having to work with another manager’s squad with several injuries to key attacking players.

If performances are good and there are green shoots of progress visible, that’s all that matters at the moment.

Potter’s next test is on Tuesday night against Fulham, in his first home game since taking the job.

Given the injuries to Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville on Friday night, it’s even harder to know how he will approach this one.

He did confirm that Summerville is touch and go to be fit in time to make this game, while it was confirmed earlier this week that Fullkrug is sidelined for a number of weeks.

With that in mind, and while remaining optimistic that Summerville will pass his late fitness test, here’s how I think Potter will approach Tuesday night’s London derby.

Two changes from the XI that started against Aston Villa last week, with Emerson coming in for Ollie Scarles and Carlos Soler replacing Fullkrug.

Potter hinted after the Villa game that Mohammed Kudus is in his thoughts as a potential short-term striker option, so I think he will opt to use Kudus as the striker this time around.

Danny Ings is the only recognised striker in the squad who is available but he showed against Villa that he is becoming less and less effective every time he plays.

Soler could then be used as a No.10 behind Kudus, adding some creativity in the midfield but also providing some help defensively out of possession.

Like last week’s prediction, this one could be miles off, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Potter sticks to the formation that worked against Villa and just shuffles his pack a little bit in order to fill the gaps left by injuries.

What do you think?

‘A good option’ – Graham Potter identifies ‘dangerous’ fix to West Ham’s injury crisis

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Graham Potter

Graham Potter faces a huge injury crisis at the start of his West Ham reign. 

Niclas Fullkrug was very effective in the opening stages of the Hammers’ FA Cup 3rd round defeat to Aston Villa on Friday night, playing a crucial role in the build-up to Lucas Paqueta’s early opener.

But he pulled up just minutes later with what looked to be a serious hamstring injury, which forced him off in the 15th minute.

Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen’s injuries mean it’s likely Potter will only have Danny Ings available as his only fit striker for the foreseeable, at least until he can sign another frontman in the transfer window.

It’s a disastrous situation for the new boss to find himself in so soon after replacing Julen Lopetegui. The build-up to Paqueta’s goal at Villa Park gave West Ham fans a glimpse of how effective a front four of Mohammed Kudus, Crysencio Summerville, Paqueta and Fullkrug could be under Potter’s stewardship as all four combined to give the Hammers the lead.

Niclas Fullkrug against Man City

It appears Potter already has a plan, though, and he has name-dropped the one player in the West Ham squad he sees as an option to deputies up top until reinforcements can be brought in.

That player is Kudus, who looked lively in the first half against Villa after being deployed in his more favoured No.10 role by Potter.

And Potter has already admitted that he knows how effective Kudus can be when played to his strengths.

Speaking to The Mirror, he said: “Mo was really dangerous [against Aston Villa].

“He’s got some good attributes. He worked really well first-half, pressing, won some balls. Carried a threat.

“He was affected by the team in the second-half because it was more difficult for him to get into the game.

“I was encouraged. He played more centrally than he has done for a bit. He quite likes that central role to the right.

“He comes in on that left foot and he’s a threat. He offers us a good option, absolutely.”

Mohammed Kudus v Aston Villa

It’s refreshing to know that Potter has already identified Kudus’ strengths so soon after arriving in east London, following the Ghana international’s frustrating performances under Julen Lopetegui.

Taking Potter’s thoughts on Kudus into consideration, we might expect Kudus to start as a striker on Tuesday night against Fulham despite Ings being the only recognised striker in the squad.

Ings was mostly ineffective against Villa after he replaced Fullkrug and missed two huge chances in the second half.

That may have convinced Potter that he will need to try something different on Tuesday, with Kudus appearing to have impressed Potter enough to be given the responsibility of leading the line at London Stadium.

‘It’s a step up’ – Striker urged to ‘go to West Ham’ amid injury crisis

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Joe Cole

Ex-West Ham academy graduate, Joe Cole, has urged Evan Ferguson to sign for the Hammers this January.

