Graham Potter and the Creative Conundrum: West Ham 0-2 Crystal Palace
New West Ham United boss Graham Potter may have just realised the enormity of the challenge awaiting him at the London Stadium.
Against Crystal Palace, the Hammers were utterly woeful, fully deserving their 2-0 defeat.
There is some mitigation for Potter. He’s inherited a depleted squad, one of the oldest in the Premier League, currently grappling with an injury crisis. Fixture congestion, limited time on the training pitch, and the hangover from 12 months of decline before his arrival have also compounded the difficulties.
That said, West Ham have managed just three shots on target in their last two Premier League matches, both played at home. This worrying statistic isn’t likely to improve as long as the midfield remains overly reliant on destroyers rather than creators.
I was surprised to see Carlos Soler omitted from the starting lineup against Crystal Palace, particularly after already sensing the team lacked creativity in the previous win over Fulham. Removing another technical player only exacerbated the problem.
Potter undoubtedly has a tough task ahead. The pragmatist in him has rightly focused on improving a leaky defence, and in fairness, he has made progress. A heavier defeat would likely have occurred under former manager Julen Lopetegui.
However, the team showed very little attacking threat, which allowed Crystal Palace to pursue the win without much fear of conceding.
This defeat will provide plenty of food for thought for the new Irons manager. While Potter is renowned for his technical and attacking football, he may have concluded he lacks the players to implement his preferred system. Unfortunately, it also seems he doesn’t have the personnel to sit back and defend effectively either.
