Staggering revelation about what happened at the London Stadium during West Ham’s defeat to Crystal Palace

Yes, things seem a lot brighter now after Graham Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui at the London Stadium 11 days ago.

However, there is still so much work to be done for Potter at West Ham.

The squad left behind by Lopetegui is an ageing and unbalanced one.

The Hammers desperately need to sign a new striker in the January transfer window, whilst the additions of a powerful, ball-carrying midfielder and a centre-back are required as well.

However, West Ham’s hopes of seeing big improvements during the second-half of the season won’t just be down to our transfer business.

Potter needs to extract the very best out of the players he currently has at his disposal.

The problem for him is that so many of them are nowhere near good enough. The Hammers head coach bemoaned the fact that his players lost out on so many duels against Palace.

Those comments were a sad indictment of where we are currently at as a team.

The fans are apathetic towards the club right now, and that’s never a good sign.

London Stadium revelation during West Ham vs Crystal Palace

Paul Merson nailed it before the game by suggesting that West Ham’s win over Fulham had papered over the cracks.

That proved to be the case. We were truly awful against Crystal Palace, and deservedly lost the game 2-0 in the end.

In fact, that scoreline flattered us.

The London Stadium was like graveyard on Saturday afternoon. Saying that the atmosphere was subdued is an understatement.

The thing is, I totally get it. How is it possible to get off your set and get behind the team when the players put in a performance as passive as the one they did against the Eagles?

The Times journalist Alyson Rudd wrote a lengthy column about our 2-0 loss to our London rivals.

And she highlighted a really big concern about our home arena.

“There is something disconcerting about being in a 62,000-capacity ground that is packed and yet intermittently utterly silent. Not a cough. This has long been a problem with the London Stadium. When the occasion is deemed to merit noise then it can feel vibrant and intimidating but too often there is a disconnect.“

Rudd continued, “This is a club built on the intimacy of Upton Park and its ghost lingers still. All of which meant that Palace were the more composed and incisive.“

“The half-time whistle was greeted with nothing in particular. That there would be a second half felt more like an accepted punishment than something to pin hopes upon and seats were slow to refill even after the second period had begun.“

Graham Potter’s London Stadium challenge

There has often been a big disconnect between the fans and the players since we moved to the London Stadium in 2016.

Many yearn for some of the brilliant times we shared at Upton Park.

Potter’s biggest challenge now will be to build a team that the fans can really get behind, and in doing so, turn the London Stadium into a fortress.

I have full faith in 49-year-old, and genuinely believe that he will bring real success to our great club.

However, anyone who thinks positive change will happen instantly is deluded.

First and foremost, Graham Potter needs to move on the players who don’t want to play for us, and bring in those who do.

The Hammers head coach has to build an identifiable team – one that bleeds claret and blue, and maybe then the fans will be able to relate with them.

It will always be a huge challenge for the West Ham fans to create an inhospitable atmosphere at the London Stadium, mostly due to its size and the distance between the pitch and the seats.

However, it’s definitely possible, just look at our wins over Sevilla in 2022, Tottenham in 2017 and Chelsea in 2016.

Potter has some seriously difficult jobs on his hands at West Ham, perhaps none more so that making our home stadium a fortress.

However, I still have full faith in his ability to achieve his goals in East London.

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