The Brighton striker has found first-team opportunities hard to come by since returning from an ankle injury earlier this season, with new Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler preferring Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck as his go-to frontmen.

As a result, the Northern Ireland international could be allowed to leave the AMEX on loan this winter as he seeks first-team football away from the south coast, according to The Telegraph.

It was reported last week that Brighton were still deciding whether to allow the 20-year-old to leave in January or reassess their options in the summer, especially with ongoing concerns over Welbeck’s long-term fitness.

West Ham are now in desperate need of signing a striker this month after Niclas Fullkrug pulled up with what appeared to be a hamstring injury in the Hammers’ FA Cup 3rd defeat to Aston Villa on Friday night.

The German’s injury means new boss Graham Potter only has Danny Ings as the only recognised striker in the squad, with Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen also sidelined long-term.

Arsenal have also been linked with a potential move to bring Ferguson to the capital as Mikel Arteta looks to add more firepower to his side and revive the Gunners’ title credentials.

Speaking on The Dressing Room podcast, Cole was asked by fellow ex-Hammer, Wayne Bridge, whether he would see West Ham beating Arsenal to Ferguson’s signature.

Evan Ferguson

Cole, who will know all about how youngsters can thrive at a club like West Ham if given the opportunity, was steadfast in his belief that east London would be a better fit than north for the striker.

He said: “Listen, if I’m his agent I’m saying to him go to West Ham.

“You’re not going to get into the Brighton team.

“You’re going to take a step up and play, you need games, you’re a young kid, you need games, come and play for West Ham, it hasn’t worked for Fullkrug yet, go there.”

Ferguson, who has scored 17 goals and created five assists in 79 appearances for Brighton, has missed the last three games with an ankle injury, which may still prevent the likes of West Ham and Arsenal from firming up their interest this month.

Given how desperate West Ham now are to recruit a goalscorer following Fullkrug’s latest setback, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the club tested the water with a bid in the coming days.

It was Potter who gave Ferguson his debut at Brighton, which came as a late substitute in a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory over Cardiff City in August 2021.

A ‘match made in heaven’, goodbye Soucek, Bowen’s new role – Analyst outlines West Ham under Graham Potter

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West Ham manager Graham Potter

We’re one game into Graham Potter‘s reign as West Ham head coach and there is already some excitement about what the future might hold.

The first-half against Aston Villa was one of the best halves of football West Ham have played this season. It was ruined by injuries to Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville, but immediately it was clear the players had a better idea of what they were being asked to do.

In time, especially after a couple of transfer windows where he’s able to bring in his own players, there is already a sign that Potter can be a success at the club given the performance on Friday night, just 36 hours after he was confirmed as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement.

But what can we expect tactically? It’s fair to assume the approach against Villa won’t be Potter’s long-term vision for the way in which he wants his West Ham teams to play. With barely any time to prepare for the game, there wasn’t a chance for him to work on a completely new system with the players.

That will take months of coaching before he’ll likely get to a point where he and the players are happy, but there are reasons to be excited if Potter can get it right in east London.

YouTuber and analyst James Allcott explained why in a recent video, where he looked at how Potter might approach this West Ham team tactically with the current players in the squad.

James gives a really detailed view of what he thinks is the most effective system Potter could play and which players are best suited to fit that system.

You can watch that video below…

What is obvious is that we might be about to witness the end of Tomas Soucek at West Ham, as Allcott explains that the Czech just doesn’t fit the profile of midfielder needed to play in a Graham Potter team.

But he did go on to offer a good explanation of why we could yet see a purpose for Guido Rodriguez, who was hugely disappointing under Lopetegui, while he also explains why Lucas Paqueta and Carlos Soler are all but ready-made to succeed under the new boss.

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the starting XI is how Allcott sees the deployment of Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and Fullkrug.

He explains that Bowen and Kudus could rotate between the right wing and a shadow striker role, but believes Bowen would be more effective in the central position. Many might argue it would be the other way around, given Bowen’s effectiveness from the right and Kudus’ admission that he prefers a role through the middle.

Meanwhile, Fullkrug is described as a ‘match made in heaven’ for a team managed by Potter. The video was recorded before the German international was forced off with what looked like a hamstring injury against Villa, so we’ll likely have to wait a while to see that come to fruition, but in the short period that he was on the pitch at Villa Park certainly heeded a lot of promise.

It’s an interesting video and a very good insight into how Potter could approach the second half of this season, but he will need to recruit one or two attacking players before the end of the January transfer window to help fill the gaps in the team left by injuries to Fullkrug, Bowen and Antonio.

New exciting formation, Kudus unleashed – Predicting Graham Potter’s first West Ham XI to beat Aston Villa

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Graham Potter, West Ham manager
Image: Grok 2

Graham Potter is the new manager of West Ham United after a pretty hectic turn of events this week. 

After the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday no one expected the club to decide then to sack Julen Lopetegui. It will be argued that he should’ve gone months earlier, but going after a loss away to the current Premier League champions wouldn’t have been on many fans’ bingo card.

But he’s gone now and has swiftly been replaced by former Brighton and Chelsea boss, Potter.

Such is Potter’s eagerness to get going, he insisted he wanted to be in the dugout for our FA Cup 3rd round trip to Aston Villa on Friday night, despite only being confirmed as the club’s new boss on Thursday morning.

That kind of willingness to get started straight away has already impressed many fans, as has the things he’s said in the two interviews he’s done so far. Talk of the club’s ambition, the quality of players both in the first-team and the academy, and talk of how passionate and supportive the fans are will already have gone a long way towards forging a relationship with the claret and blue faithful.

But what can we expect from him? We know that long term, if he’s afforded the time and space to do his work, we could be in line for an identity of playing a good style of football that gets results with the right players in the right environment. Short term? No one really knows.

That makes trying to predict his starting XI to face Villa an almost impossible task, but I’ve given it a go anyway.

Potter is known to prefer a 3-4-3 formation but he is also notorious for coaching his players to change formation several times in the middle of a game. He is a manager who demands flexibility and intelligence from his players in order to adapt to any situation in real-time.

As manager of Chelsea, he won his one and only trip to Villa Park 2-0 with a 3-4-2-1 formation, so I’ve decided to use that as inspiration for my prediction.

As you can see from the screenshot of his Chelsea line-up in that game above, my prediction is purely based on the types of players he used for that XI and then using the players we have to try to replicate it.

In that game, Ben Chilwell was used as a left winger but would’ve dropped back into a left-back role and either Mason Mount or Kai Havertz would’ve moved out to the left to make a 4-2-3-1 formation when required.

That’s how I see Potter approaching this one, as per the below predicted XI…

The above formation includes a back three of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo, a midfield four of Crysencio Summerville, Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek and Emerson, and Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta playing centrally behind striker Niclas Fullkrug.

This would offer plenty of defensive stability and midfield cover but also allow us to transition to a 4-2-3-1 in attacking situations. That would involve Summerville pushing forward, Wan-Bissaka slotting into his favoured right-back position, Kilman and Todibo occupying a traditional centre-back duo and Emerson dropping back in at left-back.

Kudus would remain centrally, while Paqueta would drift out to the right to add width. Or Kudus and Paqueta could change, with Kudus drifting out wide, depending on their specific instructions.

Having Kudus in a central position, though, has the potential to unleash his true capabilities, especially given he has previously admitted he prefers to play in a central attacking role.

It’s as fluid as I can see it happening, especially in a way that Potter likes his teams to set up.

This is of course, just a prediction, and it’ll likely be way off the mark from what we do see from Potter in his first West Ham XI.

One thing’s for sure, though, it’s going to be a very interesting few weeks seeing the squad adapt to an actual style of play, which is something we didn’t really see under Lopetegui.